muring, "Yes, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee." When Dr. G. asked her "how she felt now in her passage through the dark valley?" she replied, "Oh, it is not dark, for Christ is there; His blessed arm is leading and supporting me; oh, help me to sing with grateful joy, 'Death where is thy sting;' to me it is rejoicing." At her own request we sang the 23rd Psalm. At the conclusion she said, "Oh, I am so

happy, happy, happy."

When the blister was removed at six in the morning of the 29th, I was much shocked by the great alteration in her for the worse; she said, "she felt easy, and thought she might sleep;" but I was most anxious my mother should see her. Her in general expressive eyes were heavy and languid, her face deadly pale and wan; great indeed was the change from the preceding day. My mother was much agitated, and resolved no more to quit her. She had short and quiet intervals of sleep during that day, but often interrupted by a cough; and when Drs. G. and W. saw her, they warned us of her fast approaching end her pulse was low and fluttering, and a cold heavy perspiration hung over her; about seven in the evening she said, "This is surely death; let us praise God for it." She asked us to pray with and for her, and she joined in a low voice; and when we had risen from our knees, she remained engaged in it earnestly, and turning to me said with a sweet smile, "Oh, there is no bitterness in death, when support is given us; Jesus Himself is leading me gently upwards. Oh, I shall soon reach my home now."

She was sometimes a little confused latterly, when waking from her short slumbers. The last night of her sojourn with us, she frequently called out, "Dearest grandmamma and aunt, come nearer to me; come beside me into the bed; oh, how sweet and blessed to know that we all love Jesus, that he loves us. Oh, that my dear sisters were here, that I might tell them what great things Jesus has done for my soul. Tell them not to mourn for me; I am going to take possession of the inheritance purchased for me by my Saviour. Oh, tell them to seek that dear Saviour early, to love and trust him, so will their lives be happy, and their deaths, oh, how blessed!" She was at this time breathing with much difficulty, but she said her pain was less. Her weakness rapidly increased. She spoke kindly to two friends who were standing at her bed side, and told them to love Jesus and serve him while they enjoyed health, for that sickness sometimes weakened the fervour of devotion. She asked me to kiss one of those friends for her. I gave her a teaspoonful of wine. She thanked me sweetly, and said, "it refreshed her." She was often engaged trying to comfort her grandmother, who wept much at the thought of losing her, though she reproached herself for the selfish feeling.

On the night of Friday, she had told me "not to pray any more for

her recovery, for she so longed to be with Christ." I asked her if, now, on the near approach of death, she felt at peace with all the world. She sweetly and unhesitatingly answered, "Oh yes, indeed; and I pray, and have prayed, that all may yet know and love Jesus. Some were harsh to me, but, oh, how Christ has blessed it to my soul -it was all his doing; may they all be brought to him." On another occasion, she said, "I wish I could pray more for others; but I am in such pain at times that I can sometimes only pray for, or think of myself, and when I see you all weeping, I wonder why I cannot also do it; does it not seem as if my selfish heart was hardened?"

From the moment Dr. G. saw her, he told us "that he feared her illness lay beyond the reach of human skill." Every night towards seven, her fever rose, and generally fell towards morning, leaving a violent perspiration; her pulse was never under 130, and often much higher; but to the last hour (the first minute of waking alone excepted) she was perfectly collected. She had been evidently taught by the Holy Spirit to estimate herself by a Scriptural standard, for her witness on this point was most clear, and to us precious. A cousin who had come to see her before she was so very ill said, "oh, my dear Charlotte, how happy it is for you that you have always been so good; that is the reason, you need not be afraid to die." She was enabled to make a confession of her faith, that was indeed soothing. The remark seemed to wound her much, it had an effect on the dear child that all her sufferings had failed to produce-a cloud over her bright countenance. She took her cousin's hand and clasped it firmly, and her manner was most impressively solemn, "oh, my dear Cecilia, that my strength would permit me to express to you my utter vileness, to prove to you, that I feel and know, that in my heart is 'no good thing,' that all I ever had or have of my own, is altogether sin! sin! sin!-that if one good thought would have saved me, I should have been lost, for I could never have a sinless thought of myself. If I have been born again,' the root and fruit are Christ's; all that is good in me is his, the free, rich, unspeakable gift of Christ. And still my own wicked sinful heart wars against that holy part that is Christ's; but, 'by grace I am saved, and that not of myself, it is the gift of God;' but I know that my Redeemer liveth, the Holy Spirit hath revealed him to my soul; Christ is all in all;' all must be his work. Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on thee.' Oh," she added (while her beaming eyes were turned upwards, and she relinquished her cousin's hand that she might clasp her own together), "Oh, how sweet it is to feel and know that we are saved by Jesus alone, that the mantle of his righteousness hides our deformity, that we cast away all that is our own; one with him, then altogether his !"

