one or other of his kind friends about him reading aloud. The Holy Scriptures, especially the Epistles to Timothy, and Owen on the 130th Psalm, he greatly enjoyed. On several passages he made impressive comments, as suited to his own case, or demanding the serious attention of those near him. Meanwhile the disease (peritonitis) rapidly progressed, and he was soon unequal to converse with his friends. Many were anxious to visit him, when the alarming nature of his illness became known,-but perfect quiet being enjoined, he saw no friends during the last few days, until a short time before his death, except the friends with whom he resided, and now and then a deacon.

To one of his deacons, Mr. Coles, whose great and kind attentions greatly comforted him, and in whose family circle he was never looked upon as "a stranger or a guest, but as a child at home," he said, among other things shortly before his death: "My love to you, my love to your family,—my love to your wife, my love to the church,my love to all." It was not until the day before his death (Thursday, Nov. 9th,) that our friend and those around him realized the prospect of an early and fatal termination of his then augmented sufferings. He received the intimation with perfect composure, neither fear nor doubt appeared to agitate his mind for one moment. His hopes were fixed on the only sure foundation; and in spiritual affairs he had "nothing to do but to die." Without delay he began to "set his house in order" as to things temporal, saying, "I have not a moment to lose fetch me my papers." This was done: then, being raised up in his bed, he proceeded, with surprising energy, to arrange them for preservation or destruction, deciding on each parcel by simply placing it on the right hand or the left, and saying, "This, keep," or, "This, burn:" till the task was ended. The calm Christian dignity and perfect composure with which this his last work on earth was performed will not be soon

forgotten. While he felt that his minutes were numbered, and that the sun just then setting would rise on him no more, he yet continued his arduous task of arranging his affairs; and having dictated to a friend his last will, he sank exhausted on his pillow. After a short time he revived a little, and grasping the hand of his friend, said, with a look of ineffable sweetness, "Thank you, thank you for all your kindness to me." This friend having remarked that he would "be the first to welcome his aged and beloved mother to heaven," he said, "Yes! yes! she will feel this deeply." The dying minister then took leave of the daughters of the friend just alluded to, (from whose communication to the writer many extracts are inserted in this paper,) affectionately exhorting them to "live to Christ." Life then ebbed very fast, and he was only able, from continued sickness and pain, to utter a few sentences at intervals; and at length was able only to express his sympathy with what was addressed to him by the uplifting or pressure of the hand.

The faculties of our dear friend were unimpaired to the last, and it was evident, from several of the last words he uttered, that the beloved people of his charge were on his heart, when on the point of winging his happy flight to "Glory! glory! glory!" After lying in a state of unconsciousness for some time, he suddenly rallied, looked at the friends watching around his bed, and said, "Good bye! good bye!" He then closed his eyes, and fell asleep in Jesus, at four o'clock in the morning of Friday, 10th Nov., in the tenth year of his ministry, and the thirty-sixth year of his age.

The sabbath immediately following the decease of Mr. Jones was one of peculiar solemnity, and will long be remembered, as exhibiting a deeply affecting proof of the sorrow which filled the hearts of all who were accustomed to hear his voice. The psalmist said he was "so troubled that he could not speak," and during the morning service of the sabbath referred to, the songs of praise were cele

brated by scarcely any except those in the organ-loft,-while almost all the congregation, oppressed beyond expression, bowed down their heads like bulrushes. Our lamented friend was interred in the Portsmouth cemetery on the following Friday; and it was calculated that not less than 2,000 persons assembled on the occasion. May all who knew him, and especially all who were accustomed to hear his voice, profit abundantly by

this affliction, and personally ponder two of his last selected texts, which were very remarkable: "My life is as the wind,"—and, "Remember how short my time is." The Rev. Thomas Adkins, of Southampton, preached the funeral sermon of our late friend, on the evening of the day of interment, to a deeply affected and overflowing congregation. I. L.

Mont Repos, near Southampton.

So obvious is the practical value of missionary prayer-meetings, and so rarely are they omitted by Christian societies, as to render any defence of them quite superfluous. But the cold neglect with which they are frequently regarded presents a sad contrast, a painful contradiction to the general admission of their wisdom and worth. Judging by the attendance at these services, it might be supposed that few exercises were deemed less obligatory or equally unattractive; and, to say the least, it demonstrates but too clearly the low estimate which many have formed of them, and the slight hold they have taken upon their hearts.

Now this state of things, with the causes to which it may be traced and the means of its correction, demands the careful consideration of Christians and ministers; for it is, doubtless, one that dishonours God, and misrepresents the dispensation of mercy which he has established; one that indicates most affectingly the weakness or the want of religious principle and feeling in many professed followers of Him who was "full of compassion;" and one, moreover, of evil augury to our country and to the heathen, to the Church and to the World. So long, indeed, as it continues, our hope of any great increase of religious power at home, and, as a consequence, of the spread of Christianity

among all nations, must be languid and

remote.

