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 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 
 
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 Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2018 with funding from 
 Columbia University Libraries 
 
 https://archive.org/details/biographicalsket00unse_9 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 The subject of the following Biographical Sketch 
 was born in the year 1813, of highly respectable and 
 pious parents, in Yorkshire. There was nothing in 
 her childhood or youth worthy of particular remark. 
 Her school-days were often referred to with peculiar 
 pleasure and emotion ; and from having a retentive 
 memory, an aptness for learning, and desire for know¬ 
 ledge, under the judicious teaching of her sensible 
 preceptress she then laid a good foundation for future 
 excellence. After leaving school, she was thoroughly 
 instructed in domestic duties : her leisure hours were 
 spent in reading the standard works of the day. Her 
 excellent mother allowed no novels ; but in their place 
 selected books on history, travels, voyages, elements 
 of natural and moral philosophy, useful memoirs, 
 and religion—all eminently calculated to improve the 
 heart and inform the understanding. 
 
 The works read during the years 1831 to 1836, 
 numbering 161, were noted down, and some of them 
 commented upon. The imperishable productions of 
 our principal poets were all read with great avidity ; 
 and so retentive was her memory that she could 
 
 B 
 
MEMOIR, 
 
 2 
 
 repeat at any time, and without the slightest hesi¬ 
 tancy, poems or pieces of 300 lines in length, which 
 were learnt in childhood or more adult age, and never 
 seen afterwards. 
 
 At the age of sixteen, beautiful in person, refined 
 in understanding, and tender in sensibility, she re¬ 
 cognised the superior claims of religion to her Chris¬ 
 tian regard and obedience. And no doubt a pious 
 education, consistent example, faithful preaching, and 
 parental influence, had done much to prepare her 
 mind for this; but it was by a higher power that 
 she was enabled to receive into her heart “ the king¬ 
 dom of God as a little child,” and from henceforward 
 to take up her cross and follow Jesus. 
 
 About this time she commenced noting down her 
 religious views and experience; a practice always 
 attended with good, when done with the single and 
 unostentatious object of personal improvement, and 
 growth in grace. That this was the motive in her 
 case must be apparent, when the existence of such a 
 journal was never known to any till after her death ; 
 and that there was no desire that they should become 
 public, was evident from the great repugnance she 
 expressed previous to her death that any memoir 
 should be written of her life. 
 
 Feeling now the constraining love of Christ in her 
 heart, she desired, in obedience to his command, to 
 evince her attachment to his name and people by 
 coming out of the world, and joining herself, on the 
 game evening with her elder sister, to the church of 
 Christ, under the pastoral care of the Rev. J. Jack- 
 
MEMOIR. ^ 
 
 son, of Green Hammerton and Ousebourn. And no 
 word or thought of suspicion ever existed that she 
 dishonoured her Christian profession by inconsistent 
 conduct or spiritual declension. 
 
 The loss of a beloved elder brother, suddenly cut 
 down in the prime of health, and a long-continued 
 affliction at the age of twenty, were eminently sancti¬ 
 fied to her good. Her Bible was then read with more 
 than usual care, and with a faith without misgivings 
 or distrust; and by prayer and constant watchfulness 
 she evidently attained to a high standard of deep and 
 fervent piety; or, to use her own words, she became 
 more “ established in the truth,” and felt the prin¬ 
 ciples and doctrines of holy writ precious to her 
 heart. 
 
 With the view of benefiting her health, she paid 
 a visit to some kind friends at Burlington Quay; and 
 it was during that visit, in 183G, that the brother and 
 sisters of another branch of that family first formed her 
 acquaintance. The medical friend, though but then a 
 student in medicine, was enabled to give some advice 
 which was attended with considerable benefit; and a 
 friendship so commenced, naturally ripened into mutual 
 regard and sincere affection. They were married in 
 May, 1839; and in the same year they reached the 
 shores of China. Her first two years there were actively 
 employed in the study of the language, and teach¬ 
 ing. Her capability for acquiring the Chinese lan¬ 
 guage was great: a good memory and a nice ap¬ 
 preciation of sound gave her advantages which some 
 do not possess ; and though she was prevented con- 
 
 b 2 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 4 
 
 tinning her studies on the ground of her health being 
 undermined by them, she was always able to conduct 
 her household affairs with servants fresh from the 
 native villages, and who could not speak a word of 
 English, and to hold a lengthened conversation with 
 the female patients, who were always pleased to pay 
 her a morning call, and upon whom she no doubt 
 exerted an influence favourable to Christianity. And it 
 mavbe here mentioned that one of her pupils became 
 so advanced in his knowledge of English as to be able 
 to receive a medical education, which has qualified him 
 to take charge of an ophthalmic hospital for the benefit 
 of his countrymen ; and he is also so well acquainted 
 with gospel truth, that he cannot worship the gods of 
 his fathers, but is not yet, we fear, a true worshipper of 
 the only living God. 
 
 As a wife, her qualities were such as can only be 
 appreciated by him who is so early left to lament her 
 loss ; and more need not be said than, as a counsellor 
 she was wise and faithful,—as a companion, soothing 
 and intelligent, fond of her home, perfectly domesti¬ 
 cated in her family, and highly servicable in sus¬ 
 taining and encouraging his hands, whose welfare 
 and usefulness she was ever anxious to promote. 
 
 As a mother , the touching allusions to her children, 
 and her fervent prayers, as seen in the succeeding 
 pages, will suffice to show what a parent they have lost. 
 
 As a friend, those who knew her best appreciated 
 her most: to strangers, natural timidity often made 
 her diffident; but when this was overcome even to 
 such she was uniformly kind, unreserved, and cour- 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 O 
 
 teous : but to those of a congenial mind, her friend¬ 
 ship was marked by a constancy of affection, and so 
 frank and unsuspicious a confidence, that a friend 
 once gained was never lost. To her missionary 
 friends she aimed to be to all a sister in Christ, and 
 united with much delight in exercises for prayer at 
 the maternal and missionary meetings. She had 
 marks of attention from those superior to her in 
 rank, and from those in the same station of life ; 
 and the numerous acts of kindness which she received 
 from them were a proof of the esteem in which her 
 character was held. 
 
 As a Christian , the subsequent uarrative will bear 
 
 testimony to the virtues that adorned her life. Want 
 «/ 
 
 of robust health prevented her from being so active 
 in the service of Christ as her heart desired to be ; 
 but in her daily walk and conversation she exem¬ 
 plified the highest principles of religion. Her piety 
 was none of the showy, plausible pretensions of 
 many in the present day, but the deep and “ hidden 
 man of the heart,” which displayed itself unobtru¬ 
 sively in all the concerns and trials of life, and bearing 
 a silent but powerful witness to the truth as it is in 
 Christ Jesus. She had a catholic spirit, was free 
 from uncharitableness and all bigotry, modest and 
 retiring in disposition, humble and meek in heart, 
 simple in manners, without display or dissimulation, 
 strictly conscientious and truthful, and striving to 
 adorn the gospel of Christ her Saviour in all things, 
 and to walk worthy of her high vocation. 
 
 Such is a slight outline of the character here por- 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 6 
 
 trayed, and what succeeds is a faithful transcript of 
 her mind and feelings, expressed in her own words, 
 which illustrate in a beautiful manner the workings 
 of a sensitive and pure-minded spirit under the 
 teaching of the Holy Ghost. The sentiments were 
 thought too good to be buried in oblivion, and the 
 character too lovely and instructive to be passed by 
 unnoticed. In these pages her voice though dead 
 vet speaketh to the living; and as we read her heart 
 and soul here thrown open, may we ponder well her 
 path, trace Divine influence upon her mind, notice 
 her fervent aspirations after God, her patience, hope, 
 and fitness for death, glory, and immortality. And 
 may we follow her as she humbly followed Christ; 
 and then we also shall be prepared to meet the king 
 of terrors, pass through that dread hour—the last 
 struggle— and awake to sin no more in the realms 
 of everlasting day. 
 
 The following account is copied and arranged 
 from her private papers, and it is hoped it will be 
 perused with much interest and benefit by her nume¬ 
 rous surviving friends. 
 
 “ And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord 
 thy God led thee,” Dent. viii. 2. 
 
 “ Thou shalt also consider in thine heart,” Deut. viii. 5. 
 
 “ Remember, and forget not,” Deut. ix. 7. 
 
 f ‘ It pleased God in infinite mercy to give me pious 
 parents, who not only gave me oral instruction in 
 Divine things, but who, by their example, led me from 
 very infancy to believe the truth of revealed religion; 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 i 
 
 not that my heart received the Lord Jesus for a 
 Saviour until I was sixteen years old: but I was per¬ 
 suaded that the Scriptures were the word of God, 
 and contained the way of salvation ; and that there 
 was no other name under heaven whereby we could 
 be saved, but the name of Jesus. 
 
 “ Many were the conflicts in my mind whether I 
 should give myself to God, or wait a little longer: 
 all the intervening years between four and sixteen 
 i was hesitating,—never intending to abandon the 
 search after God, but constantly wavering in my 
 choice, until the Holy Spirit gently drew me to the 
 foot of the cross; and there I sought for mercy, for 
 pardon, and reconciliation with my Almighty Father ! 
 Not by dreadful terrors of conscience was I led to 
 ask for mercy, but by a deep abiding sense of sin. 
 And God in boundless love, heard and accepted my 
 prayers. When seventeen, I joined the church of 
 Christ, on the same day as did my beloved sister. 
 
 “We had a few weeks before lost a most dear 
 brother by sudden death, but of whose piety we had 
 a good hope. The next year my sister became the 
 wife of one who by his life and actions declares that 
 God dwells in him. 
 
 “ When twenty years old, I was visited with a 
 most afflictive and trying providence, being for nearly 
 four years confined almost entirely to one position; 
 but how much was then taught me ? How I learned 
 the sweetness of God’s promises; of the nature of 
 faith, of the vanity of the world, and its utter ina¬ 
 bility to arive comfort to the mind. 
 
 *' O 
 
8 
 
 MEMOIR. 
 
 “ It was indeed the means of establishing my 
 heart in the truth ; my feet were set upon a rock ; I 
 felt as I had never before done, that Jesus Christ 
 was the foundation of my hope. 
 
 “ The same gracious God who had sent the affliction 
 also in his own good time removed it, and health 
 (more than ever valuable) -was restored to me. Bless¬ 
 ings were continually about my path; my eldest bro¬ 
 ther had been brought to the knowledge of Christ, 
 and had openly professed him by uniting with his 
 people. I had many pious relatives, all the comforts 
 of home; ‘ the lines had fallen to me in pleasant 
 places :’ but once more my hope and faith were tried. 
 I was called to go out of ‘ my country,’ and from my 
 kindred, and from my father’s house, into ‘a land of 
 heathenism,’—‘ a land of deepest shade.’ 
 
 “ Earnestly I sought to know if the call was from 
 above ; and being fully persuaded that ‘ He who had 
 wrought me for the self same thing was God,’ 1 
 became united to his servant on the 22nd of May, 
 1839. My own dear pastor performed this marriage 
 ceremony; and I know that his prayers followed us, 
 and that he had prayed for me since he dedicated me 
 to God in baptism. 
 
 “ Before leaving England, we had a solemn service 
 at Welford, and another valedictory service in Bir¬ 
 mingham ; at each place my husband was enabled to 
 give a clear statement of the motives wfflicli led him 
 to surrender himself to the missionary w r ork, and of 
 ‘the hope that is in him.’ May the impressions 
 then made, never be erased, or the lament of Ilosea 
 
MEMOIR. 9 
 
 be verified, ‘ O Ephraim, your goodness is as the 
 morning cloud—passing away !’ 
 
 “We left the homes of our birth, our childhood, 
 and youth, supported only by the strength which was 
 given us by God himself, and accompanied to the 
 ship by our beloved father, sister, and brother; we 
 then separated, with no certain hope of a reunion on 
 earth,—but with the glorious hope of spending toge¬ 
 ther a happy eternity, where ‘ adieus and farewells 
 are a sound unknown.’ We left Portsmouth, July 
 28, 1839. 
 
 J i 
 
 “How kind and tender was the care of our Heavenly 
 Father to us on the mighty sea our hearts ought always 
 to acknowledge ;—not a hair of our head fell to the 
 ground. We had our sabbaths, our prayer-meetings, 
 the ordinance of the Lord’s supper ; we had peace 
 amongst our brethren; food to eat, and comfortable 
 accommodations; the winds and waters were not 
 allowed to overwhelm us ; and in safety, health, and 
 comfort we came to land on the island of Java. 
 There all was natural beauty and loveliness ! All w as 
 new to our eyes, all gratifying to our senses. The 
 Oriental appearance of the trees, flowers, fruits, and 
 dwellings of the Malays, excited our interest; but 
 oh, how dense was the cloud of moral gloom which 
 shaded that otherwise bright and gladsome land l 
 How did we sigh for rays of the Sun of righteousness 
 to shine upon the people. ‘ The day has not 
 dawned, or the day-star arisen upon them !’—‘Arise, 
 oh our God !’ 
 