On the Saturday before her death, besides some dear friends and the

nurse, she requested that all the servants might be brought into her room," that she might take leave of them, and that united prayer might be put up for her speedy deliverance." We all joined in prayer. She asked us to sing, "The hour of my departure's come." Her breathing then became very hard and quick, and drawn with laboured pain; and whilst we were silently praying that our Saviour would ease and receive her,the happy spirit fled."-(From " Memorial of the Lord's Goodness." Nisbet & Co.)

A TEACHER'S MUSINGS.

"If the iron be blunt, and he do not whet the edge, then must he put to more strength."-Eccles. x, 10.

WE are accustomed to speak of ourselves as workmen, laborers, teachers, &c. Such terms point to our personal activity, and responsibility, and while looking at these we are apt to grow disheartened because we seem to do so little. But this text shews us our true position, turning our eyes from the insufficiencies which every glance at self reveals, and reminding us of a "workman" whose success no "bluntness" of the " iron" can hinder.

It is God who works, and we are only his tools. This is a two-fold thought for (1st) it takes away all self-reliance and vain-glory; while (2nd) it gives instead, a constant assurance and confidence that the work in which we are employed must be accomplished.

Who among us can help acknowledging that he is "blunt iron ?" It is our consciousness of this which so often hinders faith; we feel our inadequacy for the task, and think it therefore an impossible one.

us.

Whose "edge" does not need to be "whetted?" And surely we are bound to seek constant sharpening from the hand of Him who wields Yet it may be, God will withhold what we desire for awhile, just to shew how great things He can accomplish with tools "blunt," and apparently useless, merely by Himself "putting to more strength." For it is "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." And our Master may be working most effectually when we are most conscious of failure. Let us then be ever "strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might."

Norwich.

P. S. S.

THREE MEN AND THREE QUESTIONS. THERE are three questions which men ask themselves, according to their education. He who has been brought up with a strong conviction of the importance of conforming to the usages of society and the customs of the world, inquires, What do others expect of me? He who has been taught self-respect and to esteem his own actions, asks, What do I expect from myself? The third, who has been educated in Christian godliness, exclaims daily. What does God expect of me? The first makes a man of the world; the second, the mere moralist; the last alone the Christian.

SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION ANNIVERSARY, 1859.

ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING.

THE Annual Meeting of members, and adjourned special meeting, took place in the Lecture Hall of the Jubilee Memorial Building, 56, Old Bailey, on Friday evening, April 29, at six o'clock.

Mr. G. W. BURGE presided. After which prayer was offered by Mr. STARLING.

Mr. WATSON then read the following

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE.

In looking forward to the Fifty-sixth Anniversary of the SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION, the Committee are thankful that they can address their fellow. laborers in the language of encouragement and hope. Although their proceedings have not been characterized by novelty, and do not therefore afford materials for much variety in the statement about to be submitted, yet on every hand will be found evidence of progress, and that the labors of the Committee have been instrumental in aiding that progress.

