But he never swerved from the principles and polity of the Connexion. In doctrine he believed it to be uncorrupt; in dis cipline, righteous, as well as effective.

Of domestic affliction he had a heavy share, being called to follow, one after another, all his children to the grave, save one; and, last of all, his tender and devoted wife, of whom a brief notice was inserted in this Magazine for 1858, p. 1056. In 1859 he married again, the object of his choice being Mrs. Lawry, relict of Mr. Joseph Lawry. Mr. Joseph Lawry was the eldest son of "Uncle" Samuel Lawry, a man of sterling worth, and a very valuable Local preacher, whose "sun went down while it was yet day." This twice-widowed woman, now mourning her second loss, was the daughter of "Uncle" John and" Aunt" Mary Trethewey, and has proved herself worthy of her ancestry.

A large concourse of people, both on the occasion of his funeral, and on that of his funeral-sermon,-which was preached by the Rev. J. Gilbert, the Superintendent of the Cirenit,—-testified their appreciation of his worth, and their conviction that "a prince and a great man" had been taken from among them.

C.

MARY ANN, the beloved wife of Mr. George WRIGHT, died at Horncastle, March 8th, 1867. Her parents were exemplary members of the Methodist Society in that town; and the hometraining she received was eminently adapted to lead her early to the Saviour, and to prepare her for a life of more than ordinary activity and usefulness.

Her conversion to God took place when she was sixteen years of age, and was of a clear and decided character. It was a time of great religious awakening, and her conviction of sin was deep and painful. While pouring out her soul to God in agonizing prayer, at a meeting held in the chapel-keeper's house, the Lord was pleased to grant her a consciousness of His pardoning love through Jesus Christ. Her heart was now filled with holy joy, her countenance beamed with delight, and the rapture of her soul found expression in fervent praise. On the following morning her first exclamation in the family circle was, "How happy I am!" Her religious life, which dawned so brightly, continued to its close to wear a joyous aspect, and was rarely shaded with

doubt or gloom.

Almost from the time of her dedication to God she became an earnest and indefatigable worker, She was trained to work,

As a

and bore the yoke in her youth. Her excellent father walked to High-Toynton, a village two miles distant, every week, for thirty-five years, to meet a class; and in this labour of love he was often accompanied by the subject of this sketch, on whom the influence of parental example was silently but powerfully exerted. zealous collector for Christian Missions, a laborious visiter of the sick and poor, and a faithful class-leader, she rendered effective service to the Church for a period of more than forty years; and the results of that service will not be known till the last day. Her works of piety and benevolence were performed with such promptness, cheerfulness, energy, and grace, as to prove that her duty was her delight.

Her power in prayer was remarkable. She pleaded with God in the closet, in the family, in the cottage, and in the public prayer-meeting, with a holy fervour that would take no denial; and when her suit was gained she was often lost in adoring and grateful praise. Not content with fragmentary prayer, and feeling the insufficiency of it to sustain her spiritual life, she spent much time alone with God. How greatly do we need a host of such pleaders with God at the present day!

In the several meetings for Christian fellowship established among us, she was in her element, and was ever ready to tell what God had done for her soul; and the unadorned, frank, and honest manner in which she related her Christian experience, left the impression that she diligently cultivated the inner life of religion, and felt

its blessedness.

Her trials, which were not light, were borne with Christian fortitude, and contributed to mature her religious character. The marked consistency of her outward deportment and conduct harmonized with

the uniform tone and richness of her reli

gious experience; and those who knew her best testify that her close and habitual walk with God was the secret of her holy and useful life.

On Sunday morning, March 3d, 1867, she repaired to the house of God, and heard a discourse from Psalm xxiii. On leaving the sanctuary, she said, "O, how I have enjoyed that sermon: it was marrow and fatness to my soul!" She appeared at that time the picture of health; but the sermon which had been made such a blessing to her proved to be the last to which she listened. The thought that her end was so near, does not seem to have crossed the minds of any of her friends; but after her decease her

relatives could recall some words and acts which indicated that she had premonitions of her approaching departure; and these reminiscences are very precious to those whom she has left behind, as proving how completely prepared she was for her sudden change.