 “On the evening of the 13th of November we 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 10 
 
 again weighed anchor; and after rather a tedious 
 passage up the China sea, we reached the bay of 
 Tung-koo, on the shores of China, in safety, on the 
 18th of December. 
 
 “ Our fears were excited, from the unsettled state 
 of affairs in China, that we should not be allowed to 
 live in quietness at Macao, as all the English were 
 now afloat on merchant ships in this bay ;* but this 
 was also granted us,—and on the 30th of Decem¬ 
 ber we landed at that place, and occupied the house 
 prepared for our reception. And now we can say, 
 
 ‘ Though in a foreign land, 
 
 We are not far from home ; 
 
 And nearer to our Father’s house 
 We every moment come.’ 
 
 “The new year found us in a heathen land; and 
 though the way there had been long and dangerous, 
 we had ‘ the cloud’ to guide us by day, and ‘ the 
 pillar of fire’ by night; and here we hope ‘ the Spirit 
 of the Lord caused us to rest.’ 
 
 “The first sabbath, on going to receive the Lord’s 
 supper at the house of the llev. Mr. B., we passed 
 a crowd which was being entertained by a party of 
 jugglers. I thought how Paul was troubled by the 
 evil spirit as he went to the river side, 4 where prayer 
 was wont to be made.’ We met ‘in an upper room,’ 
 and had the presence of Him who instituted the feast 
 in sweet remembrance of his own love to us. Dr. 
 
 * This hay of Tung-Koo was forty miles from Macao, 
 where the English community had fled on the approach of 
 a large Chinese force to that city. 
 
I 
 
 MEMOIR. I l 
 
 13. distributed the elements to us. In the same 
 room we heard from week to week the word of 
 God preached by one or other of his servants, besides 
 a weekly prayer-meeting in another missionary’s 
 house. 
 
 “Sabbath, January 12th.—My soul looks back 
 upon all that has passed since I wrote here*, and what 
 is her conclusion ?—The Lord he is God. If the 
 Lord had not been my help, I had ere long been 
 overcome by fears, by temptations to forsake Him; 
 but ‘ Oh my soul for ever praise, for ever bless His 
 name,’ who has upholden thee in life, who has enabled 
 thee to continue stedfast, and who has not only done 
 this, but has given such sweet enjoyment of his 
 presence, when separated from home and friends; 
 O Lord I desire to adore thee, though ‘weak is the 
 effort of my heart, and cold my warmest thoughts,’ 
 
 I do most earnestly desire to serve thee, now that 
 I have been brought here. What am I that 
 thou shouldest have such tender regard, such 
 watchful care over me? What am I that thou 
 bast spread blessings all around me ? I can never 
 in time praise thee as I ought. And now', my 
 Saviour, I come to thee, for thy pardoning blood 
 to wash away all the sins of the past. I come for 
 grace to enable me to serve thee all the days of 
 my life. 1 am here in a land of heathen ! Let me 
 never, never become insensible to the claims of those 
 around me : if I cannot do any great work for them, 
 let my example be clear, and keep me from forgetting 
 why I came here. Keep me from pride, from un- 
 * Her private note-book. 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 i ° 
 
 JL cv 
 
 belief, from self-complacency; give me a constant 
 spirit of prayer, a love for the Bible, a watchful 
 dependence upon the influence and guidance of the 
 Holy Spirit; an habitual desire of submission to thy 
 will; a meek deportment, a spirit of charity to the 
 whole world; a love to those who love thee. I 
 further ask of thee, my heavenly Father, that discre¬ 
 tion and wisdom from above may guide me in all my 
 ways, that I may ever choose that which is good, and 
 in such a manner as shall best show forth religion 
 before the world. If it please thee, give me health, 
 capacity for attaining the language of this nation, a 
 perception of right and wrong in the affairs of life, 
 a sound understanding, and whatever may conduce 
 to the honour of thy name, that in all my doings I 
 may humbly glorify thee. I ask all, as a sinner, of 
 thee, a mighty Saviour. Thine be the praise, the 
 honour, and glory. Amen. 
 
 “Jan. 2 §th .—On this day, the sabbath, in company 
 with Mrs. S., I first entered the houses of several 
 Chinese. She went to talk with them of the Saviour, 
 and distribute books. We were cordially received 
 bv them, hut were told that it was a dishonour for 
 Chinese women to be able to read. All were pursu¬ 
 ing their daily occupation, ignorant of the sacredness 
 of the day : two women were grinding at the mill; 
 some were preparing for the new year by burnishing 
 their incense-vases,—all, all utterly destitute of the 
 true way of salvation. 
 
 “ 29 th .—Had our first letter from home, written 
 by my beloved parents. We felt it very precious, and 
 received it as a mercy from God. When returning 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 13 
 
 home from Divine worship, the first sabbath in Feb¬ 
 ruary, I saw a slave bearing some burden, manacled 
 from the waist to the feet. Never before beheld one 
 of my own species in that state of degradation, and 
 was much affected by it. I prayed that he might be 
 made ‘ free’ in Christ Jesus. 
 
 “ February 2nd .—This being the first day of the 
 New Year of the Chinese, great preparations were made 
 on the day previous by buying provisions, settling 
 accounts, &c. ; great numbers of large fishing-boats 
 anchored in the inner harbour ; gongs and crackers 
 resounded from all parts of the town. We went to 
 see the bazaar, which was crowded with busy people, 
 and where the Chinese, on other days, display all 
 their wares ; but on this, the only day of the year, 
 were all closed. The lintel of the doors were covered 
 with red papers, expressing good wishes to passers-by 
 and the in-dwellers, as, Let the ‘five kinds of hap¬ 
 piness enter this doorand on the native fishing- 
 junks, ‘ Catch wind, get profit.’ Lanterns innu¬ 
 merable were to be seen in the evening of that day, 
 and the discharge of crackers and fireworks was 
 incessant. 
 
 “On March the 7th, the dear infant, my son, was 
 born. The moment that I knew I was the mother 
 of a living boy, my secret earnest prayer was, ‘ Lord, 
 make him thy own child.’ Four days after, he was 
 taken ill, and was nigh unto death ; but God, who is 
 rich in mercy, restored him from the very gates of 
 death. ‘Like as a father pitieth his children, so the 
 Lord pitieth them that fear him :’ God heard my 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 14 
 
 prayers, his father’s prayers, and the prayers of our 
 kind Christian friends, the missionaries. I solemnly 
 renewed my dedication of him to God. 
 
 “On the morning of April the 12th, our infant 
 son was publicly given to God in baptism by the 
 Rev. E. C. B., at the house of Mr. B.; when his 
 little daughter was also named and dedicated by the 
 same minister. His name was pronounced c in the 
 name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,’ and we 
 his parents earnestly prayed that he might be born of 
 God, that Jesus would take him under his care, and 
 that he might never walk in the ways of wicked men. 
 ‘Fulfil now, O Lord, our petitions.’ 
 
 “ In April, as B. and I were walking over the 
 burying-ground in the Campo, we saw several Chi¬ 
 nese worshipping the manes of their departed friends. 
 Many offerings of rice, fish, pork, &c., were placed 
 before the grave-stone, with cups of wine. Here was 
 incense burning, and by the side was a quantity of 
 folded paper. The worshippers approached, and 
 nine times knocked their forehead upon the ground ; 
 they then poured a libation of wine; and finally 
 burned to ashes the hillock of paper. I saw in the 
 countenances of the poor deluded beings mingled 
 expressions of reverence and indifference almost 
 amounting to ridicule. There was the force of early 
 education and the power of superstition, contending 
 with and holding the mastery over reason and natu¬ 
 ral acuteness of perception; proving the truth of 
 the Divine words, ‘ They love darkness rather than 
 light.’ 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 15 
 
 “May 31 st, being the sabbath, B. had his teacher, 
 along with A’tsung, A’yun, and A’leen, to read the 
 sacred Scriptures. The sixth chapter of Daniel was 
 read and explained by the teacher in Chinese. My 
 heart melted as I looked on these f from the land of Si- 
 mm,’ and I asked, ‘ How long, O Lord! how long?’— 
 
 ‘ When shall thy name, from shore to shore, 
 
 Fill all the earth abroad.’ 
 
 “ June 1 Zth, Sabbath. —Lord God, c I looked unto 
 thee, and thou hast not made me ashamed.’ Thou 
 hast preserved and blessed me in an especial manner, 
 and I desire to thank and praise thee. Thou hast 
 given me a precious son : oh, guide all my actions, 
 and direct all my thoughts towards him! Let me 
 never trust to my own understanding ; never choose 
 for him any but the right way ; never let me teach 
 him the way of the world ; but, oh, my Saviour, be 
 thou my guide ! Take him under thy care ; be his 
 God from his earliest infancy: all other wishes for 
 him are lost in this—that he may be the child of 
 God ; and enable us both to set him a proper example, 
 by self-denial, consistency, devotedness, and by 
 showing forth the loveliness of religion. O Lord 
 God Almighty, thou art my God! be thou the God 
 of my child! 
 
 “July 5th, Sabbath-day .—Our friend Dr. P. sailed 
 for America, having been commended to God in an 
 especial manner by prayer, with all the band of 
 Christians here, on the evening previously. 
 
 “ Auy. 10M.—Our friend Mr. S. was seized, whilst 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 16 
 
 bathing, by several Chinese, who bound him hand 
 and foot, and took him to Canton a prisoner. De¬ 
 cember the 11th, Mr. S. was released. On the next 
 day he came down to Macao. On sabbath-day our 
 meeting for prayer was made one of thanksgiving on 
 his account: it was one of the most happy days we 
 have all seen here. Surely, neither he nor any of us 
 will forget the mercy of God to him. 
 
 “Nov. 1 5th .—To me the future is all unknown; 
 and though I feel this life will ever be one of mixed 
 joy and sorrow, yet I know not even what shall be 
 on the morrow. Lord, dost thou intend to try my 
 faith and patience ? Then, oh, give me grace to serve 
 thee truly and faithfully. Oh, my heavenly Father, 
 I ask one petition of thee—that I may be submissive 
 to thy righteous will. If my health should be taken 
 away from me for a season, enable me to suffer in 
 silence, and with cheerfulness. My heavenly Father, 
 the great Shepherd of Israel, take into thine especial 
 care the little lamb thou hast given me; bless him 
 for time and eternity; lead his young spirit to seek 
 thee in the very earliest days of his life. O Lord 
 God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Jacob, I claim thy 
 promise to those who trust in thee. 
 
 “May 23rd, 1841.—Two years and one day have 
 passed since I left my father’s house, my precious 
 parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, the poor, and all 
 that I loved so intensely. I left my minister, to whom 
 I was much attached. Oh how was I supported! 
 and how these beloved ones were strengthened to bear 
 the separation! God, who was with me then, hast 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 17 
 
 preserved me ever since ; but how often have I for¬ 
 gotten to he grateful! How my evil heart has led me 
 away from the deep piety I ought to have! Oh, my 
 merciful God, look upon me, and in infinite goodness 
 pardon my sins. I pray thee, most merciful Saviour, 
 to wash me in thy precious blood, and to convert my 
 heart to the holiness thou dost love. Lord God 
 Almighty, keep me from falling from the truth. 
 Uphold me; for I feel that I cannot keep myself. 
 And our beloved boy, oh, our Lord Jesus, the Saviour 
 of infant children, the Saviour of the world, bless the 
 child! Bless him now and for ever. May the same 
 blessings attend him, which have been the portion of 
 his parents and their fathers, the blessings of religion; 
 grant this, O my God. Remember in love our pre¬ 
 cious friends in England, our families, our pastors, 
 the churches, and all whom we know. Oh bring the 
 heathen to know and love the name of Jesus, and the 
 earth be filled with thy glory. 
 
 “ July 23rd, Sabbath .—Oh that I had more of the 
 Spirit on the ‘ Lord’s day! ’ more desire after holiness 
 and the conversion of men! O my God, who didst 
 in such infinite love call me from loving the vanities 
 of the world, do thou in continued mercy grant me 
 thy precious influence ; more of the power of religion 
 in my heart: more of the life of prayer. Enable 
 me to love all thy people, being kind to them 
 for Jesus’ sake, and not feel any improper thoughts 
 toward them in my heart. O my Saviour, give me 
 thy meek and gentle disposition, that if I cannot do 
 
 any palpable good by living in this land, I may at 
 
 c 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 18 
 
 least honour my Father in heaven by not dishonour¬ 
 ing his name. Bless my husband with health and 
 strength to do thy will, and to glorify thy name. 
 May he have lively faith to persevere in well doing, 
 and may I never be the means of weakening his 
 hands. 
 
 “ I thank and praise thee for thy grace and love 
 to our dear sisters, whom, we hope, have given them- 
 selves to thy calls of mercy. Keep them, direct 
 them, make them useful and holy, for the sake of our 
 blessed Saviour. 
 
