time she was not able, on account of the fluctuating state of her health, to be a regular attendant at the school. Her complaint at length terminated in consumption, in which her chief sufferings were from excessive and long-continued weakness, which almost entirely incapacitated her from speaking; this, together with natural timidity, deprived her teacher of the pleasure of much conversation with her, though she ever evinced the most lively interest and thankfulness for religious reading and converse. Her lingering illness she bore with Christian meekness and patience-fruits, no doubt, which the Holy Spirit had wrought in her. She, like all the children of God, had her doubts and fears, the enemy of her soul sometimes suggesting that her sins were too great to be pardoned; though in general she indulged the hope that, through the blood of Christ, she was washed from all her sins, and should obtain an eternal inheritance in the mansions of her Father's house above. Constantly, through the whole of her illness, her frame of mind was, "Thy will be done:" though she desired rather to depart and to be with Christ, yet she expressed her entire willingness to remain so long as her heavenly Father saw it to be needful. evening before her death, the latter part of the 7th chapter of the book of Revelation was read to her, which, though unable to utter a word, she heard with delight; and the following morning, after a night of great suffering from violent convulsions, which were borne without a murmur, she fell asleep in Jesus, and doubtless now forms one of the ransomed company, who, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb, dwell for ever in the heavenly temple. When her body was committed to the dust, and the solemn and affecting burial-service of our Church read over her lifeless form, it was delightful to anticipate, in sure and certain hope, her resurrection at the last day unto eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Calling on her mother after her death (which happened the latter part of April, 1835), she mentioned that L. was in the habit every evening of praying with her, and conversing on the love of the Redeemer, and frequently exclaiming, "I should never have known any of these things, if I had not heard them at the Sundayschool." From the Church of England Magazine.

The

ON THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH.

As it is so obviously a part of the duty of District Visitors to recommend the observance of the Sabbath, the following extracts from the Report of a Meeting held in the Parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, will be interesting:

CONNEXION BETWEEN THE REGULAR OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH AND HABITS OF PRUDENCE AND FORETHOUGHT.

"G. Rochfort Clarke, Esq., related that an influential gin-shop keeper, who was anxious that public-houses and gin-shops should be closed altogether on the Lord's-day, had about three years ago obtained considerably more than 200 signatures from that class of persons, in favour of that part of Sir Andrew Agnew's Bill which would have effected that object. That person had made a remark to him (Mr. Clarke) worthy of being recorded. He was well acquainted with the character of the poorer classes in the metropolis, who now often consume in drink what would feed the hungry and clothe the naked in their families; and he had said concerning these persons, 'If you succeed in closing the shops, the markets, and the public houses, on the Lord's-day, you will do much to change them from an improvident to a provident people. For,' he continued, at present the lower classes only live from hand to mouth, buying on each day what they want at the moment. They know that the shops will be opened even when the Lord's-day comes, and they therefore postpone buying what they want until the morning of that day. But put an end to all trading on the Lord'sday, and you will compel the man or his wife to provide for the Lord's-day, that is, to think of the morrow: this they must do again and again as the Lord's-day returns; and you will thus introduce a new principle into their minds, and establish what will have a direct tendency towards rendering them provident.”

PROGRESS OF RIGHT FEELING.

“Mr. John Bell, the pastry-cook and confectioner, of No. 11, High Holborn, and 16, Middle-row, requested permission to address a few words to his fellow-parishioners and tradesmen, to express the good which had been done to him by those Meetings. He had been twelve years in business

as a pastry-cook, and during all that time had been a miserable man in business. He had certainly read his Bible at home, but still he had profaned the Sabbath at the same time, and had lost much by doing so. He had always had some of his family ill and the doctor in his house, which he attributed to that cause. He first began, about fifteen months ago, to attend church in the morning, but he still continued to make fresh pastry on the Sabbath morning. Many of his neighbours left tracts at his house, and said, what a pity it was he should continue to do so, and to keep open his shop on the Lord's-day. He used to ask his apprentice if he ever went to church; and the answer he received was, 'No; what am I fit for after working here till three o'clock of the afternoon? if I go to church, I only fall asleep.' He (Mr. Bell) at last could scarcely be civil to his customers, so much was he annoyed by the inward monitor that told him he was breaking the Sabbath. When the first sermon was preached on the subject of these Meetings, he hesitated to go. He did go, however; and his conscience was so much affected by it, that when he came home he told his neighbours his mind was quite made up. He then attended Mr. Dale's Meeting, at St. Bride's, on the Tuesday, and prevailed on his wife to go with him. His wife was afraid that they should not get on if they shut up their shop on the Lord'sday, and reminded him that they had a young family to provide for; but his answer was, 'What is all that compared with our future happiness? When he saw his wife hold up her hand in support of the Resolutions at Mr. Dale's Meeting, he whispered to her, 'That is fatal; you must not go away from this place and change your mind. I am determined to shut up the shop on Sundays.' He did so, and wished that all the working classes would unite in not working on the Lord's-day, instead of uniting to strike for wages. They would soon find their masters give way, for they would notcarry out the trays on their own heads, and they would no longer prevent them from going to church. He had had six hundred circulars printed to send round to his customers, and had shut up his shop. His neighbours said to him, 'Don't close your shop yet, wait till the 1st of January;' but his mind was made up, and he closed at once; and though this, Christmas was very bad for many kinds of shopkeepers, and, amongst others, to pastry-cooks, because the weather was