While taking an early walk on the following Wednesday morning, she was struck so severely by the intense cold, that her system never rallied from the shock. She hastened her return; but on reaching home she was obliged to take to her room, and call in medical aid. The next day she suffered from mental depression, the cause of which was not disclosed; but as she called to mind a remark of the late Rev. Wright Shovelton: "You have only to look and live," the dark cloud passed away. To her son she said, "I know not how this affliction may terminate; but, whichever way it may be, it will be all right. I am my Lord's, and He is mine.” In the afternoon she requested a friend who attended her to read Psalm xxiii.; and her wish having been complied with, she exclaimed, "How beautiful!" and, with great energy, added, "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever." During the following day she appeared to rally a little; but in the evening she seemed sinking from exhaustion. Her loved ones were gathered around her, watching her radiant countenance, and hoping that she would revive from what they supposed to be a fit of fainting. But, to their bitter grief, the hope was not to be realized; for the spirit had taken its flight. She departed this life, to be "for ever with the Lord," in the sixty-first year of her age.

In simplicity, zeal, force of character, love for the poor, untiring effort to do good, and in her dress, Mrs. Wright bore a marked resemblance to the early Methodists; and, having completed a long course of consistency and usefulness, she passed to her rest universally esteemed and regretted.

SAMUEL WESLEY.

ON the 24th of March, 1867, a larger congregation than usual assembled in the venerable Norfolk-street chapel, Sheffield, to hear a sermon on the occasion of the death of MRS. JOHNSON, a godly woman, held in high esteem by the whole Society, for her personal excellencies and good works, and greatly beloved by the two classes of which she had been the leader.

Frances Johnson was the daughter of William and Frances Shay, of Brotherton Lock, near Knottingley, at which place she was born on March 24th, 1807.

The family belonged to the Established Church, but occasionally attended the Methodist chapel at Knottingley or Ferrybridge, and the children were sent to the Sunday-school. In the year 1829, Mrs. Haigh, a widowed daughter of William Shay, sought the Lord, and induced her sister Fanny to join her in doing so. They attended prayer-meetings at Knottingley, during a time of gracious revival; and, upon the invitation of Captain Moody, were led to unite themselves to a class, under the leadership of Mr. Isaac Smith. It is remarkable that although Mrs. Haigh did not at that time, nor until about five of years after, obtain the justifying grace Christ, yet her earnest and encouraging advices to her sister soon resulted in Fanny's conversion.

Immediately after she found peace with God, her piety manifested itself in an ardent zeal for God's glory in the salvation of souls. This was seen in the constant succession of holy activities in which she was engaged. Into many a cottage in the neighbourhood did she enter, to warn sinners to "flee from the wrath to come." In the visitation of the afflicted she especially delighted; and frequently might this ministering woman be found urging the offers of the Gospel on the sick and the dying. In cases of affliction it was

no

uncommon thing to send several miles for Miss Shay. Nor did she neg lect the claims of home. She obtained her parents' consent to erect a family-altar, and she herself conducted the domestic worship. In connexion with this service, she had a trial to which, throngh Divine grace, her Christian intrepidity was equal. It so happened that some workmen employed upon the Aire and Calder navigation were in the habit of getting their breakfast in her father's kitchen. To conduct domestic worship in their presence required some nerve; but, feeling it to be her duty to do so, she shrank not from the task. Many a time did the rough "navvies" kneel upon the floor, while the voice of the gentle but courageous maiden might be heard invoking blessings for them. All this time the flame of her piety was fed by a diligent attendance at the means of grace, both public and private. The Aire ran between her dwelling and the chapel, and on many a dark and stormy night did she venture, at some peril, to cross and recross the river, with no one to navigate the boat but herself, that she might attend the services that she loved so well. It was her custom to renew her covenant with God occasionally in private, and

formally to sign with her own hand a written engagement to be the Lord's. The following is a copy of one of these documents, found amongst her papers: "O Lord God, I do now solemnly vow before Thee, this night, to be Thine for ever. Do Thou give me more grace and strength to serve Thee with a perfect heart and a willing mind. Give ne more power, when I see my duty, to deny my self, take up my cross, and follow Thee in sickness and in health. I am thine for ever. FRANCES SHAY."