 “ Christmas-day, 1842 — Sabbath .—Again I am 
 brought to the end of the year in circumstances 
 of great mercy. Death has not taken away my 
 husband or child. Sickness has not afflicted us. 
 Poverty and sorrow have not been our lot, but all 
 has been pleasant and comfortable in our path. Oh, 
 how undeserving I am of the least of these mer¬ 
 cies ! With new prospects for a home, do thou give 
 him for whom I should pray earnest desires to 
 glorify thee where he goes, and greater facilities of 
 effecting good. May we never forget thy goodness 
 in uniting us together, and, O our God, bless our 
 union to thine own glory. Bless all our dear friends 
 in our own country,—our valued parents, brothers, 
 and sisters, those especially who are in affliction. 
 May we say of them, c Thy will be done/ Father 
 in heaven, hear my unworthy petitions, and according 
 to thy mercy in Christ Jesus answer and bless me. 
 
 “ Hong Kong , May 2 1st, 1843 — Sabbath .— 
 Thou, O God, didst bless me in the hour of 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 19 
 
 nature’s anguish, and made me joyful as the mother 
 of a living child. Thou didst give me great love for 
 that little one—the fervent, deep love of a parent; 
 and then thou didst take him away from me. Oh, 
 how my heart bleeds for his loss! 0 my heavenly 
 Father, let me never again feel that anything of 
 earth is mine, but give me to feel that all, even the 
 dearest, is lent by a wise Being who will take my 
 blessings when he sees right. Let me continually 
 feel this truth, and be myself prepared for the voice 
 that shall call me away. Thou hast taken my dear 
 boy ; thou hast afflicted me with sickness ; thou hast 
 permitted men to steal our property: but all this I 
 do believe was overruled by thee, not for any other 
 purpose but to do us good. The power to give and 
 to restrain is all thine. Thy love is unchangeable, 
 and always wise ; and I earnestly pray that we may 
 profit by the late events of thy providence: let us 
 not try thee to smite us again. Be pleased to prosper 
 any labours here for the good of the souls and bodies 
 of men, and may we see some fruit to the glory of 
 God. 
 
 “ Sept. 15 th, 1844— Sabbath-day. Hong Kong .— 
 Months have passed away, laden with thy mercies, 
 O God, and I have continually abused thy goodness. 
 Give me more love of what is holy and right in thy 
 sight—a watchful care over my temper, my thoughts, 
 my words. To my beloved child may I especially 
 show the truth of what I wish to teach him : may his 
 heart be early renewed by thy grace. 
 
 “ Bless me and mine, O gracious God; and let 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 MEMOIR. 
 
 neither of us, or any of thy servants here, ever dis¬ 
 honour thy name before those who despise thy truth. 
 Let the heathen live before thee, and may the name 
 and love of Jesus be accepted and honoured by them. 
 Forgive, oh, forgive my many sins ; and, 0 my God, 
 watch over me, and suffer me not to become indif¬ 
 ferent to the highest duties I owe my family. Up¬ 
 hold him whom I love in thy ways; and whether ' 
 it be thy will to give him long life or otherwise ; 
 whether it please thee to give him apparent success 
 in his present work or not, let his life shine to thy 
 glory. Bless, O Lord, our dear parents, brothers, 
 and sisters ; my minister in my native land, and all 
 my relations and friends. Amen.” 
 
 SELECTIONS FROM HER CORRESPONDENCE. 
 
 EXTRACT OF A LETTER TO A MEDICAL FRIEND. 
 
 “June, 1837. 
 
 “ I have often thought that medical men have a 
 nomenclature of their own; for instance, ‘a little 
 patience/ signifies all the patience we can command; 
 
 ‘ rather painful,’ means great pain; c very soon,’ 
 denotes at the shortest computation half a year, nay, 
 I have known it comprehend four years. I should 
 like much to know if this kind of anachronism is a 
 metaphysical difference in those who use it, or is it 
 a part of the science of medicine? If it is quite 
 proper that I should be thus far initiated I ask of 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 9 \ 
 
 yon to enlighten me; should the subject be too mys¬ 
 terious for one not professed, I submit with reverence. 
 And now, setting aside all nonsense, I will try to talk 
 of the subject which has almost absorbed the whole 
 of my thoughts since it was known to me; I mean 
 your high and serious determination in favour of the 
 benighted Chinese. When I first heard of Mr. M.’s 
 letter in the Evangelical Magazine, you were imme¬ 
 diately brought to my mind as being one, in all pro¬ 
 bability, who would think of and weigh the important 
 call; but when I really read in your own hand writing 
 that you had already decided, it caused such emotions 
 of gratitude and esteem as I never before expe¬ 
 rienced. I should like to know by what process of 
 thought you were led to such a decision; if your 
 affection for home and country contended powerfully 
 for indulgence, are you enabled with continued calm¬ 
 ness to see this, the path marked out by your hea¬ 
 venly Father, and can you ever view it as a privilege 
 as well as a sacrifice ? I do sometimes most earnestly 
 wish to look into your mind to discover how you are 
 supported when trying to realize the separation from 
 parents, sisters, friends, and all that is contained in 
 those magic words ‘ my native land!’ How exactly 
 will that rich promise suit you, ‘I am with you.’ 
 And if the Saviour is now invisible, it is his guiding 
 hand which will conduct you, his Holy Spirit which 
 will comfort you, and the God of Jacob who will be 
 your refuge. There will be also the prayers of God’s 
 people ! Oh, I hope that this thought will often 
 cheer you when oppressed and discouraged by your 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 own weakness, and the deep depravity of those 
 around you. For whom will more frequent and fer¬ 
 vent prayers be offered ? At the domestic altar when 
 will you be forgotten ? And above all, 4 Jesus ever 
 liveth to make intercession for us P What force and 
 beauty there are in the idea that 4 he is touched 
 with the feeling of our infirmites, and was in all 
 points tempted like as we are.’ ” 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 “November, 1837. 
 
 44 I recollect your question when on the south cliff, 
 4 Shall you be thankful when restored to health V I 
 hope that the distrust I have always felt on this point 
 has led me to watchfulness, and I think I can answer 
 that my heart is grateful, sometimes inexpressibly so ; 
 it appears to be such an entire favour that I should 
 ever enjoy life again as I now do ; and then I inwardly 
 ask, 4 What can I render to God V I am distin¬ 
 guished for having mercies from him, and I owe 
 gratitude to him for giving me to see love in every¬ 
 thing, even what many others may not notice; this I 
 must consider the teaching of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 44 How many things I have learnt during this ill¬ 
 ness ! I do not view the world in its moral state as 
 formerly. I hope I see the need of Christian energy 
 and devotedness, joined to the greatest consistency 
 of conduct, in extending and purifying the church ; 
 and I know that I form part of the people professing 
 to be redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus, 
 therefore the injunction is binding upon me to walk 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 23 
 
 worthy of that high and holy calling. I have lately 
 lost my first and most beloved friend. She was 
 given to God in her body, soul, and spirit, by active 
 usefulness in the cause of foreign missions; and by 
 her holy life she was an example to all, whilst her 
 well-stored mind and large understanding made her 
 to me an invaluable companion. Then we had played 
 together, we had grown up together ; we had at the 
 same time forsaken the vanities of the world, and 
 taken Christ for our portion; and now I have her 
 not!” 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 “ Every new idea is a treasure when added to my 
 little stock; true, my ideas are very circumscribed, 
 yet ‘my mind to me a kingdom is. 3 I know it is a 
 kingdom weakly governed, and that I try to extend 
 and enrich my dominions too much, instead of intro¬ 
 ducing and enforcing proper regulations. 
 
 “ I think I receive more favours from the hand of 
 Almighty love than any one ; no trial comes without an 
 accompanying mercy ; every sorrow is attempered.” 
 
 TO THE SAME. 
 
 “June, 1838. 
 
 “ So happy, that the trees, fields, and flowers, seem 
 in beauty for me ! Oh, how I love the face of nature! 
 I cannot look but with intense and glowing delight 
 upon this loveliness with which I am surrounded, and 
 then to feel that ‘ my Father made them all!’ I have 
 tried to account for this increasing enjoyment of life, 
 and think I have discovered that it is the result of 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 54 
 
 continued prayer for a spirit of meekness and sub¬ 
 mission to all the will of God; and that the veriest 
 trifles may be regarded by me in a proper light. I 
 think I love not God the less for loving nature more, 
 but on the contrary, I admire him in his works. 
 
 <c I often remember your present trying circum¬ 
 stances, for I consider that your position is far more 
 dangerous to the soul than the valley of affliction 
 would be. Now, my dear friend, will you receive this 
 as I intend it ? Not as making too free use of your 
 general kindness; not as mistrust, hut as the same 
 thoughts I should offer to a brother. I have been 
 longer in the pilgrim’s progress than yourself, and 
 find that of all evils which are most interminable, 
 pride is the first. To use the words of Cowper, c it 
 deceives with the subtlety of a serpentand how 
 have I found it put on the mask of humility ! You 
 are at present on your guard, hut be watchful against 
 self-complacency. I am writing to a Christian, none 
 other would bear such dictation ; but I am not afraid 
 of you , but of your evil heart. I hope you will more 
 and more enjoy the favour of God, and devote your 
 all to him, and especially now that you may be situ¬ 
 ated in such an incongenial clime as Paris.” 
 
 The following extracts are taken from letters 
 addressed to the same medical friend, now sustaining 
 a near relationship. 
 
 “ How great the difference between my prospects, 
 hopes, and fears now and those of a few months ago ! 
 Now there is a new world of enjoyment and suffering 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 25 
 
 before me; all the anticipations of the future are 
 entirely changed. You are in a new character; and 
 when I feel that I can really cling to you rather than 
 any other being, I am grateful to God, who has, I 
 believe, inspired my heart with this affection. I do 
 hope, dearest B., that my love to Christ in this holy 
 cause increases. I want to talk with you of the 
 delightful views I have lately been favoured with 
 relative to this mission. It is the way I have been 
 studying the character of Jesus which has been blest 
 so sweetly to me : I never before saw him so much 
 in the light of a missionary, a self-denying, devoted 
 missionary! Oh, what a lovely, perfect example 
 for us! Surely, with his grace to strengthen, we 
 shall be enabled to sacrifice the fleeting pleasures of 
 this life for the abiding enjoyment of promoting his 
 glory. I well know that splendid talents and great 
 acquirements are not requisite to the happiness of 
 two individuals; but for the one to discover the 
 absence of the qualities he expected were possessed 
 by his companion, must he distressing. Perhaps you 
 recollect a conclave of young, inexperienced people 
 writing down, 1 Essential properties to be found in a 
 wife it was in the front room at Quay. We thought 
 ourselves wise in being able to bring together so 
 many amiable traits ; but, oh, where shall we actually 
 find them concentrated in any human being? I 
 often smile and sigh when reperusing the paper con¬ 
 taining such a valuable collection, which, if really 
 found, would be of more value than the richest 
 gem. I fear it is only an ideal structure.” 
 
26 
 
 MEMOIR. 
 
 “December, 1838. 
 
 “ I am so thankful that you feel no decline 
 of interest or desire to be engaged in the work 
 before you. It does me great good to read your 
 letters, were it only for this ; for although I say so 
 little about it, yet my heart is constantly in it. 
 When I read your expressions of satisfaction in the 
 prospect of what may be, and compare them with 
 my own feelings of fear commingled with hope, I 
 draw a middle line, and bring it to this conclusion, 
 —as we have from the first acted with a desire 
 to fear God, not in action only, but in the very 
 secret wishes of our souls, and continued to ask his 
 blessing daily, hourly, and in every circumstance, so 
 we may safely expect his approbation in the decision 
 you have made with respect to me and the mission ; 
 and then with the future my hope is, that as much 
 happiness as is the lot of mortals may be ours, if we 
 endeavour to secure it by proper means.” 
 
 “January , 1839. 
 
 “ Your last letters were very dear to me : it was not 
 the words they contained, but the spirit I thought they 
 breathed. Oh, I am more than ever convinced that 
 religion purifies the mind in its affections ; and, if I 
 know myself, I think it is because I feel that you 
 love the dear Saviour that I am so increasingly bound 
 to you. My precious B., I trust my thoughts fear¬ 
 lessly on this principle, that as Christians we dare 
 not deceive each other; and as what we are and mav 
 be we would not do it. I believe you do not see all 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 27 
 
 my faults ; I am conscious of so many ; but it is the 
 earnest, sincere desire of my inmost soul to show 
 even to you the meek and humble spirit of Jesus : 
 still, you must not expect this to be evinced at all 
 times, as my wicked nature daily shows me that the 
 least neglect of watchfulness betrays me into words 
 and feelings to be repented of. It is, I believe, on 
 trifling occasions that we are most liable to forget 
 ourselves; and, as Matthew Henry says, f we stand 
 fast oftentimes in the hour of temptation, and sin 
 when it is over.’ My kind, dear sister, is more than 
 ever dear to me, and her excellent, judicious conver¬ 
 sation has quite refreshed me; and although she 
 knows that you will be the cause of our future sepa¬ 
 ration, she still talks in a noble manner of your 
 prospects. This, from her whom I know so fondly 
 loves me, is only what a Christian, and one of much 
 piety, can show; but her ideas are, that unless reli¬ 
 gion teaches and exemplifies self-denial, it is of no 
 worth.” 
 