From various parts of the world information has been communicated to the Committee of the extension of the Sunday school system, and assistance sought towards that object has been cheerfully rendered. The period for holding the annual meeting of the Paris Sunday School Society being fixed for the same day as that on which the public meeting of the Union will be held, the Committee are unable to include the details of the last year's proceedings of that society. As Mr. Cook, their treasurer, attended the last anniversary of the Union, the members present had the pleasure of hearing his statement of their progress. It then appeared that 57 new schools had been added to their list, making the total number of Sunday schools, known to exist in France, 474. The Committee had sold in the year 7,000 copies of the hymn book prepared by them, and a third edition of 4,000 copies was in preparation they had also commenced the publication of a series of works, under the general title of a Sunday School Library. In compliance with the request of Mr Cook, the Committee cheerfully made a grant, both of their own publications, and of such works adapted for young people, as might assist French writers in preparing works adapted for circulation amongst the Sunday scholars of that country.

A small grant has been made to Miss Diboll, proceeding to the West Coast of Africa, to teach in the schools connected with the Baptist mission there.

The Committee have maintained a correspondence with their fellowlaborers in the Australian Colonies. A large number of the publications of the Union are yearly sent thither, partly by way of grant, but more generally by sale, our brethren there being both able and willing to support liberally their religious institutions. It will be remembered that at the last anniversary the Union was favored with the company of the Honourable George Fife Angas, the President of the South Australian Sunday School Teachers' Union. He was the bearer of a letter from the Committee, giving the particulars of the rise and progress of that Institution, which was formed at the close of the year 1855, and which appears to be zealously carrying out

its efforts for the benefit of the rising generation. In Mr. Angas, that Union has had the advantage of the presidency of a gentleman whose zeal for Sunday schools, and interest in unions of the teachers, has been largely displayed in his native country; having originated, and, for several years actively aided, in carrying on the large and important Union at Newcastle-on-Tyne. The progress of Sunday schools in South Australia, although hindered by the wide scattering of the population, has yet been gratifying. In 1846 there were in the colony 24 schools, with 1,140 scholars; in 1856 that number had increased to 130 schools, and 7,622 scholars. The Union had obtained returns for 1857 from 87 of those schools, which showed an average attendance in them of 744 teachers, and 5,494 scholars. The teachers are in general faithful to their trust; alternate teaching being a rare exception; but the migratory nature of the population occasions frequent removals, and the attendance of the scholars is much affected by the early age at which they are withdrawn from parental control. In addition to other efforts for the encouragement and instruction of the teachers, the Committee of the South Australian Union have commenced a Quarterly Magazine, the only religious serial published in the colony.

In the neighboring colony of Victoria, also, efforts have been made to establish a Union, but hitherto without success. From the supplies of books, however, sent by the Committee to Melbourne, its Capital, and to Sydney, the Capital of New South Wales, they have full confidence that the religious instruction of the young is making progress; and they have no doubt that ere long the teachers will feel the importance of uniting their efforts, both for their own encouragement and improvement, and that they may be enabled to extend the benefits of the system to the rapidly increa sing population. The Committee were much gratified by a communication from the officers and teachers of the Surrey Hills Wesleyan Sunday School, Sydney, inclosing the liberal donation of six guineas to the Jubilee Fund, from teachers and scholars, "regretting that it is not more commensurate to the great benefits received from such an Institution." The secretary adds, "I am happy to bear evidence of the great practical good, even in this part of the world, resulting from the publications issuing from month to month from the Sunday School Union," and to which he mainly attributes the efficiency of their school of 400 scholars. In a letter received from Sydney, from an agent of the Union there, is the following earnest appeal:-" Sunday schools in many parts of the colony are the only means of grace. Small communities are scattered over the country, too small to support any minister, and too far to be reached by lay preachers. Now, if a pious family exists in such a place, they open their kitchen or hut on the Lord's day, and collect in the children from the neighbourhood, and teach them by aid of the Union books. But here comes the pinch,-they get some one who is coming up to Sydney to come to me for books, and when they come, perhaps, I have none for them. You cannot think how much you are spreading the gospel here in keeping me well supplied with books. In fact, the Sunday schools in the outer small districts are the only things to prevent many places relapsing into barbarism, and to carry these out, books are needed, and to you we must look for them."