a knowledge of acceptance by believing in the Redeemer. Her disposition was naturally cheerful; and now, being truly happy in her own mind, she studied the happiness of all around; and, by her cheerful and Christian conversation, she frequently enlivened and edified the religious circle. Her love for Wesleyan Methodism was shown by constant attendance in God's house. Here she found a sufficient and satisfying portion. Her house was the home of Christ's Ministers, and in the company of His disciples she found her chief earthly joy. On account of attachment to Wesleyan Methodism, and the opening of his house for Divine worship, the tide of opposing influence swept away her husband's business; and he was compelled, at great inconvenience and loss of property, to remove to another part of the kingdom, in order to support his family; yet she was never known to murmur, or to shrink from duty. On the contrary, she encouraged her husband in his fidelity to the truth, persuaded that God would open his providential path. Benevolence adorned her character. According to her means, she was liberal to the poor; and many of them feel the loss they have sustained by her death. When our unhappy land was visited by famine, the distress she had to witness was too much for her benevolent heart.

On the last Sabbath she enjoyed any measure of health, the number of paupers waiting to receive the accustomed supply of food amazed her visiter, who had to withdraw, leaving them in possession of the hall. Although then in apparent health and fine spirits, happy in dispensing her bounty to the poor, she was not again to enjoy such a luxury. that very evening she was seized by severe illness. For more than ten weeks, with few intervals, she suffered extreme pain. Her affliction baffled the skill of her medical attendants; but her mind was kept in perfect peace, calmly waiting the result.

On

The duties that devolved upon her as a Christian parent were most faithfully discharged. She was the mother of a numerous and interesting family, and thus had many ties to earth; but, although it was hard to think of separation from a beloved husband and nine children, she committed them all to the care of Divine Providence; and, satisfied that God would not err, was enabled to say, "Father, not my will, but Thine,

be done."

As her end approached, she referred in very forcible language to the vanity

of the world, and to her hope of a blissful immortality. For two days before her death, she appeared much better, and her family entertained hopes of her recovery. These she knew to be delusive and transitory. During the evening before her death, she took her eldest daughter by the hand, and in the most solemn manner charged her to be "faithful unto death," that she might meet her in heaven. She then began to sing,

"Our souls are in His mighty hand,

And He shall keep them still." Then, pressing the hand of Miss Dillon, she exclaimed, with peculiar emphasis,

"And you and I shall surely stand
With Him on Sion's hill."

In a transport of joy, she continued, —
"Him eye to eye we there shall see;
Our face like His shall shine:
O what a glorious company,

When saints and angels join!"

On the morning of her death, when her husband prayed by her bedside, she joined in every petition with more than usual fervour; and, as an evidence that she had a delightful foretaste of the glory to which she was hastening, she burst into continued exclamations of, "Glory! Glory! Glory! Hallelujah to God and the Lamb!"

S. COWDY.

32. Died, at Llanelly, in the Carmarthen Circuit, Mr. Stephen Phillips, formerly Sergeant in the 7th Regiment of Dragoon Guards. While he was stationed with his regiment in Ireland in the year 1806, the conversation of his comrade and friend, the late Sergeant-Major Riley, awakened serious thoughts in his mind, and ultimately induced him to seek the possession of inward religion. He immediately abandoned his sinful pursuits and pleasures, withdrew from his former associates, and diligently used the means of grace. A small Society of Methodists existed at that time in Dundalk, to which he united himself. His mind was gradually enlightened to discover his natural sinfulness, and his need of the atonement of Jesus Christ, and of the renewing grace of the Holy Spirit. He sought and at length realised a consciousness of acceptance with God through faith; and this blessing, amidst considerable fluctuation of feeling and variety of outward circumstances, he retained, with unusual clearness and confidence, to the end of his life.

From the time of his earliest connexion

with the church of Christ, Mr. Phillips was a most active and useful member. In every place where his regiment was stationed he strove to introduce Methodist preaching, if it had not been introduced before; and, by promoting prayermeetings, class-meetings, &c., often became the instrument of reviving and helping forward the cause of Christ.

About the year 1819 he retired from the service on his pension, and ultimately settled at Llanelly. At the time of his coming to this town, the only Methodist chapel was a small thatched building, capable of seating about one hundred and twenty persons. He was permitted to see that chapel enlarged to thrice its original size, additional ground purchased for its further enlargement, a second chapel erected in a remote part of the town, and both entirely freed from debt.

Mr. Phillips possessed no extraordinary natural endowments; but he had good strong sense, a general acquaintance with the Scriptures, singular firmness of principle, habits of unswerving regularity, and a zeal to do good,—the activity of which knew no intermission, and its fervour no abatement.

