MARCH 12TH, 1866.-At Covenham, in the Louth Circuit, Mr. H. Bingham, aged seventy-six years. For more than half a century he was a consistent member of the Methodist Society; and for forty years faithfully served the cause of the Redeemer, as the leader of a class. He was a man of unmistakable piety and of unblemished reputation. A few hours before his departure, reference was made by some around him to the peace, the "joy unspeakable and full of glory," possessed by those who are wholly devoted to Christ. He remained silent for some time, and then, raising his dying hands, exclaimed, "Yes, yes. But 'Onward I haste to the heavenly feast, That, that is the fulness; and this is the taste.'" Having said this, he sweetly fell asleep in Jesus. August 2d.-At Dunnington, in the York Circuit, William Bannister, aged seventy-one years. He was born at Driffield, and was converted to God in his nineteenth year, under a sermon preached by the Rev. Samuel Barnes, for whom he ever afterwards cherished a most loving regard. In 1821 he became a Local preacher; and, though at first discouraged, he was induced to continue in this good work, which he did to the end of his life. His preaching was plain, but very useful. On experimental subjects he spoke as only those can speak who "know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." He was very laborious in this department of service, frequently walking twenty miles to the small and distant places on the wolds. His regularity in keeping his appointments was remarkable. The great day alone will declare the results of his conscientious and loving toil. Upon the death of his class-leader, Mr. Bannister was appointed to take his place; and for thirtyfive years, in the various places in which he resided, at Langtoft and Thwing in the Bridlington Circuit, at Fridaythorpe, in the Driffield Circuit, and at Dunnington, in the York Circuit, he not only maintained a consistent Christian character, but also walked worthily of his official position in the Church of Christ. As a class-leader he was very highly esteemed. His scriptural knowledge, united with a clear sense of the Divine favour, specially qualified him for this service. His " aptitude in quoting the promises of God was remarkable. This was doubtless attributable to his constant and regular study of the Holy Scriptures, which he read through once every year. He thus fed "upon every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," and was able skilfully to break the bread of life to others. His piety was as cheerful as it was consistent. When he was "merry he sang psalms," and "his mouth was full of praise.' He constantly set the Lord before him, and sought His direction and blessing in what some would deem small matters; but, by so doing, he found the way to true happiness. During his last illness his confidence in Christ was unbroken. He was sensible till the moment of his departure, and his assurance of the "blessed hope" was most delightful and comforting to his friends. When asked respecting his future prospects, just before his death, he replied by quoting the following verses from one of his favourite hymns: "When death o'er nature shall prevail, And mean the thanks I cannot speak. D. J. W. September 3d.-At Reading, Mr. Thomas Whiting, in his seventy-seventh year. For the long period of fifty-three years he was a consistent, zealous, and useful member of the Wesleyan-Methodist Society, and for upwards of twenty years a class-leader. He was a "good man, full of faith and of the Holy Ghost." His attachment to Methodism also was intelligent, sincere, and constant. He loved its ministers, its doctrines, its institutions, and especially the class-meeting, which he deemed a most valuable means of grace. His last affliction was very painful; but in the midst of his sufferings there were evident tokens that the Lord was with him. His last word was "Heaven;" shortly after uttering which his spirit fled, to be "for ever with the Lord." A funeral sermon was preached, on the occasion of his decease, by the Rev. E. Ashton Jones; and the large congregation evinced the esteem in which he was held. E. A. J. September 10th.-Aged twenty, Holroyd, third son of Mr. James Walker, of Leeds. From his earliest childhood he was instructed in the principles of the Christian religion; but it was not until he was eighteen years of age that he fully gave his heart to God. At that time he was visited with a severe affliction, and for a season his recovery appeared doubtful; he then became anxious about his soul, and earnestly sought salvation. After suffering much distress of mind, he obtained a sense of God's pardoning mercy, while thinking over the lines in one of our hymns, so adapted to his state :"My pardon I claim; For a sinner I am : A sinner believing in Jesus' name. O Father, Thou know'st He hath died in my place." He was enabled by the Spirit to rely upon the Sacrifice of the Cross, and to rejoice in God as his reconciled Father. No sooner was he made happy in the forgiveness of his own sins than he became concerned for the salvation of those around him. "I believe I shall die," he said; "but I believe also that my death will be the means of bringing those I love to Christ, and most willingly shall I depart if this be the case." The ministers then resident in the Circuit were very assiduous in visiting him their spiritual advice and prayers he highly valued, and to the end of life gratefully remembered their kindness. Contrary to human expectation, it pleased God that he should recover from this affliction; and for a little while he enjoyed a measure of health and vigour. He at once connected himself with the Church, and was regular and punctual in his attendance on the means of grace. In connexion with the Juvenile Missionary Society and the Sabbath-school, and in various other spheres of usefulness, he endeavoured to answer the great purpose of life: he lived not to himself, but for the glory of God and the good of others. By his amiable disposition, his fervent piety, and his zealous labours, he exercised an influence for good upon those with whom he associated, both in the Church and the world. It was fondly hoped that a life so full of promise would long be spared; but God, "who seeth not as man seeth," in His own wise and gracious providence, determined otherwise. His last illness, which was short, and very severe, was of such a nature as to render much conversation impossible: he was, however, able to express the state of his mind in such sentences as these,-"I have not the shadow of a doubt of my Saviour's love; I have a sweet assurance that my sins are forgiven, and that I am accepted in the Beloved." To one of his ministers, who visited him in his affliction, he said, "I am as happy as I can be out of heaven." To another dear friend he said, "I have no more fear of dying than I have of falling asleep." He continued generally in this patient and happy frame of mind, affording-until disease had deprived him of the power of utterance-the fullest evidence to those who were