stantly asked her, My dear, is Jesus precious to you now?' She answered,- Oh! yes, He is very, very precious-I am happy-I am happy-very, very happy.' When Mr. B. returned, life was very near its close; the eye was fixed;-there was no motion but of the chest;-the cold sweat of death covered her lately vigorous and healthy limbs and features, and her breathing was quickened into rapid and painful respirations. Her husband, to whom at that moment the goodness of God granted most extraordinary support, was surprised, although so long expecting it, at what he saw. He, Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler, Miss E. Howell, and the servant, threw themselves on their knees, commending the departing spirit to her waiting Saviour. The solemnity of those moments is unutterable; the assurance of the Redeemer's presence which pervaded every mindthe confidence of the believer's instant entrance into the glory and happiness of heaven, as accepted in the Beloved, which sustained and overwhelmed every soul-must never be forgotten. To those who felt it, there could be scarcely greater evidence in a sensible demonstration. Mrs. Barber expired between one and two o'clock on Tuesday, August 20, 1822, but the moment when the spirit escaped, was not rendered remarkable by any evidence, except a sudden closing of the eye-lids as she ceased to breathe. 30th August, 1822. There must be-there assuredly is-something in the doctrines of the Redeemer's Religion divine, and in the influence of its truths omnipotent, and in the consolation of its assurances infinitely valuable, which could thus sooth the mind into acquiescence, under the perceived approaches of a dispensation of Divine Providence, that came so soon and so suddenly upon the earthly happiness of a young pair, and dissipated it; that invaded their flattering prospects, and their fondly-cherished hopes, and swept them all utterly away. The providence of God-the sovereignty of His administrations-the power-the promptness and the sufficiency of His grace-His glory in the success of His Redeeming Plan, and in the triumphant death of His saints--are in this case all illustrated; while it is equally to be inferred, that, if there are some matters of which He giveth none account to any, it is because they are too grand to be comprehended by finite minds, or too unsuitable to the present state of existence, to be communicated. The sure refuge of faith is, that His will is holy, and just, and good; and that His word, in which His will is expressed, can never fail. Heaven and earth shall pass away to complete its fulfilment. I dare not trust myself to delineate the character of my late very dear wife, whom, if I should but accurately describe, I should certainly be disbelieved, as not impartial, by those who did not intimately know her; for those who did, such a delineation is needless; and for them, chiefly, this narrative is intended. In them, I shall meet a counterpart of that interest, which cannot be exhausted by dwelling in minute detail-too minute, and even tedious, for general circulation-upon the incidents in the progress of that fierce disease, which has broken in violently upon our happiness, and left us to lament an irretrievable loss. But Oh! it is indeed cheering to reflect, that, if the happiness of Mrs. Barber's society is withdrawn from this world, and the light of her Christian example has thus early been shrouded by the clouds of heaven; yet, as she disappeared from human sight, she left pictured on the memory of survivors the mild radiance of her parting glory, breaking through the deep darkness that must otherwise have overwhelmed, to illustrate their path, and dissipate their dread, and allure their affections, and animate their hopes, in their yet protracted journeyings to the abode of holiness and deathless joy, where she now dwells. Dec. 1822. W. B. Roberts, Printer, Gloucester. |