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of speech was gone; and with one smile of affectionate recognition her eyes closed upon all worldly objects. She was no longer an inhabitant of earth, but had reached her resting-place in the skies. "Absent from the body" she was "present with the Lord." This event occurred on Monday, December 30th, 1867, on the anniversary of her marriage, in the sixtysixth year of her age.

This attempt to describe the excellencies of one of Christ's devoted

followers is intended to instruct and encourage the living. We neglect a valuable opportunity of improvement, if we fail to study the virtues of departed saints, and to glorify God in them. What they were, we too are exhorted to become, through the grace of Him to whom we all have access in Christ. Let us awake to emulation and diligence, not being "slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

RECENT DEATHS.

AUGUST 16th, 1866.-Some of the servants of the Lord Jesus, though not known beyond a limited sphere, are nevertheless highly valuable, and their absence from their accustomed post is long and deeply felt. Such a servant of Christ was Thomas Dakin. He was led to the Saviour during a period of remarkable revival, vouchsafed in connexion with the services of Methodism in the place where he passed the greater part of his life. It was very interesting and instructive to listen to the accounts he would give of the spiritually mighty men of his youth. His conversion was of a decided character, but was preceded by a prolonged struggle between the "old man" and the power of Divine grace. He used to say that, at one period, he made it a practice to compose himself to sleep during the former part of the Sunday evening service, for he knew that there would be no sleep for him during the night that followed, through the reproofs of an awakened conscience. Many a time, too, did his heart quail beneath the occasional remarks dropped by the leader of the prayer-meetings. They sang of heaven, but he was reminded that there was no heaven for impenitent sinners; the privileges of God's people were set forth, but it was clearly explained that none were the sons of God but those who were "led by the Spirit of God." Would that tens of thousands of our unconverted hearers might listen to such sermons, and experience such nights as Thomas Dakin did, until they too decide for God! Possessed of no remarkable powers of mind, and often afflicted with weakness of body, placed also in very humble circumstances, he made his influence to be felt, and his very name seemed to be a power for good. Naturally he was retiring, even to a fault; but wherever duty called he went, and his Master was with him. We never heard him charged with any failing but the one hinted at above; and it may be truly said, that his character was pure and unblemished. He was a blessed example of the value of a clear apprehension of the fulness of the provisions of the Gospel, and was a humble witness of the power of Christ to save to the uttermost. The grace which has often made others giant warriors in the battle

field, made Thomas Dakin the faithful and constant watcher of the tents. Whoever abideth in Christ "bringeth forth much fruit." His faithfulness to the Church of his convictions and choice, his patient continuance in well doing, when the "love of many" to her "waxed cold," his readiness in the time of severe trial, notwithstanding his diffidence, to "stand in the gap," and his conscientious attendance upon all the services of religion, are beyond all praise. Although for years almost wholly dependent upon charity, his weekly contribution was ever, with sacred pleasure, laid upon the altar; and he thankfully embraced the opportunity of earning a few pence by some little errand, in order that he might have something more to give for the support of the ministers, or for the heathen, whose claims always had a strong hold upon his affections. He truly did what he could. In him many a labourer for Christ has lost an earnest intercessor at the Throne of Grace. Society with which he was so long connected, many sick persons whom he visited, and even many who are still "without," but who acknowledged the power of Christ in him, will long miss him. Wearisome nights and days were appointed to him before his departure; but he had "strong consolation," and "knew in whom he believed." He entered into rest in the seventy-first year of his age, having been a member of the Methodist Society fifty years.

The

October 12th, 1867.-At Chatteris, Mrs. Elizabeth Brecken, aged fifty-seven years. For more than thirty years she was a member of the Methodist Society, and a sincere, though timid, Christian. In her last illness she possessed her soul in patience, and died calmly resting on the merits of her Redeemer. J. G.

November 16th.-Aged seventy, Ann, the beloved wife of Thomas Broadbent, Esq., of Grove House, Ardwick, Manchester, and daughter of the late Thomas Holy, Esq., of Sheffield. Under the training of parents eminent for their devotedness to God, and zeal in His service, she realized in early life the power and blessedness of experimental religion; delighting greatly in the public and social means of grace, and

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zealously engaging in various acts of Christian philanthropy. She was a diligent student of the Holy Scriptures, and specially so when deprived in her later years, to a great extent, of the sense of hearing. Her last illness, though short, was marked by perfect submission to the Divine will, and by calm yet firm reliance on the atonement of the Saviour. The administration of the Lord's Supper, in which her sorrowing husband participated, was to her a season of more than ordinary spiritual refreshment and holy joy. In the cheering anticipation of those exalted "pleasures" which are at God's "right hand for evermore,' she sweetly fell asleep in Jesus. W. W. S.

