unable to sleep a moment, yet her heart was fixed; the promises of the gospel yielded her sweet consolation; and Christ was more and more precious to her soul. She said, "I have not one miserable moment, nor one wish to be at home; my friends are so kind, I am quite satisfied." She continued much in this state till Friday evening, when she evidently appeared worse it was then, and not till then, that I thought her in any immediate danger. İ mentioned my fears to her, and she listened with that composed serenity of mind which so eminently appeared through the whole of her affliction. I said, "My dear, are you happy in the Lord ?" She answered, "Yes; but I want abundantly more." "Have you any fear of death?" "No, not any fear or dread upon my mind whatever." "Do you love God?" "I do; but I want to love him far more." While we were engaged in prayer, her soul was ardently breathing after God. I then asked her to give us an account of the dealings of God with her, which she did, with that clearness of expression, and fervour of mind, which made it peculiarly interefting to those who were present. Amongst a great many things which dropt from her dying lips the following are a few I have endeavoured, through life, to maintain a conscientious, upright character: I have learned to hear much, and to say but little. When I have been in company where there has been any levity, it has grieved my very soul, and yet I have not always had sufficient courage to put a stop to it. When I left home on Saturday I thought I should never return." Speaking of the kind friends at whose house she lay, she said, "I am under infinite obligations to them: I have no wish or desire to be at home;" and added, "the last time I met in class I felt myself much given up to God." Her venerable leader, Mr. Harrop, asked her on that occasion to give out a verse, and pray: she gave out what she repeated with her dying breath,

"Were the whole realm of nature mine,
"That were a present far too small;

"Love so amazing! so divine!

"Demands my soul, my life, my all."

In prayer she felt much enlargement of heart; her soul was much blessed with a sense of the exceeding preciousness of Christ; and she said, "If we never meet together again on earth, O may we meet around the throne, where pain and parting shall be no She said, "I don't know why I expressed myself in that way, but I place no confidence in enlargement of expression in prayer, for it may be possible to be very fluent therein without the influence of the Divine Spirit. I place all my dependance for salvation upon Christ alone, for I have no other foundation. I have no tie on earth, I am dead to all below, and feel my soul quite re

signed to the will of God." Alluding to heaven, she said, "I shall drink of the living streams! I shall be all in white! There God will wipe away all tears from my eyes!" She was then in a most blessed frame of mind. She expressed a wish that she could have some to sing the praises of God; and although she was extremely weak, yet she said, "I would join in singing the praises of God, in my heart:" and she cried out, "Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!" She told us how much she was affected when receiving the sacrament of the Lord's supper with the preachers at the district meeting; that she was so overwhelmed with a feeling sense of the goodness of God, that she was near breaking out in the praises of the Lord. Some time ago, she said, "I read, in the Evangelical Magazine, of a lady who said she was saved from self-seeking and self-pleasing: this is what I have been pursuing." Perceiving that her mind had been much engaged with God all the night, I said, "I think your mind has been more engaged in prayer of late than formerly, for I have observed you more fervent, and more constant in the important duty of private prayer." She said that the Lord had been drawing her mind more to himself than ever. During a slumber, her mind was carried to the better world, and as she was expressing what she had seen, I said, " My dear love, the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed you, and lead you to fountains of living waters." "O yes," said she, "to living streams." She then informed us how the enemy had tempted her, in the beginning of her illness, to believe that she had never repented, and that her experience was all a delusion, &c. but that she cried unto the Lord for help, and he graciously delivered her. She then said, "I am willing to go, there is room in heaven for me. Praise the Lord, I have no fear or doubt. But what is my past experience-what have I felt and known, if I do not feel Now? I want to go to heaven in holy triumph." After this she was restless, and said, "Sleep, O sleep! I hope I shall not displease the Lord in desiring a little sleep!" I spoke to her on the painful subject of parting, and said, "I hope we shall meet again." She replied, very emphatically, "that would be awful indeed, not to meet there, when we have so long worshipped before the same throne. Yes, we shall meet again, and I shall know you there: but I will say more to you on this subject when I have got a little more strength." But, alas, that time never came ! She evidently grew weaker and weaker; death was making rapid strides to take her away. In the morning both the doctor and apothecary saw her-but there was no hope left. During the forenoon she evidently appeared to be dying. She sat down in the chair about a quarter before twelve, and in half an hour her happy spirit took its flight to realms of endless glory, without either sigh or groan. Thus lived, and thus died, my dear,

affectionate wife, on July 18, 1812, in the forty-sixth year of her age, after having been married nineteen years and ten months. A few thoughts may, perhaps, further elucidate her character.

1. Her piety was genuine, deep, and lasting; she was much attached to the Methodist doctrine and discipline ;-her principles were drawn from the word of truth. She was a loyer of the Bible -she read it with diligence and application. She constantly attended the means of grace; and, living near the fountain of blessedness, her soul drank freely of the streams of the waters of life. In many circuits she performed the important duty of meeting a class. As a leader she was much respected and beloved, and was made useful to many.

2. In her disposition she was mild, affable, and engaging. She never hastily formed attachments; but when formed they were lasting. I have frequently seen her heart wrung with grief at leaving a circuit, and parting with her christian friends. She possessed all the christian virtues. Her gratitude shone with great splendour; her faith was strong and active; her love, pure and and constant; and her zeal discreet and ardent.

