Model Women

y W

INA, COUNTESS

own. It is not insinuated that she alone impressed that character on the Church, but that she entirely sympathised with it, and was not a whit behind the foremost in affect

. Fo

NOT A THI

here power was law and woman a slave. The gospel belongs to neither sex, but to both. It wears no party badge, but as by a zone of love, elastic enough to be stretched round the globe, seeks to bind the whole race together. The most effectual method of degrading woman is to barbarize man, and the surest means of dignifying her is to Christianize him. A council in the fifth century, we believe, discussed the question whether woman was included in the redemption; but it i

GRA

were laid out with great taste, and a spacious lake of ornamental water reflected a handsome stone bridge, which was thrown across it. She inherited the talents and benevolent disposition of her father, and from a very early age sought Divine direction in all that she did. When only nine years old, she saw a corpse about her own age ca

re much beyond the ordinary standard of the age in which she lived. When she grew up, and was introduced into the world, and made her appearance at court, she manifested no

rved were far more grateful to her than riches or renown. Mary Queen of Scots was for some time confided to the keeping of the Earl of Huntingdon; and King James the First and his consort were often visitors at the famous castle of Ashby. Lady Huntingdon maintained, in this high estate, a peculiar seriousness of condu

the Lord, and assuring them of her determination to live for Him who had died for her. The oratory of the Methodists was fervid and powerful; and the spiritual fire which glowed within, animated their discourses, and attracted many to the standard of the cross. The number of ordained ministers was insufficient to meet the demands for their services. But a new agency

he skill of her medical attendants, and the blessing of God, she was restored to health and strength. Scarcely had she recovered from the loss of her children, and her own illness, before she was bereaved of her husband, Lord Huntingdon, who died at his house in Downing Street, Westminster, October 13th, 1746. But these and subsequent personal and family afflictions only awakened her mind toward religious concernments, an

among whom were the Duchess of Bedford, Grafton, Hamilton, and Richmond; Lords Weymouth, Tavistock, Trafford, Northampton, Lyttleton, Dacre, and Hertford; Ladies Dacre, Jane Scott, Anne Cronnolly, Elizabeth Kepple, Coventry, Hertford, Northumberland, etc., etc. She was far in advance of her times in catholicity

ions in the province of Georgia, she organized a mission to North America. On the 27th of October, the missionaries embarked, and after a passage of only

ound of the gospel within the hearing of the people, her labours were denounced as irregular, and her name was blackened with reproach. Towards the close of 1781, her mind was greatly distressed by unpleasant differences which sprang up in her congregation at Reading. Still it was evident that God was blessing

time retaining the liturgy with some modifications, the forms and even the vestments of the Church of England, without its Episcopacy. A confession of faith was drawn up, and a declaration was set forth, that "some things in the liturgy, and many things in the discipline and government of the Established Church, being contrary to Holy Scripture, they have felt it necessary to seced

ignation, and said to Lady Ann Erskine, "All the little ruffles and difficulties which surrounded me, and all the pains I am exercised with in this poor body, through mercy affect not the settled peace and joy of my soul." On the 12th of June, 1791, a change passed over the Countess which afforded apprehensions of approaching death. A little before she died, she frequently said, "I shall go to my Father to-night;" and musingly repeate

were hung in black; and not only her own ministers, but many in the Establishment and among the nonconformists, preached a funeral sermon to testify to her worth. Ma

VER

spired to reach, by her own works, the lofty standard she had placed before her. Liberal in her sentiments, prudent in her conduct, courteous in her deportment, and profuse in her charities, she surpassed her equals by birth, and the multitudes around her. But the Countess was far from enjoying the happiness which she anticipated would result from her endeavours to recommend herself to the favour of Heaven. Her sister-in-law Lady Margaret Hastings had been awakened to see the value of religious truth, and often conversed with her respecting the concerns of her soul. Her experience formed a contrast to the state of Lady Huntingdon's mind. A severe illness soon laid the Countess low