eyes

heavy and the roads stopped up with snow, so that people could not send so many presents, yet he had calculated, that during the last Christmas week he was 17. better in six days, than he was the year before in seven. But what matter was it whether they died rich or not, so long as they died rich in the of the Lord! Mr. Bell then concluded his observations by stating that one of his best customers, late one Saturday night, had given him an order to execute on the Lord'sday, begging that, although it had ceased to be his practice, yet he would do it for him in that particular instance; but he had positively refused to execute the order on the Lord'sday, yet expressed his willingness to do it, if possible, that night; and though his men had left the workshop, he put on his jacket, went into the bakehouse, and executed the order before twelve o'clock on Saturday night. By that order he earned fourteen shillings, and he thought more of those fourteen shillings, than he should of 201. earned on the Lord's-day."

GRACE BENNETT, THE BLIND PAUPER.

(From Recollections of a Country Pastor.)

AMONG the inmates of the workhouse, on my first arrival, was a very old and infirm woman, who had been blind from her youth; her name was Grace Bennett. I was struck with her decent appearance the first time I saw her, as she entered the room in which service was generally read, leaning on the arm of the matron. Her manner was particularly devout during prayers; and though very coarsely clad, in the garments provided by the parish, there was an air of great respectability about her. Calling a day or two after, to speak with the matron on some business, I adverted to this poor woman, and found that, besides blindness, itself a grievous calamity, she was afflicted with an accumulation of disorders calculated to render life almost intolerable; that, contrary to all expectation, she had lingered on year after year. is a patient creature," said the matron, as ever lived; I never heard her utter a word of complaint. She is often confined for weeks, or even months, together, to her bed; but she never repines. A few benevolent persons in the town send her now and then a little tea and sugar, and such things

66

"She

as the house does not allow; and she always appears most grateful. I heard her, one day lately, when she did not know any one could hear her, expressing her thanks to God for having put it into the hearts of her friends to supply her with some little comforts, of which she acknowledged herself utterly unworthy. Poor creature," continued the matron, who was a benevolent woman, but without much religion, "she is very badly to-day; she was the worse of attending service the other night. Should you wish to see her?"

"By all means," I replied.

The matron conducted me to a small room, apart from the large chamber in which the women generally slept, and here, on a small but not uncomfortable bed, lay Grace Bennett. Her friends in the town had sent her an extra pair of sheets and blankets, and some little articles, which made the room tidy.

"This is the gentleman that read prayers the night before last, Grace. I beg your pardon, sir," said she, curtseying, "but I forget your name. He wishes to speak to you, Grace."

The matron left the room; and I entered into conversation with the poor sufferer, and found that, in addition to blindness, her bodily pains had been almost inconceivable. "I think," she said, "I cannot last long; but I will contentedly wait till my change come." She told me her father had been a respectable man in trade in the parish, but had been entirely ruined; that he had died many years ago, and her mother had died when she was a child. One friend after another had been raised up to support her; but at length they had died also, and for eighteen years she had been in the workhouse. The former matron had used her very ill, appropriating for her own use the little articles that were sometimes sent to the inmates; but of the present matron she spoke as being very kind.

She was manifestly in great pain, yet she was very cheerful. I began to enter with her freely on spiritual subjects, and was surprised to find her so well instructed.

Her Chris

tian feelings and experience were obviously far beyond my own. She appeared well versed in the Bible, which the more astonished me, on account of her having been born blind; but she had, when able, been a constant attendant at Divine service. She had embraced every opportunity of