But, however disposed we may be to yield to this depressing conviction, when we consider how many seem to restrain prayer before God, who might have such power with him and with man, as to prevail in obtaining his interposition, and thus in making Jerusalem a praise in the earth, we have at least this one encouragement, that, to a considerable extent, the remedy is in our own hands. This is especially the case with Christian pastors, who, more than any other class, may contribute to a result, so anxiously, so intensely to be desired.

This conclusion may be established both by general reasoning, and by numerous facts.

It is very evident, that, under God, the attendance at missionary prayermeetings, and the interest felt in these services, will materially depend upon the views previously formed by those who engage in them in regard to the world's salvation, and the strength of their desire to promote it. Hence, as a general rule, the preparation of the people for these devout engagements will accord with the spirit and instructions of their pastor. Let that spirit, and those instructions be such as we have described in former papers, and there will be no lack of right principle and feeling in

our churches. For is it conceivable that Christians could come into close and frequent contact with the ardent zeal, the cogent reasonings, and the stirring appeals of a pastor, sincerely concerned and earnestly endeavouring to awaken in their hearts a love to the missionary cause as intense as that which glows within his own, and not be thereby prepared and prompted to pray and work and give for its promotion? To a minister thus labouring,-to people thus influenced, the place where prayer is wont to be made for a dying world will have a peculiar interest and an attractive power. Both, desiring a common end, and conscious of a common dependence, will be constrained to approach together the God of the whole earth with the importunate cry, "Thy kingdom come." And to prove that this state of things, so inconceivably important, is attainable, we need only refer to facts. And whatever explanation may be given of them, certain it is that there are cases in which ministers have succeeded in securing a large, constant, and deeply-interested attendance at these devotional meetings, and, moreover, the instances of this kind are sufficiently numerous to sustain the belief that, by the use of similar means, others might ensure the same results.

In confirmation of this conviction, nothing more is necessary than to trace the proceedings of such pastors with a view to ascertain the secret of their

success.

Now this will not be discovered in rare talents or remarkable tact. On the contrary, individuals might be named who, though eminent for their intellectual endowments, and their influence over other minds, have utterly failed in creating amongst those to whom they minister that ardent desire for the world's salvation which is necessary to the full proof of their ministry, and to the consistent development of the Christianity of their flocks. And why is this? The explanation is at hand. The evil has arisen mainly from the absence of those manifestations, and the neglect of those

means, which have secured the success of less gifted brethren, and which are absolutely requisite in all.

But while such cases are extremely painful, and should constrain some ministers to institute the inquiry why their superior endowments and much-admired productions have effected less for the cause of Christian evangelism than the ministrations of other men of inferior mental power, they suggest to all this encouragement, that spiritual success is far less dependent upon intellectual superiority than upon the faithful use of means which any devoted minister may employ with comparative ease and the best results.

What, then, it may be asked, are the methods by which ministers may best create and sustain among their people such a devout interest in Christian missions, as will draw them together in greater numbers, and, with enlarged hearts, on those hallowed occasions, when the cause of unenlightened and unsanctified millions is to be presented before God. These inquiries should deeply interest, as they materially concern, every man who has consecrated himself to the service of the sanctuary. But, however important, they are easily answered. Aud what has already been stated on these points will sufficiently show that the reliance of the present writer is not upon any extraordinary methods. Efforts of this class seldom succeed. Generally speaking, they are the resort, and the indication of weakness, and serve rather to increase than to obviate the evil in which they originate. Nor need we tax our inventive faculty, or deviate from the beaten path to discover a more excellent way than that which some are now pursuing with success. No special means, no high pressure, no unnatural strain, no eccentric course is requisite to render the missionary prayer - meeting what it ought to be. Ordinary means are amply sufficient. The machinery is good its only want is moving power. The body is well formed, and were it but animated by a quickening spirit, its

Now that this may be done is evident from the fact that it has been done. Of this we shall now furnish one instance. But this is selected from others, chiefly because the circumstances in which it occurred, and the means which proved successful were marked by no speciality. In these respects the case was altogether an ordinary one. It is that of a moderatesized congregation, in a small country town, where neither the minister nor the people were characterised by any very striking peculiarity. He was not wiser, nor were they better than their brethren. Nor was there aught in the position which could be deemed unusually favourable to the development of a missionary spirit. On the contrary, the congregation had, for a long course of years, been singularly deficient in missionary zeal, and, judging from the past, the soil appeared to be as hard to break up, and as bad to cultivate, as could be found in the same section of the church. But a missionary prayer-meeting marked, and indeed formed an era in the history of that people, alike important to themselves and to the cause of the Redeemer. This was a service which they expected with pleasure, which they frequented in numbers far exceeding the usual attendance at week-day worship, and which proved the means, not merely of bringing forth silver and gold to more than thrice the amount previously contributed to the missionary cause, but of remoulding the character of the congregation, and constraining not a few, who had previously done little for missions, freely to give and to labour in every good word and work.