 “ February , 1839. 
 
 “ How true it is that through much tribulation 
 Christians enter into the kingdom of heaven : our dear 
 afflicted friend Mr. M. feels this most deeply now. 
 I have tried to enter into his feelings, and find the 
 subject so acutely painful, that even the imagined 
 trial bids my thoughts to cease. I am sure we can¬ 
 not ‘ fully sympathize’ with him ; we can only pray 
 for him, and evince all the kindness of manner such a 
 stroke naturally suggests ; yet, however valuable the 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 28 
 
 friendship and consolation of his Christian friends, 
 how he will turn his heart to God in secret, and 
 pour out his sorrows before him ! May he find that 
 religion bears his spirits up, through faith in an un¬ 
 changing God!” 
 
 “March, 1839. 
 
 ‘‘You will appreciate my reason for speaking thus 
 of my inmost mind. I do it for the sake of cheering 
 you when so far from home, (in Paris,) to excite 
 your gratitude for the grace which leads us both to 
 give ourselves daily unreservedly to God. I believe 
 we shall eventually become indifferent to one another 
 as we depart from the way of soul religion, because 
 it is evident that our comfort springs from this 
 source. I know that I am far behind other Chris¬ 
 tians, but yet I have a warm desire to serve and love 
 God, and to feel a deeper interest in the work of 
 Christ. I cannot see any ability in myself for the 
 work before us; nevertheless, I am encouraged by 
 looking at the feeble instrumentality 6ften used to 
 achieve great things. Mr. Wilberforce created an 
 interest, never afterwards lost, in the slave-trade; 
 and I quite think Mr. Thompson’s eloquent pleadings 
 have reanimated the people to abolish the whole 
 system of cruelty. Lady Huntingdon first left 
 money for the cause of missions. Dr. Morrison 
 lived obscurely, and yet what has he effected! 
 There was a little captive in the family of Naaman, 
 and we see what a blessing she brought upon her 
 master. Oh, dear B., it does me good to think of all 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 these honoured persons, and then to review all the 
 way which the Lord has led me ; and I am sure I was 
 not born to live inactive, when I see how entirely it 
 is of grace that I am brought to give myself to him. 
 You must pray for me that I may have courage to 
 speak: this is what I feel the most need of; it is not 
 personal danger, but timidity, which often quite over¬ 
 powers my energies.” 
 
 Extract from a letter to a dear friend a few days 
 previous to her marriage, and embarkation for the 
 East:— 
 
 “ That there is a providence in all things, we as 
 Christians must acknowledge, because we see it dis¬ 
 played in all our concerns; and when after duly 
 seeking direction, with our wills prostrate before 
 God , this impression is unchanging and powerful— 
 surely it is a voice saying, ‘ This is the way, walk ye 
 in it.’ So have I waited for the answer to my 
 question,—‘ Shall I go V and my heart, my Bible, 
 my friends, all say, ‘ Go!’ I feel, .dear Mary Ann, 
 that my life is almost bound up in those about me— 
 even more strongly as the separation approaches; 
 and as if I shall lose part of my existence by leaving 
 them : indeed, it can only be one similarly situated 
 who can properly understand the outbreakings of 
 my spirit sometimes, when I realize the important 
 event; it is as the very rending asunder soul and body, 
 the burying out of sight my earliest scenes of hope, 
 joy, and pleasure. All the dear faces will be gone ; 
 
3Q MEMOIR, 
 
 all the trees, fields, and associate recollections will 
 be hidden—and I so very far away. 
 
 “ This then is part of what passes my mind each 
 hour, hut this is not the faith which sometimes, yea 
 often, fires my heart. There is another principle,— 
 ‘Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 though he was rich, for your sakes became poor.’ 
 Here is the motive which has all along actuated, and 
 now upholds me. The Lord of glory has died for 
 me, and has put into my heart the desire to leave 
 father and mother, home and country, for his sake 
 and in his cause. I may do little or nothing. I may 
 be taken from the world before entering on the work ; 
 hut still I have given myself to God, and I do not 
 wish to draw back. Dearest Mary Ann, how great 
 are our obligations to our Saviour ; and how very 
 little we do for him ! I have hitherto spent an idle, 
 useless life ; but I do wish to ‘ arise and depart’ from 
 what has been too much ‘ my rest.’ Then to com¬ 
 pare time with eternity. This encourages me most; 
 whilst the love of Jesus soothes me. iVnd now, my 
 darling, you know the general state of my mind 
 when looking forward. You as a Christian will be 
 able to judge the future state of feeling to be ex¬ 
 pected if I keep close to God in prayer and watch¬ 
 fulness ; and I hope you will often pray that I may 
 be upholden in the way of life. Oh, it will be sad 
 indeed, if I stray from the path of holiness, and 
 myself perhaps a teacher of the ignorant. 
 
 “ Let not my heart incline to any evil thing, is 
 
MEMOIR- 
 
 often the language of my prayer—but there must be 
 continued caution also.” 
 
 The following interesting extracts are taken from 
 her correspondence from the time of her leaving 
 England, July, 1839, to May, 1845 ; in which year 
 with deep regret she was obliged to leave China, 
 never, alas ! to return. 
 
 TO AN AFFECTIONATE SISTER. 
 
 “ Dated September and November , 
 “Ship ‘Eliza Stewart .’ 
 
 “ Never was our beloved land so dear as it now 
 is. I often find myself picturing a return to it, but 
 stay the thought, though so fair, by recollecting, 
 ‘Their inheritance is of me, saith the Lord/ and 
 that ‘ we are journeying to a land of which the Lord 
 hath spoken.’ Since we left the Isle of Wight our 
 passage has been remarkably fine. We long that you 
 all could know this, especially after hearing the in¬ 
 telligence we sent you of the storm in the Channel. 
 I have never been sea-sick since then. 
 
 “Nov. §th .—We are now enjoying the prospect of 
 seeing land —such a feeling I never entered into 
 before. It is joyous and brilliant, and would be 
 fully appreciated by my dear sister E., if she were 
 similarly circumstanced. 
 
 “ I find in our isolated state of being, how very 
 sweet it is to have the hope of the gospel. We 
 experience much happiness : it is something which 
 cannot be destroyed within us; something which 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 gives peace, and in general gratitude for our mercies. 
 It is much easier to express a grateful acknowledg¬ 
 ment for the goodness of God when in the full pos¬ 
 session of his outward means of grace, and sur¬ 
 rounded by our near relatives, with the comforts 
 and conveniences of life : but when exiled from all 
 these, and left where faith must be exercised, oh, 
 then there is difficulty to feel God to be a God 
 of love ! yet he has often manifested himself to us 
 in such sweetness that we have been constrained to 
 praise him. 
 
 “We have been reading Game’s ‘Lives of Mis¬ 
 sionaries,’ and with much profit. These memoirs 
 are written in the most interesting, chaste, and ele¬ 
 gantly poetical style I ever read: he invests the 
 character with such loveliness as you rarely meet 
 with; at the same time, like the sacred historians, 
 he does not hide their faults. They were lent us by 
 Mrs. L., whom I highly esteem ; and we have so 
 much of fellow-feeling regarding home and England 
 that it binds us to each other with surprising firm¬ 
 ness. 
 
 “How we love to he thought of! I cannot bear that 
 any of you should forget me. I think of our social 
 conversations, of our delightful walks, of the sweet 
 prayers I heard from the lips of your dear parents, 
 and, oh, Eliza, I do remember your sabbaths ! 
 
 “ The voice of God proclaimed by your father, his 
 very tones, and l^ymns, &c., pass not from my heart 
 because I see you not. We did not leave you be¬ 
 cause we did not love you; we talk often and with 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 great delight of past scenes, and feel that the parting 
 chough so bitter has been sweetened by a. sense of 
 duty and the presence of God.” 
 
 TO A DEAR MOTHER. 
 
 “Macao, Jan. 7th , 1840. 
 
 “We have found rest after our long travels in a 
 beautiful locality, where nothing is wanting to cheer 
 the heart and satisfy the soul of the Christian, but 
 the true worship of the true God. 
 
 “ I have been into many houses, all of which are 
 adorned by plants placed on walls or terraces, so as 
 to give a beautiful effect. The bending bamboo I 
 saw in one garden with the delicate acacia, and 
 various species of the dark-leaved fig : cacti are 
 climbing the walls, while the more plebeian potatoes, 
 cabbages, artichokes, and peas keep their proper 
 places on more humble and common ground. X see 
 scarcely any English flowers but roses and geraniums. 
 When I first saw Java, and subsequently set my feet 
 upon the earth, I was almost overpowered by the 
 smht and odours of such verdure : it was one mass 
 
 O 
 
 of living green. The lofty palm-tree, the cocoa-nut, 
 and the banana; rows of chestnuts, bearing flowers 
 and fruit at once ; the fields of rice in fresh and lovely 
 green ; large aloes, pine-apples, gourds, and the im¬ 
 mense banian-tree giving its delightful shade, all 
 were there.” 
 
 D 
 
34 
 
 MEMOIR- 
 
 TO A BELOVED SISTER. 
 
 “Macao, January. 
 
 “ The city of Macao is built on undulating ground, 
 the streets are hilly and narrow, but the elegant trees 
 give a beautiful effect, and remove the stiffness of a 
 regularly built town. Yesterday I paid a visit to the 
 houses of several Chinese : it was the Sabbath, and 
 l accompanied Mrs. S., who is in the habit of visiting 
 these females, to talk with them of our Lord and 
 Saviour. The eldest wife was glad to see us, and 
 immediately presented us with tea and tobacco ! 
 They listened to all my friend said ; but answered, 
 that it was a cause of shame for a Chinese woman to 
 be able to read. On leaving the house they each 
 wished us prosperity. In another house were two 
 old women, busily employed in grinding, or rather 
 pounding rice ;—I thought of the words of Scripture, 
 
 ‘ two women shall be grinding together,’ and sighed 
 for the time when these deluded people shall receive 
 the Christian religion. 
 
 “One of the women told Mrs. S. that her god 
 was good for her , but the Chinese gods for them; 
 and pursued her work steadily. We came next to a 
 Large dwelling, where were several young and highly 
 interesting women with infants : one of them, on 
 being told that my husband was a physician, im¬ 
 mediately asked if he would vaccinate her child; 
 and so long as I stayed she eyed me with the greatest 
 kindness. Yet I was told that this very woman 
 offered for sale her little daughter for twentv dollars. 
 
MEMOIR. 35 
 
 And that she even declared that she would sell her 
 son for a hundred dollars, £25.* 
 
 “ In one house, a woman was making a fillet of 
 satin for the head, adorned with false pearl beads ; 
 another was embroidering shoes ; some making con¬ 
 fectionary, and others cleaning the incense-vases to 
 put before the gods. All this preparation was for 
 the new year. We saw no house without a recess in 
 the w T all, the shrine of the god of that family, holding 
 a tablet and vases filled with incense-sticks, and gilded 
 paper. If gentlemen had been with us we should 
 not have been allowed access to these women: 
 almost all had small feet, and until I saw them, I 
 scarcely believed how small they were. I longed to 
 be able to talk with them ; they are evidently delighted 
 to hear their own tongue spoken by a foreigner, and 
 I prayed that the words of truth might be blessed to 
 some who now appear so far from the right way. 
 
 “ It is indeed appalling to walk in the burying- 
 ground, and reflect upon the departed spirit, and 
 then to return to the habitations of the living, and see 
 such a dense multitude passing on to the same des¬ 
 tiny, careless and ignorant of Jesus, the way, the 
 truth, and the life. Oh ! may we never become 
 familiar with these scenes, so as to be indifferent to 
 them ; but urge the prayer,— 
 
 ‘ Shine, mighty God, on China shine, 
 
 With beams of heavenly grace.’ ” 
 
 * It may be inferred from this that the Chinese women have 
 no affection for their children, w hich however is not the case ; 
 but in some instances, from poverty or the love of gain, they 
 are guilty of this unnatural act. 
 
36 
 
 MEMOIR. 
 
 “Macao, 1840. 
 
 “ A few clays ago we walked over the burying- 
 ground, and saw the worship which the deluded sur¬ 
 vivors were paying to the spirits of their departed 
 ancestors. On the graves were placed many offer¬ 
 ings, in small basins, of fish, pork, rice, sugar-cane, 
 &c. : a few small cups held their wine and tea. 
 Some sticks of sandal-wood were burning ; and by the 
 side was a large quantity of paper, with a patch of 
 tin-foil and copper-leaf, to represent silver and gold, 
 curiously folded. The eldest male then approached, 
 and after much bowing, and nine times kneeling, 
 poured out a little of the wine, presented the offer¬ 
 ings of rice, pork, &c.; and after the younger sons 
 had finished their bowing and kneeling, the paper 
 was then burnt for the support of the hungry and 
 impoverished manes! ethereal food and ethereal 
 money doing for them ! They then departed to their 
 homes, taking with them their meat-offerings to eat 
 at their leisure. This ceremony and idolatrous rite 
 is universally and most scrupulously attended to by 
 all in China. 
 
