sometimes much afflicted; but she said, "It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good." For some time prior to her last illness she seemed ripening for the heavenly state; and though in the course of the affliction of which she died, (typhus fever,) she was not able to say much, yet it was evident her whole soul was fixed on God and heaven; and that she was calmly waiting for her change. In this happy frame she breathed her last.

JAMES BLACKETT.

2. Died, November 12th, at Leeds, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, Mr. Benjamin Musgrave. His father dying when he was very young, he was left to the sole care of his mother, who trained him up in the knowledge of divine truth, the practice of moral duties, and a constant attendance on the Methodist ministry. As the instructions he received were recommended by consistent conduct, he was preserved from many evils to which young persons generally are exposed, and was kept at least from the commission of gross sin. Under the faithful ministry of the late Rev. Miles Atkinson, at that time afternoon Lecturer at the parish church, he was convinced of the absolute necessity of a change of heart; and being enabled by the Holy Spirit to cast his guilty soul on Christ in the exercise of faith, he obtained "redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins." One important result of Mr. Musgrave's conversion was a desire to be united with the people of God in church fellowship: he therefore joined the Wesleyan-Methodist society in the year 1786; and from that time to the close of his life he felt a more than ordinary interest in every thing connected with its prosperity and spread. For many years he received the Preachers into his house, and treated them with very kind attention. He was a man of unassuming manners, and of retired habits. He was a plain-hearted, sincere, and practical Christian. He was remarkable for strict integrity, and punctuality in all the transactions of business; and his whole behaviour was in such perfect accordance with the precepts of the Gospel that he was justly regarded by all who knew him as "an Israelite indeed, in whom" was "no guile.' Walking within his house with a perfect heart, he conscientiously attended to the promotion of family religion, and always manifested the greatest concern for the salvation of his children, who from their infancy were regularly taken with him to the house of God; and their

66

subsequent life proved the efficacy of Christian training, when attended by the blessing of God. For a considerable length of time he was unable to attend the public services of the sanctuary; but God who had been the guide of his youth comforted and supported him in his declining years. His love of private meditation and prayer, for which he had been always remarkable, seemed greatly to increase; many times in the day he withdrew from the family, and, entering into his closet, had intimate communion and fellowship with God: on many occasions he seemed scarcely able to give up his powerful pleading at the "throne of grace." He was "clothed with humility," and had in an eminent degree the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit." During the whole of his last illness he was strong in faith, giving glory to God. No unkind or fretful word escaped his lips; he was generally praising the Lord for his goodness, and expressing his gratitude to the members of his family for their attentions. Frequently when in great pain he said, "The Lord deals very kindly with me: he saves me from all fear." When asked if the enemy tempted him, he replied, "Not much." For some time he was unable to take any thing, except a little cold water, in receiving which he often said, "Thank the Lord for a drop of water." After observing that "the Lord's people are tried as silver and gold," and that "through patience and tribulation we must enter the kingdom," he said in the language of the venerated Wesley, "The best of all is, God is with us." The manner in which he quoted, and applied to his own case, the promises of Scripture, and select portions of our hymns, was truly remarkable. When very near his end, one who stood by his bedside said to him, "His chariot will soon arrive for you: you have no fear to go?" He answered, with strong and peculiar emphasis, "No!" After this he lay in a sweet calm for about half an hour, and then gently breathed his last. He was an "old disciple ;" and his end was truly blessed.

JOSHUA HARGREAVES.

3. Died, November 17th, at KirkbyStephen, in the Appleby Circuit, Mr. John Cleasby, aged eighty-eight, having been a consistent member of the Methodist society upwards of sixty years. At the age of thirteen he was convinced of sin, and of the necessity of conversion, by hearing a poor but pious woman relate her Christian experience, when labouring

with him and some others in the harvestfield. The good impressions then made upon his mind he never lost, although he did not fully yield to them till about the twenty-fifth year of his age. About this time his conviction of the evil of sin became more deep and pungent; and after seeking the Lord in deep distress for about six months, by earnest prayer and frequent fasting, he was, on one occasion, induced to attend a love-feast held in the neighbourhood; and in returning home in company with a pious friend, the conversation turned upon the importance of simple faith, as exercised for a present blessing. Encouraged by what he had heard, immediately on his arriving at home, he entered his closet, and prostrated himself before God; and while he thus wrestled and endeavoured to believe, he received beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. He was made so unspeakably happy, that he spent the remaining part of the night in praise and thanksgiving to God. When this delightful change took place, he was residing on Stainmore, where he afterwards became the Leader of a class, and was made an instrument of great good to many. In 1813 he removed to Kirkby-Stephen, principally with a view to the more complete establishment of Wesleyan Methodism in that town. This he hoped to accomplish by having the opportunity of entertaining the Preachers in his own house. During his residence there he contributed liberally towards procuring two places of worship, which were successively fitted up as the number of hearers increased; and having seen for some time past the necessity of a much larger place than the one now occupied, he left the sum of £100 towards the erection of a new chapel. In addition to the above, he bequeathed £50 to the Auxiliary Fund, and £20 towards erecting chapels in the Shetland Isles, to be paid at the decease of his widow. He was a ClassLeader about sixty years, and kindly entertained the Itinerant Preachers upwards of forty years; and when in dying circumstances he desired his wife to continue to receive them. He was firmly attached both to the doctrines and discipline of Methodism. A few months only previous to his demise, he was asked to sign a copy of Resolutions in opposition to the Wesleyan economy, when he replied, "No, not for ten thousand worlds." For several months before his death, it was deeply impressed on his mind that his end was drawing near.

