to a variety of questions which I proposed to him, he gave me several very affecting accounts of his many perils and providential escapes, during the late war in the Peninsula. Walking onwards, and engaged in conversation, we met on the road another Sergeant, who had served in the same regiment, named M'CULLUM, of whom, and of his wife and son, my companion gave me the following interesting history.

A British officer was passing over the Guadarama mountains, on the road to France, seven leagues north of Madrid, on the 13th of October, 1809, accompanied by some other British officers and soldiers, (who, as well as himself, had fallen into the hands of the enemy after the battle of Talavera,) and by several Spanish prisoners of war; the whole being convoyed by a strong escort of French troops, cavalry and infantry. He perceived in the centre of the escort, a very interesting child, apparently seven years old, sitting with a Spanish female in a kind of cart The appearance of the boy indicated that he was not a native of a southern climate. This, together with a certain naiveté and playfulness in his manner, induced the officer to address him. Having spoken to him in Spanish, to which he made a suitable reply, to the no small surprise of the officer, he immediately afterwards addressed him in English. The officer enquired of the female who appeared to have the child under her care, where he had learned to speak the English language. She replied, that this boy was born in Scotland;-that his father, who had been a Sergeant in the 42d Highland regiment, and had served the year before in the British army under SIR JOHN MOORE, was killed at the battle in front of Corunna, previously to which, on the retreat of the British troops from Lugo, his mother, together with the child, had been left behind, sick, in the hospital at Lugo;-that she fell a victim to disease;-and that this boy, her child, was found in the hospital, in an abandoned and wretched condition, by the French officer of Dragoons, who happened at this moment to command the cavalry that conveyed the prisoners on their way to France. When an opportunity offered, the British officer introduced the subject to the French Commandant. He corroborated the story related by the Spanish lady, who, it appeared, was his mistress. He then mentioned the circumstance to his brother-officers, who, as well as himself, endeavoured to prevail on the French officer to give up the child to his naturs protectors: But all their arguments and entreaties were in vain; for he was so much attached to the boy, that he would not part with him on any account.

At this period, the manners of the child were extremely interesting; and he could speak four languages with no small degree of fluency. French he acquired from the French officer; Germ from the officer's' servant, who happened to be of the Saxon

Contingent; Spanish from the female, who could not speak a word of French; and he still retained a knowledge of his mothertongue.

They travelled together for three weeks longer towards the French frontier; and on their arrival at Tolosa, thirty miles south of Bayonne, the French Commandant received orders to conduct the Spanish prisoners of war to the fortress of Pamplona; while the British wounded, who had fallen into the hands of the enemy, in the hospital, after the battle of Talavera, were ordered to prosecute their march to France. However, the road to Pamplona being intercepted by the Spanish Guerillas, it was necessary that the French officer should restore the communication at the head of a large force. In the meantime, he left his establishment at Tolosa, until it might be prudent to order it to rejoin him; but the Spanish lady, on account of her living with a French officer, so much dreaded the resentment of her countrymen, that, in a few days after his departure, she fled, and deserted the child whom he had left in her charge. In about a month after this period, CAPTAIN (now LIEUT. COLONEL) H., of the Dragoons, passing through Tolosa in his way to Verdun, providentially heard that there was an English boy in the town, in a destitute and forlorn condition. He immediately took the child under his protection; and hearing that the above-mentioned British officer had received a passport to return to England, and being anxious that he should convey some letters to his family, ventured to proceed to Paris. Here the officer again recognized his little travelling-companion, who recollected him immediately. He prevailed on CAPTAIN H. to allow him to take the boy to England. Before leaving the French metropolis, CAPTAIN H. gave the officer a letter, addressed to HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS the DUKE OF YORK, the founder of the Military Asylum; and another to the MARQUIS OF HUNTLEY, Colonel of the regiment in which the father of the boy had served. On arriving in London, he lost no time in delivering those letters, and soon afterwards was, together with the child, honoured with an interview by HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS, who was very much pleased with the boy, took him in his arms, and spoke to him in French and German, to which the little fellow made prompt and suitable replies. HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS was pleased to make every necessary arrangement for the boy's admission into the Royal Military Asylum, with as little delay as possible.

LORD HUNTLEY, on the receipt of CAPTAIN H.'s letter, immediately wrote to the Colonel of the 1st Battalion of the 42d regiment, then quartered at Canterbury, to make enquiry if the child had any friends living in Scotland. In a few days afterwards, (it being necessary to procure the MARQUIS OF HUNTLEY'S signature to some papers, previous to the boy's admission into

