resignation. Her refuge was in Christ: her end was peace. W. W. S. August 26th.-At Caythorpe, in the Sleaford Circuit, Mr. William White. He was born at Caythorpe on June 3d, 1831, and was favoured with parents who lived in the fear of God. He was apprenticed in the same village; and, during his apprenticeship, became the subject of saving grace. Although his master was not then converted, he had a lively sense of the importance of religion, and was induced to avail himself of the services of his young apprentice in conducting family-worship. Thus did the young disciple" hold forth the word of life," and exert a salutary influence on the family-circle; for both his master and his mistress were shortly brought to God. At the age of seventeen, William White began to call sinners to repentance; and for twenty years preached the Gospel with great acceptance and success. He was much esteemed in the village in which he resided; and throughout the Circuit was highly respected as a faithful servant of Christ. For several years he held the office of Class-leader, and attended punctually to the duties devolving upon him. During the affliction which terminated in death, he was mercifully sustained; and although, at times, his mind wandered, there were seasons of mental vigour and spiritual consolation, when he gave to his distressed wife a distinct testimony to his personal interest in Christ, assuring her that he was safely resting on the Rock of Ages. W. S. September 16th.-At West-Witton, in the Middleham Circuit, Mrs. Elizabeth Rodwell. In early life she gave her heart to God, and joined the Methodist Society, of which she continued a member and an ornament for nearly forty years. For steadfastness in the faith, spiritual earnestness, and power in prayer, she became distinguished. By much communion with God, she was enabled eminently to serve Him and her generation according to His will. In her household as a Christian parent, in her class as a faithful leader, and in the village as a Christian friend, and visiter of the afflicted, she was a power and a blessing. She "warred a good warfare," and passed away saying, "I have fought a good fight." J. B. D. October 5th.-At Mytholmroyd, at the residence of his step-daughter, Mrs. Clay, Mr. George Hartley, in his eighty-third year. He was the oldest Local preacher in the SowerbyBridge Circuit, having entered upon that honourable work in the year 1808. It was under the ministry of the late Rev. Cleland Kirkpatrick, when about seventeen years old, that he was brought to the knowledge of the truth. By reading and study he diligently sought to qualify himself for usefulness; nor did he labour in vain. When he was the leader of a class of forty members, many years ago, it was his rule to visit any who had been absent from class twice in succession. Nor was he satisfied till each obtained a clear sense of acceptance with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Although sel dom able to preach during the last twelve years, he continued to evince the liveliest interest in the state of the work of God; and many loving messages did he send to his brethren, the Local preachers, at their quarterly gatherings. He assured the Superintendent of the Circuit, that no day had passed since his appointment in which he had not remembered him in prayer by name. Shortly before his departure, he said to a grandson and grand-daughter, who were waiting upon him, "I don't think I shall see the morning. I shall soon be at home. 'Ready for me the angels wait, To triumph in my blest estate." " While the latter gave him a few spoonsful of tea, he looked at her, and said, "They gave Him vinegar to drink!" "I am persuaded," he impressively added, "that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate me from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus my Lord!" т. н. October 16th.-At Willoughton, in the Gainsborough Circuit, Mr. John Post, aged fiftyseven years. For thirty-five years he was an earnest and devoted member of the WesleyanMethodist Society. Having, at the beginning of his career, counted the cost, and being upheld by the grace of Christ, he never swerved, but held fast his confidence to the end. afflictions towards the close of life were very painful; but he bore them with lowly submission to the Divine will, and not a murmuring word escaped his lips. He was a man of prayer, and took a deep interest in every department of the work of God. His death was most peaceful and happy. S. T. His November 7th.