lively interest in everything bearing on their reputation, honour, and usefulness. As Circuit-steward he was studious to promote their personal and domestic comfort, and his official intercourse with them will be long and gratefully remembered by many. Nor should his liberality be forgotten. He was discriminating and unostentatious; perhaps it is not too much to affirm that no appropriate application for his pecuniary aid was ever declined. The Windhill chapel, both in its original form, and especially in its present enlarged and beautiful arrangements, presents no mean memorial of intelligent and well-directed Christian benevolence; he, in connection with other noble donors, having contributed largely to it, and by it he will still speak to successive generations of his fellowtownsmen. To the cause of Foreign Missions he was also a munificent contributor, as well as a zealous advocate of it. No object, in fact, of Connexional interest was allowed to pass unheeded. A "giver" of the order which the Lord loveth, "cheerful," often spontaneous, he was wont to "Do good by stealth, And blush to find it fame." The poor and friendless found in him a willing ear and sympathizing heart; and in cases of necessity more substantial aid was not wanting: the tongue of the widow and the fatherless was often eloquent in his praise. the observance of a solemn religious duty, from which he never sought to be released. His health was not for some period robust, and an affection of the respiratory organs, from which he suffered at intervals for many years, presented cause for increasing solicitude. It is probable that a sermon from Amos iv. 12, "Prepare to meet thy God," was the last he preached. In an address delivered a short time previous to the failure of his health, he dwelt with much pathos and animation on "the cloud of witnesses" by which the people of God are surrounded, and the glory of the redeemed, in which they hope to share. Forgetting for a while his weakness he expatiated upon the theme with such fervour and beauty as occasioned deep feeling; one gentleman remarking that it was a rich spiritual treat to listen to such an address from one whose whitened locks told of advanced eventide. Perhaps even then he had premonitions of his approaching departure. After being confined to his house for a considerable period, during which the conversations and prayers of minis. ters and friends were ever welcome, and proved the occasion of mutual profit and pleasure, he visited Morecambe and Grange, hoping that the balmy sea breeze, and an atmosphere peculiarly beneficial to pulmonary affections, might allay suffering and invigorate his failing strength. But "Diligent in business," as he was these hopes proved unavailing, and it "fervent in spirit, serving the Lord," was but too apparent that his days Mr. Crabtree was, in his commercial were numbered. On his return phypursuits, successful. He was wont to sical prostration rendered conversation ascribe this to the practice of the rule exceedingly painful, and all but impracof Christian liberality, and to the favour ticable to him. At a later period he of Him who "maketh rich," and to was able to converse a little, when his His blessing "addeth no sorrow; replies to the inquiries of his friends and in the time of temporal prosperity as to his religious interests and proshe did not either retire from the pects were satisfactory, and spoke of Church of his fathers, or blush to avow assured confidence and joyous expechimself a Wesleyan-Methodist. His tation. Conversing with the writer he profession of religion was not a ques- exclaimed, "A sinner saved by grace!" tion of convenience or expediency, but and then, lifting up his attenuated arm, and pointing upwards, said, "I am going to claim my heavenly mansion!" adding, in a tone peculiarly pathetic and impressive, "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." After a severe paroxysm of his complaint he repeated, in a jubilant manner, the couplet, "Come, let us join our cheerful With angels round the throne." While passing through "the valley his mind was kept in peace, and the victory granted him over the last enemy was decisive. Escorted by "the shining ones" he passed" through the gates into the city," and on March 21st, 1868, entered into the joy of his Lord, aged sixty-eight years. We do not affirm that Mr. Crabtree was entirely faultless, but he possessed many and rare excellencies; and the respect in which his memory was held was evinced by the large number who attended his funeral to show the last tribute of respect to departed worth. This brief memorial may be fitly closed by transcribing the following Resolution of the Quarterly Meeting, which was passed on the occasion of his death : "That this Meeting deeply regrets to record the decease of its senior Circuit-steward. It gratefully recalls the memory of his early conversion, the earnestness of his piety, and the simplicity of his character; as also his unwearied and unreserved devotion to the interests of the Church of Christ, and more especially so in the period of Connexional difficulty; and the liberal aid which he afforded to all local enterprises and Connexional efforts. "It rejoices to learn that the evening of his days was cheered by the consolations of the Holy Spirit, and that his departure was eminently peaceful and joyous. "It would tender its affectionate condolence to the members of his family; and while bowing submis MR. ROBERT C. LANCE was born in Worcester, in the year 1831. His father and mother were Wesleyan Methodists, and he gained at home, while very young, the profound respect for religion, and the ardent attachment to Methodism, which distinguished him to the end of his life. In a short account of his conversion, written soon after he entered upon his Christian career, and found amongst his papers after his death, he says, "I remember when quite young being many times seriously impressed, and thinking I should like to become a Christian. I was always peculiarly attached to the Methodists, and many times resolved that they should be 'my people, and their God my God.'" When seven years old he lost his father, and at twelve left home to make his own way in the world. He went out of the Christian atmosphere in which he had been reared into one far less favourable; but his religious desires, though chilled, were not destroyed, and when about sixteen years of age he found pardon and peace in Christ. He was led one Sabbath evening, by an influence he could not then understand, into a Wesleyan chapel, from which he had been long absent. The earnestness of the preacher's prayer fixed the lad's attention, and before the prayer was concluded he was deeply convinced of sin. The text, "Go in peace, and sin no more," came to him as a blessed absolution from God's own voice, and that night he commenced a happy and useful Christian course. A cousin, now a respected minister among the Independents, sought and found the Saviour with him. Those were troublous times for Methodism. The village chapels in the Circuit in which Mr. Lance lived were almost deserted, and the congregations which gathered in them had few to minister to them the Word of life. This