ER CHRIS

tification, many are slow to perceive. Yet Scripture and the lives of the great and good abundantly prove, that in both senses Christ is complete to the believer, and in both, the believer is complete in Christ. The Countess of Huntingdon is a true and noble type of the real, whol

ole realm of

present fa

mazing, s

soul, my li

at all the arguments of Bishop Benson failed in bringing her to a more rational sense of devotion. "Such a statement," remarks her latest biographer, "would not have deserved notice, were it not that the talents and reputation of the poet laureate might be regarded by many as a guarantee for its validity." When the rupture took place between the Prince of Wales and his father, George II., and the Prince set up his own court at Kew, Lady Huntingdon attended it occasio

CHAP

rty years. In the New World as well as the Old, Whitefield had his trophies, and was listened to with great delight by the princes of intellect and the beggars in understanding. If souls would hear the gospel only under a ceiled roof, he preached it there. If only in a church or a field, he proclaimed it there. In temples made with hands, the parliament of letters, of fashion, of theology, of statesmanship,-such men as Hume, Walpole, Johnson, Goldsmith, Reynolds, Garrick, Warburton, and Chesterfield, acknowledged the power of the preacher. On Moorfields, Kennington Common, and Blackheath, vast crowds were powerfully impressed, and cried out for salvation. He preached at Kingswood, and the miners came out of their coal-pits in swarms-thousands on thousands flocked from Bristol, till about twenty or thirty thousand persons were present. The s

lar treatises, and a great number of separate discourses. But the preaching of the gospel was his enthusiastic work, and the Calvinistic aspects of truth were put and kept in uniform prominence by him. He was a man o

ut his heart was too deeply impressed with the truth to allow his tongue to be silent. He became a warm and devoted labourer in the various churches erected by the Countess. Thomas Haweis, LL.B., was also chaplain to the

OF A RELIGIO

nomination, and gave his powerful aid to his noble patroness in her wide-spread endeavours to maintain and spread Calvinistic Methodism. It was in this way that her ladyship became the head of what was termed "the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion." This costly movement included the erection of many spacious churches, the support of ministers, and the founding and endowing of a college at Trevecca, in Wales, for the education of young men, who were left at liberty, when their studies were completed, to serve in the ministry of the gospel either in the Countess's Connexion,

THE COUNTESS

charms. Her figure was noble and commanding; her eyes were large and lustrous; her nose slightly acquiline; her lips well-formed and expressive;

g the minds of many educated clergy and uneducated lay-preachers. The leading and most noted public men, such as Chesterfield, Bolingbroke, and several of the bishops, listened with enthusiasm to her conversation. The celebrated lad

ed in the lap of grandeur, live in such a house, so meanly furnished; and shall I, a tradesman, be surrounded with luxury and elegance! From this moment, I shall hate my house, my furniture, and myself, for spending so little for God and so much in folly." Religion with her was not a creed, nor an ecclesiastical po

LIZABETH, DUC

usness of their rank and breeding to strengthen His ministers, and win favour for His holy cause; and who in so doing had a peculiar heavy cross of self-denial and reproach to bear. Had we lived i

w Cri

N IN HI

any of the wise, mighty, and noble have been called, yet there have been many splendid exceptions. There have always been some Christians of noble birth and rank and wealth. Not only is the gospel translatable into every tongue, and suitable to all the varying phases of human intellect; but it can descend to the lowliest cottages, and rise to the most gorgeous palaces and gild their very pinnacles with celestial light. Philosophy has wept at the recital of the story of the Cross; wealth has offered its houses for the Saviour who had for His home the cold mountain wet with the evening dew; science has cast her brightest crowns at the bleeding feet of Emmanuel; and a

GRA

er father was Alexander Brodie; who having acquired a large fortune in India, returned home, purchased the estates of Arnhall and the Burn, in Kincardineshire, and became member of parliament for Elgin. Her grandmother was Lady Betty Wemyss, one of the Sutherland family; and her mother was Miss Elizabe

at Elgin, which she always regarded with affection as the home of her early years. At the age of eight she was sent to a boarding-school in London. Here she had, with immense difficulty, to unlearn her native Scotch, and acquire a command of English words and English pronunciation. H