born at Acton-Burnell, and was trained by his parents to a regular attendance at church; but although his character was outwardly good, he was at that time a stranger to vital religion. Early in the present century he came to reside in Shrewsbury; and about the year 1811, he was induced, by the counsels and persuasions of a beloved sister, to join the Methodists at St. John's Hill. Having felt a sense of his lost condition as a sinner, and found peace with God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, he went on his way rejoicing, and for fifty-five years exemplified the genuineness of his conversion by his cheerful, consistent, and holy life. During the whole of this period he was seldom absent from his class. For many years he laboured as a Sunday-school teacher, a visiter of the sick, and a prayer-leader, and in various ways sustained and promoted the cause of God. His diligence in business gained him the entire confidence of his employers, and his punctuality and obliging disposition the goodwill and esteem of the tradesmen of the town. He was confined to his house and to his bed for some months, but was always calm, reposing on Christ, until at last he sank to rest, peacefully and without pain.

January 9th, 1868.-At Manea, in the Chatteris
Circuit, William Fields Cox, aged sixty-three
years. He was blessed with a pious father,
whose care was to train him up for God; but in
early life he was wayward and rebellious, and
he found, to his cost, that "the way of trans-
gressors is hard." But at length his father's
prayers were heard and answered. By the Holy
Spirit's agency, a thorough change was wrought
in his whole spirit and conduct, and through
faith in the blood of Jesus, he obtained
peace with God, and became a happy, devoted,
and consistent Christian. For more than thirty
years he "adorned the doctrine of God his
Saviour," as a member of the Methodist Society,
and for twenty as a Sabbath-school teacher.
Oftentimes in the house of God, under the
ministry of the Word, and in the class-meeting,
his soul was dissolved in love, and filled with
rapturous joy. His death-bed was a scene not to
be forgotten. Amidst agony and prostration of
no common kind, his mind was wonderfully sup-
ported, and heaven seemed open to his view.
The precious promises of God's Word were the
joy and strength of his soul; and many who
visited him felt their faith confirmed, as they
witnessed his triumph over death. His funeral
sermon on a week-night in his native village
was attended by a large and deeply-affected
congregation.
J. G.

W. B. D.

January 22d.-At Gateshead, Mrs. Middleton, widow of the late Mr. Middleton. She was a devoted member of the Wesleyan-Methodist Society, and greatly loved its class-meetings. Her departure was very peaceful.

R. H.

January 31st.-At Heillhouse, in the Huddersfield (Queen-street) Circuit, Mrs. Elizabeth Binns, in the eighty-eighth year of her age. Forty years ago her husband was seized with mortal sickness. Up to this time they had lived strangers to experimental religion; but Mr. Binns sought and found mercy in his affliction, and there was hope in his death. This visitation was sanctified to the bereaved widow. The pious minister who had directed her husband to the Saviour, continued his visits to the family, and his labours were blessed to her conversion. She united herself with the people of God, and was for many years a member in the Queen-street Circuit. Mrs. Binns was unassuming in her deportment,-a meek and quiet believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Through the weight of years she was not able, for some time, to attend the public means of grace, as was formerly her custom and delight; but she sought by prayer and faith to retain the life of God in her soul. During the affliction which terminated her life, her mind was kept in peace. She frequently expressed a lively sense of the goodness of God, who had been a Husband to the widow, and a "Father" to her fatherless children." She spoke confidently of heaven as her future home; and declared that "to die" would be "gain." Again and again she repeated, as she neared the heavenly mansions, "Christ is precious. Christ J. B. is precious."

January 14th.-At Chatteris, Ann, the wife of
Mr. Richard Moulton. For upwards of thirty
years she was a true helpmate to her husband in
all domestic and spiritual matters. She aided him
in training up a family of ten children "in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord." One of
these is now a minister in the Wesleyan-
Methodist Connexion; another a Local preacher;
and nearly all the rest are members of the Society,
and active supporters of Methodism in all its
interests. Her early instructions, so tender and
wise, are remembered with reverence and grati-
tude. Her quiet but earnest spirit was always
seeking to devise and carry out schemes of useful-
ness in the Church and in the world; and, as a
visiter of the sick poor, her name is still fragrant
among many. In her last illness she was unable
to say much; but her confidence in God was
unwavering; and just before she left the world,
her uplifted hand betokened her triumph over
the last enemy, through the blood of Jesus.
J. G.

January 20th-At Shrewsbury, Mr.
Brazier, aged ninety-one years.

John

He was

February 6th.-At Leighton-Buzzard, Mary, the wife of the Rev. W. G. Duncan, and sister For of the late Rev. Joseph Stinson, D.D. forty-eight years she had been a member of the

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Wesleyan-Methodist Society, and adorned the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things. When she was asked, "Is Christ precious?" she replied firmly, "He is;" and declared that He was the one Object of her trust. Her last words, while gasping for breath, were, "Pass-through -death-triumphant-home."

