was talking to his aged mother on religious subjects; and the other occasion was of a similar kind. Though he was in the farming business, he would contrive to be at his class, if not the whole, yet some part of the time, both in seed time and in harvest.

Miss Elizabeth Ekins, niece to Mr. William Ekins, of Raunds, the subject of the former memoir, was much profited by the instructions and example of her uncle, who lived with her father till he was married, which event took place two years before his death. When she was very young, she remembered that her uncle had often talked to her about her duty to God, and how she ought to live to please him; and that he also sang hymns, some of which she learned. The Spirit of God enlightened her mind to see that she had offended her Maker, on account of which she was troubled at or before she was six years of age. At eleven, she was more deeply concerned about the salvation of her soul, and began to bow her knees in prayer to God; and she often wept for her sins and early transgressions: but having no particular acquaintance with any young women who were under the government of religious principles, she associated with such as took more pleasure in earthly things; and she became so much like them that she left off prayer. About fourteen, she went to a boarding-school; and while there, she could not see that the pursuit of dress and fashion was the way to be happy. When she left the school, she found her elder sister had joined the Methodist society. She saw that her sister was very much altered, had become plain in her dress, was very attentive to her religious duties, and took delight in the means of grace. She found she could have no companion in her sister, unless she sought the Lord with her. As there were several persons in the town at that time earnestly seeking the Lord, as well as others who had "tasted that he is good," some of whom were young women, she got into their company, and was much profited by their conversation; became deeply concerned for the welfare of her soul, and began again to bow her knees in prayer. She was invited and went to a class meeting; and she sought the Lord with great diligence. She both saw and felt herself a vile, guilty, miserable sinner, insomuch that she was at times in painful doubt whether she should ever obtain mercy; and was under some degree of temptation to leave off meeting in class. But some of the society were very diligent in their affectionate attentions to her, both for her salvation and continuance among them. She was prevailed on to attend, and fourteen weeks after this she obtained a sense of the favour of God, while meeting in class. To that meeting she went with so very heavy a heart, that when her leader spoke to he, she could return him no answer; but, at VOL. XXXIX. JANUARY, 1816. * G*

the concluding prayer, her mind was fully released from the burden of guilt for her past sins, and her soul was made exceedingly happy in God her Saviour. For three days she continued in a state of uninterrupted joy. When the powerful sensation of that joy had somewhat abated, a doubt arose in her mind, whether she was saved as she had believed; but such were her views of the love of God to her, the sufficiency of the redemption in Christ for her, and the renewed visitations of the Holy Spirit in her, that uncertainty, in that important matter, had place but a little, if any at all, in her. She soon began to meet in band with her sister and another young woman, which tended greatly to her growth and establishment in grace. She became a teacher in the Sunday-school, helped to instruct the children, and in her class, and sometimes at prayer meetings, she engaged in prayer; and her humble and earnest addresses to God were attended with much profit to them who heard her. She gave herself so completely to God, according to her ability, time and circumstances, as to be "ready to every good work." Till the time she was confined by affliction, she never neglected her class or band meeting, when able to attend; and when she was confined, the class was met at her father's house. It was about a year after she had joined the society, that she was arrested by a consumption, which carried her off in about six months. When she could not get out to the means of grace, I called on her, and desired her to give me a statement of her conversion to God, and the evidence she then had of her acceptance with him. On those important subjects she gave a very satisfactory account, both of the safety and comfort of her soul; the substance of which is given in this memoir. In a conversation I had with her some weeks after, she observed that she had both seen and felt the importance of knowing her heart to be "cleansed from all unrighteousness." She earnestly sought this grace, and after some time she had such enlargement of heart in the love of God, that from that period to her death, she was filled with greater peace and joy than before.

In this part of the narrative, I would connect a circumstance of consideracle interest. Her parents and other relations were very desirous that her health should be restored: but when they saw the best medical help, and all other means fail, they looked forward with solemnity, yet with Christian hope, to her death. But about six or seven weeks before her departure, a brother of her's, about eleven years of age, was seized with a complaint of which he died, about a fortnight before her. This youth was a boy of but few words. After the death of his uncle, through the serious turn of his sisters and the help of his school-master, he was much restrained from evil, and attentive to religious instruc

tion. That which led me to have favourable thoughts of his religious impressions, was what took place twelve months before. his death. He saved his pocket money to purchase himself a Bible; and when it was not sent as soon as he expected, he evidently felt it a disappointment. When the nature of his affliction was understood by medical men, as admitting of very little, if any, hope of his life, for many days a deep concern was felt in the family for the salvation of his soul. Under his affliction, he prayed to God for mercy, and many others prayed with, and for him; and their united prayers were not in vain. God heard, and sent the spirit of adoption into his heart His mother was with him at the time. He told her how happy God had made him! -what love he felt in his heart! At that time he was enabled to say such things about the goodness of God to him, the sufferings of Christ for his salvation, and his hope of heaven, as filled his father and mother, and all that heard him, with great surprise. His father said, if he had not heard him, he would not have believed his son could have spoken so wisely on his own experience, and other religious subjects. After his father had heard him, he became more fully persuaded that his illness would terminate in death. Miss E. rejoiced to hear what great things God had done for her brother. As she was below, and he above stairs, both confined to their beds, she was carried up to him, to hear his testimony from his own mouth. On the evening her brother was buried, she was taken with strong pain in her side. Her mother being alarmed at it, and expecting her immediate death, she told her not to be troubled for her, saying, "Mother, how happy I am! how happy I am! I want to die, and be where my brother is." When very weak, and much troubled with her cough, one said to her, "Dying is hard work:" she replied, "No, not to me." When she had said nothing for some time, and her friends thought she could speak no more, about three hours before she departed, she saw her mother and sister in the room; and, quite unexpectedly, spoke aloud to her mother, and said, "Mother, pray for my release: they are coming, they are coming for me!" These were the last words she was heard to utter, and soon after, she expired, May 26, 1514, in the sixteenth year of her age.