As a

Prayer-Leader, he was always at his post in time; and his prayers were short, practical, and profitable. In the Sunday-school he was a pattern of diligence and order. As a Class-Leader, his incessant attention to his members, and his affectionate fidelity, won for him their fervent attachment, and made him a blessing to many. In visiting the sick he was diligent and useful, and had much encouragement in his labours. attending to the financial affairs of the Society, (in which he held the office of Steward for many years,) his punctuality and order were most exemplary, and rendered his services extremely valuable.

In

survives. Her mother, who died in 1829, was a woman of more than ordinary piety; and to her judicious counsels and earnest prayers Mrs. Nichols was greatly indebted.

She was born on the 26th of December, 1814, and became a member of the Wesleyan Society when about eleven years of age. At that time, the effects of the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit upon her mind became apparent to her friends. She was made sensible of her state as a sinner, and felt that, without a saving interest in Christ's atonement, she must be lost for ever. She earnestly sought the Lord; nor was it long before she could fully rejoice in Him as the God of her salvation. At the age of fourteen she had become comparatively an established Christian. In the midst of many severe struggles with the enemy of souls, she held fast her confidence in God, and her religion rose to a high standard. Through life she was remarkable for attention to closet-prayer, and for warm attachment to the people of God. Her deep-toned devotedness was very conspicuous: she was "a burning and shining light."— Her death was occasioned by a sudden attack of inflammation, which proved fatal in four days. But, as so large a part of her earthly career had been spent in the service of God, her house was set in order beforehand. The solemn event did not overtake her unawares. The day before her decease she said to her husband, "Do not weep for me; I am going to glory. So live that you may meet me in heaven; and train up our dear child in the way she should go, that we may all sing of salvation together for ever and ever." Her last day on earth was one of unspeakable happiness to herself, and will not soon be forgotten by her surviving friends. "If this be death," she said, "I soon shall be free from all my sins and sorrows. All is well! All is well!" She praised God aloud with all her heart; and said that the room was full of His glory, and that a convoy of angels was in attendance to conduct her happy spirit to the paradise of God. Thus supported by Divine peace, and triumphing in the blessed hope of the Gospel, she sweetly fell asleep in the thirty-third year of her age.

JAMES P. FAIRBOURN.

34. Mr. John Reynolds, of Belper.Our estimable friend having left behind him no record of his life, little can now be said of his early history. From the

statement of his only daughter, it appears that he was born in Leeds, from which place the family removed to Whitby. No seriousness appears to have been manifest in his youthful days, which were spent in sin and folly, amid which scenes he had many narrow escapes from danger. Once, indeed, be fell from one of the cliffs which overhang the sea near Whitby, and was taken out of the water when nearly drowned. Soon after the term of his apprenticeship expired, he came into the neighbourhood of Alfreton, and subsequently removed to Belper, where he continued in the employ of the Messrs. Strutt, until within a short period of his decease. When about forty years of age, he was converted to God; the change being brought about, principally, through the advice and counsel of his second wife. Having now joined the Wesleyan body, he became a Teacher in the Sabbath-school, where he laboured with diligence and fidelity until the infirmities of age compelled him to relinquish a work in which he took great delight. He also long sustained the important office of Class-Leader. It was in this department of the Wesleyan economy that his peculiar talents were developed. His natural powers were not of a mean order; and having a wellselected library, and possessing a considerable acquaintance with history, and with the working of the human mind, he was enabled to give to his little flock exhortation, advice, and reproof, as their cases required. One little circumstance deserves notice, as exhibiting his susceptibility, and his strong affection towards the members of his class. The writer being present one morning, Mr. Reynolds, about to meet his class, took up the Hymn-Book, and attempted to find a suitable verse; but, his sight failing, he stood for a moment or two, and then, bursting into tears, requested his friend to conduct the service. "I have now done my work," he said, "and shall soon be in glory." His Christian experience ranged over a period of forty-two years, during which time he was the subject of various trials which put his faith to a severe test. The death of his son, the late Rev. Quintin Reynolds, (who about the year 1817 entered the ministry, and gave proof that he was a workman that needed not to be ashamed,) weighed down his spirits; but he bowed to the award, and, like the patriarch Abraham,

"His faith by his obedience show'd,

And gave his Isaac back to God."

In November, 1846, Mr. Reynolds was seized with paralysis, which for a short time affected his speech. This he happily recovered, though his general physical energies never rallied. The chamber of affliction became to him a consecrated place, and he often exclaim. ed, "Lo! God is here!" He received constant visits from his Christian friends and Ministers, to whom he gave the strongest assurances of his trust in the world's Redeemer. With uplifted hands, and eyes suffused with grateful tears, he often said, "I am on the Rock." "I know that my Redeemer liveth." As his end drew near, he was frequently harassed by the enemy of souls. Satan, knowing his time was short, threw his fiery darts at him; but he was enabled to overcome through the blood of the Lamb. The day before his decease, his speech entirely failed; and on the 16th of May, 1847, he calmly fell asleep in Jesus, in the eighty-second year of his age. SAMUEL FIDDIAN.