was a great grief to the young convert, and in six months from the time of his conversion, when barely seventeen, he became a local preacher, -one of a band of young men not yet forgotten in many quiet Gloucestershire villages, and which gave to Methodism two or three able ministers. To the end of his days, Mr. Lance loved this work, and was useful in it. In the busiest times he found leisure for preparing sermons, and when most wearied found rest in preaching them. In 1853 he removed to Driffield, where he spent the remaining seventeen years allotted to him. He married an amiable and devoted Christian lady, and to her sympathy and help he gladly traced much of his after success. His energy and thoroughness soon gave him a prominent position in his new sphere. He was called to fill, one by one, all the Circuit offices of Methodism, and in each department of service was found faithful: as his responsibilities grew heavier, his personal piety increased. He delighted in that direct spiritual work for which Methodism offers so many opportunities. Not only was he a zealous local preacher, but he was also a wise and successful class-leader. He entered upon his leadership with trembling; read, and thought, and prayed much, in order to fit himself for it; and his kindliness, his good common sense, his happy personal religion made him, in the class-room, a blessing to many. Nor did he forget the end of all Christian toil. One of his sayings when he was dying was, "This soul-saving work is glorious; there is no other worth doing." He greatly prized the means of grace. Holding that business which would keep him, and those in his employment, from the week-night services, must yield more loss than profit, rarely was he absent from the temple at the hour of prayer. A minister who knew him well writes, "He never failed when at home to be present at the Sunday-night prayer-meeting, and often did the Lord vouchsafe to him and to his fellow-suppliants rich and joyful manifestations of His presence." Mr. Lance was signally useful in the stewardships entrusted to him. To look after the material prosperity of the Church was to him, more than to most men, a labour of love. He was wise in planning, loyal in executing the plans of others, ready to give time, thought, or money, for the support and extension of the cause he loved. It was very gratifying to him, that, during his term of office as Circuit-steward all the chapels in the Circuit were freed from debt. He was an enthusiastic friend of Methodism,-a firm believer in its mission, and a warm friend to its preachers: never was he to be seen to greater advantage than at his own fireside, with a minister as his guest. Yet men of other Churches found it an easy task to enlist his sympathy and help for any good work: he felt himself to be the servant of God, and many pleasing testimonies have been given to the readiness with which he responded to the claims made upon him in behalf of the cause of Christ from whatever quarter they came. He was deeply interested in the " temperancemovement," and was for some years the president of the "Driffield Temperance Society." His home-life was very beautiful : he was a faithful husband and a good father. The greatest sorrow he experienced was the loss of three of his children, two of them in one week. The stroke was heavy, but he was able to bear it, resting in the assurance of the Great Father's love. He had one precious compensating joy,-his eldest daughter, at a very early age, gave her heart to God, and joined her father's own religious communion. It must remain among the mysteries of Divine Providence that Mr. Lance was smitten down by brain-fever in the noon of life, and in the midst of its activities. During his illness he had few intervals of consciousness, and those he had were but like momentary wakings between troubled dreams: yet his testimonies to the saving power of Divine grace were clear and frequent, and, to those around him, most comforting. Several times he said with great emphasis: "My precious Saviour," and then murmured, "He gave Himself a ransom for all;" "He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." The words he quoted most frequently have been carved upon his tomb, as expressing the deep conviction of the sorrowing ones who laid him there, "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" Even in his delirium his mind seemed busy with Divine things. Never will the writer forget how once, at midnight, he sang, in the clear, sweet voice for which he was remarkable, the Hymn commencing, "Jesu, Lover of my soul," repeating again and again the verse, "All my trust on Thee is stay'd; All my help from Thee I bring; Cover my defenceless head With the shadow of Thy wing." He died October 6th, 1870, in the thirtyninth year of his age. H. E. G. RECENT DEATHS. FEBRUARY 26th, 1872.-At Coombe, in the St. Austell Circuit, Mr. John Yelland, aged seventy-one. He was brought in early life to a saving acquaintance with God his Saviour, and for more than fifty years was a consistent member of the WesleyanMethodist Society, beloved by many friends, who justly appreciated his worth. In the year 1826, he commenced a Sunday-school at Coombe, to which he gave constant attention, ever manifesting a deep interest in the spiritual welfare of the children, and endearing himself to them by his kindness and cheerful disposition. For nearly fortynine years he was a faithful classleader, and for a long time had the care of two important classes. His last affliction was short, but he was quite ready for the change, and suddenly fell asleep in Jesus. March 3rd, 1873.-Mr. Josiah Wedge, of the Walsall (Wesley,) Circuit, aged eighty years. He was a member of the Wesleyan-Methodist Society fifty-four years. In his youth, having been deeply convinced of sin, he earnestly sought and obtained the "knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins." His life was uniformly pure and consistent. He was an intelligent and acceptable local preacher for fifty-two years, and both as a local preacher and class-leader rendered valuable service to the cause of God in the Circuit in which he resided. According to his means, he was a liberal supporter of Methodism, and especially of its Foreign Missions. The poor ever found in him a kind friend. After having been laid aside by the infirmities of age for several years, he died in full reliance on the Atonement, "looking" in confident expectation "for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." J. F. April 10th.-At Skipton, Ann Lindley, in the eighty-sixth year of her age. From her youth she was remarkable for sobriety of mind and Christian devotion. Her attachment to Methodism and its ministers was enlightened, cordial, and constant. Of late years her religious character steadily ripened. In her last afflic tion her communion with God was often joyous: "Christ," she said, "is my all, and in all." She was composed and sensible to the last moment. After dozing for some time, as if startled, she said, "Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" and then 64 was not, for God took her." LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM NICHOLS, HOXTON SQUARE. W. L. |