that time I have been walking with religious people, and have endeavoured to serve God. Before I was made a class-leader I often went about and talked to my country people concerning the way of salvation, and I believe, through my instrumentality, some of them have been brought to a saving knowledge of the Gospel; part of them are in heaven, and some of them are still on earth; and although I am now removed far away from my class-members through sickness, still my heart is with them." By the advice of some of her friends, Mrs. Lumpkin removed to the village of Waterloo, a few weeks before her death. Shortly before she left Freetown for that purpose, her husband, while conversing with her upon religious subjects, reminded her of the importance of prayer, and of a constant looking to God. In reply, our departed sister said, "I wish to pray without ceasing, and all my trust is in Jesus." For a few days after Mrs. Lumpkin reached Waterloo, she thought herself better, but the improvement was of short duration. On the 4th of July her eldest son, Mr. Henry Lumpkin, Junr., paid her a visit, and expressed the hope that his mother would continue to hold fast to that religion which she had so long professed. She replied, "You must not be afraid about that; I have been kept steadfast for above thirty years, and will not give up now." Mr. Randle, our school teacher at Waterloo, also called to see our dear sister during her stay at that place; to use his own words, "No sooner did she hear my voice than she at once invited me to come in." I did so; and, having asked the state of her soul under her long illness, she said, in reply, "I have suffered much from a severe pain in the body, and many times have been troubled to get rest; but in the midst of all Christ has been the hope of glory within me, and in Him I put all my trust." On another occasion, in reply to a similar question, she said, "Ah, brother, I am in a great battle this night, and the pain is 80 great upon me, that I doubt whether I shall get over this sickness." I then enquired if she found Christ to be precious to her; she said, "Oh, yes, Christ is very precious to my soul-'His love is sweeter than honey and the honey-comb;' and, as Jesus was with the Hebrew children when they were in the furnace, so He has been with me." On the 13th of July, 1863, Mrs. Lumpkin becoming much worse, a boat was disp atched to Freetown for her husband; and, as the evening approached, it became evident to those who were with her that death was near at hand. Mr. Randle, fearing that her mind would be disturbed, in consequence of the non-arrival of her husband and family, expressed a hope that she was willing to commit them into the hands of God; she replied, "I have already given them up to Him; I look only to Christ who is the Rock of my salvation, and my all in all." A few minutes before her death she said, "Now, my mind is fixed on Christ-I am going home;" and, while leaning upon the arm of one of her friends, she fell asleep in Jesus, and entered into the joy of her Lord, July 14th, 1883. " Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven." Recent Death. DIED in the Lord, Feb. 26, 1864, Mr. SILAS SOUTHERN, of the Lever Street Circuit, Manchester. Very many years a class leader, and local Preacher, he was greatly esteemed for his usefulness in the Church of Christ. He passed triumphantly away, from the changing scenes of the present life, at 71 years of age, to a glorious reward. T 66 A POOR SERMON. Miscellaneous. A YOUNG man had been preaching in the presence of a venerable divine, and after he had done he went to the old minister, and said, "What do you think of my sermon ?" "A very poor sermon, indeed," said he. 66 A poor sermon?" said the young man; "it took me a long time to study it." Ay, no doubt of it." Why, did you not think my explanation of the text a very good one ?" "Oh, yes," said the aged preacher, "very good, indeed." Well, then, why do you say it is a poor sermon? Will you tell me why you think it is a poor sermon ?" "Because," said he, "there was no Christ in it." "Well," said the young man, "Christ was not in the text; we are not to be preaching Christ always, we must preach what is in the text." The old man replied, "Don't you know, young man, that from every town, and from every village, and from every 66 hamlet in England, wherever it may be, there is a road to London?" "Yes," said the young man. "Ah," said the old divine," and so from every text in Scripture there is a road to the metropolis of the Scriptures, that is Christ. And, my dear brother, your business is, when you get to a text, to say,' Now, what is the road to Christ?' and then preach a ser mon running along the road towards the great metropolis, Christ. "And I have never yet found a text that had not a road to Christ in it; and if I ever do find one that has not a road to Christ in it, I will make one;-I will go over hedge and ditch, but I will get at my Mas ter; for the sermon cannot do any good unless there is a savour of Christ in it."