privileged to surround his dying bed, that for him the grave had no terrors, and death no "sting." He was early removed from the services of the Church on earth, to be an eternal worshipper in God's own pure and heavenly temple. J. V. Mrs. Mary Pengelly, of Tremcarne, whose maiden name was Freethy, was born near Penzance, in the year 1781. In very early life she was the subject of gracious impressions. The Holy Spirit gently strove with her, and the godly and consistent deportment of some pious Methodists in the neighbourhood led her to see the beauty of holiness, and the desirableness of leading a religious life. While at school she became a worshipper at the old chapel at Penzance; and in the year 1799, during a remarkable revival of religion, she was truly converted to God, and made very happy in the assurance of the Divine favour. Casting in her lot with the Methodists, she was called to encounter considerable opposition; but, having counted the cost, she maintained her integrity, and "went on her way rejoicing." In the year 1804, she was united in marriage to the late Mr. John Pengelly, a devoted class-leader. For twenty-seven years she and her husband walked "in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." Under a sermon preached on Good Friday, 1805, by the late Rev. J. Woodrow, from the words, "It is finished," she obtained clearer views of the great privileges of the Gospel, and received a blessed baptism of the Holy Spirit. From this time, with stronger faith and more fervent love, she ran the heavenly race. She lived in the constant exercise of holy principles, and the high enjoyment of spiritual blessings, while she assiduously discharged every duty that devolved upon her. "Waters of a full cup were wrung out" to her. She endured much personal suffering, and many painful bereavements; but her faith never wavered, her love never grew cold. In the diligent use of the means of grace, and in the cultivation of a devotional spirit, she maintained, throughout a long life, close fellowship with God. She was in the habit of walking, at all seasons of the year, more than two miles to her class-meeting. For sixty years she was a member of the same class, and always regarded her opportunities of Christian intercourse as exceedingly precious. public worship of God was her delight. She loved to "dwell in the house of the Lord," and "to inquire in His temple." The word of God was her daily study. His "statutes" were her "songs in the house of her pilgrimage." Nor did she only prize the living oracles for herself, but for some years she was in the habit of visiting the cottages of the poor,at a considerable distance from her own dwelling, for the purpose of circulating copies of the Holy Scriptures. The worship The RECENT DEATHS. of God in her family was punctually attended November 8th.-At Bedford, Mrs. Bennett, relict of the late Samuel Bennett, Esq., of Bickerings-Park. She was born at Sileby, in Leicestershire, in 1790, and had the unspeakable advantage of a pious training. She received a ticket on trial for membership in the Wesleyan-Methodist Church, from the Rev. John Denton, in 1807. About this period, as is evident from a record in her own hand-writing, she obtained the enjoyment of the pardoning love of God. She was twice married, first to Mr. John Winfield, of Wymeswold, who died, leaving her with a son and daughter, (the late Mrs. Cooper, of Dunstable,) and then to Mr. Bennett. After residing about two years at Tempsford, she went to Bickerings-Park, where, for upwards of forty years, she filled all the relationships of life in a most exemplary manner. tionate wife; a kind mother, anxious to She was a faithful and affecpromote the welfare of her children; a thoughtful, considerate, and judicious mistress; a good neighbour; and, while she was able, an active member of the church with which she was identified. She loved the house of God and the public means of grace; and while she had health and strength, was regular in her attendance upon them. She "highly esteemed" the ministers of religion, and for a long series of years, as many can testify, she had pleasure, from time to time, in attending to their wants and promoting their comfort. ago she retired from active life, and went About six years and a half to reside at Bedford, where she spent the remainder of her days in comparative seclu sion, being incapable, through increasing infirmities, of attending, except occasionally, the public ordinances of religion. But, even in these circumstances, she kept a firm hold on Christ, and lived continually by faith in Him. period, the writer of these lines, as well as Again and again, during this the ministers of the Circuit and other friends, had opportunities of seeing and conversing with her. With a smile on her countenance, she was always found calm and tranquil, resting on the Atonement, free from all doubt and fear with regard to the future, waiting for and anticipating her great change. She fell asleep in Christ," and passed into the glorious rest of heaven in the seventy-sixth year of her age, and the fifty-ninth of her membership with the Wesleyan-Methodist Church. good sense, great firmness of purpose, solidity She was distinguished by her of character, moral worth, and by her unwavering confidence in the atonement of the Lord Christ Jesus. improved in the Bedford chapel, to a large Her death was congregation, by the Rev. H. Fish, M. A., on Sunday evening, November 25th, 1866. H. F. 99 In November 14th.-At Theddlethorpe, in the Louth Circuit, Harriet, the beloved wife of Mr. J. P. Badley, aged fifty-one years. In early life, under the preaching of the Rev. Seth Dixon, she was brought to see and feel her lost condition by nature; and these convictions were deepened by the conversation and consistent deportment of those amongst whom her lot was then cast. She "thought on her ways, not to keep God's commandments." ," "made haste, and delayed gave up everything which she knew to be offensive to God, and, after seeking for some She time, found the "pearl of great price.' 1848 she was married; and entered upon her new position with earnest prayer, that she might rightly discharge its duties, and bring glory to God. ways of her household ;" and while doing so She "looked well to the sought to promote the spiritual welfare of those around her. she laboured in the Sabbath-school, and in As opportunity offered, the distribution of religious tracts. she was appointed a class-leader, and discharged the duties of this important office In 1854 with affectionate fidelity. comed the ambassadors of Christ. regarded by her as a great privilege to She ever welhave the ministers of the Circuit under her It was roof, during their stay at Theddlethorpe, to listen to their conversation, and to accompany them in their visits to the aged, the sick, the poor, and the dying. moval the church of Christ in the Louth Circuit has lost one of its best members, In her reand the poor and needy a ready and willing helper. She rests from her labours, and her works do follow her. |