When afflicted on former occasions he had been somewhat harassed by fears as to the actual pains and struggles of dying; but when he came actually to contend with his final foe, he felt not only that his fears were removed, but that his soul was so exceedingly happy in God that he could praise him from morning until night. When confined to his bed he continued to rejoice in the God of his salvation. A friend witnessing this on one occasion, said, "You are very happy;" when he instantly repeated his favourite lines:

My Jesus to know, and to feel his blood flow, 'Tis life everlasting, 'tis heaven below!"

A few hours before he died he desired the writer of these lines, with several other friends, to engage in prayer. After which one of them asked him if he continued to feel Christ precious; when he replied, "Sweet Jesus! sweet Jesus!" in whom he soon after fell asleep, without a struggle or a groan. JOHN INMAN.

4. Died, at Banwell, December 4th, Mrs. Ann Wood, relict of the late Mr. Charles Wood, of whom a memoir appeared in the Methodist Magazine for October, 1809. Her parents were among the first Methodists in the neighbourhood in which they lived; and while it was yet "the day of small things," they opened their house to receive the Methodist Preachers; and preaching was regularly continued there until a commodious chapel was erected. Under these favourable circumstances her mind became early imbued with piety; and in youth she dedicated her heart to God. Her conversion was sound and clear; and it was a source of much satisfaction to her throughout her pilgrimage, that she could refer to that period without any misgiving. She never wavered in her Christian character or profession, but continued steadfast in her devotedness to God and to his church unto the end. At the period of her marriage with my late father, his house was, and for many years had been, the Preachers' home; and so it continued until Banwell was made the head of a Circuit. The principles of respect and esteem for the servants of God, which in early life had been implanted in her mind, had now an opportunity of more full developement, and were exhibited in her solicitude to promote the comfort of those Ministers who took up their temporary abode in her family. After my father's decease, the care of a young family of five children, of whom the eldest was under nine years

of age, weighed heavily on her mind. She was particularly concerned for their spiritual advantage; and her prayers, and instructions, and anxieties were unremitted. At length she obtained much encouragement from the following circumstance. She was one evening meditating on God's gracious permission to Solomon, "Ask what I shall give thee;" and his request for wisdom in preference to every other blessing: she inquired of her heart, "Were God to make me such an offer, what would I choose?" She thought, "I would choose the salvation of all my children." Immediately a gracious confidence possessed her soul that it should be unto her according to her desire. From this moment all painful anxiety on this subject left her, and she pursued her accustomed endeavours with an assurance that God would bless them. Her confidence was not unfounded; for all her family in early youth became converted to God, and joined the society of which she was a member. All maintained their early piety, and all survive her. When she died she left her eldest son a Travelling Preacher; her second son a CircuitSteward; her eldest daughter married to a Class-Leader; her second daughter herself a Class-Leader; and her youngest daughter a Minister's wife. Much, very much we all have to attribute, under God, to the holy unblamable life and conversation, to the counsels and prayers, and to the prudent and careful management, of our dear departed mother. For about twenty years prior to her decease she was the Leader of a class. In this office she was greatly esteemed by the members. She performed its duties under a deep feeling of insufficiency, but with constancy, affection, and faithfulness. As her children grew up and left the maternal residence, she had much time for retirement and contemplation; and I remember her repeating, with deep emotion, these beautiful lines, as descriptive of her pursuits and feelings :

"When quiet in my house I sit,

Thy book be my companion still;
My joy thy sayings to repeat,

Talk o'er the records of thy will,
And search the oracles divine

Till every heart-felt word be mine."