the Asylum,) the officer, together with his little protege, was proceeding to Richmond-House for the above purpose, when, on reaching Charing-Cross, he perceived a soldier, in the Highland uniform, walking before him. He quickened his pace, and soon overtook this man, who happened to serve in the 42d regiment. Having enquired of him, if he had been acquainted with Sergeant M'CULLUM, of his regiment, who was killed the year before at Corunna; he replied, "Sir, I did not know any man of that name, who was killed: but will you be so good, Sir, as to tell me why you have asked that question?" "Because," said the Officer, pointing out to him the boy, "that is his child, whom I found in Spain." "Oh, Sir," said he, rushing over to the boy, "he is my child!—JAMIE! don't you know me?" The scene that took place may be more easily conceived than described. The feelings depicted in the countenance, and evinced in the manner of this soldier, on the sudden discovery of his long-lost child, affected the officer so much, that he was obliged to retire to the first shop that presented itself, to give vent to his emotion. In a short time they proceeded to Richmond-House, where, after having presented the boy to LORD HUNTLEY, he related to his Lordship the discovery he had just made, and the extraordinary circumstance attending it. On the soldier being brought forward, he delivered a letter to LORD HUNTLEY from COLONEL STIRLING, then commanding the 1st Battalion of the 42d regiment at Canterbury. In this letter, COLONEL STIRLING stated, (in reply to that which LORD HUNTLEY had written to him two days before,) that he was happy to inform his Lordship, that the man alluded to, in his letter relative to the orphan boy of the regiment, was not killed, but received a severe wound at Corunna, from which he recovered, and was the bearer of that letter, and he had sent the soldier to town without making him acquainted with the object of his journey. It thus appeared, that this soldier was then in the act of proceeding to Richmond-House, with this letter to LORD HUNTLEY, when the officer fell in with him. In a few days, the boy was admitted into the Royal Military Asylum. His kind protector and he parted from each other with mutual regret, and at the moment of separation he wept so bitterly, that the officer was obliged to make use of a stratagem to get away from him. In looking over that noble establishment, the Royal Military Asylum, which does so much honour to HiS ROYAL HIGHNESS the DUKE OF YORK, as its founder, the portrait of HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS attracted the earnest attention of his young companion, who exclaimed, "That is the picture of the gentleman who was so kind to me the other day." While he was contemplating the painting, the officer took the opportunity of stealing away from him unperceived.

Sergeant M'CULLUM is a Pensioner, resident at Kilmarnock.

His son, for whose preservation the kind and gracious hand of Providence interposed in the very remarkable manner above stated, is now a soldier in the 42d regiment, at present stationed in Ireland, and was lately here on furlow, to visit his father and other relatives.

Kilmarnock, Aug. 4, 1821.

THE GRACE OF GOD MANIFESTED..

T. R.

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF MRS. ANN DAVIS, LATE WIFE OF THE REV. JOHN DAVIS; BY HER HUSBAND.

Through the mercy of God, my late dear wife was acquainted with divine things almost from infancy. At an early age she lost her pious father, and was left, together with three other children, to the care of an affectionate mother: but such was her steadiness of conduct, that, although only a child, she became at once the comfort of her surviving parent, and the counsellor and guide of the other children. When she was about seventeen years of age, she became a member of the Methodist Society, in the spiritual privileges of which she greatly rejoiced during the remainder of her life; nor was it long, after the commencement of her connexion with the people of Gon, before she obtained "redemption through the blood of CHRIST, even the forgiveness of sins." Though her mind was sometimes in heaviness through severe and complicated afflictions, yet she retained her confidence in GoD, and an assurance of his favour, to the termination of her life. In 1807 she was married, and went with her husband to the Helstone Circuit, in the county of Cornwall. Here she spent two comfortable years: but it was at this place, that the foundation of much subsequent affliction was laid, by sleeping in a damp bed, at the house of a friend in the country, where she had been invited. These afflictions she constantly bore with great patience and resignation to the Divine Will, and though they in a great measure rendered her unfit for the toils and difficulties incident to an itinerant life, yet a murmur was seldom or never heard to escape from her lips.

In November last, the typhus fever, which was awfully prevalent in Macclesfield for some months, attacked four of our children. During their severe illness, her watching and weariness were incessant; and no expostulation could induce her to relax her exertions for their recovery. "O," said she, under the tender impulse of a mother's love, "if I could but see them all together again round our table, how thankful should I be." This wish she realized with great pleasure, but enjoyed it only for a short time; for, although her strength appeared to be renewed during the illness of the children, her health soon began to fail. It was

hoped, however, at the commencement of her indisposition, that, through the blessing of God, she would soon rise above it; yet every day she grew worse, till, borne down by fever and frequent delirium, she sunk into the arms of death.

Under the affliction of her children, her mind was exceedingly tranquil and happy. She frequently spoke of the kindness of the LORD to her, and hoped that she should be able to bow to whatever might be the will of GoD concerning her: yet, when she had occasion to speak of any thing future, she would, with great feeling, advert to the uncertainty of human life, and the necessity of being continually prepared for all events.

On taking her bed, she said, "Yesterday I was considerably dejected; but the LORD applied to my mind that passage of Holy Scripture, which has supported me: 'Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion upon the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee:' and here I rest as to the result."

Soon after this, her disorder deprived her of her hearing, so that it was with the utmost difficulty her friends could hold any conversation with her. On one occasion she was importunate to know the opinion of her medical attendant; and being told, in writing, that he thought there was some danger, she burst into tears, and with a look expressive of the deepest concern, exclaimed, "O my six children!" Her husband wrote again, earnestly requesting her to compose herself; and added, “The LORD will be your kind and almighty friend, therefore put your trust in him." She read this note with less agitation than the former; and on coming to the last sentence, exclaimed, with uncommon carnestness, "Yes, that I will; though thou slay me, yet will I trust in thee." On the following night, while she was sitting up in bed, and her husband kneeling by her side, she looked upon him with great affection, and gave him a clear and striking epitome of the plan of salvation by the death and merit of the LORD JESUS CHRIST; and then said, "Am I right, my dear?" Having given her to understand his full assent, he added, "There is no salvation, either from sin here, or hell hereafter, but by CHRIST, as the atonement for a lost world: and as this salvation is full and free, you may rest your whole soul upon it." She then paused, as if she were trying herself, and solemnly reviewing every part of her life and experience; and then said, "Well, my dear, you know I have always endeavoured to be a sincere and steady Christian; I never knew much of flashes, (meaning raptures of joy,) but flashes, you know, are not indispensably necessary." She uttered these words with great sweetness, and with placidity of countenance; and some time after, said, "O how unfaithful have I been! I used to read the Scriptures every day, and, when I was in Sheffield, MR. WESLEY'S

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