3. As a wife, she was kind, affectionate, and obliging, and indefatigable in promoting my happiness and usefulness. She was strictly upright in all her dealings. She felt much for the poor, and relieved them according to her power. In a word, in her dress, conversation, her public and private walk, taking her for all in all, she was a pattern for professors. To me, her death is the greatest loss I could sustain on earth. I have, in a good degree, been reconciled to this bereavement of Divine providence, by the assurance I have of her endless happiness; and likewise, from the great kindness I have experienced from my friends in Beverley and Hull; and from the consideration, that it will be but a little while before we shall meet again, where we shall unite in singing the Song of Moses and the Lamb. May this be my happy portion. Amen.

The following inscription and epitaph are put upon her gravestone in Beverly church-yard, which (if they meet your approbation) you will please to insert.

"Near this place are deposited the remains of Christiana Catherine Kitty Hickling, wife of the Rev. John Hickling, minister of the gospel in the society late in connexion with the Rev. John Wesley: who departed this life July 18, 1812, in the forty-sixth year of her

age.

"Stranger, if youth's seductive bloom
Thy soul in pleasure's vest arrays,
Pause at this sad and silent tomb,
And learn how swift thy bliss decays!
But, ah! if woe has stabb'd thy breast,
And dimm'd with tears thy youthful eye;

Mourner, the grave's a house of rest,
And this one teaches how to die-
For she, who sleeps this stone beneath,
'Tho' many an hour to pain was given,
Smil'd at the hovering dart of death,
While hope display'd the joys of heaven.”

MISCELLANEOUS.

THE TRAVELLER'S SOLILOQUY, OR CATECHISM. WHAT may the event of this journey be? Death.. "Boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth, Prov. xxvii. 1. Go to now, ye that say, To-day, or to-morrow, we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy, and sell, and get gain: whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow; for what is your life? it is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away," James iv. 13, 14.

What is death? It is the separation of the soul and body, 2 Cor. v. 1.

Is death to be made light of? Surely not. It is a most weighty concern; and so terrible to some, that they are kept in bondage on account of it all their lives, Heb. ii. 15. Job xviii. 14.

What makes death so terrible?

1. Those things which accompany it, as pains, and conflicts, and agonies. 2. Its office, which is to transfer us into the other unknown, eternal world of spirits. 3. The amazingly important things that are to follow after it; even the judgment day, and hell, for those that are not made meet for heaven, Heb. ix. 27. Rev. vi. 8.

If death is so weighty a matter, am I prepared for it? I am afraid not.

Why? what is a preparation for it? A spiritual union with the Lord Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit working operative faith in the heart; and the certain effects of that union, peace with God, and holiness of heart and life, 1 John v. 12. 2 Pet. i. 3-8. 11. iii. 14. Rev. xiv. 14.

What will the consequence be, if I should die without such preparation? Infinite misery; even the separation both of my soul and body from the Lord to all eternity. He that believeth not (receiveth not, but rejecteth) the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Is there any way to prevent my suffering this misery? Yes. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved," Acts xvi. 31. "He that believeth shall be saved," Mark xvi. 16. Rom. viii. 1, 33, 34.

But what is it to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? It is to re

ceive him in each of his mediatorial offices as he is offered to us in the gospel; as a Prophet to teach you; as a Priest who has already made atonement for your sins, and is now pleading your cause at the right hand of God in glory; and as a King to reign over you, and rule in your heart by his Spirit, John i. 12.

But will Christ receive me if I come to him? O yes! he is more ready to receive you than you are to come to him. When the Prodigal arose and came to his Father, he came but slowly, being burdened with a heavy load of sin and guilt; but when he was yet a great way off, his Father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and gave him the kiss of peace and reconciliation, Luke xv. 20.

But how may I be assured that he is willing to receive me? Make trial of him yourself. Believe what he says in the gospel : there you will find that he is a most gracious, willing Saviour; for therein you have, 1. his most serious invitations: "Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, Matth. xi. 28. Ho! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters," Isa. lv. 1. 2. These invitations are confirmed with his oath: "As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked," Ezek. xxxiii. 11. 3. They are attended with pathetical wishes, and sighs, and groans: "Oh that thou hadst known, (O Jerusalem, Jerusalem) even thou, at least, in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace," Luke xix. 41, 42. 4. They are delivered with undíssembled tears: he wept over it. 5. Yea, he not only shed his tears, but his blood, to convince you of his willingness. Behold him in his dying posture upon the cross, stretching out his dying arms to embrace you; every one of his wounds is, as it were, a mouth to assure you of his abundant willingness to receive, and bless, and save you.

But my sins are very great; I am the chief of sinners: will he receive and pardon such a one? Yes, he will: if you are but willing to be governed by him, and saved from your sins: "Come now, says he, and let us reason together; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool," Isa. i. 18.

This is comfortable news indeed: but may I not put off the closing of Christ for a little while, and yet not hazard my eternal happiness, since I resolve to come to him at last? No: there must be no delays in this case. David said, "I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments," Psal. cxix. 60.

Why may I not defer it, at least for a short time? For many important reasons this work can bear no delay. 1. The offers of grace are made only for the present time: "Whilst it is said to-day, harden not your heart," Heb. iii. 5. If God should have patience with you one day more, you do not know that he will. 2. Your VÓL. XXXVI. AUGUST, 1813.