-A Welsh Minister. AVOID SIN. Do not venture on sin, because Christ hath purchased a pardon; that is a most horrible abuse of Christ.-Dr. Annesley. Poetry, CHASTISEMENT. I HAVE been dumb, and held my peace, Shall mortal man, corrupt within, Complain that Thou dost visit sin? Thou didst it Lord. This sorrow came Obedient to Thy will: Thy hands have made me; oh! in wrath I will be silent at Thy awful throne; Lord, Thou hast fashioned me: Thy will be done. Thou didst it: Thou whose heart of love Who passed through mortal life, and bore Death's deepest agony: How can I murmur or complain, When Jesus suffered grief and pain ? Thou didst it; who art watching now Will hold me, and stand nigh: I will not struggle with the knife Thou didst it, who art gone on high, Shall I rebel against the love That fits me for my home above? Ah no! e'en through this load of fears To thank Thee for the boundless grace But I am weak, and cannot always say, Put a new song within my lips, I give Thee up my inmost heart, Take to Thee there, at least, Thy power and reign; Religious Intelligence.—United Methodist Free Churches. AUSTRALIA;-BRISBANE. DEAR SIR,-As it is only a few months since I wrote you a full account of our position and progress, I have not at present anything of very special interest to communicate, except that we have been holding Anniversary Services, in order to reduce the Chapel debt, or rather, to raise the interest now due on that debt. As the land was purchased twelve months since, twenty pounds was due as interest, besides about eleven pounds on borrowed money, since the erection of the Chapel in March. On Sabbath morning Dec. 6th, the venerable Rev. N. Turner, Wesleyan, who for more than forty years has been engaged in the Mission field, preached for us. The subject of his discourse was "The purifying influences of Christian hope," a very impressive and eloquent sermon. I occupied the pulpit in the evening, preaching from the text, "Behold, I lay in Zion, for a foundation" &c. The following Thursday we held our Tea and Public The Meeting. It was a general holiday, CAMELFORD CIRCUIT. MR. EDITOR,Many of the readers of our Magazine, well know the little town of Boscastle, surrounded by such bold and beautiful scenery ;-sitting between the picturesque hills, as in an easy chair, receiving the homage of old ocean, that rols his tides twice every day to wash its feet. Here the late T. P. Roseveare, Esq., lived, who was a devoted friend to the Connexion; here also his beloved widow now lives, and stands second to none in the Connexion, for her love to God's cause, and the ministers of the cross. Age and infirmity have confined her to her house for some time, which affords a striking contrast to her active life; but her heart is much cheered by the present prosperity of the Church in Boscastle. Here God revives His work, and many souls are being saved; special services are held in the Bible Christian Chapel, and our own have been crowned with much good. Near one hundred souls have found mercy, old and young. Some forty have already united in class with us, about the same number with the Bible Christians here, and others have joined classes in the neighbourhood. An old man, whom I invited to the penitent form one Monday night, came, sought, and found mercy, served his Saviour one week, then passed suddenly away to heaven. "Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire ?" And is this not worth more than all the efforts put forth? We still continue the services. I preached on Friday night to the largest congregation we have yet seen on the week nights. Two men came forth to seek salvation; one had been a most notorious character, said to be one of the vilest; but sinner as he was, Christ saved him, and the song of praise burst forth from lips unacustomed to praise God! I asked him if he would stand forth, and tell the congregation what God had done for his soul. He at once declared, that God had par doned all his sins, and made his soul happy; he earnestly entreated others to come, and Christ would save them! Very soon his poor wife came and knelt just where her husband had found Christ; she cried to God from the depths of her distress, and He who saved her husband, saved her! They shook hands and praised God amid the deep emotions of the people. The work seems to be deepening and spreading; we have had no noise, no confusion; all has been in perfect order. For very many years, little or no success seemed to crown the efforts put forth here; the Church was so cold, so lifeless, that the friends were discou raged. But now, how completely altered is the aspect of the whole Church! We exclaim with holy joy, "What hath God wrought ?" "It is the Lord's doing, and marvellous in our eyes." O that fire from heaven may fall on every frozen society! To this many will say, Amen. STEPHEN DAVIES. March 