But she was not a recluse; for she greatly enjoyed the society of pious friends; and every benevolent undertaking obtained her countenance and co-operation. Her occasional letters to the distant members of her family united the tenderest maternal solicitude with faithful counsels

and earnest prayers for their temporal and spiritual welfare. The happy occasions when all her children were permitted to surround her were seasons of peculiar delight both to her and to them, characterized as these family meetings invariably were by the unbroken harmony of deep and sincere family affection. On these occasions she regarded each with new delight and thanksgiving, as contributing to the comfort of her life and the solace of her declining years; and was accustomed to refer to the happy meeting which we all experienced a good hope of enjoying with our sainted father, who had gone before to the regions of bliss. But the time came that this mother in Israel must die. She descended to the grave by a gradual decay of nature; but no danger was apprehended until within about three weeks of her decease. At the commencement of this period she said to a friend who called to see her, "The following lines well express my experience and feelings :'Jesus all the day long is my joy and my song, O that all his salvation may see!

He hath loved me, I cried, He hath suffer'd and died,

To redeem such a rebel as me.""

She also dwelt with deep feeling on that fine hymn, "Rock of ages, cleft for me," &c., and had it frequently read to her. The character of her experience during the whole of her sickness was that of uniform trust in her Saviour, with a deep sense of her own unworthiness. She delighted to dwell on the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, saying, "His blood cleanseth from all sin." Her reply to inquiries respecting her state of mind gene"I have no doubt or fear." On rally was, one occasion she particularly addressed her children in a very affecting strain, exhorting them to cleave to the Lord and to each other, that all might meet again in heaven. Although in the early period of her affliction she suffered much from sickness, yet, as life drew near its close, she was mercifully preserved from pain. When her health was inquired after, her answer generally was, I have no pain, only weariness." On the Friday preceding her death she fell into a peaceful slumber; her breathing was as easy and undisturbed as that of a person in health; so that her family even then indulged hopes that she might awake refreshed, and again rally.

No difference was perceivable until the following Sunday morning, when her breathing became a little quicker; and about nine o'clock she calmly entered into the joy of her Lord,

in the sixty-ninth year of her age, nearly thirty-one of which she spent in widowhood.

JOSEPH WOOD.

His pa

5. Died, December 12th, at Marcett, in the Middleham Circuit, John Coates, in the fiftieth year of his age. rents were members of the established Church, and under their superintendence he had the advantage of a regular attendance upon its services. Though strictly moral, he was nevertheless a stranger to experimental religion until he attained his twenty-first year. About this time, through the exhortations and prayers of a pious relative, and the reading of a tract on the subjects of death and eternity, his mind was seriously impressed, and his attention was directed towards things which are eternal.

He

had clear views of the corruption of human nature, and of the greatness of the evil of sin. His repentance was deep and genuine, and through faith in a Mediator he sought and found "the peace of God which passeth all understanding." He then joined the Wesleyan society, and continued one of its brightest ornaments until the period of his death. He was diligent in the use of the means of grace; and, though residing at an early part of his Christian life at a distance of two miles from a place of divine worship, he allowed no difficulties in the state of the weather to hinder him from "walking in all the ordinances of the Lord." Every worldly consideration was made to bow to things of paramount importance. Such were the evidences which his general deportment furnished of the genuineness of his profession, that the enemies of religion were either silenced, or constrained to acknowledge that he was a good man. His piety shone conspicuously in the domestic circle. In the relation of husband, nothing contrary to kindness appeared throughout his whole behaviour. God having blessed him with a numerous offspring, their religious training was an object of his constant solicitude. By pious instruction, wholesome discipline, and fervent prayer, he sought the conversion of his family; and his labours have not been in vain. Under his hospitable roof the Wesleyan Ministers have been kindly entertained for many years; and his conduct towards them evinced a strict attention to that apostolic direction, "Esteem them highly in love for their work's sake:" and to his pious exertions in a variety of ways the society at Marcett owes much of its present prosperity. He for many years sustained the office of

a Class-Leader, the duties of which he fully discharged. He was faithful and affectionate, and amongst the people of his charge was greatly beloved. A degree of seriousness was cast over his whole behaviour. He had an habitual sense of God's presence, and conducted himself as one engaged in communion with God. For some time previous to his death he had a presentiment of that solemn event; and his temper, and conversation, and whole deportment, were highly becoming one who was on the point of finishing his probationary course. His death was sudden and unexpected. Only the day before, he attended the chapel, heard a discourse on death and judgment, and gave an exhortation himself, in which he dwelt particularly on those subjects. He afterwards visited a sick neighbour, conducted family worship with his usual fervour, and retired to rest. During the night he awoke, and complained of a pain in his throat; and before the assistance of the neighbours could be obtained, his spirit, which had long been graciously prepared, took its flight to the regions of eternal glory.

