WILLIAM, fourth child of William and Jeanie Deans, both of whom still survive, was born at Cockermouth on the 5th of July, 1837. From that place his parents removed while he was yet very young, and his earlier years were spent mostly in Longhoughton and Alnwick. His constitution was rather feeble, and in consequence of some inherent delicacy, he had reached the age of four ere he was able to walk.

Probably on this account he received a good deal of attention, and the loving devoted care of his pious mother was largely rewarded. William grew up a most dutiful and affectionate child, and though he did not openly declare for Christ till he was older, the seeds of divine grace would seem to have been implanted at a very early age. He was eminently obedient to parents, and his lovingness of nature was continually coming out. The Rev. William Stead, afterwards his pastor and friend, says in a M.S. notice of Mr. Deans with which I have been favoured :-" While very young, he began to display that sweetness of temper, and amiability of

disposition, which so much characterised his subsequent life. Some of the children, including himself, had measles. He was the first to recover, and when he was getting well, he said, 'Mamma, is not God very good to raise me up that I may help you, and go your errands?'"' From his earliest years he maLifested reverence of God, realization of His presence, and regard for His will. One day when it thundered, he trembled from head to foot, and was filled with alarm till the storm was past, speaking of the loud peals as the voice of God. At another time he took a bird's nest, but after thinking a while he put it back, saying, "It would not please God." Facts like these show that while yet very young his thoughts were occupied with his relation to God. In confirmation of this it may be mentioned, that again and again he was overheard praying in his sleep; as if, even while the will was in abeyance, the force of habit prevailed, and the mind took its accustomed way. It is more than likely that from the earliest years of this hopeful youth there was some good thing in his heart towards the Lord God of Israel. Quietly and tenderly was he led along in the path of life-his gentle nature not a hindrance but a help-until a sermon which he heard when about the age of twelve, and which furnished clear views of the way of salvation by grace, was the means of leading him to a conscious selfsurrender to Christ, and from that time he openly avowed himself a follower of the

Lamb. That was the turning point in his spiritual history-probably the date of his decided conversion to God. All anxieties were now set at rest, and though it cannot be said that thenceforth his sky was absolutely without a cloud, he continued to lead a happy Christian life, he enjoyed the sweetest communion with God, and his path was as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

I have referred to his amiability of character. Another distinguishing feature, apparent even in extreme youth, was intense admiration of nature. He opened his whole being to the influence of beautiful scenery and sweet sounds, and sometimes the glories of creation filled him with rapture. A younger sister tells that on one occasion, while his parents resided at Longhoughton, he walked out from Alnwick on a summer morning, at so early an hour that no one in the house was awake, and that, going into the garden, from which was obtained a splendid view of the German Ocean, and being filled with admiration of the whole scene, he poured out his heart in song. The lines composed on the spot, and which take the form of an address to his sleeping sister, are scarcely worthy of being produced here, but they breathe the tenderest feeling, and reverential admiration of the works of God. This sympathy with nature in her varying moods grew with his growth, and strengthened with his strength, and not only fitted him in after years for the better illustration of the word of God,

but had not a little to do with that cheerful and happy spirit by which he was so eminently characterised. If "spleen is seldom felt where Flora reigns," and if "petulance" and "sullen sadness" were, as they certainly were, absent from him, delighted observation of the beauties of nature may be credited with some share in the procuring cause. But the best of all is, that our friend, in all his enjoyment of creation, held intercourse with his Saviour God. It is said of the illustrious Dr. Chalmers, that one day before his death, while walking in a garden, he was overheard to say in earnest tones, as if breathing out the tenderest love of his heart"My Father! My heavenly Father!" And never more vividly, than when wandering in the country amid the works of God, did Mr. Deans realise the gracious presence of their maker and his God.

"He looks abroad into the varied field

Of nature, and though poor perhaps compared
With those whose mansions glitter in his sight,
Calls the delightful scenery all his own.
His are the mountains, and the valleys his,
And the resplendent rivers; his to enjoy
With a propriety that none can feel,

But who, with filial confidence inspired,
Can lift to Heaven an unpresumptuous eye,
And smiling say-my Father made them all!

Are they not his by a peculiar right,
And by an emphasis of interest his,

Whose eye they fill with tears of holy joy,