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discharged to edification of the people, during twenty-one years of his life. The last time he met his class was on Sunday before he died; he was also doorkeeper for Zion Chapel seventeen years. He lived in the fear of God, and the full enjoyment of true religion, diligently attended the means of grace, and, with parental solicitude, brought up his children in the fear of the Lord, several of whom are now members of our Society.

It may not be improper to mention the estimation in which, generally speaking, he was held by his neighbours; if any one was sick or at the point of death, no matter to what denomination such persons belonged, our brother was frequently sent for to pray with them, and to administer that spiritual consolation and advice which is all important to the dying. But we must now touch upon the value to himself in affliction and death of that religion which he had so frequently recommended to others.

For nearly nine months he was a great sufferer, enduring much acute pain of body; but in all this he murmured not, but endured his sufferings with true Christian resignation to the will of God. Nevertheless, the prospect of leaving a large family of children, and a wife in delicate health, seemed sometimes to depress his mind. He felt the burden, but made the following observation : "It was easy when I was able to go about, to say "Thy will be done,' but when it comes to the point, the mind seems to stagger." A fortnight previous to his death, he called for his children, and, whilst they were around his bed, affectionately commended them to God, and with much energy exclaimed, "All is well! all is well!" expecting every moment to take his final departure. However, he rallied, and on one of his neighbours coming in a short time after, he said, 66 Oh, you should have been here sooner! We have had a grand meeting! His soul was filled with extatic joy, even in the prospect of death. To brother Steel he remarked, "I am happy, I am happy, I am on the Rock." He endeavoured to sing

Other refuge have I none, Hangs my helpless soul on thee; but here his pain was so great that it forced him to desist. On the Friday, he felt the cords of life were gradually loosening, and, looking at his wife, desired her to be resigned, for they would soon be separated-to put her whole trust in God. During the day he was somewhat relieved of his pain and lay very quiet; but his wife, thinking that he was low in

his mind, asked him a question, to which he replied, "No, all is calm, all is peace," then with uplifted hands he exclaimed

I know that my Redeemer lives,
And ever prays for me.

On the Saturday, after a kind friend had engaged in prayer, he said to his wife, "I feel I am sinking fast, but all is well. His rod and staff, they comfort me.

My God is reconciled,

His pardoning voice I hear;
He owns me for his child,

I can no longer fear."

Many other expressions did he utter expressive of his assurance of rest, his confidence in the blood of Atonement, and his hope of immortal life in the kingdom of glory. In this faith and confidence did our brother die July 19th, 1851, aged 52 years. His death was improved in a funeral sermon by the Rev. W. Ford. B. J.

MARY SHAW.

MARY SHAW, the subject of the present memoir, was the mother of our esteemed brother John Shaw, of Pudsey, whose praise is in all our churches. She was born at Pudsey. Her parents were truly pious, and her father was one of the first leaders in Pudsey connected with the New Connexion. Mary, when young, before she evinced any sign of conversion, was moral in her habits, of grave and serious deportment. She became united in marriage to James Shaw in 1812, and soon after became the subject of a change of mind, which resulted in her union with the Church in Pudsey. From that time she continued till the time of her death a consistent and faithful member of the Church. She lived and died in the Lord; and hence, when death looked her full in the face, she was not afraid. She seemed to enjoy the experience of Paul when he said, "I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."

The experience of our dear sister was of that very equal character, and presented such a delightful unity, that there was nothing bold and striking. There were no crotchets, no breaks in her charaeter. Her path was as the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day. But still there were

many things connected with her position as a wife, a parent, and a Christian, worthy of note, and which cannot fail to commend themselves to the admiration of every Christian, and many would do well to imitate such excellences. It was often said of her, if she was not a great talking Christian, she was a living and walking Christian.

As a wife and parent, few in this world have excelled her. Her industry, her economy, and all her domestic habits gave strength and lustre to her character. She attended most strictly to the advice of Paul by Titus, "To be discreet, chaste, and a keeper at home." She seldom went into the house of a neighbour unless called by affliction. So far as this world is concerned, "she minded her own business." Such was her moral influence in her family, secured by kindness, firmness, and devoted piety, that they all looked up to her with the greatest deference and respect, and hence they became a singularly united and happy family. Perhaps few women have been taken away whose loss has been more severely and painfully felt by husband and children. They feel that they are indeed bereaved; but they are endeavouring to say with approving submission, Thy will be done!"

