cision the practicability of constructing a canal thereon, with the necessary locks; and also, as near as may be, to ascertain the expense of making the same.

Resolved, That Messrs. Isaac Mills, Eli Whitney, David C. De Forest, George Hoadley and Wm. H. Jones, be, and they are hereby appointed a committee, with full power to procure such a survey or surveys of the route, or routes for the proposed canal, as they shall judge expedient, and to provide means for defraying the expense of the same; and to do and perform all such other matters and things as they shall find necessary, regarding the proposed canal.

A true extract from the proceedings of said meeting.

Attest, WM. H. JONES, Secretary.

WILLIAM FINDLAY, Esq. has been chosen a Senator of the United States, by the Legislature of Pennsylvania.

WILLIAM PINKNEY, Esq. has been reelected a Senator of the United States, by the Legislature of Maryland.

A revolution seems to be strongly threatening Spain. Portugal, it is said, will be doomed to partake of the destinies of that Peninsula, of which she forms only a geographical fraction.

European flags continue to navigate the Archipelago without molestation from the hostile forces.

The Pope has issued a Bull against the Carbonari.

The Primate of Ireland and the Archbishop of Dublin have withdrawn their names from the Hibernian Bible Society-assigning as their reasons, that speakers introduce topics irrelevant to the

busmess of the Society; that the "meetings consist of a number of persons whose religious opinions are at variance with each other, and each person has a right to express, without check or controul, his own religious opinions in his own language. Under such circumstances, it is impossible to prevent observations being made which are injurious to the establishlished Church, and offensive to its members." The Secretary of the Society, in his answers states that the observations complained of never have been made in the Society, and expresses the regret of the Society that the Reverend gentlemen should withdraw their names and support.

Disappearance of a Mountain.-The Journal des Debats says-" An extraordinary event happened in the environs of Aubenas on the 15th of June last. A loud report was heard, during five or six minutes, to the extent of six miles round. The inhabitants knew not the cause; when a very high mountain, called Gerbier de Jone, at the foot of which springs the Loire, disappeared, and presented nothing but a lake. This mountain was high, and it was difficult to reach the top, at the extremity of which there was a fountain. The commotion was so strong, that it produced an earthquake for a space of five leagues in circumference."

Bonapartean Manuscripts.—A Paris paper says "A report is in circulation in London that the English government has secured to itself the inspection of all the manuscripts left by Bonaparte, without any regard to the persons in whose hands they might have been deposited. It is said even that Sir H. Lowe, Governour of St. Helena, has taken possession, temporarily, of all the papers of Napoleon, and has brought them with him to England."

For the Christian Spectator.

they are never more so than when his vietim is one at the meridian of life; the head of a numerous family; a spiritual teacher and guide to his fellow men. But from the simple monument to departed worth, which it is now proposed to erect, we trust it will be seen that in the present instance, mourning relatives and friends need not weep as those "who have no hope." They possess consoling evidence, that he whose death has caused their tears to flow, now sleeps in Jesus; that he has

been removed from scenes of labour and self-denial in the church below, to join the general assembly and church of the first

born.

Mr. Gray was born at Sharon, Aug. 8, 1784. Of his early history the writer of this article has no particular knowledge. He received his classical education at Williams College; where he took his first degree in 1809. Nothing can be stated with regard to the time and the circumstances of his first becoming savingly acquainted with the way of life and salvation. During the last year of his college life he made public profession of the religion of Christ, and united himself to the church at Hadley, Mass. For a considerable time previous to this he had indulged a hope of acceptance with God, and had been ranked among the decided friends of virtue and religion.

During the first year after his leaving college, Mr. Gray commenced a course of study preparatory to the christian ministry, in the Theological Seminary at Andover. At the close of this year his studies were in part interrupted by his being called to the office of tutor, in the seminary where he was educated. During the two years of his continuance in this office, he enjoyed the esteem and the confidence of the other members of the faculty, and received special tokens of the respect and affection of his pupils. It was in the latter part of this time that he obtained license to preach the gospel, and commenced his labours in the ministry of reconciliation. In January, 1813, a few months after Mr. Gray had taken his final leave of college, he began to preach in the first parish at Washington, then vacant by the removal of the Rev. Dr. Porter to a professorship in the Theological Seminary at Andover. After a short period of labour among this people, he received a call to settle with them in the work of the ministry, and was ordained their pastor, April 4. In Sept. 1815, he was, at his own request, dismissed by the South Consociation of Litchfield County, in good standing; and recommended to the churches.