E. B. WARTers.

6. Died, December 17th, in the Leeds East Circuit, Mr. John Osborne, husband to Mrs. Mary Osborne, noticed page 550. His conversion to God was sound and clear; and after the circumstance mentioned in the obituary of Mrs. Osborne, his mind was fully established both as to the discipline and doctrines of the body with which he was connected. Under the ministry of the late Mr. Benson, when last stationed at Leeds, he was especially profited. About thirty years ago he was made a Class-Leader. He was well qualified for the office. His whole soul was engaged in his work, and by the divine blessing he was very useful. He was well acquainted with Satan's devices, and able to direct and encourage young converts in the ways of the Lord; and as he combined holy zeal with a solid judgment, his classes prospered, and se. veral others were taken out of them. He was a man of great integrity, and acted with truth and justice on all occasions. On one occasion, having sold some goods for which he found he had charged more than would afford him the regular profit, he lost no time in sending back the surplus to the purchaser. His attachment to the Ministers of the Gospel was great; he esteemed them very highly in love for their work's sake. The means of grace, too, he both loved and observed, and found them to be channels of great spi

ritual profit and enjoyment. Having declined business several years before his death, he had leisure to follow his Lord's example, in going about doing good. He watched over his classes with more than ordinary attention, looking after the absent members, and inviting to church union those whom he found under the influence of serious impressions. He delighted to hear of the prosperity of the work of God on the different foreign stations, and took a lively interest in reading the monthly Missionary Notices; and he evinced the interest he felt by a bequest of fifty pounds to the Wesleyan Missionary Society. After the death of his wife he gradually declined in health, and at last was seized by the same disorder of which she had died half a year previously. Not long before his departure he said, "Glory to God, I shall soon be with him!"

JAMES BLACKETT.

7. Died, December 27th, at Sewdly Iron-works, in the Newent Circuit, Mrs. Sarah Broad, in the thirty-third year of her age. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, who resided in Staffordshire, persons of deep piety, members of the Methodist society, who both died happy in God. Mrs. Broad was a very affectionate and obedient child, and feared God from her youth. When at boarding-school, at Wednesbury, she joined the Wesleyan society, and received her first ticket from the Rev. J. Crowther. She was married to Mr. Broad in January, 1826, and continued, in her new situation, the same steady attachment to the Christian society to which she had for several years been joined. She appears, however, not to have fully pressed into Christian liberty till her last illness. About five or six weeks before she died, she was deeply impressed with the necessity of a decided change, and sought the Lord in very great distress of mind, lamenting that she had allowed herself to live so long below her privilege and duty. On the 23d of November it pleased God to manifest his pardoning mercy to her, and to turn her mourning into praise. She instantly sent for her husband, that she might tell him of the goodness of her Saviour. "O John," she exclaimed, as soon as he entered the room, "I have found him, I have found him! I am indeed happy. O praise the Lord with me!" Her mind was from this time graciously preserved in peace; and though she suffered much from violent fits of coughing, she was enabled patiently to sustain it all, rejoicing in hope of her approaching freedom from all pain. On

one occasion she said, "O what a little thing it is to die when one feels that the work is done!" And on another, "I wish I could sing; but I cannot now: however, I soon shall; and then, O then, I'll sing as loud as any of them." It was asked, "What will you sing?" when she quickly replied,

"Jesus, thy blood and righteousness

My beauty are, my glorious dress." Her last hours were solemnly delightful. After she had changed for death, when extremely low and weak, she said, "I cannot sink; I hang on my Saviour's merits. Hallelujah! I am going to him!" Looking affectionately on her husband, she bade him farewell, adding, "O, give your heart to God." She then repeated,

"Good thou art, and good thou dost,
Thy mercies reach to all."

"He is mine, and I am his." Nearly her last words were, speaking to herself, as if in meditation, though with a very low, weak voice, "The soldiers pierced his side, and forthwith came out blood and water,-washed all my sins away." She soon after breathed her last, her latest thoughts being evidently fixed on her crucified and exalted Lord."

E. PARRY.

8. Died, January 13th, 1837, at Wakefield, aged seventy-seven, Mrs. Sarah Taylor, wife of Mr. John Taylor. She was the child of parents themselves truly devoted to God. Her father, Mr. Francis Scott, was one of the first Local Preachers in the Wakefield Circuit, who, together with his brother John, both laboured much and suffered much, in endeavouring to promote the salvation of sinners. The early Methodists met to worship God in a room in Mr. Scott's yard, forming part, in fact, of his joiner's shop. His house was Mr. Wesley's home upon his visits to Wakefield. In his Journal of August 20th, 1748, Mr. Wesley gives an account of his first visit. At Mr. Scott's also, the venerable Mr. Fletcher, of Madeley, occasionally visited. Under these circumstances the early piety of Mrs. Taylor will be no matter of surprise; but as she has left no written memorandums, the exact particulars of her religious experience in youth cannot now be known; but it is believed that she had been brought to seek and to experience a sense of pardoning mercy before she was ten years old. Her excellent mother, however, afraid of all undue forwardness of religious profession in young persons, did not allow her to