Such a case deserves investigation, because it is believed that similar means will almost invariably secure similar results.

Here, then, it must be premised that the attractiveness and efficiency of these meetings were not produced by any deviation from the order generally observed on similar occasions. Short and appro

from Scripture constituted the staple of the service. Whence, then, did it derive its interest and its influence? The reply is, in the first place, from the previous endeavours of the pastor to form those principles, and to foster that spirit in his flock which would call forth their deep commiseration for the heathen, and their devout desire that they might be saved. Missionary subjects were not unfrequently discussed from the pulpit; and on such occasions it was his earnest aim to set the condition of mankind, and the claims of Christ, largely and luminously before his people, and to form their characters upon the evangelical model, by wakening up in their hearts that compassion for dying men, and that concern for the honour of God, which could not but constrain them to pray and strive for the world's conversion.

But, in the second place, he did his best and his utmost to render these services instructive, impressive, and useful. Convinced that dulness does not aid devotion, he aimed to infuse spirit and life into all their parts. With this view, he selected suitable passages of Scripture and hymns, and inculcated upon those who were the mouth of their brethren to God, the necessity of point and brevity. And, generally speaking, they were too wise and well instructed to be diffuse and wearisome. Satisfied that such sacred exercises brought their minds into that state which rendered them peculiarly susceptible of the best impressions, it was his fixed purpose to avail himself, as fully as possible, of so favourable an opportunity for imparting that knowledge, and inculcating those obligations, which might best foster the zeal, and increase the devotedness of those present. Of course, he was rarely absent on these occasions. No cause less urgent than that which would have kept him out of his pulpit, detained him from this prayer-meeting. And, in this respect, his example had considerable influence. It was a constant evidence of the high estimate in which he held this service. But he was not

only present at it; throughout the preceding month he kept it in view, and did what he could to collect such intelligence as would interest his people in missionary work, and thus promote his object. But, if other sources failed him, the Annual Report and Missionary Magazine were generally found sufficient. These, however, were not merely read. Had no more been done than this, it is certain that the result would have been widely different. He, therefore, carefully considered, and, in some instances, closely studied the communications in those important but oft-neglected publications; and from these stores he was generally able to select ample material for an instructive and stirring address. But these selections were not presented in a bare and bald form. They were interwoven with facts and sentiments calculated to render them more interesting and effective. Generally, they were preceded by some remarks respecting the people to which they related, or by a rapid sketch of the history of missionary operations amongst them, and, while lengthened comments were eschewed, brief amplifications, deductions, and enforcements were interspersed with and followed these readings. Such remarks were not only indications of the earnest interest which the minister took in missions, but they were the conductors of his own emotions to those who heard him.

In all this there was nothing remarkable or difficult. But the result was in a high degree beneficial. It informed the minds of the people, fed their devotions, quickened their zeal, and made them liberal. And it is believed that, whenever ministers earnestly endeavour to make the missionary prayermeeting attractive and influential, similar success will result from and reward their efforts.

The preceding remarks show that the writer attaches considerable importance to what is usually termed "the address," which forms a part of these engagements. And this is true, when its substratum

consists of missionary intelligence, and the spirit which pervades it is such as accords with the object and the occasion. The plea is sometimes urged by pastors that the Missionary Report and Magazine, to which they are not unfrequently shut up for the information they desiderate, are already in the hands of so many of their flock as to preclude them from its use. But, however plausible this objection, it is without force. For, in the first place, the number in any congregation, of whom this statement may be made, is comparatively small, and were it therefore true that this minority were previously familiar with the published communications from our missionaries, surely this is no reason why the less fortunate majority should be deprived of the same privilege. But the supposition seldom applies to more than a mere fraction of those who attend these services. And the few who have seized the earliest opportunity of ascertaining what God is doing amongst the heathen, show, by their eager interest in this great subject, that they will not object to the repetition of what they had previously read.

But here it is necessary to repeat that mere selections, if simply, still more if coldly read, will not sustain the interest of the people, or leave upon their minds any deep and durable impression. The varied, and many of them most instructive, scenes and sketches contained in the published correspondence of our missionaries, deserve a different mode of presentation. They are worthy of being fitly framed, and so placed before the people as to bring out not merely their general subject, but all their most striking and effective features. They should, moreover, be illuminated; not, indeed, with false or fancy colouring, such as would have suited the monks and missals of a mediæval age, but with Heaven's own strong and truth-disclosing light. And moreover, the objects brought into view ought not to be allowed to glide rapidly away, like April shadows across the plain, or moving figures on the disk of a camera obscura; but they should