-At Sunny-Bank, Shipley, Mary Jane, the beloved daughter of the Rev. John P. Lockwood. She was converted to God in early life, and the reality of that great change was abundantly manifested by her transparent simplicity and her high spiritual tone. Modest and retiring, she shunned publicity; but her efforts for the spiritual welfare of others were almost unceasing; and, as the result of the Divine blessing upon them, a rich harvest of spiritual good has been already reaped, in cases of sourd conversion. Possessing an amiable disposition, and a mind under the control of Christian principle, as well as refined by careful culture, she won the esteem of all with whom she was associated, and her memory is fragrant. Her removal was comparatively unexpected; but the river seemed to be crossed at its narrowest part. She was fully matured for" the inheritance of the saints in light;" and her death was in keeping with her life,-serene and tranquil. LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM NICHOLS, 46, HOXTON SQUARE. J. P. L. WESLEYAN-METHODIST MAGAZINE. FEBRUARY, 1868. MEMOIR OF THE REV. JOHN OSBORN, OF BISLEY, GLOUCESTERSHIRE. THE records of the lives of faithful Christians are invaluable to the church, and not seldom prove a channel of grace to yet unawakened souls. There is an influence accompanying consistent piety, which, by God's blessing, will often prevail, where all other influences are feeble. A truly Christian life,-an example of earnest benevolence and selfsacrifice,-will often clothe godly warning and counsel with a power which nothing else could give them. But such lives are, alas! too rare; so that when they are found, it becomes the church to endeavour, as far as possible, to perpetuate their usefulness. It is with this object that the following record of a devoted Christian and faithful minister has been prepared. JOHN OSBORN was born at Sleechcoombe, in Cornwall, May 30th, 1811, and was the youngest of a family of five children. Very little is known of his early history; but, as his father lost his life through an accident in a mine, when John was yet a babe, and the family was thus thrown upon the world, it is probable that his course, for some years at least, was one of considerable hardship. But, if destitute of many earthly comforts, he enjoyed an inestimable advantage in the habitual attendance of the family upon the services of God's house. The importance of this can scarcely be over-estimated; and, certainly, those parents have no right to expect their children to become an honour to the Church, or a comfort to themselves, who are indifferent to their regular attendance upon the services of the sanctuary. the case of John Osborn, this observance of public worship was followed by the happiest result. His mind and heart were early impressed with the importance of God's truth, and with the realities of eternity; and it was now, doubtless, that the seed was sown, which afterwards, in a holy life, produced such abundant fruit. In We have the clearest evidence of his conversion to God. In a record which has been found among his papers, he states that at a very early period he was a subject of Divine impressions, and especially when about eight years old; "but it was not," he writes, “ until I had passed the twelfth year of my age, that I became decided VOL. XIV.-FIFTH SERIES. H for God. In the year 1824, when the Holy Spirit was graciously poured out upon a great number of the inhabitants of Cornwall, I felt deeply convinced of my state and danger as a sinner. I sought pardon through Christ, with strong crying and tears, and could not be comforted until God spoke peace to my soul. This comfort I found the last Sabbath in February of the same year, after diligently seeking it five weeks, in the use of all the means to which I had access. The moment in which I felt my sins forgiven, my heart was filled with love to God and man. I then rejoiced in God my Saviour, and for some time afterwards I could say, 'Walking in all His ways, I find Having thus given himself to the Lord, John Osborn at once joined the Church by uniting himself with the Wesleyan-Methodist Society at Three Burrows, near his own residence. The godly steadfastness which marked his subsequent career, began to be shown at this early period. It was at this time no trifling matter to be a Methodist. But although he knew what it would cost him to profess Christ, he did not hesitate; and he never afterwards wavered, but thenceforward resolutely avoided everything which might, in his opinion, tend to shake his Christian principles. He often walked several miles in order to avoid passing the fields in which his old companions were playing, lest he might so far yield to temptation as to bring darkness upon his mind, or a reproach upon God's cause. The firmness of Mr. Osborn's character may be illustrated by an incident of his early history. During an agitation which, about this period, disturbed the Methodist body where he resided, his classleader joined the agitators, and, with his class, left the Connexion. The subject of our memoir, who was the youngest member of the class, was the only one who remained steadfast. He loved his leader very much, and looked up to him as a father; but although the latter said to him with tears, that he thought that "he would have been the last to forsake him," Mr. Osborn persevered in his attachment to Methodism. Now, also, he had to walk some miles to attend the services of the Old Connexion, the scceders having retained possession of the chapel in the village. It is only right to add, that he lived to see his class-leader come back to that branch of the Church which he had rashly forsaken. For some years after his conversion, Mr. Osborn was the only member of the family who was pious. But his uniformly consistent conduct did not fail to make a good impression upon those around him, and he lived to see all his brothers and sisters brought to God. In the year 1830, being then nineteen years of age, Mr. Osborn became a Local preacher; and, after faithfully discharging for five |