After his removal from Washington, he journeyed into the western part of the State of New-York, and continued to labour in different places in that State and in New-England, till the spring of 1817, when Providence directed his course to Stafford. Here he found a people, whose condition was much better adapted to excite christian sympathy, than to enable them to hold out any very powerful inducements to a minister to settle among them. They had been for about two years destitute of the stated ministration of the word and ordinances of God; they were few and feeble, and besides, were in the midst of numerous and decided ene

mies, both to themselves and the cause of truth. They had, however, experienced not long before, a measure of the special influences of the Holy Spirit, attending the occasional religious instructions which had been enjoyed among them; they had become deeply sensible of the value of a stated ministry, partly from being long de prived of it, and hence were strongly desirous to have one set over them in the Lord. Still, after making the most commendable efforts, and engaging for the support of their minister, all which could reasonably be expected from them, they fell considerably short of the salary which they deemed it necessary to offer to the man of their unanimous choice. This deficiency was supplied by the kind and seaseasonable assistance of the Domestic Missionary Society of Connecticut, and the way thus prepared for this destitute and feeble flock to enjoy the blessing of a stated pastor.

The feelings of Mr. Gray, and the motives which influenced him to accept a call for settlement under circumstances so unpromising, may be best learnt by the following extract from his answer :

"You have seen fit to present me an invitation, unanimous on your part, to settin with you in the great work of the gospel ministry. And what answer, brethren, shall I make you? Looking at the incessant and arduous duties connected with the station to which you have called me; looking at the solemn and awful responsi bility attaching to that station, and at my own insufficiency and unworthiness, I must answer in the negative. But looking at your condition; your unanimous desire; the loud and imperious call of duty; the high obligation to follow the great Head of the Church, by all that self-denial which the gospel demands from its ministers: looking at the progress of error, and the multitude among you who are perishing; beholding the sackcloth of Zion in this place; observing the finger of God manifestly pointing me to this wide breach in the walls of our Jerusalem, though I tremble under the weight of an awful responsi bility, and shrink from what a worm cannot achieve, I cannot lay my hand on a heart devoted to the cause and the service of my Master, and shrink from duty: though of myself nothing, I cannot shrink from duty and be clear before God. Taking this view of things, I feel constrained, with affection and cheerfulness, to assure you of my determination to comply with your invitation, and the proposals which you have annexed. I am persuaded that as a society you have greatly exerted yourselves, and that it would be highly unjust, it would indeed be doing violence to my own feelings, to name a deficiency in point of generous and liberal views

were uniformity aud consistency. It is believed that he was, in a great measure, free from rapture and from despondency. In him was seen not the sudden glare of the comet, but the uniform and steady lustre of the sun. From the whole tenor of his conduct it seemed strongly impressed on his mind, that he was bound to live only for the glory of God, and was forming a character for eternity.

It is natural to inquire what were the feelings and the views of those who have left the world, in the near prospect of eternity. If such inquiries are made, with a principal design to form a judgment with what character these persons have appeared in the presence of God, and what reward they are receiving at his hands, they ought not to be too far indulged. It is by the conduct of men in their days of health that we must principally regulate our opinion, as to the estimation in which they are held by the Judge of all. In this view the sentiment expressed by the lamented President Dwight, on his death-bed, is unquestionably correct;- that the expressions of a dying man are of but little importance. With regard to Mr. Gray, it is sufficient to state, that in the last stages of his disorder, so far as could be learned from the few expressions which the violence of his disease allowed him to utter, his mind was, in a good degree, tranquil and serene; was in such a state as every rational creature ought to desire his mind to be in, when expecting soon to appear before God. He manifested a willingness to leave the dear people of his charge, and the church in general, in the hands of Him who is King in Zion. Through faith in him, who has said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee," he contemplated with composure the prospect, that his wife must soon become a widow and his children orphans. Through his distressing sickness no expressions of complaint, of uneasiness, or of anxiety were heard from him.

To one of his brethren in the ministry he declared, that he enjoyed, in good measure, the presence of God. He evidently felt, that his "everlasting arms" were underneath him; that his rod and his staff comforted him.

As a theologian and a minister of Christ, Mr. Gray has left to his survivors an example of sound and correct opinions respecting christian doctrine, and of great fidelity in his Master's service. In all his inquiries after religious truth, he manifested a decided determination to appeal to the Holy Scriptures as the only standard of faith. Hence his views of the doctrines of christianity were strictly evangelical and discriminating. No man thought more highly of what are styled the doctrines of grace; no one was accustomed to make more clear and accurate distinction,

between truth and error, and between him who serveth God, and him who serveth him not; no one was disposed to contend more earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to the saints." His public religious instructions were such as might be expected from the truths which formed his creed. The principal object aimed at in his sermons was, to reach the heart and the conscience of his hearers. His uniform endeavour was to unfold the character of the sinner to himself; to strip him of all his refuges of lies; to destroy his hiding places; to cause him to view himself as "guilty before God." He was a bold and fearless assertor of those traths which are most offensive to the camal heart, and which are often misrepresented and opposed. No one could give suitable attention to his discourses without learning from them, that men are naturally "dead in trespasses and sins:" that they must be renewed by the special and discriminating grace of the Holy Spirit; that, before they can be admitted to the kingdom of heaven, they must possess that "holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord."