66 con

In the year 1838 Miss Shay lost her mother, who, she believed, was ducted into the haven of eternal repose." While keenly feeling the bereavement, she wrote:-"Thou hast done all things well!" The following year her father was taken, and again she wrote:-" My father and mother are gone; but the Lord has taken me up. I love Him better than ever, and feel more of His goodness than ever. Glory be to God the Father, and to God the Son, and to God the Holy Ghost!" On the 3d of August, 1840, she was united in marriage to Mr. Thomas Johnson; but she continued, as before, to work for God. In the year 1853 she took up her residence, with her husband and their two sons, in Sheffield; in which town she remained until death removed her to the "city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God." In 1855, upon the nomination of the Rev. James Methley, she was ap pointed to the leadership of a class; and about two years before her death a second class was committed to her care. In this office she was faithful, affectionate, and useful. By the members of her classes she was greatly beloved. Only three weeks before her lamented decease they presented to her a costly and beautifullybound copy of the Holy Bible, with which additional proof of their esteem she was greatly affected and gratified. Little did any one present think that, ere another moon had waxed and waned, their beloved friend and leader would be called to the presence of her Lord.

An incident which shows the way in which Mrs. Johnson devoted herself to the good of others, up to the last, may be given. A short time before her death, she called at a shop, to buy some trifling article. Ascertaining that there was a sick man in the house, she requested permission to see him; and, although the family were strangers to her, she remained upwards of two hours with the invalid, praying with him, and instructing him in

the way of salvation, which, there is reason to believe, he found.

Her last illness was brief; nor was it until within a few hours of her departure that either herself or her friends anticipated a fatal issue to the attack. Resting with unwavering confidence upon the atonement of Jesus, she was calm and tranquil. To the Rev. Thomas Nightingale she said, that she was willing either to go or stay, as her Father might direct. "Yon would rather stay a little longer, would you not?" said he. To which she replied: "I have no choice in the matter; I leave it all to God." She fell asleep on the 12th of March, 1867. "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her." T. M'C.

MR. ROBERT EXLEY, of Menston, near Otley, was born near that village on June 27th, 1787. Although a strictly moral man, it was not until he was fortytwo years of age that he was made a partaker of saving grace. In the year 1829 he became deeply concerned for his spiritual interests; and this solicitude was increased while listening to a sermon preached at Baildon, by the Rev. Henry Fish, on Isaiah v. 4. "What could have been done more to My vineyard, that I have not done in it?" Reflecting on this appeal, he was led to consider, very seriously, how God had favoured him as to this world, and had also visited him with the drawings of His Holy Spirit. Impressed with the conviction that privileges involve responsibility, he was humbled under the mighty hand of God, and began earnestly to seek the salvation of his soul. In a few weeks he was enabled to realize his personal interest in the atoning blood of the Lord Jesus, and he retained the assurance of his adoption to the close of his earthly career.

Soon, however, he had to experience fierce conflicts with the powers of darkness. Then began "the good fight of faith," in which, by the grace of God, he persevered unwaveringly for thirty-eight years; and, at length, gloriously triumphed through the Captain of his salvation.

Mr. Exley, as he received Christ Je-us the Lord, so walked in Him." He forthwith identified himself with the Church of Christ, joining the WesleyanMethodist Society: the ministry of which had led him into the way of life and peace. Knowing that in order to be confessed by Christ, he must confess Christ, he durst not stand aloof from Christian fellowship.

