NOT MY WILL, BUT THINE BE DONE.

DEAR BROTHER IN OUR DEAR LORD AND SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST,— I thank you for your letter, and can only send a scrap in return, for I am just now surrounded with the world on every hand. Oh, I long to have done with it all! but not my will, but thy will, O Lord, be done.

I find by your letter that you have been in the path that I am often in; ah, brother, if you live ten years longer, you will find yourself ten times worse; at least you will think so, for old nature is old nature, and a great deal of carnality may be expected to break out even in the best of saints, then what may not I expect, who am such an untoward one! but I know that I have need to be living on Christ, and to be continually receiving from him all grace and strength, but cannot do this without the blessed Spirit's influence; no, not one single act of faith without him. I sometimes have no nearness nor access at a throne of grace; can only sigh, cry, and moan. I look within, all is bad there; I think I will take heed to my steps, and try and search out the cause why the Lord contends with me, but after all I find I must go to Christ as a poor, miserable, empty, undone creature, and plead his blood and righteousness, and put my whole trust and confidence in him for complete salvation.

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O, my dear sir, I want to live more in the immediate presence my dear Lord, and to enjoy more real, personal communion with him, and never offend him more; but this will never be the case while I have a body of sin and death, for this will be our plague till the last.

I was rejoiced to hear that there was some reviving amongst you; go on, dear sir, you work for a good Master; go with all your complaints to him, he will help you; but telling too much to young recruits will rather discourage them,-I mean your personal conflicts as a minister (for they are not intended for preachers),—but to the old soldier, tell of all the hard fights, though never forget to tell how your blessed Commander stood by you all the while, to strengthen you. Excuse my plain or blunt writing; forgive what I have said, for I don't want to teach you;-far from it, only the Lord has taught me by experience to make a difference between the young and the aged.

All our little flock were glad to hear of you, and they all send

Christian love. Poor Rebekah got out this last month, and is better than I ever expected to see her; my poor tabernacle is very weak, and has been for some time, but it is all for the best; my times are in the Lord's hand; he knows what is best for us, and we shall see before long that all things have worked for good.

I have written you a few lines, but don't put yourself out of the way to answer; I know that your time is very much taken up. I must conclude, wishing you much of the Lord's presence, and all needful grace and strength; with respects to Mrs. Parsons. Ryde, Aug. 10, 1826. M. YOUNG.

A CIRCUMSTANCE IN CONNECTION WITH AN AFFLICTED PERSON, R. C. H.,

FORMERLY OF NINFIELD, SUSSEX, SOME OF WHOSE LETTERS WERE PRINTED AND PUBLISHED UNDER THE TITLE OF CONFLICTS AND CONQUESTS.'

'Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.'-PSALM 1. 15.

FROM early life she was scarcely ever free from illness. On the occasion referred to, a few years before her peaceful dismissal, when residing at Winchelsea, I visited her when prostrated by weakness and disease; and what was still more sad, her mind a perfect wreck, denoting every symptom of insanity, in which state of suffering she had been for some time. On accosting her, she immediately ordered me to leave the room, saying, 'You know not who you are talking to.' I replied, 'My dear child, your mind is gone;' she was quiet in a moment. After a pause she said, 'I am your child; but you always told me the truth, my mind is gone.' After another pause she said, 'Do you remember what you asked the Lord when you knelt on that chair when you were here last?' 'No,' I replied, ‘I do not.' She answered, 'That the Lord would prepare me for whatever he might see fit to suffer to come upon me; for the Lord knew what would befal me.' She then added, 'I do wish you to read and go to prayer with me before you leave.' I promised so to do, if she would keep quite composed; she added, 'I will do anything you wish.'

After sitting a short time, I left the room; during my absence, on ruminating the matter over, the case of the poor lunatic, with the words, Bring him unto me,' rested nicely on my mind, and

gave energy to my plea. On returning to her room, I found her very placid. Turning over the leaves of her Bible she presently asked, 'What are you going to read?' I said, 'I scarcely know; have you any portion?' She answered, I have been trying to find the account of the poor lunatic: the coincidence struck me as something very marked; and while engaged in prayer, the Lord graciously broke into her soul, so that she could not suppress the utterance,' He is come; the dear Lord is come!' her countenance and every expression indicating the peace of her soul, so unlike what she felt on my first entrance into the room.

Thus we find that the Lord still casts out devils and unclean spirits, and healeth all manner of diseases. For I am the Lord that healeth thee' (Exod. xv. 26).

After this, during her remaining days on earth, although still subject to many bodily ailments, her mind was never again permitted to become the habitation of dragons.

Tonbridge.

J. Row.

'HITHERTO HATH THE LORD HELPED US.'

Port Vale Common, Hertford, Jan. 9, 1875.