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The house of James and Mary Shaw has always been open to entertain the ministers of the Gospel, and our dear sister seemed as if she had no greater joy in this world than to minister to their wants and comfort. For many years the superintendent of the Bradford Circuit, when appointed at Pudsey, has made his home under their hospitable roof; and while there has been an absence of anything like splendour and ceremony, there has been a real and substantial comfort. The kindness of the whole family, and especially the hearty welcome and assiduous attention of Mrs. Shaw, have more than supplied any seeming want of outward appearance. When this excellent woman was lying upon her death-bed, and it was thought prudent by the friends that the minister should go to some other house, she would not hear of it. Her love to the house of God, and to the service of God, and to the servants of God, was beyond all praise. She could indeed say with the Psalmist, "My delight is with the saints of the Most High."

During the latter part of her life she became very deaf, so that she could not hear the preaching of the word, nor could she, without great difficulty, enjoy the intercourse of friends. This was a privation she often mourned, but still she was contentedly resigned to the will of

God, and expressed her thankfulness that she was able to read, and that she took so much pleasure in reading. Her Bible was her constant companion, she perused it with attention and delight.

The death of such a woman could not be otherwise than happy. In her case it was both peaceful and triumphant. When questioned as to her experience and prospects, her replies were prompt, clear and emphatic: such as indicated that she was not dependant upon a mere impulse in the last hour for an assurance of her acceptance with God, and consequent fitness for heaven. She spoke with the confidence of a person who felt that she was upon the rock, that she had firm tread, and could hurl defiance at the last enemy, and exult in the prospect of a blissful immortality. Our dear sister was visited by many of our friends, who are ready to furnish expressions of resignation and confidence peculiar to the experience of an aged, strong minded, and well-grounded Christian. Suffice it to say, her testimony to the truth, and power, and value of religion was such as could not fail to commend religion to the acceptance of others, and induce even the careless to say with Balaam, "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his !" sister was very fond of verses of poetry, which she often repeated. The following, referring to her future home and the final gathering of the saints, was a favourite one, which she repeated frequently before her death.

There all the ship's company meet,

Our

Who sailed with their Saviour beneath :
With shouting each other they greet,
And triumph o'er trouble and death;
The voyage of life's at an end,

The mortal affliction is past,
The age that in heaven they spend,
For ever and ever shall last.

On Feb. 7th she sweetly closed her eyes in death, and passed from--

A suffering Church beneath To a reigning Church above. "The memory of the just is blessed."

ANN RAYNER.

THE subject of this brief memoir was the daughter of William and Mary Kershaw, of Flowery-field, near Hyde, and she was born on the 11th of October, 1830. She became a scholar in our Sabbath-school about the year 1838 or 9, and we have reason to believe that she received her first religious impressions in that heaven-born institution. In a very short time after this, she became also a member in our Society; and I believe she

retained her membership from that period to the day of her death.

Her religious experience, generally speaking, was characterized by great simplicity; and while relating it, she often expressed a desire that, through divine grace, she might be able to walk well pleasing in the sight of God, that, when she came to die, she might leave a good testimony behind her that she was gone to glory.

We have reason to believe, that when she first gave her heart to God and her hand to his people, she was the subject of much persecution from one whose duty it was to have trained her up in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord." But though young in years and young in grace, she was enabled, through divine assistance, to bear up under all her persecutions, and resolve to follow the Lord through good and through evil report.

When she was about twelve years of age, her kind and affectionate mother departed this life, and the loss of that fond parent was a severe trial to our deceased sister; and indeed that painful loss of her kind mother's influence, sympathy and encouragement, was but the forerunner of a complication of severe trials and sufferings, which she was enabled in some measure to bear with patience and resignation.

She was married on the 27th of February, 1848, to brother Mark Rayner, her now bereaved husband, to whom she bore two children, who, like the rose, bloomed for a very brief period in this vale of suffering and sorrow, and then returned to him who has said, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven." Our deceased sister, even from a child, had but a delicate constitution; and during the brief period of her matrimonial union she was the sub

ject of much affliction. In the month of January last she began to be very unwell, but no immediate danger was anticipated by the friends by whom she was surrounded. But "God's ways are not as our ways, neither are his thoughts as our thoughts."