W. G. D

February 10th.-At Liverpool, in the Pittstreet Circuit, in the eighty-first year of her age, Mrs. Grace Kirk, relict of Mr. Samuel Kirk, late of Thorp-Hesley, in the Rotherham Circuit. She gave her heart to God, and sought and found salvation, through the Lord Jesus Christ, in the ninth year of her age. She forthwith joined the Methodist Society, and for seventy-two years, in the various spheres in which she was called to move, she was a modest, uniform, and consistent follower of her Divine Master. Her house, whilst she resided at ThorpHesley, was for many years the home of the Local preachers on their appointments to that place; and for

some time previous to the family removing to Liverpool, the ministers of the Circuit also enjoyed the hospitalities of the same home. While Mrs. Kirk was not unmindful of outward things, the great absorbing principle of her protracted life, was to keep her heart right with God, and stand with her lamp trimmed and her light burning. Nothing would stir the depths of her soul like a heart-searching sermon, filled with the marrow and fatness of the Gospel, or with Christian experience from the heart of some eminent follower of Christ. As her strength declined, she anticipated "going home" with evident delight. Her prospects, through faith in Christ, were bright and clear; and at length the long-wished-for summons came, and her spirit rose to mingle with the sanctified above.

J. T.

February 10th. At Lower-Town, in the Keighley Circuit, William Shackleton, in the sixtieth year of his age. He was born at Moorside, near Lower-Town, April 9th, 1808. He was the child of godly, Methodist parents, who trained him up in the fear of the Lord; and in very early life he was a subject of deep religious impressions. The thoughtfulness and the sobriety of judgment, for which he was always remarkable, were manifested even in his boyhood. When twenty years of age he began to meet in class; but three or four years passed away before he received a clear sense of his acceptance with God. His sincere and earnest desire to enjoy the Divine favour strengthened into a holy determination which led him, along with his only brother, to wrestle all night in prayer for pardoning mercy. As that memorable night was closing, and the dawn of day appeared, the sun of righteousness shone clearly upon his soul, and by simple faith in the atoning blood he was made happy. In his youth he evinced a great desire for mental improvement, and succeeded

in storing his mind with useful knowledge. His connexion with the Lower-Town Sabbath-school, begun when a boy, was undisturbed through life. He was appointed to the office of class-leader when comparatively a young man. The confidence which the Church placed in him was honoured, and the hopes which were entertained were fulfilled by his course of usefulness in this department of service. He sought to understand the condition of those who met with him, and to direct and strengthen them by sober, judicious, faithful counsel. His words were often like "apples of gold in pictures of silver," and were greatly blessed to his charge. As a Local preacher he laboured during a period of thirty years with fidelity and acceptance. His preaching was plain; but it was also remarkably practical and searching, and sometimes it rose to a strain of powerful eloquence. His patient study of the Word of God, his quiet energy, and his unswerving fidelity in the discharge of duty, will cause his name long to be remembered with esteem and love. His deep and tender filial affection for his mother through a long affliction, is worthy not only of the admiration, but the imitation, of all in similar circumstances. As a brother, he was distinguished by loving thoughtfulness; and as a friend, he was ever faithful. The affliction which proved fatal extended over a period of nearly six weeks. He had a desire, "if it were the will of God," to live a little longer; but he was thoroughly delivered from the fear of death, and the inordinate love of life. That Gospel which he had long preached to others he felt, in affliction and death, to be the strength and solace of his own soul. There was no struggle at the last; he fell almost imperceptibly into the closing slumber; and, as the mortal scene closed, there was a serene and lovely smile on the thin, pallid countenance. "So He giveth His beloved sleep." P. F.

March 6th.-At Chelmsford, aged seventyeight years, Mrs. Isabella Rice. She was a native of Askrigg, in Yorkshire. Of the circumstances of her conversion no particular account can be given; but for many years past she was a consistent member of the WesleyanMethodist Society, remarkable for integrity of character, unobtrusiveness of demeanour, and a faithful discharge of duty. In every thing affecting the prosperity and increase of Christ's cause, she evinced a lively interest to the last. During her brief illness, she was sustained by a firm faith in Christ as her all-sufficient Saviour. Her patience and resignation also were very marked. A short time before her death, upon a suggestion being made to her that she should once more commemorate the dying love of the Redeemer, she joyfully acceded to the proposal, and joined with other friends in this solemn service with much fervour; and in about two hours afterwards, her spirit fled away to be for ever with the Lord. J. D. J.

LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM NICHOLS 46, HOXTON SQUARE.

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