ght and won the hand of the young and beautiful Elizabeth Brodie, and conducted his bride with festive rejoicings to his home in Strathbogie. There she shone a far nobler treasure than the spoil of her father's house; for in due time she was called to inherit the untold riches of that Father's grace, and so to shed a brighter lustre on the coronet of Gordon than it had ever worn before, illuminating it with a heavenly radiance ere it was buried in her tomb." At the age of nineteen, the Marquis of Huntly was Miss Brodie's accepted suitor, and on the 11th of Dece

ntly distributed small silver coins to the children with that large-hearted love for the young so remarkable in her after career. She took still greater pleasure in a festive tour which followed a few years after. On this occasion the spirit of the old highland clanship was revived; fiery crosses blazed from hill to hill; and Lady Huntly passed in true Celtic style over the Gordon estates, receiving the homage of her vassals. In 1819, Lord Huntly resolved to give a highland welcome worthy of his rank, to Prince Leopold, at th

ith mantles

d to rest up

e known by

p heather wh

matched the

ll dark, and

eer then whi

answered fr

ugh copse an

spears and

uft of broo

arrior armed

ir leader's

ere they stoo

stood, then r

e clansmen'

Welcome, shr

ep mountain's

rose, and b

ave back the

surprised and delighted, "

"castle of felicity," and nothing was wanting to make it so, if the good things of this life could satisfy the soul. The Duchess had learned how poor earth's highest joys are in themselves. She therefore identified herself more with the people and cause of Christ. No balls were given at Gordon Castle during the nine years she was its mistress. In May, 1830, William IV. came to the throne, and his queen, the sainted Adelaide, selected the Duchess of Gordon as Mistress of the Robes at th

e slept in Jesus. So little was his death expected, that the Duchess had turned an ugly quarry into a beautiful garden, and was looking forward to the pleasur

ived on a thousand a year instead of ten thousand would have saved her from many temptations, and spared her much money for the Church's treasury. But having been numbered by the Lord in the rank of the "not many noble" that are called, she decided to abide therein w

e bad, and wise to eschew fanaticism; and the communicants deemed family worship an excellent thing in the stanzas of the "Cottar's Saturday Night." In answer to prayer, mighty apostles visited the dark land. With every movement which seemed to bring life to the spiritually d

iefly through her instrumentality the popular mind suddenly awoke to the importance of religion; clergymen became deeply fervent, and the morals of a large portion of the people rose at once to the high Christian level.

e 13th of January, 1864, and another was appointed for the 10th of February; but between those dates the unexpected summ

ersal regard, the corpse was carried through Elgin to the vault of the noble Dukes of Gordon. The coffin was placed beside her husband's, in the only remaining space for th

LI

hought, however, that a little clever quizzing would soon make her return to her old ways. But they were mistaken! They called her "Methodist," and she said within herself, "If for so little I am called a Methodist, let me have something more worthy of the name;" and set herself to read the Bible still more earnestly. In her new course of Bible reading she came to the passage, "If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?" The words arrested her, and from tha

OF THE L

bereavement was keenly felt, but greatly sanctified. About this time she read Leighton on Peter, to which she attributed a great deepening of the work of grace; and she afterwards wrote-"Pray kee

ng sinfulness of sin. I believed in a general way that I was a sinner who deserved the punishment of a righteous God; I believed that whosoever came to Jesus Christ should be saved; but I had no deep sense of sin,-of my sin. Since then, I believe I have passed through almost every phase of Christian experience that I have ever read or heard of; and now I have such a sense of my utter vilen

nd within the fair demesne which she was to leave for a time. In an ancient hall, with carved escutcheons on its walls, they were attracted by an inscription on a scroll high above them, which neither th

. LOVE . GOD . AL

THE .

re life; and ever after, Romans viii. 28, was one of the pillars that upheld the

IR SER

en area of what had been the old castle court at the service of the congregation. A naval captain with two or three visitors set up some military tents, and the ancient fortress was turned into a

e worship i

o mankin

is the me

he stars

f is the c

r the eart

s are vast

e worship

atherings were held during the three following years. On some of these occasions it was computed that seven thousand persons were present; on others, ten thousand. The Lord's people were refreshed, and many careless ones were awakened. In 1863, the Duchess writes: "I cannot but wonder to see the meetings increasing in numbers and interest every year; not as a rendezvous for a pleasant day in the country, but really very solemn meetings, where the presence of the Lord is felt and the power of His Spirit manifested." Clergymen of a certain school may sneer at