On the 18th of January her little infant was suddenly and unexpectedly removed by Death out of time into eternity. This sudden shock, this unexpected removal of her little one, whose existence and happiness were closely entwined around the tender and afflicted mother's heart, appears to have been too much-more than her feeble constitution could bear; and she gradually sank beneath its pressure. Medical assistance was obtained, and everything was done

that could be done, with a design to her restoration to health, but all in vain; and it was evident to her sympathizing friends that the place that knew her then would soon know her no more for ever. She declined rapidly, but her mind was wonderfully supported by the religion of the Cross, and she knew that though the earthly house of her tabernacle were dissolved, she had a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. She was able to go out and visit her friends in the neighbourhood until the 8th of March; but on the 9th she was confined a prisoner to her home and couch. But, thank God! she was a prisoner of hope. She had a "good hope through grace" of one day landing safe in heaven, where affliction can never enter, and sin and sorrow are unknown. On the evening of the 10th of March she expressed her confidence in the promises of God, by declaring that she had faith to believe she should die in triumph; and when she saw her friends weeping around her bed, she exclaimed, "Weep not for me; it is the Lord's will, let him do as seemeth him good." She continued in this frame of mind until the morning of the 13th of March, when it was evident to her sorrowing friends that the time of her departure was drawing nigh. She desired them to pray with and for her, and also to sing her favourite hymns.

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She appeared fully to realize the truth and faithfulness of that cheering promise, "When thy heart and flesh fail, I will be the strength of thy heart and thy portion for ever." Under these circumstances she felt deeply interested in, and anxious for, the salvation of all her relations and acquaintances. A short time before she died, she very feelingly asked her husband to promise her that he would be faithful unto death, that he might meet her again in heaven, which promise was solemnly given, and I sincerely hope will be religiously kept. She then called for her brother John, and affectionately exhorted him to give his heart to God, and to train up his children in the fear of the Lord. And then she laid her head upon her pillow, and in a very short time calmly resigned her precious soul into the hands of her dear Redeemer, on the 13th day of March, 1852, aged twentyone years and nearly five months. Her death was improved on Sunday evening, April 25th, by the Rev. H. Piggin, to a crowded and attentive audience, from Numbers xxiii. 10: "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his." J. HIBBERT, April 26th, 1852.

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RECENT DEATH.

ON Saturday, April 10, 1852, Mr. Montague Taylor, of Bilston, Staffordshire, departed this life. Fifty-four years were meted out to him on earth, and it is pleasing to reflect that more than thirty of these were spent in the Church. Both from ancestral example and personal preference, the Wesleyan Church became his; and in it he lived, laboured and died. But sectarian separateness and exclusiveness were neither consonant with his religious convictions, nor countenanced in his general life. He loved all, and, I believe, assisted all Christian denominations. Ours secured no inconsiderable share of his general sympathy and liberal support. Amongst his last actions on earth were those by which he arranged the payment of his annual subscriptions to the Beneficent and Paternal Funds and to our Society in this town. He, moreover, about this time, made me the unsolicited bearer of ten

shillings to the heavily-burdened friends at Chester.

The affliction which issued in death was very protracted, and towards its termination very painful. For more than two years and a half Mr. Taylor was well-nigh confined to his room, and dur ing a considerable proportion of that time to his bed. In affliction, however, he recognised and reverenced God's hand, and learned and endured God's will. Se beneficial was the school of affliction, that towards the close of life his soul was ripened in confidence, resignation and hope. Life was desired or resigned as God's pleasure was indicated, and death, at one portion of his life a dread, lost its dreariness. In this state of mind, and amidst the loving, anxious and laborious attention of a devoted wife and attached children, Mr. Taylor exchanged a mortal for an immortal life, and a temporal for an eternal habitation. J. STOKOE.

Bilston, April 17, 1852.

NOTICES OF BOOKS.

UNCLE TOM'S CABIN; or, Negro Life in the Slave States of America. By HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. Reprinted from the Tenth American Edition. London: Clarke and Co., Fleet-street.

This is one of the most remarkable books of the age. Immediately on its appearance in America it acquired an unparalleled popularity; for though sold at a high price in that country, ten editions of the work were called for in fourteen days. Whether we look at its literary character, or the sacred cause of humanity and religion which it so eloquently advocates, its excellence renders it. well worthy of the sudden and extreme celebrity it has obtained. The leading title of the book is not calculated to strike the mind with a correct view either of its character or its worth. It is a tale of thrilling interest, founded upon facts; and the sketches, instead of being confined either to one individual or his cabin, as might be supposed from the title of the book, embrace numerous characters, and scenes and incidents in the various territories where the curse of American slavery prevails. There is a life, a nerve, a truthfulness and a power in the pen of the fair author which enchain the attention, and penetrate and fascinate the reader. Slavery in its demoralizing and horrid character is vividly depicted, yet in the absence of all bitterness of language and harshness

of spirit. The humane and generous, as well as the cruel and iron-hearted proprietor, is set forth; and the perplexities of the master, as well as the oppressions of the negro, are described by a candid and faithful pen. As was meet in such a work, Christianity, instead of being either coldly ignored or contemptuously caricatured, as it is by some writers on slavery, is reverently acknowledged and honoured as the stern foe to every form of injustice, as the friend and solace of the oppressed, as the grand means of emancipating man from every species of thraldom, and elevating him to social dignity and true happiness. Methodism comes in for no small share of its ameliorating and blessed influence upon the slave-population of America. We anticipate that this book will be read by hundreds of thousands; and the thrilling facts it narrates, and the benign and holy sentiments it breathes, will find a powerful response in the bosom of humanity, and will, with the Divine blessing, accelerate the downfall of the accursed system of slavery.