 “ Let no one come as a missionary who has not 
 
 «/ 
 
 well counted the cost, and who feels that he cannot 
 exercise patience, daily patience, courage, strength of 
 mind, and especially a cheerful manner of looking 
 at things present and future. I see we must have 
 trials here, and that they will come in a way we did 
 not expect them. 
 
 f< The people are often ungrateful, deceitful, take 
 advantage of your kindness, and show many other 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 proofs of depravity; and then there is the hot cli¬ 
 mate to withstand. A greater trial than these to a 
 Christian is, the conduct of many of the European 
 residents, and the effect it has upon the Chinese. 
 
 “ But we are, I believe, truly thankful that this is 
 our home. There is within us the good hope that 
 God has placed us here.—He gives peace of con¬ 
 science ; and what of earthly bliss can be likened to 
 that ? Truly our comforts far outweigh our trials; 
 and though our enjoyments are alloyed with griefs 
 and sorrows, there is an immortality of bliss for him 
 who is saved by Christ.” 
 
 TO ANOTHER BELOVED SISTER. 
 
 “Macao, June, 1841. 
 
 “ And so, dear Ursula, you have ‘left school!’’ 
 Are you as happy as you imagined you would be ?—* 
 Do you not find that there are some things to try 
 you, even in your sweet home ? I well remember 
 thinking I must be really happy when I should re¬ 
 turn home ; but found that my heart, the cause of 
 my troubles, was with me still. Perhaps I can most 
 certainly say, I am more happy here, though so far 
 from home, than I have ever before been. I wish 
 you could have gone with us last evening to the 
 green island, where your dear brother and I and 
 Stephen went. It is about half a mile in circum¬ 
 ference, conical in shape, and a mass of rocks, (huge 
 rocks,) trees, shrubs and grass : these are intersected 
 by narrow paths over and round the hill, on which 
 we walk or climb ; and while B. reads, I watch the 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 38 
 
 boy, who amuses himself by gathering various leaves 
 and berries from the beautiful shrubs, and bringing 
 them to me. I fancy, if Mr. M. were brought 
 amongst these exquisite shrubs, creepers, grasses, 
 and lofty trees, he would be almost as wild as they! 
 
 “You may imagine, my dear U., what we felt in 
 hearing, on the same day, from our parents in Wel- 
 ford and Sunderland, of our two sisters having de¬ 
 cided to join the church of Christ. No tidings are 
 of superior interest to these. May this blessed de¬ 
 cision not only interest your own heart, but your 
 beloved parents and sisters. You have taken the 
 most important step you have hitherto been called to 
 do ; and henceforward, my dear sister, you ought to 
 consider yourself separated from the world ;—I mean 
 in the sense the Saviour conveyed when he said, 
 c Love not the world.’ You will not find this a 
 grievous separation, although you may have many 
 a struggle with your own inclinations; but believe 
 me, the more firmly you decide against sin, and the 
 more early, so much the greater power will you have 
 in aftertimes to resist evil. 
 
 “ Pray earnestly that your affections may be placed 
 on the people of God; and if called to act upon this 
 principle do not hesitate, do not linger, oh! do not 
 question the propriety or the expediency of it, but at 
 once remember you have chosen God for your por¬ 
 tion, and His people for your people. I should not 
 have mentioned this subject, but because it has always 
 appeared to me so highly important; and as I dearly 
 love you, my sister, I long for your welfare.” 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 \ 
 
 TO HER PRECIOUS FATHER. 
 
 “Sept. 1841, Macao . 
 
 “ There are such important questions in your last 
 that 1 must not leave them unanswered. You ask, 
 4 What are your real prospects of usefulness among 
 the people?’ In answering it I will tell you the sim¬ 
 ple truth, in Henry Martyn’s own words—(see page 
 168): ‘In England my heart expanded with hope and 
 joy at the prospect of the speedy conversion of the 
 heathen ; but here the sight of the apparent impos¬ 
 sibility requires a strong faith to support the spirits/ 
 This is a dark picture, but truth is seldom arrayed in 
 gorgeous colours. When B. left home he felt, from 
 former experience, that the ability to heal diseases 
 would make a way for speaking to the heart, where 
 perhaps he could do nothing without such knowledge. 
 After seeing the number of natives he has done, this 
 conviction not only remains, but is greatly increased. 
 At present there are between twenty and thirty pa¬ 
 tients in the house; these alwa}^s have books given 
 them, which they readily receive either from a desire 
 to please, or curiosity to see their contents. A number 
 also come daily as out-patients ; and when relieved 
 are so thankful, so attentive to what is said, as to 
 make my husband often feel he is not uselessly 
 employed. 
 
 “ It is a sad thing indeed, that whilst one trifling 
 part of the foreigners are come to preach the gospel, 
 the greatest ratio treat the people in such a manner 
 as to make them think we are an odious nation. 
 There must be a mighty change in their conduct 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 40 
 
 before the Chinese receive the blessed religion our land 
 professes. I hope we feel the importance of your 
 advice in our behaviour to them. Consistent con¬ 
 duct is as needful before this people as our own ; for 
 they narrowly observe us, and do not judge altogether 
 superficially. I sometimes think that they are more 
 opposed to the truth, or at least are less likely to 
 receive it, than any other people. We naturally ask, 
 how are the people of this land different to those of 
 other countries ? One tremendous barrier to the suc¬ 
 cess of missionaries is, the difficulty of the language. 
 Although many hooks have been written for them 
 and the Scriptures translated, it is but a part of these, 
 probably, they can understand: the idiom of the 
 Chinese being so different to purs, and the inherent 
 dislike they have to a foreign style of writing is so 
 great, that it is feared by many who know them best, 
 they despise all such attempts of approach. And 
 to take their cities, to destroy their forts, and to 
 drive vast numbers from their homes and rightful 
 privileges, will this convert their hearts ? 
 
 u Hitherto these innovations have had little effect 
 in changing their manners to foreigners, unless it 
 has made them rather more respectful; and as to the 
 future, we cannot guess whether their innate pride 
 will be quelled or not by the decisive measures to be 
 used. Our prospects are dim, and often even hope 
 (which is mingled with all things) is sometimes be¬ 
 clouded ; we have therefore but one never-failing en¬ 
 couragement, and there it stands immovable : 4 He 
 shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from 
 
MEMOIR. 4] 
 
 the river to the ends of the earth.’—‘All nations 
 shall call him blessed.’ ” 
 
 TO A DEAR SISTER. 
 
 “Macao, Dec. 1841. 
 
 “It is now near Christmas; and though we talk so 
 much of our friends every day, yet at these pro¬ 
 minent seasons we spend more time in recounting 
 the past scenes, and imagining the present as it is 
 with you. B. often talks of his home with tears; 
 especially, of his mother’s kindnesswhenhewasa child; 
 of the games he had with his little sisters; of the 
 singing on the Sabbath evening; of his walks with 
 you ; and of the peculiar affection he has always felt 
 for his father since he knew the power of religion. 
 Oh, how vivid are our home recollections !—and how 
 beautiful are the pictures of that place shaded and 
 harmonized in our minds! Is the poetical work I 
 gave you still a friend of yours ? I often read those 
 pieces we loved to read together, to bring back as 
 much as possible all I felt then. For many years 
 the love of poetry has not been mixed with the empty 
 romance of feeling which formerly accompanied my 
 reading of it: now I have daily the enjoyment of 
 it, in seeing the many lovely traits of disposition in 
 this child, in his sweet face, too, and simple behaviour. 
 So you see, my dear Eliza, I am the same as when 
 we sat in the garden or walked in the fields, only with 
 those feelings in another direction. 
 
4;2 
 
 MEMOIR. 
 
 TO A DEAR MOTHER. 
 
 “Macao, 1842. 
 
 “ The Chinese appear to choose quiet politeness 
 more than other nations I have heard of without 
 Christianity. They approved of Dr. P.’s manner, 
 which they noticed for being kind and gentle. In 
 all our dealings with them we are made to feel that 
 they are not uncivilized. I wish B.’s friends could 
 have seen the gratitude and delight of the woman 
 (and her husband) whose breast he removed for 
 cancer. When she was so far healed as to intend 
 returning home, our teacher told us a secret inten¬ 
 tion of her husband; it was to have a finished sen¬ 
 tence in Chinese, setting forth the abilities of B. in 
 unqualified praise ; this the teacher was to compose : 
 it was then to be painted on a large board, and 
 placed in the dispensary, where all the patients are 
 examined. Of course, B. put a stop to this plan, 
 and told the man he wanted nothing of the kind. 
 He then said he must make a handsome present; 
 but this was respectfully declined also, with full ex¬ 
 planations as to the terms on which he received the 
 benefit. The day the good people went away was one 
 I cannot forget. About an hour before they left the 
 house to take their passage to Canton, the lady came 
 up stairs to bid me farewell: she had put on her 
 plaited petticoat, which is worn on ceremonial occa¬ 
 sions ; this was embroidered in front; her small 
 feet just appearing below it. B. came also into 
 the room; she would not sit until we did first; 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 43 
 
 she then began to thank him for the hundredth time : 
 and now came her husband, too; he is a tall, highly 
 respectable man, with a tail of thin grey hair. He 
 walked up the room with a firm step ; and stopping 
 for a moment before me and my husband, he put his 
 hands together, (closed, not clasped,) and bowed with 
 his head almost to the ground several times, before 
 we could prevent him. I was quite afraid he was 
 going to perform the ko-tow, or ‘ knock head/ which 
 is their way of worshipping ! After this act of grati¬ 
 tude, he began (still standing) an eulogy on the 
 goodness and skill of the doctor, attributing it to his 
 good heart. By-and-by we persuaded him to sit 
 down, and talk over other things. I then took leave 
 of him, and his wife went into my room to show me 
 what for three years was a dreadful disease, but now 
 a healthy place. 
 
 “ She showed her feelings as a mother by asking 
 to look at Ben, who was asleep. She expressed to 
 me her commiseration that I had only one child. I 
 smiled, and said nothing. After all this she begged 
 me not to accompany her further, and went down 
 stairs with her servant. I think that she could 
 scarcely have descended alone, with her very small 
 feet. I have told you a long story, my dear 
 Mrs. II., but the case was new to us as well as to 
 
44 
 
 MEMOIR. 
 
 TO A DEAR SISTER. 
 
 “Macao, May, 1842. 
 
 “I should like, clear E., to tell you something of 
 my visit to Hong Kong, as the scenery there made 
 me think so very much of you. 
 
 “ I, along with my hoy and the amah, (native ser¬ 
 vant,) left here by the steamer Hoogly, which was 
 taking over Sir T. H. We had an unfavourable 
 passage, the wind and tide being against us. At 
 eight p.m. we reached Hongkong, and I had a kind 
 welcome from Mrs. S. ;* who, with her family, are 
 now living there. The next morning I was delighted 
 to look at the prospect, which was so new, and had, 
 as I fancied, a freedom which we do not feel here. 
 After dinner. Captain M., of II. M. 49th regiment, 
 took us in a boat across the noble bay, to visit the 
 site of our future home. And oh! that I could tell 
 you of the beauty around us ! There was the land- 
 girt bay as placid as we have seen the ocean at Quay ; 
 the mountains, with craggy rocks and deep defiles 
 above us ; the many large ships from our own coun¬ 
 try around us ; the newly-erected houses studding 
 the lower parts of the hills, and the native craft and 
 huts near the shore, with the splashing of our oars, 
 and occasionally words of surprise uttered by the 
 native boatmen; these were the sights and the 
 sounds of a scene altogether new to me. Then we 
 landed on the level beach, where my darling eagerly 
 ran to gather shells, filling his little hands as they 
 
 * This highly-esteemed female missionary died in 1844. 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 45 
 
 fell out again and again. We climbed a steep hill, 
 and then what burst upon our sight!—We were on the 
 top of the hill, on the ground from which we may 
 probably send many letters to you, with such a view 
 before us as can be rarely seen. The heights above 
 us appeared immense, while they stretched away in 
 every direction, excepting one beautiful valley. In 
 this valley we saw the road winding among fields of 
 rice and native hamlets, and groves of trees. As 
 some writer remarks, c All lay still, like a sleeping 
 infant;’ We turned,—and there was the deep blue 
 waters we had passed over ; to the left the rising town 
 of Victoria, and to the right the main land of China 
 proper; and before us were mountain tops of every 
 shape and hue far away.” 
 
 TO A DEAR SISTER. 
 
 “Macao, October , 1842. 
 