MY DEAR MR. Row,-From the time that has elapsed since I received your kind, sympathising letter, you will think either I did not value it, or that I have forgotten it: be assured it is not so, for in my mind I have answered you many times, but it is not easy to me now to do all I would. I have much writing to my dear ones in Australia and Spain, added to which my eyes are not very strong, and I feel much to remind me that I have lived to the allotted time of man upon earth, and though that is sometimes extended to a longer period, yet the infirmities of age are felt. I have, however, much cause for thankfulness, as, through mercy, strength equal to the day thus far has been granted. Hitherto hath the Lord helped me,' but, as you remark, in the old beaten path, 'through much tribulation;' and when at times brought to be as clay in the hands of the potter, I have proved 'the valley of Achor to be a door of hope,' in the free, sovereign, unmerited, electing love of Christ; and when confessing my wretched, sinful, carnal state, he has by his kind and gracious look shewn me he is touched with the feeling of all our infirmities, and has drawn my heart nearer to himself. A passage in Ezra v. 5 has been an abiding, sustaining word to me. O how great a thing it is to feel the eye of our God

is upon us for good,' looking at us through his dear Son, in whom alone he is well pleased! These are such great things to speak or write of, that, when doing so, I feel more than ever the ignorance of my natural mind, and the need of the regenerating power of the Holy Ghost, to teach me in all spiritual things, and specially to enable me to give diligence to make my calling and election sure,’ and so 'to number my days, that I may apply my heart unto wisdom' (Christ), so that, as you remark, at the end I may know for myself that there remaineth for us durable riches and righteousness.' The time of my end is now often before me, and I know not what I may have to pass through, for I have not yet 'resisted unto blood, striving against sin.' My poor daughter's affliction, and the position of my daughter, her husband, and family, in so wretched a country, are indeed sources of trial and fear to me, and I can only beg the Lord in his rich mercy to overrule all for the good of the latter; so far they have been preserved from fatal harm, and when I last heard all were well. I have a hope that the affliction of the former has been made a blessing, through mercy, and my heart has been many times drawn out for her in prayer. She is still an invalid, though she has borne the late severe weather without any serious attack.

We were grieved to learn from Hannah that your son John had left England; it has, no doubt, much tried you. How the Lord shakes all things here, that that which cannot be shaken may remain.' I believe it is so; though we all shrink from trial, yet like Israel of old, 'the more they were afflicted, the more they multiplied and grew;' but the flesh never consents.

Love from us both, and good wishes to Mrs. Row, and all your family, whom we do not forget, as you are all so much associated with the memory of your dear daughter H., whose godly simplicity and love are and ever will be remembered by us. Wishing you every blessing, spiritual and temporal, that you may need for this and every year you may yet be spared to see. With our kind regards,―Believe me, sincerely yours,

JESSEY ASPINWALL.

N. B. Last evening Mr. Benson brought me the account of his daughter, just published: he left me some copies to give away; I will send you one to-morrow, but do not trouble to acknowledge it. I think you will find it good to read.

BRIEF MEMORIAL OF PHILIP WEBSTER. PHILIP WEBSTER was born at Skeffington, Leicestershire, February 9, 1790.

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Passing by his early years, during which he had merciful escapes and providential interpositions, I shall mention a sermon he heard preached about the wedding garment,' which caused him much dejection, fearing that he was destitute of it. He dated his first impressions from that time. Soon afterwards he came to live at Leicester, where he heard the gospel preached more regularly; and some time afterwards he and my mother were baptized by the late Mr. Thomas Hardy.

My father was early led to feel that he could not work out a righteousness for himself, but longed after and prayed for the spotless robe of Jesus' righteousness. He also saw that grace is free, and by this teaching was kept from any inclination to false doctrines; he could discern, and loved sound gospel truth. He was a man of few words in religion, feeling that he had little to talk about; but he often expressed himself as having heard some of the Lord's servants very sweetly. In one or two instances he told me of the Lord having poured upon him such a spirit of prayer that he had to leave his work and go aside to pour out his soul before him.

The account that follows these remarks relates to the last five years of his life. The commencement of his later experience was remarkable, and very gracious; the Lord spake to his heart, and repeated it again and again, ‘Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee' (Isaiah lx. 1); after which, as the dear Lord communed with him, he usually went to tell my sister, and her account' now commences.-T. W.

1864.

My dear father had made a profession of religion, but for years he had been in a dead, cold state of mind, and we never knew that he was exercised much till after it had pleased the Lord to lay his hand upon him: he was laid on a bed of affliction, from which we thought he would never rise again; but the Lord was pleased, after a time, to restore him, and his mind appeared to be more exercised. One Sunday morning when he came home from chapel he told us he had been enabled to approach the Lord in prayer and supplication; he had felt such sweetness in his mind and a softening of