It ought to be remarked that, though the volume contains a great mass of matter, and is handsomely got up, it is sold at a remarkably low price; as will be seen by referring to our advertisement in the wrapper of the LARGE MAGAZINE for May, and the JUVENILE for the present month.

A COMPARATIVE VIEW OF POPERY AND SCRIPTURAL CHRISTIANITY. By SAMUEL HULME. London Partridge and Oakey.

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At a time when Popery is putting forth the most vigorous and determined efforts to regain her ascendency in this land-when her emissaries are artfully insinuating her principles into the minds of our youth, and employing every means in their power to corrupt the faith and destroy the souls of our fellow-men-we hail every well-directed effort to resist the encroachments of the Man of Sin. Under these feelings we welcome the volume just published by Mr. Hulme.

The topics embraced in this work are the following:-The Sufficiency of Holy Scripture, as a rule of faith and practice, in opposition to the traditions and interpretations of the Church of Rome-The Right of Private Judgment, in opposition to the assumed authority of the Church of Rome-Transubstantiation, the Mass, and Worship of the HostThe Invocation of Saints, and the Veneration rendered to the Virgin MaryPurgatory, Merit, Indulgences, and Masses. Here is a wide range of subjects, yet, so far as the limits of the volume would admit, the esteemed author has done them justice. The pernicious tenets and idolatrous rites of Rome are correctly stated from indisputable authorities, their God-dishonouring and soul-destroying tendency is faithfully portrayed, and their palpable contradiction to the teachings of Holy Scripture is clearly demonstrated. Though the volume is small, it comprises a great amount of important information on the Papal controversy, and is a valuable compendium both of facts and arguments on the subjects discussed. We thank our esteemed brother for his seasonable production, and cordially recommend it to the members and friends in connexion with our Churches. Every local preacher, leader, and Sabbathschool teacher should have a copy of this excellent manual.

THE BEAUTIES OF THE BIBLE. An Argument for Inspiration. In Ten Lectures. By WILLIAM LEASK. London: Partridge and Oakey.

THE Occasion of the publishing of these excellent lectures is worth stating. The author, as he informs us in the preface, impressed with the spread, on the one hand, of a system of secular tyranny and antichristian error, the head quarters of which lie near the scene of his labours; and, on the other, with the evident favour shown by an increasing number of the people to infidel literature and infidel

teachers; thought that some good migh be accomplished if the literary attractions of the sacred volume, interwoven with an internal argument for its inspiration, were presented in a somewhat new and popular form. In accordance with the idea, eight of these lectures were prepared and delivered in a public hall in Kennington, during the months of November and December, 1851. The attendance was good, and the attention earnest, from the beginning to the end of the series. Clergymen of the Church of England, and ministers of different denominations, were present, and some persons who attend no place of worship were present also on several occasions. At the close of the lectures a resolution was passed requesting that they might be published, many copies being subscribed for at the time.

The topics introduced by the author are The Structure of the Bible-The Poetry of the Bible-The Dreams of the Bible-The Biography of the BibleThe Morality of the Bible-The Parables of the Bible--The Predictions of the Bible-The Miracles of the BibleThe Design of the Bible-and the Destiny of the Bible.

The work is descriptive rather than argumentative, and beautiful rather than profound. It has in it many eloquent passages, and, throughout, breathes a spirit of enlightened piety and true philanthropy. It indicates a refined taste, a poetic and well-cultivated mind. It is proper to state that in the Lectures c the Parables of the Bible the author maintains, at considerable length, the premillennial advent and personal reign of Our Lord on the earth. The respected author must bear with us when we state that we do not think his reasoning conclusive on this subject, nor do we regard its introduction in this work as essential to the great object of his lectures. With this exception, we consider the work well calculated not only to edify the Christian, but to impress the mind of the sceptic with "The Beauties of the Bible."

THE GOSPEL AND THE GREAT APOSTACY; or Popery Contrasted with Pure Christianity, in the light of History and Scripture; especially with reference to its present character and pretensions. Prize Essay. London: The Religious Tract Society.

Towards the close of the year 1850, that institution which is an honour to our country and the cause of Christi. anity, the Religious Tract Society, offered a premium of £100 for the best treatise on Popery, especially with reference to

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