Mr. Gray could not be styled a popalar preacher. His manner of writing was better adapted for discussion than for Jeclamation; better suited to inform and convince the understanding, than to awaken the feelings, or to touch the heart. His manner in the pulpit was also void of that vivacity, that vehemence and force, which give every public speaker great advantage, and which are essential to the highest eloquence. Still, however, his appearance in the desk and his delivery were grave and solemn; were characteristic of a man deeply impressed with the sense of the weight and importance of the message which he had to deliver, and realizing that his preaching was intimately connerted with the eternal interests of himself and of his hearers. He was assiduous and constant in the discharge of his ministerial duties; instant in season and out of season; willing to spend and be spent in his Master's service; never disposed to value his own strength or efforts, if he might do any thing for the advancement of the Redeemer's cause, and the salvation of perishing

men.

Though during the short period of his ministry at Stafford, no very signal success attended his labours, yet he had the hap piness to gather numbers into the church, who had previously been made subjects of grace, and to see his faithful efforts to maintain christian discipline in the family of Christ, attended with encouraging to kens for good. There is also ground to believe, that the good seed sown among that people by his hand, has taken root in some hearts, and begun to bring forth fruit

which will be forever to the praise of rich and sovereign grace.

That Mr. Gray had imperfections and faults cannot be doubted; but of these it is presumed no one was more fully sensible than himself. That he had violent struggles with his remaining corruptions, and strong desires to become more like his Father in heaven, was evident both from his frequent declarations, and from the uniform tenor of his conduct. With application to him it is believed by his brethren in the ministry, who feel themselves painfully bereaved by his death, and also by his other friends, that the language of inspiration may now be adopted; "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." N. A.

DIED, at the residence of the Rev. Dr. Lewis, in Greenwich, November 20, 1821, Miss ELIZABETH STILLSON, a native of Bethlem, Litchfield County. This Lady, through a natural sweetness of temper, was ever alive to all the tender sympathies of humanity, benevolent and affectionate to her friends and acquaintances. She possessed an active and distinguishing mind, an ardent thirst for literary improvement, which rendered her capable of the highest attainments in science. When in early life, she left the common school, she was enabled by the assistance of friends, for several seasons, to attend a school of a higher order. Here she made rapid advances in knowledge, which only served to increase her desires for still greater advantages. These, she enjoyed and improved in the most industrious manner, and ever after during her life, a deep conviction of the worth of time was fastened upon her mind. For these last advantages, she was wholly indebted to her own personal exertions, and defrayed the expenses, by engaging in the business of instructing youth. For this employment, she was eminently qualified, and in performing the arduous duties of an Instructor, spent a considerable part of the last three years of her life. While thus occupied, she had the satisfaction of seeing her pupils making daily advances in their various studies, and in those attainments, which enrich and adorn the mind. Her discipline was strict, yet managed with such wisdom and prudence, as always to secure to her the strong attachment of her scholars and the love of her employers.

But although her mind was furnished with abundant stores of the most useful knowledge, and her faculties uncommonly brilliant, so great was her modesty, that none knew her many accomplishments, but those who were capable of appreciating them, and were also her intimate friends.

Not

Still the most amiable trait of Miss Stillson's character remains to be noticed. It was her sincere piety. In early life, and more than six years before her death, she became the subject of renewing grace. Her convictions of her ruined, lost state, and of the evil of her many sins, were deep and pungent. She said, and felt that she was justly deserving of God's everlasting displeasure; and that nothing but his sovereign grace, through the merits of Jesus Christ, could rescue her from final perdition. At this time her distress was inexpressibly great. But after some weeks, it pleased God to renew her heart-to give her a sweet sense of the loveliness of his character-the glories of Christ, and the infinite fulness of his merits. These views inspired confidence in the Saviour, which issued in a humble hope of her interest in the blessings of the new covenant. withstanding the consolation which this hope gave her, so great was her jealousy of herself, and so deep her conviction of the solemn obligations of professing Christians, that it was near two years before she presumed to offer herself as a caudidate for communion with the visible church. Nor did she do this, without long and rigid self-examination, and fervent prayer to God, for direction and assistance. Her exercises on this occasion are minutely detailed in her journal, now in the hands of a surviving friend. Hav. ing thus publickly devoted herself to the service of her God and Saviour, she continued to adorn the christian profession until her death. Always modest and humble, she ever avoided all ostentation in religion: but on proper occasions, showed how much it engrossed all the affections of her soul. A few female christian friends, with whom she united in weekly meetings for prayer, and religious conversation, can attest the fervour of her devotions, and her zeal for the revival and extension of true religion. For the promotion of the last mentioned object, she was a liberal contributor. In ber school the Scriptures were daily read, and prayer attended. Her pupils are witnesses of ber unwearied exertions, not only to promote their improvement in science, but to impress on their minds, a sense of the infinite importance of remembering their Creator, in the days of their youth.

But although possessed of talents, native and acquired, which fitted her for distinguished usefulness; and a heart to improve them all to the divine glory, and the best good of her fellow beings, yet it pleased a holy, and all wise God to call her to himself, at the early age of twentyfour years. In her last sickness, which continued for twelve weeks, she complained, at some seasons, of darkness-of a want of clear views of spiritual things, and of sensible communion with her Re