35. Mrs. Raven was born in 1773. In the early days of Methodism in Lincoln, she was induced, by the entreaties of a companion, to attend the chapel. The little flock was then greatly despised; and she felt ashamed to be seen entering the doors. The word of God proved, however, so sharp and powerful, that she believed some one must have told the Preacher all that was in her heart, and feared that the eyes of the whole congregation would be fixed upon her. She rested no more, but sought diligently, until she found, the knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins. Her fidelity was soon put to a painful test, but proved, by God's grace, victorious. Darkness was made light before her; and she had the joy of seeing a beloved father awakened and saved through her own instrumentality.

After her marriage she resided for some time in Grimsby, adorning her Christian profession. About the year 1813, after her return to Lincoln, she was appointed a Leader in the Society. She often referred to the call that summoned her to this service. She resisted it for some time, and passed through great conflicts of mind, until she yielded to work in the vineyard of the Lord. For many years she had three classes under her care; meeting two on the Sabbath afternoon, and one during the week. Of her merits in this department of Christian duty too much cannot well be said. Her humility, forbearance, and untiring love for souls, have been

rarely surpassed. She regarded her members as the children of her family, and never ceased to care for them. Proportioned to her joy in the prosperity of the work, was her grief for any declension. She mourned over any that grew languid and negligent, and found no rest till every effort had been made for their recovery,

She laboured with her hands in her calling six days; but the Sabbath was always with her the longest day of the week. It was her habit, until her last illness, to attend the morning prayermeeting, the more public worship of the sanctuary, and the closing meeting for prayer; and then to retire for private reading of the Scriptures. Unless special business prevented, she also regularly attended the means of grace through the week; frequently engaging in prayer, and telling of her own happy experience in the band. Apparently, she spoke without fear; but her feeling was often all but overwhelmingly painful. She little knew how much the people venerated and loved her, and how great a loss to them the silencing of her voice by death would prove. She met in private band for many years; and there she reviewed the religious experience of every day, as though she had kept a strict record of invaluable hours as they passed. She often observed a day of abstinence and prayer; especially, to intercede for those with whom she was thus closely joined in spiritual fellowship. To these her memory will be ever precious. The thought of those quiet, Christian meetings, and of the deep experience of the aged saint in the things of God, will ever refute the calumny that Methodism has changed from its primitive glory and simplicity. It needed little stretch of imagination, in her presence, to "pass the years between," and associate her with the early church, even at Jerusalem. One spirit truly joined her to those of whom the universal church still justly makes her boast.

Her appearance was very pleasing; mild and gentle, perfectly recollected and spiritual amid the throng of business; filled with the spirit of energy and love, so that her friends forgot her increasing years. Her dress was always plain, and of little cost: she was wont to say that pride was her besetting sin, and that, for her soul's sake, she must watch against everything by which it might regain its sway over her.

Her spirit was eminently a spirit of love, supreme love to her Lord and Master, and love to others for His sake.

It was difficult to get her to believe evil against any, however guilty. The talebearer must have quailed before a saint so truthful and forbearing as she.

At the commencement of her last illness there was an evident meetening of her soul for the glory to come. There was no leaning, in her case, upon her abundant works: she seemed to herself to have been doing nothing. She was raised up for a time, and enabled to take her usual duties in the church; but her strength again failed after a few weeks. She now felt assured that death had received his commission, and urged her friends to give her up, even as she gave herself, her family, and her classes, into

the hands of the Lord.

The ruling passion of her life-love for perishing souls-showed itself strong in death. Though suffering distressingly, she saw all who came, warning and entreating them to make sure work for eternity. She bore her sufferings with unabated patience, until her spirit departed, on the 7th of June, 1847, to be with the Lord for ever. The death of this saint was the means of much blessing. Her daughter decided at once to give her heart to the Lord, and to join His people; and many acknowledge that she, "being dead, yet speaketh."

M.

36. Died, at Sharnford, in the Hinckley Circuit, June 8th, 1847, in his eighty-second year, Mr. Thomas Hackett. He was awakened under the preaching of Mr. Penman, in 1795. He began earnestly to inquire, "What must I do to be saved?" And soon afterwards, while hearing Mr. Beaumont preach at a dwelling-house in Burbage, he believed on Him who came "to seek and to save that which was lost." Then the Spirit of adoption enabled him to cry, "Abba, Father!"

Having obtained mercy of the Lord, he soon became active in His cause. He invited the Methodists to Sharnford. But now Satan began to rage, and stirred up many persecutors. Mr. Hackett, undaunted, had preaching in his own dwelling. Mr. Penman preached the first time; and the congregation, though small, was not disturbed,-the persecutors, however, in the meanwhile, being very busily employed in destroying Mr. Ilackett's garden-plants, and in sundry other acts of violence. The word was faithfully preached, and three hearers were awakened.-A scheme was then devised to fine Mr. Hackett, if he had preaching any more in his house. But