 “I do feel, dear Ursula, for your loneliness, now 
 that you are without a young friend near. Be care¬ 
 ful not to imbibe any gloomy opinions of the world, 
 or misanthropic thoughts of its inhabitants ; for this 
 state of mind would sadly unfit you for future useful¬ 
 ness in society. You maybe surprised that I should 
 imagine you capable of such a departure from duty; 
 but, my love, your heart is not yet wholly sanctified— 
 and many an aged or more advanced Christian has to 
 mourn over sins at which he would once have asked, 
 ‘ Is thy servant a dog, that he should do this thing V 
 and yet he may have to bewail the power of tempta¬ 
 tion which he did not resist. I speak from experi- 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 46 
 
 ence, my dear sister, and often now look back upon 
 the time when I first felt the delightful assurance 
 that my heart was turned to God, that I did love the 
 Saviour ; and feeling all the joys of a pardoned sinner, 
 I ignorantly thought I would love God stedfastly. 
 It was about that time I was much alone at home; 
 and knowing very little of the deceitfulness of my 
 heart, I had many improper opinions which subse¬ 
 quent affliction, accompanied by the blessed teaching 
 of the Holy Spirit, convinced me were of myself, not 
 of God. How truly is that fact expressed by the 
 prophet,—our hearts are apt to turn aside like a 
 broken bow. 
 
 Ignorant of the gross wickedness that remains 
 within us, we think our aim steady, and hearts fully 
 directed to the great end of our being, until some 
 unforeseen temptation overtakes us, and we forget to 
 look for assistance, and cause ourselves thereby bitter 
 repentance. You will find that the progress of a 
 Christian towards heaven is as described bv that 
 
 J 
 
 inimitable writer of the ‘ Pilgrimand many times 
 in a day you will have to seek for pardon, and grace 
 to preserve you against sin. At present our number 
 as Christian friends is very small. Dr. and Mrs. 
 L. and Miss A. left some time since, hoping to pro¬ 
 ceed to Chusan, when they were temporarily de¬ 
 tained at Hong Kong by the news of the peace, which 
 altered the destiny of the ship. We have heard, 
 with deep sorrow, of the death of Mrs. B., at Koo- 
 long-soo. She was quieklv taken away bv fever, 
 leaving tw r o children, very young. She is the first of 
 
MEMOIR. 47 
 
 our number whom death has summoned since we 
 came here, and is sincerely lamented. I dare say 
 you have all heard of Miss Barker, whom we have 
 the opportunity of receiving into our house as Mrs. 
 D. She is an estimable woman, and a sincere 
 Christian.* 
 
 “ A meeting of the Medical Missionary Society has 
 just been held ; when the report of its hospital in 
 Macao, for the last fifteen months, was read, and 
 other business transacted. From this report you 
 will see that 5,265 new cases have been entered upon 
 the books of the hospital, of which nearly 500 were 
 in-door patients.” 
 
 TO HER DEAR MOTHER. 
 
 “ Hong Kong, June, 1843. 
 
 “Since Mrs. D.’s death, I have often, often looked 
 over to England, and asked who would take care of 
 and love my dear boy, if I left him ? And the tender 
 feeling for him makes me wish to be very kind to 
 this poor little girl, whose mother loved her so 
 dearly. 
 
 “ I have begun again my regular teaching of 
 Apoon, from noon to four o’clock. A few days since 
 one of the Chinese assistants, A’stung, came (as we 
 imagined) to go on with his former duties in the hos¬ 
 pital. lie behaved oddly, leaving for a few days 
 without asking, &c.; and one day he removed 
 his effects, and went we knew not where. This is 
 
 * She died the following year, much lamented, from small¬ 
 
 pox . 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 48 
 
 one of our trials ! lie was in a fair way of learning 
 what would make him very respectable, if not 
 wealthy; and yet there was such fickleness of cha¬ 
 racter as made him constantly wanting to change. 
 We hear that he has lately taken a second wife, 
 although his first wife had a son. This is a bad trait; 
 because he knew our ideas upon the subject, and 
 had heard much of the principles of the Gospel here 
 and in America. 
 
 “Now, my dear mother, I must tell you some¬ 
 thing of my only child, as you so kindly inquire after 
 him. He is at this moment marching in great 
 majesty (along wfith his little friend Julia B.) up and 
 down the verandah, with a bamboo on his shoulder, 
 imitating the sepoys, and calling out, ‘ Quick 
 march 1’ When the dusk of evening sets in, and he 
 is tired, I always find him most ready to hear of 
 anything good. Yesterday at that time he came 
 to me of his own accord, and said, ‘Mother, talk,’ 
 ‘Dog d’light,’ meaning, ‘Let dogs delight to bark 
 and bite.’ He then said, ‘ Talk God.’ I often take 
 him to look at a sensitive plant, growing oil the ter¬ 
 race, on the roof of the house; and once told him 
 God made it shut and open. He never forgot to 
 say, ‘ God opy V 
 
 “ It seems to me to be such an honour to be the 
 parent of a pious child, that I care little for anything 
 beside. Oh, mother, when I saw that the spirit was 
 going away from my sweet darling, J. A., nothing 
 appeared of importance but hope for eternity. 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 49 
 
 TO A BELOVED SISTER. 
 
 “ Hong-Kong, November, 1843. 
 
 “ I have often thought lately how many more 
 letters I formerly wrote to my friends at home than 
 I now do. There are several reasons for this differ¬ 
 ence, hut the want of inclination is not one. 
 
 “ Perhaps the effect of climate in lessening one’s 
 energies is the most powerful agent in preventing 
 such frequent correspondence. I have felt this exceed¬ 
 ingly during the last summer, and would gladly 
 exchange my feelings of weariness for the ability to 
 work as hard as I did when we first came. I hope 
 my health is becoming better as the cold approaches ; 
 but where is that sweet, sweet lamb I loved so dearly 1 
 1 believe he knows nothing but happiness; yet oh! my 
 dear sister, though I want to be submissive, and 
 acquiesce most humbly in the wisdom of God and 
 his love, I feel that the things which are seen and 
 temporal have a powerful hold upon my heart. I 
 hope it does not arise from a desire to resist the Al¬ 
 mighty in his ways; but the love I had to that infant 
 will not leave me. We go to look at the grave with 
 peculiar pleasure, now that a monument is placed 
 upon it. Rev. Dr. 13., with the kindness of a father, 
 took the management of it, and afterwards told us 
 our friends had placed it there by subscription. We 
 found that he had been the largest donor, and feel a 
 debt we cannot repay by aught but love. 
 
 “ A few weeks since, a gentleman brought a young 
 boy from England to learn the Chinese language. 
 He was placed under the excellent care of Rev. Mr. 
 
 E 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 and Mrs. B., and soon became much loved by the 
 family. A fortnight ago he was attacked by fever, 
 so violent that the skill of three medical men was as 
 nothing;—after it abated, he sunk to death ! All 
 that tender care and medicine could do would not 
 save him after the raging fever had passed away ; and 
 some one has to send the sad news to his mother. 
 On the same night that Major P. was buried, this 
 fine amiable lad was laid in the grave. It has been 
 a fearful summer in carrying off so many from this 
 place. Mr. Dyer said when dying, ‘ Let me go to 
 mv Saviour — c Blessed Jesus:’ and from his life on 
 earth we cannot but think he is now with him in 
 heaven. 
 
 Mr. Morrison was but a little time sensible, but 
 he expressed his trust in God. Dr. B. lent me seve¬ 
 ral of his letters since his death, which expressed 
 much pious feeling; indeed, he speaks therein of the 
 hope that his heart was changed before his father’s 
 death. We feel his loss continually : he was a true 
 friend where he professed friendship, and a most 
 charitable man to 
 
 TO HER VERY DEAR MOTHER. 
 
 “ Hong-Kong, November , 1844. 
 
 “ Dr. L. being ill at Macao, we went over to see 
 him in a fast-boat, manned by Chinese alone. We 
 happened to take our passage in an uncommonly 
 disagreeable boat, and were much annoyed by the 
 noise and opium-smoking of the passengers. Rev. 
 W. L. kindly gave us a room; and in his house wc 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 51 
 
 met the newly-arrived missionaries from the Presby¬ 
 terian Board in America. We went to see the graves 
 of Mr. Morrison and Mr. Dyer; they are very near 
 to each other, and close by those of Dr. and Mrs. 
 Morrison, in a shady corner of the burying-ground. 
 I could scarcely believe I was looking at John Morri¬ 
 son’s tomb ;—he who used to be so lively, affectionate, 
 and unlike death! Mr. Dyer’s voice also seemed to 
 be still alive,—so solemn in prayer, and quiet in con¬ 
 versation. Dr. L. seemed to have a favourable turn 
 to his illness while we were there, but he was so 
 weak I did not see him. Our little girl was all the 
 better for her visit: the amah has plenty to nourish 
 her, and is very tender in her way. The hospital is 
 more and more known, and well attended ; it is now a 
 tine large building, 246 feet long. 
 
 “ I have sad news (to us) to tell you: since last 
 evening, when I wrote this, Mrs. 8. has been taken 
 by death. At one o’clock this morning her fifth 
 child was born ; an hour and a half after she sank, 
 and died from exhaustion.” 
 
 TO HER DEAREST MOTHER. 
 
 “ Hong-Kong, Jan., 1845. 
 
 “ This evening a mail leaves for Bombay, and I 
 am glad to send you some account of ourselves ; which, 
 as usual, is that of freedom from illness, and other 
 severe trials. My dear B. is in good health, and so 
 is my son : our little girl is thriving finely, now almost 
 four months old : I am much better than when I last 
 wrote. B. is much engaged in the hospital daily ; 
 
 e 2 
 
MEMOIR, 
 
 we cannot but see that it is increasing in value among 
 the Chinese, and more highly appreciated by the 
 residents at Victoria. The General is a kind friend 
 to it; on Christmas-day he sent a present of twenty- 
 five dollars, (<=€6,) besides his annual subscription, to 
 purchase blankets for those that really need them in 
 the cold weather. His eldest son came to take his 
 breakfast with us, in order to hear Agong (the native 
 evangelist) preach to the patients ; he also brought 
 fifty rupees to be spent in warm coverlids for the 
 very poor, and other comforts. Mrs. G. has given 
 me a dozen of wine also, for the same purpose : we 
 are truly delighted with these gifts. Two days since 
 two men were brought in with broken legs, and one 
 with severe contusion, each from different places ;— 
 and this will show you, dear mother, that the Chinese 
 know where to apply in event of an accident, and 
 also their full confidence in being received and well 
 treated. Agong goes on well, and preaches better 
 and better ; we think him more diligent and more 
 spiritual than formerly ; he is also increasing in the 
 respect of the people in and about the house. 
 
 “ On the first of the year we met at Dr. L.’s house 
 for prayer; there were present our family, Rev. W. 
 G., Dr. and Mrs. L., Mrs. M., Agong, Leang-afat, 
 Ching-seen, the type-cutter, the Chinese boys in the 
 school, and the Chinese girls. There were prayers, 
 speaking, and singing in English and Chinese : 
 Leang-afat and Agong spoke on the religion of the 
 Bible, and the best mode of teaching it. The meet¬ 
 ing was exceedingly pleasant and encouraging. At 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 53 
 
 two o’clock the three children were baptized by Dr. 
 L. ; viz., 4 Jane Abbay,’ ‘Allan Rees,’ and ‘Cheong- 
 shang the Chinese baby, (the child of the pious 
 type-cutter,) was born whilst the Chinese service was 
 held in his house, wherefore he called his child 
 4 Hymn-born.’ A great many of our servants, teach¬ 
 ers, and boys, saw the baptism ; and the whole was 
 explained in their language.” 
 
 TO HER DEAR FATHER. 
 
 (( Hong-Kong, May , 1845. 
 
 44 In your last letter you ask if the patients are 
 giving up their idolatry on hearing the gospel. My 
 dear father, by far the greater part of the patients 
 only stay a few days, some a few weeks, and some 
 three or four months ; and in this short time we can 
 scarcely expect their deep prejudices to be altogether 
 overcome : we do not see all our servants in England 
 become true Christians, though they generally stay 
 a year, and are almost hourly under our eye. It is 
 a mystery no one can explain, why this nation seems 
 behind all others in receiving the gospel: how very 
 few as yet have become true Christians! Great 
 numbers know that idolatry is utterly foolish, but 
 yet there they stand; and you know we cannot 
 change another man’s will. Thus the matter rests 
 with thousands.” 
 
 TO AN ATTACHED SISTER. 
 
 “ Hong-Kong, May, 1845. 
 
 44 I did not feel able to write to you when your 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 54 
 
 brother was sending a letter to our dear father ; the 
 day being very sultry, and so remarkably oppressive, 
 that we all suffered from lassitude. During the night 
 a high wind arose; this w r as succeeded by deep 
 thunder, vivid lightning, and eventually a rain 
 which was so heavy as literally to send torrents of 
 foaming waters down the mountain sides. The roads 
 are furrowed, the rice-fields sheeted with the flood, 
 and one well-built bridge completely carried away. 
 
