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"THE MEMORY OF THE JUST IS BLESSED."

BEYOND the mere notice which was published in our Magazines for February of the death of Mrs. Ann Hennah, of Torquay, we have a particular wish to pay a somewhat further tribute of Christian esteem to her memory. A personal friendship between our dear departed sister and ourselves, of many years' standing, might be a sufficient plea in itself for our wishing to give a few more particulars about her last days upon earth. But knowing how for many years previous to her decease she had taken a lively interest in the prosperity of the "Gospel Standard," and of the "Friendly Companion" since its commencement, and knowing also that her able contributions have appeared from time to time in the pages of both magazines, we feel that it is quite due to her memory that a little more should be said about her.

Well do we remember how, after the death of that dear man of God, Mr. George Doudney, of Plymouth, whose ministry Mrs. Hennah constantly heard, she came and placed herself under our own poor ministry at " Corpus Christi Chapel, Stonehouse; and though she continued to attend the chapel, both on Sundays and week evenings, until in the providence of God we were removed to our present sphere of labour, yet never once did she ever say much to us about whether she heard the preaching well or bad. Just now and then she would drop a word expressive of satisfaction, but nothing much beyond it; and yet her manner of manifesting her approval without words was as unmistakable as if she had said ever so much. She was neither a flatterer nor a detractor. She was not the woman to either puff a minister up with pride by saying too much, or to discourage him in his work by withholding tokens of approbation when she had heard the Word to profit. Still, her expressions of personal friendship and acknowledgment of the way she had received our ministry have been far more profuse, as conveyed by letter, since separated from her in the providence of God, than what they ever were by word of mouth when we so frequently met face to face in the house of God.

The last communication we ever received from her was from Hastings, where she died. It was in reference to a piece in the "Gospel Standard" for November last, entitled "The Saints' Inheritance," and which was written in compliance with Mrs. Hennah's private request. She wrote after reading the piece to say that not only was the view expressed in it in accordance with her own, but that her own soul had been so much blessed in reading it, with a faith's view of the glorious blissful prospect which she felt so very soon awaited her, that she had not had so sweet a season in her experience for a long time past. And yet at the time she thus wrote to us she was better in health, and was thinking of leaving Hastings and returning to her home; and hence little knew, and probably as little thought, that the time of her departure was so near at hand.

She also sent us at the same time a communication for the pages of the "Gospel Standard," containing some particulars of this happy season, and asked us if we should be willing to insert it. Why we did not comply with her wish was simply because her communication contained too much kind commendation of what had emanated from our pen to make us think it desirable to give it public notice; and our mentioning the circumstance now is not at all as wishing to make known what use the Lord may have condescended to make of anything of ours to our departed friend, but merely as showing that as at the time we received that last communication our dear sister's end was drawing near, so, no doubt, the Lord, by the sweet season which he gave her in her experience, was not only preparing her to approach that end, but was also preparing her for her heavenly inheritance above.

Perhaps few of her sex among the children of God possess greater powers of mind than what she did herself. She was endued with abilities of no ordinary nature; and those abilities being sanctified by grace, they were employed more for the advancement of divine truth, and stemming the tide of error, than in any other way. One or two of her poetical works which have been published, and mentioned in our pages, are no doubt known to some of our readers. But if all the prose and poetical productions which have flowed from her fertile mind could be brought together, they would no doubt amount to many volumes in bulk; indeed, we have manuscript-material enough of hers in our possession at the present time to make up two or three good-sized books, was it all to be put into print. Some pieces from the packet, which are more particularly suitable for either the "Gospel Standard" or "Friendly Companion," we shall hope, with the kind consent of the editors, to insert in their pages; and in that way we shall be able to let our dear friend's words be occasionally read, whilst her lips "lie silent in the grave." We had hoped to have been supplied with more particulars of her last days than what, in consequence of her very sudden departure from the world, any member of her family has been able to send us. But in the absence of such verbal dying testimony as is sometimes obtainable, we can only fill up the gap with such particulars in reference to the closing scene of her life as have been kindly placed at our disposal.

Our sister had been staying, for some weeks previous to her decease, on a visit at her son's house at Hastings; and having felt so much better for the change of air, she had arranged to return to her home in Devon within a few days of the one on which she passed from earth to glory.

In speaking, however, of the closing scene of her life, we cannot do better than confine ourselves to such particulars as we have received from one of her own beloved children. Her decease took place, as before stated, at Hastings, on the 18th of December. She had had a severe attack of bronchitis, which had left her

very prostrate. Her daughter, who was written to at Torquay, to go down at once to Hastings, informs us that she found her dear mother looking somewhat altered, but very cheerful, and not so weak as she had seen her during a previous illness. She wandered in her head a great deal during the night; but still took so much nourishment that those around her could scarcely realize her true condition; until the doctor, who came in the morning, gave them to understand that he considered her end very near, and that in a few hours she would probably breathe her last. Such, it seems, proved to have been the case. "She lapsed into unconsciousness soon after breakfast, and at 2.30 p.m. entered her eternal rest, surrounded by those she loved; and acknowledging that goodness and mercy had followed her all the days of her life.'

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Thus died, as she had lived, a believer in Jesus; and we may say, "Strong in faith, giving glory to God." Almost her last statement, a little time before unconsciousness set in, was: "I do love Jesus so much. He is so precious to me. I never felt him so precious before." Again, as confirmatory of an ob servation we have made in the course of this short memorial, viz., that the Lord no doubt was, previous to her death, preparing her mind for the great and blissful change which awaited her, she says in a letter written to a Christian friend at Plymouth about a month before her death: "Through mercy, I was able yesterday to go down stairs to breakfast. My son read from Isaiah: He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces.' My eyes filled with tears; and whether I am spared to wish you the happy return of another birth-day or not, I bequeath to you this ever-blessed comforting promise: He will swallow up death in victory. May the Holy Ghost write it with divine power on each of our hearts."