D W

some benevolent scheme on hand, but was frequently hampered as to the means. When anxious to build a chapel and infant school, she took a gold vase worth ￡1200 to London in the hope of getting it sold. But as she had difficulty in finding a purchaser, she writes, "The Duchess of Beaufort, hearing of my vase, thought of her diamond ear-rings, which she got me to dispose of for a chapel in Wales, and her diamonds made me think of my jewels; and as the Duke has always been most anxious for the chapel, he agreed with me that stones were much prettier in a chapel wall than round one's neck; and so he allowed me to sell ￡600 worth, or rather, what brought that, for they

F THE DUCHE

smile of the most winning sweetness. Peculiarly attractive in her manner, her expression, which in old age was quite heavenly, so lighted up all her features as to convey the impression that she must have been very be

knowledge for its own sake, of deriving knowledge from the past, and of rendering the possession of knowledge an enjoyment. Thus she wanted less than most girls a mother's arm t

marks. "This is the greatest calamity that ever befel this district; of a' the Dukes that ever reigned here, there was never one like her; there's nane in this neighbourhood, high or low, but was under some obligation to her; for she made it her study to benefit her fellow-men; and what crowds o' puir craturs she helped every day!" A soldier who had been in the Crimea, said: "You know that I have seen much to render my heart callous, but I never was unmanned till now; I never knew before how tende

I.-MARY JA

were consecrated. In everything 'to her to live was Chr

rles Bri

ND CIRC

How shall we meet this? We might deny that the faith that worketh by love, purifieth the heart, and overcometh the world, is the product of suggestion, which is multiform; and assert it to be the judgment of reason, which is one and the same over all the world, in every mind and age. But we prefer appealing to the practical refutation afforded us by experience. It is a fact that our Christian religion has already traversed the globe, rooting itself in every soil, and bearing fruit in every climate. When civilization has done her utmost, Christianity can out-dazzle her sublimest triumphs. In the clime where philosophy holds court with refinement-where poor vulgarity cannot breathe, we challenge the world to point out a

imbrel, stri

umpet's bla

independent o

GRA

y religious convictions. At the age of seven, her habits of secret prayer evidenced the influence of Divine grace upon her soul. During the greater p

ferent kind of school. As far as it was lawful she always screened the faults of her companions, and was ever ready and willing to plead for them when in disgrac

to memory the whole Book of Psalms. She was delighted with Milton's "Paradise Lost," and for many successive mornings repeated three hundred lines. After her recovery she spent severa

eless boon, a quiet conscience. Wearied at length, she turned to religion for comfort, but found that she had no religion; she had refused to give glory to God, and now her feet were stumbling upon the dark mountains. The Divinity of Christ had often been to her an occasion of perplexity. Repeated examination had fully convinced her that it was a scriptural doctrine; yet so repulsive was it to her proud

tudy of the sacred volume, were the means of advancing her knowledge and experience of scriptural truth. Adorned by God with high intellect, which she cultivated with care, and sanctified for her Master's service, she thirsted for knowledge, and reli

of her chiefest studies, the noble literature and tongue of Britain. The best writers on the philosophy of mind were familiar to her. With the principles of Locke she was thoroughly acquainted. She had profited much by Stewart. "Butler's Analogy" was also upon her first shelf. She had cult

r behalf. The following extract from a letter written in September, 1825, gives a touching view of her feelings towards these unhappy men. "I have read one part of 'Las Ruinas,' and in reading it I was struck with the reflection that the best answer would be a continual reference to the word of God. I