 “ The air is quite changed by the quantity of rain 
 which fell in five hours; and I am thankful to say I 
 am much stronger. I am truly thankful that you 
 find pleasures in the quiet of a village, as well as in 
 the gay and varied scenes of cities and towns. It is 
 the heart we carry within us which colours all around 
 us ; and having the hope of being reconciled to God, 
 and a heaven in view, we ought to be happy any¬ 
 where : and yet it is not so always with us : — 
 
 ‘-Each heart best knows 
 
 Its hidden mine of joys and woes.’ 
 
 Believe me, notwithstanding my present happy and 
 blessed state of being, (from which I have no wish 
 to turn back if that were possible,) I often recur to 
 the quiet, deep enjoyments and freedom from care 
 I had when a girl in my father’s house.” 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 fk* fr 
 
 Selections from her private journal, from 
 THE YEARS 1830 TO 1838; ILLUSTRATIVE OF 
 her Christian experience and sentiments 
 
 DURING THAT PERIOD. 
 
 “ March, 1830.—O Lord God! unless a blessing at¬ 
 tends this book, keep me from using it. I beseech thee 
 to divest me of pride, even in thus noting my thoughts: 
 oh, make me humble, patient, meek, and lowly in 
 heart; give me much charity, true charity, and be 
 pleased to bless me with thy presence,—may I walk 
 as if thine eye were continually looking upon me, 
 never even for a moment absent. Be pleased to 
 bless our dear minister with long life, increase yet 
 more and more his spiritual gifts and knowledge, 
 enrich him with thy heavenly grace, and bless him 
 in his family: and do thou mercifully bless me, even 
 me, oh my Father! forgive my sins, heal my soul, and 
 make me worship thee alone ! ” 
 
 <c April i jth.—Oh what changes I have experienced 
 since last I opened this book ! truly the hand of the 
 Lord has been upon us,—but for what ? A brother in 
 heaven ! Oh what a transporting thought! Shall 1 
 join him ? God speaketh once, yea twice, and shall 
 not man perceive it ? Oh God, bless this dispensation 
 to us the survivors. May the youth especially be 
 led to seek thee, and delay no longer. Oh, how very 
 beautiful does religion appear in youth! how Divine 
 on a death-bed! Prepare me for death. Oh, may 
 that day be my best day, in which I shall see the 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 King in his beauty, and sing c Glory to God on high/ 
 What are all earthly things compared to the one safe 
 anticipation of enjoying that glory. O God! do 
 thou keep me in all the difficulties of life, and in 
 the hour of death forsake me not. Bless all my dear 
 young friends who are seeking happiness from vanity 
 of vanities,—unite their hearts to love thee, and not 
 to fear the sneers of the world. I would ask for 
 them nothing less than a kingdom,—the kingdom of 
 God ! Lord God* have mercy on them, and lead them 
 in the right way.” 
 
 “May.— O Lord Jesus, to thee I bring my case^ 
 through thy name I shall find acceptance. Make 
 me to love thee more. I want to feel such a love for 
 thee as to make the things of the world nothing in 
 my eyes. Make thy name as honeycomb to my lips, 
 and the savour of it so sweet, that through the w r eek 
 it may be as daily food. Whom have I in heaven 
 but thee, and truly there is none upon the earth that 
 I desire besides thee.” 
 
 “July .—Oh that I could spend one day without 
 sin! and how should I long to spend the remainder 
 of my life so ; but sin cleaves to everything I do. Oh 
 that I were clean every whit; how base, how ungrate¬ 
 ful I am, thus to forget God my Preserver, God my 
 Redeemer, God my Sanctifier, and God my only hope 
 in the wmrld to come! If other things engross my 
 attention so much in youth, what shall I do in after 
 life? But thy grace shall be sufficient for me. 
 
 ‘ Other refuge have I none, 
 
 Hangs my helpless soul on thee.”' 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 57 
 
 “ August. —How are the countless myriads before 
 the throne of God singing, this sweet morning, to the 
 praise, and glory, and honour of Him that loved them 
 and washed them from their sins in his own precious 
 blood! And one who once dwelt with us, who was 
 our own flesh and blood, joins and heightens that 
 song of gratitude ! Oh, how can we murmur !—When 
 shall the selfish tear cease to flow ! The tremendous 
 question comes to me, ‘ Am I safe V Do my good 
 works plead a safe-guard ? My assent to the truths 
 of the gospel, will that stand for me ? My attend¬ 
 ance on the ordinances of God, is that sufficient to 
 save my soul ? No ! Without an interest in Christ, 
 a sense of pardoned sin, a delight in the law of God, 
 and a continual warfare against sin, it is utterly im¬ 
 possible to have eternal life !” 
 
 cc September. —By the power of God alone I am 
 kept from falling hourly. Jesus, my only strength 
 thou art;—‘ Faint, yet pursuing.’ I truly feel I can 
 do nothing good. Lord Jesus, do thou undertake for 
 me. Thou hast performed the whole will of God;—do 
 thou be my Surety, my Redeemer, my Saviour, my 
 Justifier, my only plea—my sole hope !” 
 
 “ December. —The last sabbath in the old year,—to 
 some the last of their lives ! Oh that my life may 
 be conformable to thy holy will, O God, in all things ! 
 Oh that I had more of the spirit of prayer! I want 
 zeal, charity, meekness. Lord, thou canst bestow 
 these inestimable blessings upon me; oh, give me 
 faith to believe that thou wilt! I especially pray for 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 all my dear young and beloved friends. Oh that we 
 were of one heart and one mind! I feel an intense 
 desire for their welfare. I long to have many more 
 fellow-travellers on the road to heaven; and I should 
 choose young companions,—but of young or old, as it 
 please the Lord, only let all the people praise thee! ” 
 
 “ February , 1832.—Yesterday I passed into my 
 twentieth year: alas! not three of those have been 
 in any way devoted to thee, 0 God of my life! 
 ‘Now, Lord, I would be wholly thine:’ mould me 
 according to thy will; make me perfectly resigned to 
 thy pleasure.” 
 
 “ October. —O Lord, I come for a supply of grace 
 to keep me, to quicken me ; give me thy Holy Spirit, 
 and save me from insensibility, and all formality in 
 religion : may I be dead to the world, but alive unto 
 God ! Heavenly Father, I thank thee for this great 
 goodness to my dear sister, in raising her from the 
 bed of sickness. Be pleased to bless all societies for 
 spreading the Redeemer’s kingdom. Remember 
 sabbath-schools ; may teachers and children be 
 taught of thee. Remember and bless all my dear 
 friends ; many are out of the way, such do thou 
 bring near to thyself: some are in youth ; oh that 
 they may serve their Creator now,—for ‘ now is the 
 accepted time.’ ” 
 
 “ December. —I have lived until the close of an¬ 
 other year : oh that the next may be more devoted 
 to God! If I live to begin a new year, Lord God 
 Almighty grant me thy grace to assist me, to guide 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 59 
 
 me, to uphold and support me, through the duties, 
 the pleasures, the trials and difficulties of that year. 
 O Lord, teach me to do good unto all men; direct 
 my steps; may I care neither for the smiles nor 
 frowns of the world, but fear God. Make me hum¬ 
 ble, serious, and willing to learn. Bless me in all 
 things : thou hast blessed me in my parents: oh, 
 continue to be their merciful God. Bless my dear 
 brothers and sisters; may we remember the God of 
 our parents, and serve him with a perfect heart and 
 a willing mind : may not one of us be lost! Bless 
 our church this coming year; may our numbers in¬ 
 crease ; may we be united in bonds of love yet firmer, 
 and grow in grace and in the knowledge of God.” 
 
 “June, 1835.—Through the mercy of God I have 
 been enabled again to attend Divine worship. O 
 Lord, how great is thy mercy to me ! I have never 
 found thee untrue to thy word; in the greatest pain 
 thou didst support me. Do thou teach me my own 
 wicked heart; mav I be led to see more and more 
 how deceitful it is. Oh, may I never forget the God 
 who has led me all my life,—and especially during 
 the last few years. I shall grow proud and forgetful 
 of thee, unless thou prevent this evil by thy grace; 
 and as I know that health and ease are liable to 
 make Christians idle in religion, do thou, blessed 
 Jesus, give me grace to walk humbly and watchfully. 
 May I walk by faith in prosperity as well as in 
 adversity. Teach me to expect solid pleasure from 
 serving thee, and none from the world, if separated 
 from God. Thou knowest my path, but I do not; 
 
60 MEMOIR. 
 
 therefore make me to rest quietly, living on thy 
 promises.” 
 
 “December , 1838.—Since I last put down my 
 thoughts and desires, how much and of what im¬ 
 portance has transpired ! O my soul! remember all 
 the way the Lord has led thee these years, and 
 give the unfeigned praise of the heart to him. I 
 have been in sore sickness, pain, and weariness, in 
 hourly trial of patience, and yet my God did never 
 forsake me: I have been restored to health and 
 liberty, and God has given me a grateful heart. I 
 have ever sought his direction as to the future, and 
 I think he has showed me the path I ought to take. 
 O what mercy to an unworthy sinner! It is all of 
 grace. If I have had one good thought, it is not of 
 myself: if I have offered one prayer, it was by the 
 influence of the Holy Spirit: if I have made any 
 pious decision, it is only by an Almighty power within 
 me. And, O Lord, I have to thank thee especially 
 that thou dost continue thy grace in my heart; that 
 I have never fallen back to the world altogether : 
 many have been my backslidings in heart, but thou, 
 O most merciful God, hast restored me; and here I 
 am, humbly desiring to serve thee. Lord Jesus, take 
 my whole heart; mould me to thy will, and form 
 me to thine image. May I know the will of God, 
 and then hesitate not to do it: it may be in obedience 
 to that will that I shall leave my country, my home, 
 my beloved friends, for the sake of Christ. O Lord, 
 thou only canst ever know the pangs my heart has 
 endured when surveying the future. Unless thou 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 61 
 
 uphold me, I never can endure the separation ; be 
 with me every moment, and in the most trying hour, 
 oh ! support me. I wish to have strong faith in God, 
 and to honour him by believing on him to the 
 utmost; oh! impart this blessing, and he pleased to 
 prepare me for all I may be called upon to sulfer in 
 a foreign land. Give me, O Lord! all the graces of 
 meekness, patience, forbearance, and amiability I 
 require ;—give me prudence, wisdom, good judgment, 
 and perseverance ;—give me holiness of heart and 
 life; perfect reliance upon thy word ; love for the 
 Scriptures, and knowledge of them; a watchful and 
 prayerful heart, and a devotedness to thy will. O 
 Lord, grant me all these precious gifts, for thy name’s 
 sake. And with me, bless him for whom I ought 
 ever to pray ; may all the riches of thy grace he his ; 
 oh, may he live as in thy sight daily ; and do thou 
 fit him for his work by giving him all thou seest he 
 requires. May he have such views of the shortness 
 of time, and the millions of souls perishing without 
 the gospel, that his heart may ever be kept alive and 
 active in thy service. May his motives be right, his 
 eye single, his love to thee fervent. Bless us in 
 relation to each other, and may we desire to glorify 
 God as our chief end; and oh, may we use every 
 means for this purpose, by living habitually in thy 
 fear, and with love to one another. As a family, O 
 blessed God, do thou visit us in converting our 
 hearts, and bringing us one and all to Jesus Christ. 
 As a church, do thou look upon us, to quicken our 
 souls and increase our numbers, with our dear minis- 
 
62 
 
 MEMOIR. 
 
 ter and his young assistant. As a nation, do thou. 
 Lord, have ipercy upon us. Oh ! save and bless 
 us. Amen.” 
 
 The selections here made, from the private journal 
 and the correspondence of this devoted Christian, 
 will doubtless produce the conviction on all who read 
 them that there is a reality in religion , and that the 
 power of Divine grace is no less effectual now than 
 it has been in all ages, where it exerts its own proper 
 influence upon the heart, to restore in a good mea¬ 
 sure the lost image of God, and transform the mind 
 to the likeness of Christ. And this it did not only 
 in fitting her to live, and faithfully to discharge the 
 duties devolving upon her as a Christian, wife, and 
 mother, but in eminently preparing her to suffer 
 with becoming patience and meek resignation the 
 trials that were now before her. Her health—a 
 blessing of such incalculable value to all, but especi¬ 
 ally to those in a foreign land—began seriously to 
 fail in the summer of 1845 ; and with deep anxiety 
 her friends observed the breaking up of her constitu¬ 
 tion. All the means which kind medical skill and 
 pious friendship could suggest were tried in vain ; 
 and soon it became the united opinion and firm con¬ 
 viction of her medical friends, of her husband, and 
 associates in the mission, that nothing less than a 
 change of air and temperature could save her life : 
 and a sea-voyage was determined upon, as being 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 63 
 
 immediately necessary. And where, or to what place 
 should this be taken, now became a question of great 
 importance. 
 
