"I am all right for glory." Again the query was put, "Are you quite happy?" And at once he said, "Quite happy; I can say, Abba Father! My Lord and my God!" The writer also saw him usually at his stated visits to Seaham, and was always pleased with the clearness of his views, and the definiteness of his experience. But death was now creeping on a pace, and his weakness was such that he could not bear singing in his room. Now he was sinking fast, yet one bright thought sustained him : "One sweetly solemn thought comes to me o'er and o'er, His weakness increased until Thursday, March 5th, when the last mortal struggle came; in its very midst, he exultingly shouted, "The victory is won, and the prize is sure." Well did his mother cry out, "Glory be to God! then thou art all right. Hast thou got another glimpse of heaven ?" He raised his languid eyes, and said, "Yes, the prize is in view; the prize is in view.” "And he was not, for God took him." And now the writer fervently prays that the young may take this case to heart, and, like John Mackey, while in health and strength, prepare to meet their God; that motuers, like the one before us, may be the guides, helpers, and comforters of their offspring; that teachers may still sow on, though in tears, believing that they shall reap in joy; and that preachers may make the salvation of souls their great aim-their constant desire. MEMOIR OF MR. THOMAS PRINCE, OF SURREY STREET CIRCUIT, SHEFFIELD. BY THE REV. J. KIRSOP. THE subject of the following sketch was born at a little Yorkshire village, called Stainborough Inn, on June 26th, 1800. His father was a gardener, and very skilful in the exercise of his profession. When our deceased friend was nine or ten years of age, his father deserted his wife and children, who, homeless and desolate, sought shelter in Barnsley. He bad to become "inured to poverty and pain," so Providence sent him early to the school of sorrow. A kind relative took compassion on the wanderers, and fitted up a house for them. At a very tender age he was apprenticed to a linen weaver in Barnsley. This man was utterly without God, and abandoned to open wickedness, yet, sinner as he was, he was so sensible of the benefits of godliness as to insist on his five or six apprentices attending the Sunday-school. It was here our brother received his first religious impressions. 66 Soon after his apprenticeship commenced his mother died. Her loss powerfully affected him. He thought of the possibility of his eternal ruin, and, as he thought thereon," he wept. His goodness, however, was like the early dew, his impressions being unimproved quite died away. Once even he was guilty of profane language, but his sin alarmed him; he vowed never to swear again, and was enabled to keep his vow. Being invited to go to a class-meeting some time after this, he readily complied, and continued his attendance for "a little while," but eventually went rarely, and, at length, not at all. One reason why he did not persevere was, that he had a master passion which, as he himself said, bewitched him. He was a skilful angler, and his love of fishing led him to Sabbath-breaking and bad company, although he himself was thoughtless and careless, rather than marked by open vice. In course of time he went to live with an aunt-a pious woman, a mother in Israel. This proved a blessing to him; for he felt much respect for her character, while her pious example and counsel operated as a constant attraction and a continual rebuke. A niece of this good woman lived with her. True affection sprung up between the young people; they were in due time married, and proved helps-meet for each other. Our friend had a brother, who had been converted amongst the Wesleyans, and who used to visit him occasionally. One night, after he had retired to rest, this brother came in. "Have you gone to bed without prayer ?" he asked. "Yes," was the reply. "Get up," said the zealous Christian. He rose; the brothers knelt down together, the one prayed fervently, so fervently that the other was smitten with conviction, and utterly melted down. Doubtless, angels looked delighted on the scene. When it was known that he wished to flee from the wrath to come, he had numerous invitations to class-meetings. He joined the class of a very upright man, named Rawlings, who had many members under his care. For some time he sought God sorrowing, but at length he found Him to the joy of his heart. One Sabbath, after a prayer meeting, held in a narrow lane in Barnsley, he was filled with consolation, and blessed with the seal of adoption-the witness of the Holy Spirit of God. Immediately he commenced to labour zealously for God, and never intermitted his exertions till "worn by slowly rolling years." Amongst other spheres of usefulness which he filled in Barnsley, was that of a tract distributor. In his tract district a number of Irish Romanists lived, as ignorant and bigoted as that class usually are. On one occasion he was in danger of losing his life through their intemperate and furious opposition to Bible truth. In receiving a tract from a good woman, at whose house he left it, she warned him that if he sought to circulate that tract amongst the Romanists, they might kill him. "The will of the Lord be done," said he. He left the tract at the house of a Roman Catholic, and, as he was wont, returned on the following Sabbath to change it. His heart misgave him as he went on his dangerous duty. The prospect of possible martyrdom was by no means agreeable. "Lord, preserve me, was bis prayer. He had need of God's help; for a number of Romanists had agreed to kill him, and were assembled in the house where the tract had been left