He cherished the habit of devotion. Prayer in his closet, in his family, and in the public and social means of grace, was his delight; and with this he combined a thoughtful "searching" of the Holy Scriptures. Thus strengthened and upheld, he went onward in the path of piety. Exulting in the Lord his God, he began to be active and zealous in holding meetings for prayer; and was soon welcomed in the neighbouring villages to give exhortations. In the year 1832 his name appeared on the Otley Circuit-Plan as a Local preacher; and he faithfully discharged the duties of this important office while he retained his strength. He was also the leader of a class for many years; and in the year 1839 he was appointed Circuit-steward. While Mr. Exley's labours of love were made a great blessing to the congregations that he addressed and the class that he led, they were not without fruit in his own household. Many of his children chose their father's God as theirs. It was his privilege and joy to give the site on which the village chapel stood; and both when he was strong in health, and when he was enfeebled by nearly four-score years, his presence in that chapel was always hailed with pleasure by his fellow-worshippers. Mr. Exley had been rather unwell for several weeks preceding his departure; but nothing serious was apprehended, and only two days before his death, he was able to walk out and transact some business. On the evening of that day he conducted family worship as usual, and then retired to rest; but, before the morning, he became seriously ill. In the forenoon of the ensuing day his class-leader had a very touching and interesting interview with him. One of his first expressions was, "I am going to leave you. I believe I am going to die." To his weeping family and friends around his bed, he said, "The Lord is with me, and He will never leave me. He has spared me to a good old age; and He has a right to do with me as it seems good to Him. Why should I want to stay here any longer, seeing that I have a heaven to go to, the city of the living God, the holy city?" He was beautifully tranquil, as one about to enter on a pleasant journey. He remarked, My peace flows like a river." His last act, just before his departure, was prayer for himself, his family, and the Church of God, concluding with the Lord's prayer. Soon after the weary wheels of life stood still. Mr. Exley, had he survived seven days more, would have completed his eightieth year. THOMAS DUNN.

The late MRS. NORMAN was born at Gamblesby, Penrith Circuit, in the year 1813. She had the advantage of being trained by a God-fearing mother, "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; " and she attended also the Methodist Sundayschool of the village, at that time under the genial influence of Mrs. Benson, (a relative of the late Rev. Joseph Benson,) an excellent Christian woman, long since entered into rest. Here she "received with meekness" the lessons of the Gospel, and became conscious of a Voice which she, like Samuel, scarcely recognised then, but knew afterwards to be that of the Lord calling her to Himself. She referred frequently in after-life to her early religious feelings; and gratefully acknowledged, in her own case, the Divine influence which so commonly moves on a young mind well trained, opening it gently to receive the Saviour, and laying a basis for the most intelligent and sustained piety in after years. Somewhat slowly did these impressions lead her forward to full decision. She spent her girlhood in the fear, rather than in the love, of God. But her sister, having embraced the salvation of the Gospel, she became uneasy about her own position, and calmly but firmly determined to give her heart to God. Accordingly, one evening, while alone in her own room, reading her Bible, and waiting before Him whom she sought, the renewing Spirit came down, and she rejoiced in His saving grace. Forthwith she secured for herself a place among God's people, which she steadily retained till called to join the triumphant host on high.

When twenty-four years of age, she was united in marriage to Mr. C. H. Norman, a devout and useful office-bearer in our Church; and, for nearly thirty years, proved herself to him a worthy helpmate. A woman's sphere of influence is her own domestic circle: where, retired from public view, with perhaps few incidents to gratify the zeal of the chronicler, or the curi osity of the outside world, she daily trains those whom Providence commits to her charge. Happy she who so discharges the duties of a mother with the wisdom and the zeal of a Christian! "Her price is above rubies," or the most precious dowry.

In this position Mrs. Norman appeared ever to be actuated and sustained by the Spirit of grace. Diligent, according to her opportunities, in attendance on the means of grace; enjoying greatly religious conversation and prayer, and making the various modes of social intercourse means of securing them; hospitable and loving to