9th, 1864. CARLISLE. MR. EDITOR,-We have just been holding our Missionary Anniversary, and truly we have had a refreshing season. Last Sabbath, February 28th, Sermons were preached to excellent congregations by the Rev. Anthony Holiday, of Gateshead. The morning sermon was a masterly discourse on Jehovah's reign in the world; in the evening we had a thrilling sermon on Ezekiel's vision; both discourses none who were privileged to hear are likely soon to forget. On the Monday fol lowing, the Missionary Meeting was held, presided over by C. Hodyson, Esq., Mayor of this city. After the Secretary had read an encouraging report, setting forth, among other things, that, in the matter of increased funds, this Circuit had fully realized the anticipations cherished a year ago; the Rev. J. A. Bastow (Primitive Methodist Minister) spoke ably on mission work, and was followed by two Mr. other ministers in the town. Holiday gave an account of incidents occurring in the foreign mission field during the past year, &c., &c., in a lucid and most interesting manner. Our minister, Mr. Hirst, moved the re-appointment of Officers and Committee for the next year, and thus concluded services which cannot but have a good effect on the future operations of this auxiliary. On the Tuesday evening, the deputa. tion and Mr. Hirst attended another meeting at Dalston, presided over by Mr. Harrison, one of our circuit stewards, and favoured the society there with excellent speeches. It is pleasing to add that there are cheering signs that the mission funds this year will not only equal, but most probably surpass, those of last year. CHARD CIRCUIT. W. L. THE friends of Free Methodism and of Jesus, will be pleased to hear of what the Lord has done and still is doing in our midst. Before the last Assembly, clouds of discouragement rolled over us, and some were ready to say, the Lord hath forsaken us; but the Church prayed that the Lord would be pleased to send one of His own servants, and make him a blessing throughout the Circuit. Brother Pinch being appointed by the Assembly, we received him as one sent in answer to prayer. He commenced his labours in Chard, and the first Sabbath evening God was pleased to put His seal to the work, by turning "a poor sinner from darkness to light;" from that time to the present the good cause has progressed. The brethren are united and happy, and all are cheerfully co-operating with their respected and beloved minister in carrying on the work of the Lord. The classes are replenished, a class formed of twenty-three members, and many are waiting for the troubling of the waters, to step in and be made whole. To God be all the praise. new Last October, the Society at Beer commenced Cottage Prayer Meetings at six in the morning, and to pray for the outpouring of the blessed Spirit on their village. They had not prayed long before the droppings of the shower descended, and the most glorious results have followed: the Church is quickened, backsliders restored, sinners converted, and very many under deep impressions; and it is not unusual to see nearly three hundred at a weeknight service. May the blessed Spirit still work, until every soul in the village is saved. At Beanscombe, about two miles distance, a glorious revival has taken place. One Sabbath evening in November last, the Holy Spirit was pleased to operate upon the souls of the people, so that they cried for mercy in the Chapel, and very many have been brought to the Lord, and have joined the Church for the Lord's sake. Amongst the number is a blind man, who is so happy in the love of Jesus, that he has become quite a missionary in the village, going from house to house exhorting and offering prayer. Persons from a distance, who came to the Revival Services, got their hearts changed, and have returned to their homes, and joined houses of prayer in their own localities. Before the work broke out, the Society numbered only four, but now more than thirty; upwards of thirty have joined other Churches, and the blessed work is still going on; but what to do for Chapel accommodation we know not; applications are being made daily for sittings, but there are none to let. The friends are very anxious to erect a gallery, to meet the wants of the increasing congregation, but being so poor they cannot do it without help. Perhaps, amongst your numerous readers some will feel it in their hearts to send a donation to this "poor," but earnest, Church in their laudable Christian undertaking, "It is the Lord's doing, and marvellous in our eyes." Our beloved minister has kindly engaged to act as treasurer. Please address, Rev. P. Pinch, Beer, near Axminster. Chard, March 14th, 1864. FIRST LONDON CIRCUIT ;-STOKE NEWINGTON. THE Fourth Anniversary of Victoria Grove Chapel was held as follows; On Sunday, March 6th, 1864, three sermons were preached; in the morning by Mr. J. Chipchase; in the afternoon by the Rev. J. S. Stanion, Baptist; and |