 A hot climate and the morbific effects of malaria 
 were evidently the cause of all her weakness and 
 ailments ; and to get free from their influence was 
 the great desideratum. To go to Shanghse or Ningpo 
 at this time would not do, as it was there hotter now 
 than at Hong-Kong : Manilla and Singapore were 
 also thought of,—but this was the unhealthy season 
 there. To delay another month or two, till the heat 
 diminished, would only lead to the utmost danger, 
 and probably sacrifice of life. 
 
 It was therefore decided, as the only alternative, to 
 take a voyage to England. But while arrangements 
 were making to obtain the suitable accommodation in 
 one of the first vessels that were sailing, disease 
 gained more strength, debility increased, and it 
 became evident to all that her husband must relin¬ 
 quish for a time the post assigned him, and accom¬ 
 pany his beloved wife and two children home. 'T here 
 was a struggle, and much inward contention, between 
 a sense of public duty and private feeling. The 
 latter prevailed ; but not till kind and generous men 
 of the same profession, with the aid of a good Chinese 
 assistant, came forward to take his medical charge 
 upon themselves. 
 
 The day that was fixed for embarkation is one 
 to be lone; remembered : a few Christian friends of 
 singular disinterestedness and affection continued to 
 the last faithful and tender in their sympathy and 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 64 
 
 valued services. The suffering invalid looked round 
 for the last time upon the home she so much loved, 
 and on those around her whose friendship she so 
 much esteemed, but could not say, “Farewell!” 
 She felt, as afterwards expressed, that it would be 
 a final separation : her heart was breaking, but her 
 lips refused to speak. 
 
 We all got comfortably on board the ship, and left 
 the Chinese waters on the 23rd of July. For a few 
 days the dear patient seemed to rally; but a fortnight 
 of perfect calm under a tropical sun, upon the line, 
 nearly exhausted all her little remaining strength. 
 Attacks of fever and ague continued unabated 
 throughout the whole voyage, with many other 
 symptoms which required constant watching ; and 
 from them, and the poison still exerting its morbific 
 influence upon her system, debility and emaciation 
 so greatly increased, till at length the dear sufferer 
 was confined to her bed; and dysentery, the usual 
 consequence of protracted fever, came on a week 
 before we reached the English Channel;—and in the 
 Straits of Dover, off Dungeness, her disembodied 
 spirit took its flight, leaving its mortal tenement to 
 find a resting-place in the land of her birth. 
 
 During the whole voyage, her mind was tranquil 
 and happy. Her Bible was her constant companion ; 
 and when unable to read it she would repeat it ; 
 remembering the promises. Prayer was her delight, 
 and when unable to join in the morning and evening 
 prayer with the passengers and crew, she seldom 
 allowed a day to pass without soliciting a word of 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 65 
 
 prayer from him who was ever ready to pray with 
 and for her. The dear children were not sick an 
 hour, (a striking contrast to their much-afflicted 
 mother,) which was no small mercy and alleviation. 
 A long voyage of five months, to one confined the 
 greater part to her cabin and bed, and with constant 
 attacks of fever and ague, was enough to try the 
 patience of the most enduring: but her affliction 
 was so fully sanctified by the grace of God to her 
 soul, that her temper was unruffled, her confidence 
 unshaken, and her submission worthy of the Chris¬ 
 tian throughout the voyage. And even when so 
 near her earthly home, no murmuring word ever 
 passed her lips that she should not see those whom 
 she so tenderly loved once more in the flesh. On 
 the contrary, there was the most entire resignation 
 to the will of God ; living or dying she desired to 
 be the Lord’s. 
 
 In reply to a question put to my dear Jane two 
 days preceding her death,—“ On what do you rest 
 your eternal hopes ?” she said, “ My confidence is 
 sure : my feet are on the Rock of Ages! God is my 
 God, and Christ is my Saviour! 1 am the most 
 unworthy of beings, but I know in whom I have 
 believed; and his having died for me is the sweet 
 pledge that he will also clothe me with his perfect 
 righteousness.” 
 
 “ Have you clear impressions of eternal realities, 
 now that your dying hour appears approaching?” 
 
 She said, “My mind is often confused, and my 
 views obscure: but I know what God has done 
 
 F 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 66 
 
 for my soul when in health ; and I have no fear to 
 die—I feel that heaven is my home.” 
 
 “ Are yon sorry you ever accompanied your hus¬ 
 band to China ? ” 
 
 She looked up with a smile, and replied with 
 emphasis, “ No; I am thankful that I have been 
 there : and I rejoice to think that now in drawing 
 near to eternity. Divine grace disposed and enabled 
 me to join you in the mission.” 
 
 In speaking of her domestic relations she was 
 asked, whether she had been happy in these, especi¬ 
 ally since the climate had so enervated her strength ? 
 She said with tears, “Yes, lam happy now, as a 
 wife, a mother, a Christian ; I am sick, that is all— 
 but I cannot bear more on this subject.” 
 
 This is a portion of the conversation that took 
 place when exposed to a storm in the British 
 channel. 
 
 The evening of the next day, December 21st, soon 
 after we came to anchor, and when all was quiet and 
 still, the unerring signs of death gradually appeared, 
 and she soon became conscious that the solemn sum¬ 
 mons had come at last. Her breathing, pulsations 
 of the heart, restlessness, difficult expectoration, and 
 general oppression, convinced her that death was 
 near. She put forth her hand for an opinion of her 
 pulse ; and looking her husband steadily in the face, 
 inquired, “Is not this death?” When told it w r as, 
 she w^as thankful in hearing the truth. 
 
 She afterwards suffered distressing and indescri¬ 
 bable oppression over the chest; her lungs seemed 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 67 
 
 choked up with mucus, and she felt fainting away. 
 When appearing relieved by the use of ammonia and 
 ether, her friend said, “You feel easier now?” she 
 looked up, and with much feeling whispered, “ Ah , 
 you know not death ; it is a struggle which I cannot 
 describe.” 
 
 When asked, on being able to converse, how she 
 felt at the thought of parting with those she so much 
 loved, she said, “ I love you and our little ones more 
 than all other beings, more than I can express ; but 
 I feel I love God, my Saviour, more even than you; 
 and I am willing, as He sees right, to depart and be 
 with him.” 
 
 She afterwards wished for a few words of prayer 
 lest she should be impatient, and if it was her 
 Father’s will soon to release her ; and begged that I 
 would not leave her, but be near to her and help her 
 to the last. She was again distressed with painful 
 restlessness, required frequent changing of her posi¬ 
 tion ; and an oppression and sense of instant suffoca¬ 
 tion coming on, she cried out, “ Oh ! help me, help 
 me ! Oh, not you, God only can help me!” This 
 was about midnight, when all in the ship, previously 
 so bustling and noisy during the storm, was now as 
 quiet as the grave—it was still as death. When 
 told her last moments were closing fast, with delight¬ 
 ful composure she said, “ Death has no terrors now: 
 I thank God, who has given me the victory through 
 Jesus Christ.” 
 
 Every moment she seemed to her watching husband 
 to be near her last, but still she lingered ; and when 
 
 f 2 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 68 
 
 able thanked him in the most touching manner for 
 the comfort of his being with her, to speak and pray 
 with her, and to close her eyes in death : and when 
 further revived, gave her dying wishes about her 
 funeral and her children. She was pleased at the 
 thought that, though lifeless, some of her friends and 
 relations of both families would like to follow her 
 to the grave in one of the London cemeteries. 
 
 She would not have the sleeping children dis¬ 
 turbed, but was raised up to take a last look at 
 them-—now lying unconsciously and peacefully before 
 her. Soon after this, about four o’clock in the 
 morning, she said, 44 1 am easy now f ’— 44 1 shall not 
 be long— 44 1 feel my end is near.” Her hands were 
 cold and pulseless; her breathing became short and 
 rapid : speech was lost, but consciousness remained— 
 and her lips were moving in prayer till within live 
 minutes of her decease. Her end was peace: 
 
 It remains the painful duty of her nearest sur¬ 
 viving relative to close this short sketch of the 
 Christian experience of this humble-minded, but 
 most sincere disciple of Christ, by briefly stating 
 that it pleased the all-wise God thus to cut short her 
 days at the early age of thirty-two; and though her 
 mortal relic is entombed in her native land, her 
 happy and purified spirit—being summoned to join 
 the blessed in heaven just as we reached the long- 
 wished-for shores of Britain—is doubtless now in 
 glory! Thus her fondly-cherished hopes of once 
 more landing on her native soil were annihilated 
 by the stroke of death ;—Earth was exchanged for 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 69 
 
 heaven, and time for a happy eternity : and though 
 the bereaved must mourn, and the tear of sorrow 
 will fall, yet we can see withal traces of a Father’s 
 hand and a Father’s love. “ Consolatory as it would 
 have been to many of her surviving friends to have 
 had the opportunity of ministering to the dear de¬ 
 parted in her last hours, the Christian mourner can 
 well forego these sources of satisfaction, in having 
 such pleasing evidence that she died in faith, resting 
 on the promises of eternal truth. And having en¬ 
 tered that land of promise, which God has only 
 permitted us as yet to view from the mount Nebo of 
 our faith,—she has passed through the pearly gates ; 
 walked the golden streets; understood the mystery 
 of a world all light and glory, without the aid of 
 either the sun, the moon, or the stars ; seen the 
 lovely and dignified countenance of her glorified Sa¬ 
 viour ; been transported with the worship of angels 
 and archangels as they bend before the throne in 
 lowly adoration, and cry, Holy, holy, holy. Lord God 
 Almighty !—and above all, joined in the hallelujahs of 
 the blessed, and increased the swell of that seraphic 
 chorus,—which makes all heaven a jubilee,—‘unto 
 him that loved us and washed us in his own blood, 
 be glory for ever and ever! ’ 
 
 “ Happy spirit! who could wish thee back again ? 
 —Who could wish thee to exchange the company of 
 bright celestials, and the spirits of the just made 
 perfect, for that of the best and the most endeared 
 on earth ?—Who ask thee to leave that lovely world, 
 in which angels have lived during the long period of 
 
7Q MEMOIR. 
 
 their existence without disease or death, for this of 
 ours, so full of storms and pestilences, and blights 
 and mildews ?—Or who wish thee to cross again that 
 dismal valley passed but once? No: stay, happy 
 spirit! stay by the ‘pure river of water of life, clear as 
 crystal, and proceeding out of the throne of God and 
 of the Lamb drink its life-sustaining waters ; eat 
 freely of the leaves of ‘the tree of life/ which 
 grows on either side of its banks; bask in the ever¬ 
 lasting sunshine of thy Redeemer’s love ; gaze on 
 him till thy spirit becomes assimilated to his,—and 
 be for ever happy, and for ever blessed! 
 
 “We would not have thee hack again, much as we 
 loved thee: we desire rather to catch the spirit of 
 thy song—something of that wondrous inspiration 
 which burns in thy bosom when striking thy golden 
 harp to the praise of Him who loved thee, and gave 
 himself for thee. And we want to know something 
 of thy delight in God, and thy companionship in 
 heaven. But of these glorious things, happy spirit, 
 thou must not inform us ; we are willing to be led 
 and taught by Him who taught thee, and to rest 
 patiently on the promises which sustained thee, till 
 our faith, like thine, is lost in sight, and our prayers 
 are lost in praise.” 
 
 Such are the sentiments of a sympathising sister 
 in Christ; and those who mourn adopt them as 
 their own, under a feeling sense of their truth ; fully 
 acquiescing in all that God has done, and has a 
 right to do with his own. We will not mourn as 
 those without hope, but will rise up and praise God 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 71 
 
 that with the affliction he has also provided such 
 rich and abundant streams of comfort, peace, and 
 spiritual improvement, that we should not repine— 
 we dare not murmur, but pray that we may be 
 wholly sanctified to do and to suffer the will of God 
 upon the earth, that being “ faithful unto death,” we 
 also may receive that happy welcome of “ Good and 
 faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy 
 Lord!” as we have such satisfactory reason to believe 
 was given to her who has gone before, and is now in 
 glory, wearing the crown of everlasting life. 
 
 “ Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord: 
 yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their 
 labours, and their works do follow them.” 
 
 “ May we die the death of the righteous, and may 
 our end be like theirs.” 
 
 HER FAVOURITE HYMN. 
 
 Absent from flesh ! O, blissful thought! 
 
 What unknown joys this moment brings; 
 Freed from the mischief sin has brought, 
 From pains, and fears, and all their springs. 
 
 Absent from flesh ! illustrious day, 
 
 Surprising scene ! triumphal stroke 
 That rends the prison of my clay, 
 
 And I can feel my fetters broke. 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 Absent from flesh ! then rise, my soul! 
 
 Where feet nor wings could never climb, 
 Beyond the heavens, where planets roll, 
 Measuring the cares and joys of time. 
 
 I go where God and glory shine, 
 
 His presence makes eternal day; 
 
 My all that’s mortal I resign, 
 
 For angels wait and point the way ! 
 
 / 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Tyler Sr Reed, Printers, Bolt-court, Fleet-street 
 
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