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Again, in another letter to the same sister in the Lord, and written only about a fortnight before her departure, she writes: "God is loosening the ties of earth to you and to me, and causing us to feel, with the patriarch, I loathe it, and would not live always. My daily infirmities remind me that there is but & step between me and death; and yet my heart feels sometimes as dead as a stone, and my affections set more on things below than on things above. It is of the Lord's mercies, and unchangeable love, that I have not been cast off as a withered branch; but he brings me sometimes back to himself, my holy habitation, with weeping and supplication, and again reveals himself as that Friend that sticketh closer than a brother,' and who has pledged himself never to leave, and never, no, never, to forsake me."

The following verses, from an original hymn by our dear de ceased friend, and which is written on the words, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth," will be a fitting termination to this brief tribute of sincere Christian esteem to her memory, and the more so as those verses are now so blessedly true of herself:

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WILLIAM SAGGERS.-On Dec. 11th, 1878, William Saggers, aged 47

years.

W. Saggers was a member of the little cause at Park Lane, Farnham. He was a native of Waltham, Hertfortshire.

About 28 years ago the Lord in mercy laid his sins with weight upon his conscience under the preaching of that dear servant of God, Mr. Martin, late minister of Stevenage; thus bringing him out of the world, and the ways of sin, and from sinful companions, which before he loved. The cry of the poor publican was often his: "God be merciful to me a sinner;" and with the poor woman, "Lord, help me!"

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He was for many years tried, and often said that after all he feared he was nothing but a deceiver, and that the Lord would never save such a wretch as he felt himself to be. He would often, as he thought, get in secret, and cry, and plead with the Lord that he would remember him with the favour wherewith he remembered his own dear children. other times, he was blessedly raised to hope that after all the time would come when he should be enabled to say, "The Lord is my Portion." For this he often cried, and used to say, "Nothing short of this will satisfy my poor soul." He was not a great talker; he was so afraid he should be left to say what he did not feel. His great desire was to be made right, and to have that religion that would not leave him when he came to die. Those words were at one time sweetly blessed to his Soul: "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? Not, indeed, fully delivering him from all his fears, but sweetly enabling him to hope he was one of that happy number,

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After the death of Mr. Martiu he used to travel to Hitchin with his dear friend and companion in soul-trouble, Mr. Kitchener, with whom he felt more union of soul than I can express. There he heard those dear men of God, Mr. Skipworth, Mr. Mountfort, Mr. Jackson, and several others, whose testimonies in the hand of the Lord were made sweet food for his poor cast-down soul; of which at times he spoke. He

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often mentioned a sermon spoken by Mr. Jackson from those sweet words: "Although my house be not so with God, yet hath he made with me an everlasting covenant."

Nine years before his death he was in the providence of God removed to Farnham, where it often pleased the Lord to bless his own truth to the comfort of his soul. The last two years of his life his sufferings were great; but he patiently bore them all. He would say, after a severe attack of his heart, as soon as he could speak, "O the long-suffering goodness of God to an unworthy sinner! See how he has comforted, kept, and spared me yet once more to my poor children." These, at times, lay very near his heart. Sometimes he has begged of me, before he seemed to have strength himself, to thank and praise the Lord for his great goodness to him.

Many times we have watched him for hours, never thinking he would speak to us again. But the last night of his life was a night never to be forgotton by me. Sleep seemed to have departed from him. He was talking of the many things we had been brought through, and the times when the Lord had appeared for us. I did not think at the time what the Lord was about to do with us. He had been better for a week longer than for some time had been the case; and I had had sweet freedom in pleading with the Lord that he would strengthen him and bless him with health. He pressed me very much that, if he went to sleep, I would awake him at 6 o'clock; which I did, as gently as I could. He got himself up, but fell back asleep in death. "The memory of the just is blessed." S. SAGGERS.

SARAH BLACKWELL.-On March 17th, 1879, in the 80th year of her age. ELIZABETH BLACK WELL.-On Aug. 29th, 1879, aged 82; both at Devizes.

We regret the omission of the deaths of the above esteemed Christian friends until now. It is, however, a comforting satisfaction, in making a brief reference to their memory, to be able to do more than merely record their decease. They have not only left this world of sin and sorrow, but have, we doubt not, gone to be for ever with the Lord.

Miss Elizabeth Blackwell had been, during a long period of her life, a member at the "Old Baptist" chapel, Devizes. We have many times heard her speak of the blessed seasons she had enjoyed in hearing the gospel of God's grace in that place. Being blessed with strong powers of mind, and a clear discernment in Divine truth, and having been brought again and again in her experience to know her own personal interest in Christ, she was able to converse upon the things of God with the more gracious freedom of spirit. Her extreme kindness to the Lord's poor was quite characteristic of her, as well as of both her sisters. In years gone by, when their temporal prosperity was greater, few were more quick to go on missions of mercy to the suffering poor than were our dear friends the three Miss Blackwells, of whom only one, Miss Ann, now survives.

Miss Elizabeth was upon the whole much blessed in her last affliction. We have found her, on some of our visits, full of sweet assurance, and her heart flowing over with blessing and praise to the Lord; though at other times her mind would be for a time clouded, and her way apparently dark. Her affliction was of such a nature, that it made the goodness and tender mercy of God the more manifest towards her in the way in which he controlled that affliction, and gave her sweet seasons of quietness and peace in believing; and in such peace and quietness she at last passed away, after a long pilgrimage, to the "rest which remaineth for the people of God."

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