Miss E. had a short Christian race, but it was well run. She was the first young woman who died a member of the Methodist society at Raunds, and has set an excellent example of the power of divine grace, as "able to save to the uttermost:" and, even in prospect of immediate dissolution, enable its possessors "to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Her uncle shewed the way to the aged, how both to live and die happy in the faith of Christ. Miss E. shewed the power of true religion to young people, as, at an age when such are apt to calculate on

gratifying themselves with the pleasures of this world, she, having just finished her education, to qualify her the better for society, and having prospects of rather a flattering nature for placing her above want, rose above all these allurements to attach her to this world, and so manifested her faith in Christ, her love to him, and desire to be with him, as to resist their combined influence, and any thing that courted her stay on earth. Her still younger brother set an example of knowing the Holy Scriptures in his youth; nay, even in his childhood; and "that out of the mouths of babes and sucklings God can perfect praise." Miss E. said she found all the means of grace both profitable and pleasant to her soul, but her band-meetings most so. Of the books she read next to the Bible, Mr. Wesley's "Christian Perfection" had been of the greatest benefit to her. She was one of those rare characters of her sex and age who answered the description given by St. Paul of virgin piety, in his day: "the unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit." In this family have been seen the blessed effects, both in life and death, of hearing the gospel preached, when attended with divine power, and received by faith; and this will be more abundantly manifest “at the resurrection of the just."

HENRY ANDERSON.

A SHORT ACCOUNT OF WILLIAM ADAMS,

A useful Local Preacher.

I believe he was born in this town, (Birmingham) and inclined to sobriety from his youth, a very uncommon thing in this place, which abounds with drunkenness, lewdness, and Sabbathbreaking, more than any town which I know in England. However, our brother was happily preserved from all gross immoralities but still he was without God and without hope in the world, nor did he feel any need of a change of heart. As he did not run into the same excesses of riot which other young men did, most probably he thought highly of himself, and was ready to say to another, "stand by thyself, come not near me, I am holier than thou;" as is common in such cases. The regularity of his conduct was the more to be admired, because his father was very far from being a moral man, as is the case with the generality of working men in this town, so that their poor children are very mach to be pitied; for they have neither example nor precept; which makes their situation truly deplorable. The Sunday-Schools are an unspeakable mercy to thousands of poor children in Birmingham; they are humanized, and, I trust, brought to be tolerably moral; and some, I hope, will be Christians indeed.

But to return to our deceased brother. He was a sober, sedate, moral character; and in the pains he took to improve his mind, was an example to young men in general. The way in which it pleased God to awaken him to a sense of his danger was as follows: One Lord's-day, he, and his mother, and sister, were rather sauntering about, and scarcely knew how to dispose of themselves; it being a fine day, they thought they would take a walk to a church about two miles off; and coming by our, chapel at Bellmount Row, a place at which they never had been, nor in any other Methodist chapel; and as it was the time of public service, they all went in, and there the Lord in mercy met them, and awakened the conscience of each of them, so that they saw and felt their need of a Saviour. Not long after, William found the "peace of God which passeth all understanding," and I believe he held it fast to the latest moment of his life. Some years after he obtained a sense of the mercy of God to his own soul, he felt it impressed upon his mind to publish the same salvation to others; and after the usual mode of trial, he was taken into the local preachers' plan, and well received wherever he was sent.

He took great pains to improve his talent by reading, writing, and consequently by thinking. He was a man of prayer, which indeed all should be who bear a sacred character, or however splendid their talents may be, they are only like painted guideposts, they shew the way, but are not walking in it: whereas the true guide must shew the traveller the way by walking before him. Such was the character of our deceased friend; his walk was the walk of a true Christian, an Israelite indeed, in whom there was no guile; so that I have no apologies to make for any blunders or improprieties in any part of his private conduct, in any relation or connexion in which he stood. A consistent character is highly becoming every professor of religion, but more especially every preacher of the gospel; and such was the character of our deceased brother. On the one hand, there was nothing airy or foolish in his behaviour or conversation, nor was there, on the other, any thing sullen, censorious, gloomy, or forbidding. He was cheerful, but not a trifler; solid, but not sad.

He was very much given to study, and hence would be up at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, reading and writing. He left many quires of paper, in which he had written his thoughts upon various subjects, which do credit to his judgment as well as to his manner of spending his time. Indeed, it seemed to be his study how to redeem time, and how it might be devoted to the best of purposes. A worthy example. May all who preach the gospel imitate him as he did his Divine Master.

What brought him to an early grave was a decline, brought