waiting his arrival. Our brother went with as much valour as he could command, and all the affability he could assume, and asked for the tract. The furious rage of the party was uttered in no measured terms, but he was enabled to deal prudently with them, using possibly a littl fines-e "to soothe their Irish blood," as he himself expressed it. "The Lord," he said, "helped me through." His zeal for God, united with sound sense and some ability, made him a suitable person for leading a little flock. His fitness for the office of leader was recognised, and he was appointed to meet a class in the country two or three miles from his own house. This he did with the utmost punctuality for two or three years. When the dissensions occurred in Leeds, through the arbitrary conduct of the Conference, in the well-known organ case, more than one Circuit became violently convulsed. In Barnsley, three hundred mem bers made common cause with the Leeds dissidents, and took part in the formation of the Protestant Methodist Connexion. Our departed brother, believing in the justice of the people's cause, "came out from amongst the abettors of ecclesiastical despotism, and identified himself with the remonstrant party. A Chapel was erected in Barnsley, the foundation of which he helped to dig, during hours when he should have been wrapt in "balmy sleep." About the year 1829 he removed from Barnsley to Sheffield. He had been brought into distressing straits by want of employment, and be "went out" from where he had been brought up, because there he could not "eat bread in the sweat of his face." The hand of God was very evident in the manner in which he found employment in the “black but comely" town of Sheffield. He soon found a situation which proved a permanent one. Shortly after his arrival in Sheffield, a few brethren favourable to the Protestant Methodist cause met together. They resolved to form a Church. Accordingly a class was established, and preaching services commenced. Eventually Surrey Street Chapel was built. Our brother was put on the Plan, and at first stood No. 27. When he died he was the senior local preacher in the Circuit; the office of local preacher he had not sought, and did not desire. It was only after a severe mental strug. gle that he yielded to the call of the Church." If the people will hear me I must try." He tried and succeeded; he commenced a course from which he never relaxed till "the evil days" came. Long journeys, in all kinds of weather, did not deter or discourage him. "I was oft wearied in the work, but never of the work," he said. Our brother passed through deep waters of domestic sorrow the year after Surrey Street Chapel was opened. Two of his children died-his wife and the other children were all ill at the same time. The disease being infectious, the house was shunned. For several months scarcely a single person would visit the house. During all this time our brother's health continued excellent, and God graciously kept him from sinking in the water-floods. About ten years ago Mr. Prince was called to sustain the loss of his wife. She had suffered from asthma for eighteen years. For many winters her sufferings were excessive, till at length she found release and rest. Her widowed husband sorrowed, but not without hope. In the autumn of 1860, our brother was seized with violent illness. His complaint was of a very distressing nature, and accompanied by moet excruciating pain. Christian friends who visited him were cut to the heart by the sight of his excessive sufferings, and prayer was made with out ceasing of the Church unto God for him. For a time he became an inmate of Sheffield infirmary, where skilful efforts were made for his recovery with but little success. At length, after some months of severe illness, during which he had the sentence of death in himself, God parti ally restored him. He was able once again to attend the sanctuary, and fulfil his duties in connection with the Church. He was received as from the dead, To those who never expected to worship with him till they joined the church triumphant, his presence in the sanctuary was very pleas ing,as a proof of God's power to prop the tabernacle when it seems sinking into ruins, and of His goodness in hearing prayer. Still health was not completely restored. Disease still prayed on his vitals. For three years he did not pass a day without much suffering, or know an unbroken night of refreshing sleep. It is right to say that after the death of his first wife, he again entered the married state. In his illness he was tended with the most affectionate and assiduous care by his partner. It would, no doubt, be strict truth to say that but for her constant and unwearied attention, our brother would have finished his course long ere he did. All who love him should be deeply grateful that he had such alleviations in his agonies as conjugal tenderness could supply. Our brother never was rich. His wages had always been low, and during the last three years of his life, he had to endure deep poverty; this depressed him, and often induced great despondency. To the praise of God's providence let it be said that he was never forsaken. The time of his extremity was the time of God's opportunity; at the lowest ebb of his circumstances God interposed with seasonable deliverances, and though for a time quite dependent on the kindness of friends, he never wanted for anything needful. God did not forsake him when his strength failed. The shadows of approaching night at last began to fall thickly around him. He became unable to follow any employment, then, to leave his home, [then, to leave his bed. A kind of lethargy seized his mental