Vanities should disappear, that he might hold constant, and uninterrupted communion with the Lord.

The day he died he said, "he blessed God that he had spared him that week, that it was the best week he had ever experienced, for the Lord had taken away every root of bitterness out of him."

Being asked if he would have a physician, he said, "oh! no! I have the Saviour, that is better to me than all physicians." When he was asked respecting his prospects of future happiness, he said, "I am ready to go, if it is this night." His last words were, "Lord receive my precious soul;" and then triumphantly fell asleep in the Lord, on the 24th of March, 1819, in the seventieth year of his age.

"Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, yea saith the Spirit, they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them." I was requested to preach a funeral sermon, which I did the following Sabbath, from Heb. vi. 12. "That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

Miscellaneous.

AN INSTANCE OF INGENIOUS DEPRAVITY.
From the Imperial Magazine.

THE age in which we live, though distinguished for many other striking peculiarities, is rendered remarkable for active benevolence, for a diffusion of light, an increase of pauperism, and for melancholy instances of moral depravity. To prevent, in some degree, the vices from becoming contagious, many salutary regulations have been proposed, respecting the distribution of criminals in our common gaols; and not a few have been introduced, through which the juvenile offender is prevented from growing hardened in his iniquities, by associating with such veterans in guilt as nothing can reclaim. The necessity of these measures may be gathered from the following anecdote, which to many of our readers may appear perfectly new.

A man, who had committed a robbery, attended with some peculiar circumstances of aggravation, was taken into custody, and consigned to the common gaol, to take his trial at the ensuing assizes. As this was his first offence, he felt all the degradation and horror of his situation, which an awakened conscience could impart. Giving way to serious reflections, and anticipating his approaching destiny, he became so much dejected, that his conVOL. II.

28

duct excited the attention of his fellow-prisoners; who, being greater proficients in vice than himself, amused themselves with his weakness; and, regardless of their own condition, sported with his approaching fate.

One among them, however, in whom art, impudence, and criminality, had combined, took an occasion more gravely to reprimand his melancholy companion, on account of his dejection; assuring him, that unless he turned his attention to the means of eluding justice, the consequences would be serious. He was informed in reply by th young offender, that he had no hope of escaping, the evidence being strong and pointed against him; and that his own conscience directed him to plead guilty."There is no case so hopeless," it was intimated," from which a man, with a little money and good management, may not be extricated. If you have any money, and will follow my directions, I will engage, for a given sum, to bring you off with honour."

Revived a little at the prospect of a release, though only. promised by a fellow prisoner, the young criminal listened with much attention; and began to inquire, on what foundation he could rest his hopes? "This is a point," replied his instructor, "which I will not reveal. Your business is to secure the cer tain payment of the money on your acquittal; to plead not guilty at the bar; and, when discharged, to provide for your own safety; the rest of the business you are to leave with me."——— Shocked at the idea of pleading not guilty, in a case which he knew to be so clear, the young man hesitated to follow the advice given; since his only hopes of a mitigation of punishment arose from a consciousness of his penitence, and the compassion of his prosecutors."Unless you will consent boldly to plead not guilty," replied the veteran, "I will have nothing to do with you; and you will inevitably be hanged."-The hope of life being too strong for the voice of conscience, the young man consented to plead not guilty; and their affairs were soon arranged.

You have now," said the instructor, "nothing more to do, than to make me acquainted with every minute circumstance connected with the robbery. Give me the time, the place, the light, the company, the dress, the conversation, with all the minute particulars of which you have any recollection." The young man again hesitated, being unwilling to put his life into the hands of a villain, who had refused to confide in him even the secret of his own escape. This hesitation, however, was soon overcome, when he was informed that "without it he must die on the gallows; and that, even if this effort to save him proved ineffectual, he could but be hanged at last."

Their affairs having reached this crisis, they retired to some corner, where the young man communicated every circumstance of the robbery which he recollected. This, by repetition, was soon impressed upon the mind of his companion; who, by questions and observations, continued to increase his stock of information, until the day of trial arrived, which was to bring his ingenuity to the test.

The young man was first arraigned; and, contrary to the expectation of his prosecutor, and of most present, who had been informed of his penitence, pleaded not guilty. The evidences were then examined, and the facts were substantiated in the most unequivocal manner. The prisoner had no defence to make, and the only thing which was now wanting to ratify his doom, was the awful sentence of the judge, which he every moment expected to hear pronounced.

