to God. Her sterling piety, discriminating judgment, peaceful spirit, and useful talents were strongly developed in the sphere which Providence called her to fill twenty years, as the esteemed wife, and valuable, though retired, coadjutor of a Methodist Preacher. In Axminster, the home of her latter, as of her early, years, she was justly regarded a mother in Israel. Her last illness, though protracted and severe, was sustained with entire resignation to the divine will; her faith in the Redeemer was unshaken; while her hope of immortality, usually bright, became more glorious as life receded. With the full possession of her vigorous faculties, she braced on her armour for the mortal conflict, saying to her beloved and afflicted daughter, with emphatic, though indistinct, utterance, after the hand of death was heavy on her, "Jesus is my seven-fold shield!" Her latter days resembled the setting lustre of a summer's sun, when, in an unclouded sky, he sinks with mellowed splendour and effulgent brightness. H. H. G. POETRY. THE PAST. "THE past recall!" O say not so, though time And hope's faint whisper as a distant lute. Thine eye is dim, and change and blight have shed Their own deep shadows with thy soul's content. That waked e'en gladness in the breast of care, And chants the requiem of pleasure gone! Too pure such happiness on earth to last. And thou hast wept the dead. Thy hand hath press'd O thou hast known What 'tis to wander on the earth alone! Yet blessings countless have been shower'd on thee; And lead the wanderer to a pardoning God? Then wish not days departed to recall : The thought is vain! Go now and act thy part; In humble prayer at Mercy's footstool fall: Not far is mercy from the contrite heart : And joy shall rise, And brighter shine, and brighter, to the skies! LONDON:- Printed by James Nichols, 46, Hoxton-Square. Brigg, 1838. ADELINE. FOR JUNE, 1838. BIOGRAPHY. MEMOIR OF THE REV. CHARLES PENNY : weep CHARLES PENNY was born in the year 1799, in a village near Bath; to which city his parents, with their family, removed whilst he was very young. As servants of God, and members of the Methodist society, they were solicitous for the conversion of their children, and joined with earnest prayer that instruction and discipline which were calculated to accomplish their purpose. At an early age gracious effects appeared; and Charles was accustomed to retire and " over his sins," and to pray for forgiveness. The impressions thus produced concerning the importance and blessedness of religion were further nurtured and deepened, by the instrumentality of the late excellent Mr. Frederick Shum, who, ready for every good work, and affectionately concerned for the rising age, was in the habit of meeting the children of the members of the society every Sunday afternoon, to instruct them in the way to heaven. In the year 1812 the labours of the Rev. Messrs. Henry Moore, William Myles, and Thomas Pinder, in the Bath Circuit, were crowned with great success. An extensive revival of religion took place, the fruit of which continues. Many who have been, and still are, among the most pious and useful members in the city were then awakened and converted. Mr. Penny's sisters were of the number of those who first obtained peace in believing; and he became deeply convinced of sin. His distress was great, and his grief so irrepressible, that it often attracted attention in the streets. His supplications for mercy were continued till the 2d of June, when, receiving the atonement in the exercise of faith, he also obtained peace with God. The witness of the Holy Ghost which he then received, enabling him to cry, "Abba, Father," he retained through life; and the frequent reference to it in his copious journal shows that his apprehension of this blessing was not vague, but scriptural, accurate, and well-defined. He writes, “I can realize God by an act of living faith, and am assured that he is mine and I am his. I find this in the absence of that great joy which I sometimes feel. I have not only experienced this in time past, but enjoy it now. How do I know this? By mere inference? No! The Spirit of God beareth witness with my spirit that I am a child of God, of which I can no more doubt than I can doubt of my existence." The anniversaries of his conversion were uniformly VOL. XVII. Third Series. JUNE, 1838. 2 D observed as days of self-examination, ardent praise, and renewed dedication to God. By the venerable and judicious men who had the pastoral charge of the Bath society, Mr. Penny was, in due time, associated with the subordinate activities of Methodism; and for four years was employed as a Sunday-school Teacher and a Prayer-Leader, discharging the duties devolving on him with modesty, diligence, and efficiency, and gathering from such engagements qualifications for more extended usefulness. Having occasionally spoken words of exhortation in the prayermeetings, he was proposed, in the usual way, to act as a Local Preacher, by the late Rev. Samuel Taylor. As this was done without his knowledge or concurrence, he was greatly agitated when Mr. Taylor made the fact known to him. It was in vain that he argued in favour of delay, from his youth and inexperience. Mr. Taylor respected the motives of his young friend, but silenced his objections by saying, "God has called you to preach his word, and preach it you must.” He accordingly made the attempt; and, notwithstanding many discouragements at the outset, he persevered. In this new sphere of usefulness, and as a Class-Leader, to which office he was also shortly appointed, he was pains-taking and successful. His experience of the things of God was at this period deep and lively, and its effects were felt around him. He thus writes: "I enjoy uninterrupted peace with God; the guilt of sin is removed; its power is destroyed; and (O blessed privilege!) nothing contrary to love occupies the throne of my heart. I find that the blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin." His great object was the salvation of souls, and to this he consecrated all his energies. By his instrumentality many were led to "take of the cup of salvation;" his classes increased in number, and were found growing in grace. He was, in addition, usefully employed as Secretary of the Branch Missionary Society, and in connexion with other institutions of Methodism. After struggling for some time with a deep and abiding conviction that it was his duty to engage in the work of the ministry, and more particularly in its Mission department, he communicated his views to, and soli→ cited advice from, the Rev. Richard Reece; and being encouraged by that venerable Minister thus to devote himself at once to the service of God, he made a similar communication to the Rev. Jonathan Edmondson, then the Superintendent of the Bath Circuit, by whom, at the Quarterly Meeting, in March, 1826, he was proposed as a fit person to become a candidate for the office of a Wesleyan Minister, and was unanimously approved by the numerous friends then convened. Unavoidable absence from Bath prevented his attending the ensuing DistrictMeeting, a circumstance which occasioned him much regret, exercise, and temptation. This necessarily deferred his being recommended to the Conference till the following year. The interval was, however, |