faculties; he could say little to friends who visited him, and whom he had anxiously wished to see. He was able, however, to testify with his lips what his life had long declared. When asked by several brethren, who visited him the Sabbath before he died, if he felt Christ precious to him in his severe affliction, he replied, "Yes, bless the Lord, I do," and repeated the verse ""Tis Jesus the first and the last, And trust Him for all that's to come." At last a word was whispered in his ear which had a sound like death. On September 23rd, 1863, he fell asleep in Jesus, and a few days after he was laid in the quiet churchyard of Grimesthorpe, to await the blast of the awakening trump of God. "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace." MEMOIR OF ELIZABETH NICHOLAS, OF MOUSEHOLE. MOUSEHOLE, as many of our readers know, is a fishing town, situated on Mount's Bay, about three miles south-west of Penzance. Here, on the 10th of May, 1835, Elizabeth Nicholas was born, and here, on the 11th of February, 1864, she died. Her parents, though not pious, were strictly moral, and sent her, when very young, to the Sunday-school, where she was to be seen, Sabbath after Sabbath, sitting with other children around her teacher, "hearing of heaven and learning the way." Time advanced; and, when just budding into womanhood, she became a teacher herself. She was very diligent in her work, and, after her conversion, very anxious to lead the deathless spirits, which formed her solemn charge, to Jesus, the "Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." In the winter of 1856, when the Rev. Thomas Ellery ministered in this Circuit, Mousehole was visited with a rich outpouring of the Holy Spirit; many sinners sought mercy, and, blessed be God, they mercy found. Among them was Elizabeth. After seeking forgiveness for some time with great earnestness, she at length obtained it, and her happy soul, freed from its load of guilt, rejoiced in God her Saviour. She immediately united herself with God's people, and attended her class regularly for a considerable time; but alas! alas! it was with her then as it is with many now-she neglected the private means of grace which are eveť a source of strength to the soul, and fell an easy prey to the devil. Her peace and joy fled; her bright prospects were blighted, and misery unspeakable filled her heart. But the Holy Spirit continued to strive with her, and the Good Shepherd compassionately followed the straying sheep, in all its wanderings, and when it mourned its hapless condition, kindly took it in His arms, carried it in His bosom, and brought it back to the fold. From this time, warned by past experience, she clung closer to the Saviour, and was more attentive to the ordinances of religion, especially her class and her closet; she was also more active in working for God. Twelve months last August, the Rev. W. Booth conducted special services in Mousehole for a few weeks, during which she received a fresh baptism of the Holy Ghost. She now seemed more devoted to God than ever, and she loved to sing of Jesus, to speak of Jesus, and to converse with Him. She "walked with God;" her "conversation was in heaven." For a long time our dear sister was afflicted with heart disease, from which she suffered more or less until her death. Rather more than a year since, becoming worse, she retired for change of air to Treen, a village close to the celebrated Logan Rock, and near the Land's End. While there her health somewhat improved; she returned home, and again was found discharging the duties of Sabbath-school teacher and tract distributor, in which she seemed to take increased delight. She loved to work for God, and she felt she had but little time to work in she knew her sun was going down, although it was but noon, and therefore her rule of action was, "I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is day; the night cometh when no man can work." It soon became apparent to all that her end was come. The disease, from which she had suffered so long, again attacked her very violently, and this time its force could not be abated by the kindness and prayers of friends, or the skill of the physician; her "sickness was unto death." She now suffered very severely, but her mind was sweetly happy. Never shall we forget our first visit; entering her room, we approached the couch on which she was lying, shook hands, and enquired how she was; she said, "I am happy in Jesus." She seemed in a rapture of joy, just as if heaven had entered her soul. She talked continually of Jesus, and of heaven. Oh! how brightly shone her pale, thin face, as she spoke of the pearly gates, the streets of gold, the glorified saints with their crowns, their palms, and robes of purest white, standing before the throne; the angels bending before God in rapt adoration; the song which, chanted by millions of the redeemed, ever resounds through the fair and beauteous city of God; and of Jesus, her Saviour, who is now "sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." She rejoiced that in a little while, and but a little while, the glory she saw by faith she would see and share in reality. She longed to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. We sang a few hymns, and among the rest, the one which begins thus ;— "From every strong wind that blows, Across this waste of life; From every swelling tide of woes, Of sorrow and of strife; There is a lovely calm retreat, A sacred holy place; Where Jesus and His followers meet; 'Tis at the throne of grace." She joined in the singing with much earnestness and joy. She appeared very anxious about the salvation of souls, mentioned the school and the Tract |