At this eventful crisis, an unusual stir was heard among the prisoners who had not yet been brought to trial. On making inquiry into the cause of this disorder, one of them desired that the Court might be informed, that he had something of importance to communicate on the present occasion; and desired that he might be brought to the bar before sentence was pronounced on the prisoner then on his trial. The intelligence being communicated, he was ordered to appear, and to state what he knew relative to the affair then under consideration. This was just what he wanted; and, having obtained liberty, he addressed the Court in nearly the following language:

"It is with the utmost shame that I acknowledge myself to have been, through a considerable portion of my life, a most abandoned character. But my career of wickedness is now brought nearly to an end; for I expect, very shortly, to forfeit my life to the violated laws of my country. But, bad as I have been, I cannot think of permitting an innocent man to die for a crime of which I have been guilty. I am the person who committed the robbery, for which the prisoner is now arraigned; and am the only person who ought to suffer for it. And to prove to the satisfaction of the Court that my confession is true, will relate all the circumstances connected with the robbery.' Having said, this, he began a history of the whole transaction, and entered into all the minute particulars of the time, place, manner, and conversation, &c. with which the prosecutor and his witnesses were well acquainted, and appealed to them in their turns respectively for the truth of his declarations. And, finally, concluded his account with a serious admonition to the witnesses, and to all present, to be particularly careful how they swore away the life of an innocent person under a delusive train of ap-.

pearances,

On hearing this unexpected statement, the Court was much confused; the witnesses looked upon each other with astonishment; the prosecutor was visibly agitated; and even the judge was confounded. Recovering, however, from their surprise, the Judge, after some observations, ordered the prisoner to be acquitted, and set at liberty. In the meanwhile, the self-convicted felon was remanded, while his indictment was preparing, with orders to appear and take his trial on the ensuing day, for the offence which he had thus voluntarily acknowledged.

On being brought to the bar, when the usual question of Guilty or not Guilty, was put, to the utter amazement of all present, he pleaded not Guilty. The astonishment which this excited, was scarcely less than that which his previous confession had produced. He was then reminded of the transactions of yesterday, and admonished not to indulge fallacious hopes of escaping justice through the mere indulgence of pleading, which the lenity of the laws allowed to persons who were accused of offences.

Nothing, however, could intimidate him, or induce him to alter his resolution. He still persisted that he was not guilty; adding, when addressing himself to the Judge," If you please, my Lord, your own goaler shall prove my innocence." On being asked to explain himself, he replied, "If you order the gaolkeeper to look over his books, he will find that I was in gaol when this robbery was committed." On searching the books, it was accordingly discovered that he had actually been lodged in gaol on the day preceding that of the robbery, and his acquittal was the inevitable consequence.-Of the issue of his trial for his own offence, no account has been preserved.

PHILOSOPHY AND CHRISTIANITY.

Extract from a discourse of the Rev. Eliphalet Nott.

PHILOSOPHY Confines its views to this world principally. It endeavours to satisfy man with the grovelling joys of earth till he returns to that earth from which he was taken. Christianity takes a nobler flight. Her course is directed towards immortality. Thither she conducts her votary, and never forsakes him till having introduced him into the society of angels, she fixes his eternal residence among the spirits of the just. Philosophy can only heave a sigh, a longing sigh after immortality. Eternity is to her an unknown vast, in which she soars on conjecture's trembling wing. Above-beneath-around-is an unfathomable void; and doubt, uncertainty, or despair, are the result of all her inquiries. Christianity, on the other hand, having

furnished all necessary information concerning life, with firm and undaunted step crosses death's narrow isthmus, and boldly launches forth into that dread futurity which borders on it.Her path is marked with glory. The once dark, dreary region lightens as she approaches it, and benignly smiles as she passes over it. Faith follows where she advances, till reaching the summit of everlasting hills, an unknown scene in endless varieties of loveliness and beauty presents itself, over which the ravished eye wanders without a cloud to dim or a limit to obstruct its sight. In the midst of this scene, rendered luminous by the glory which covers it, the city-the palace-the throne of God appears.-Trees of life wave their ambrosial tops around it; rivers of salvation issue from beneath it; before it angels touch their harps of living melody, and saints in sweet response breathe forth to the listening heavens their grateful songs. The breezes of paradise waft the symphony, and the pending sky directs it to the earth. The redeemed of the Lord catch the distant sound, and feel a sudden rapture. "Tis the voice of departed friendship-friendship the loss of which they mourned upon earth, but which they are now assured will be restored in the heavens, from whence a voice is heard to say, "fear not," death cannot injure you; the grave cannot confine you; through its chill mansion, grace will conduct you up to glory. We wait your arrival, haste, therefore, come away.

Religious and Missionary Intelligence.

For the Methodist Magazine.

ACCOUNT OF THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE WORK OF GOD IN THE WESTERN COUNTRY.

Introductory remarks to Short Sketches of Revivals of Religion, among the Methodists in the Western Country.

(Continued from page 187.)

No. II.

THE Rev. William M'Kendree, (now Bishop) Presiding Elder of the district, was in the lower part of the state about the commencement of the revival, and became much engaged in it. In the latter part of 1800, or early in 1801, (if my recollection serves me) he came up to the centre of the settlements of the state; and in many places, was the first to hear the tidings of these singular meetings, which had so recently