as placed a ready antidote within your reach. The abode of learned leisure is seldom far from the humble dwelling of some unlettered Christian. Thither let your steps be directed. 'Take sweet counsel' with your poor uneducated brother. There you will find the man, whom our 'King delighteth to honour.' His mean chamber, graced with one well-worn book, is as 'the house of God, and the very gate of heaven.' Observe how far the very simplicity of his faith, and the fervour of his love, exceed anything you can find in your own experience, cankered as it is with intellectual pride. God has taught him many lessons, of which all your learning has left you ignorant. Make him your instructor in spiritual things. He is a stranger to the names of your favourite poets and orators; but he is very familiar with the sweet psalmist of Israel. He can give you rich portions of the eloquence of one who 'spake as never man spake.' He can neither 'tell you the number of the stars, nor call them by their names;' but he will discourse excellently concerning the Star of Bethlehem. He is unable to attempt the solution of a difficult problem; but he can enter into some of those deep thi

ble was always under her pillow, the first thing in her hand in the morning and the last at night. For a short time before her death, the enemy was permitted to harass her soul, and her lively apprehensions of the gospel were occasionally obscured. Her bodily sufferings were most severe, arising from a complication of diseases. Life terminated at last by a rapid mortification in one of her

the habiliments of sorrow, relatives and friends followed all that could die of Miss Graham to the lonely graveyard. The Christian has always a garden around the sepulchre. To such

REAT

nt feature of her life. In all her natural loveliness, with all her gentle and amiable attractions, she lay down before God profoundly in the dust, and poured out from the very bottom of her heart the often repeated cry, "God be merciful to me a sinner." The Holy Spirit had taught her, that the Searcher of hearts sees guilt in the fairest characters; and that to be saved she must be Divinely renewed, and to see the kingdom of God she must be born again. While Miss Graham was, in the estimation of her parents and of all the members of the household, all that their hearts could wish, she felt her need o

CAL ATTA

sad proof that we still belong to that 'generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.'" After adducing most convincing Scriptural evidence, she forcibly illustrates the subject by the case of infants, and appeals to the sacred records of Christian experience. To the doctrine of the total depravity of man, she thus applies the reductio ad absurdum method of proof: "If man be not utterly depraved, he must be in one of these two states-either perfectly good, without any mixture of sin; or good, with some mixture of evil and imperfection. The first of these suppositions carries its own absurdity upon the face of it. The second is plausible, and more generally received. Yet it is not difficult to prove, that if man had any remaining good in him, that is-towards God-he could not be th

an after the fall is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works.'" This is strong and uncompromising; yet it is neither unguarded, unscriptural, nor discouraging. Her views of the personality of the Holy Spirit were remarkably clear. She was accustomed, as her "Prayer before Study," plainly proves, to address Him in direct, and probably frequent supplication. In reference to the deceitful and superficial arguments of infidelity, she obse

ove to the Saviour, and a tender, earnest longing for the salvation of souls. No service is more valuable to the sincere but intelligent inquirer, than to enter into his case with tenderness and forbearance. In these letters there are no vague and ill-defin

CAL RE

ates a practical apprehension of the gospel: "I am grieved that you should for a moment imagine that I think our dear -- must be lost, because she does not subscribe to the doctrines of Calvin. I do not so much as know what all Calvin's doctrines are, or whether I should subscribe to them myself. I have read one book of Calvin's, many parts of which pleased me much: I mean his 'Institutes,' which Bishop Horsley says ought to be in every clergyman's library. Further than this I know nothing of Calvin or his opinions. I certainly did not form one single opinion from his book, for I had formed all my opinions long before from the Bible. You may remember my telling you some years ago I declined greatly, almost entirely (inwardly) from the ways of God, and in my breast was an infide

SS AND

e text, "The just shall live by faith," struck deep into the generous soil of her ardent heart and active mind. The just shall be made alive first, and afterwards learn to live by faith. The just shall be justified before God first, and afterwards learn the way to become just also in heart and life by faith. "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father g

R OF MIS

t taken four years before her death, we learn that her physical constitution was rather too finely strung. Bred delicately in a great city, shut up in a nursery in childhood, and in a school through youth-never accust

s applied to languages and sciences. Indeed, she followed Solomon's advice in everything she undertook: "Whatsoever thine hand findeth to do, do it with thy might!" It was impossible to divert her mind from the object that was engagi

oets glowing

bleedi

rality is l

ed an hour to intercessory prayer. She also set apart special times for secret dedication and communion with God. The sacred book was her constant food and study. Her love for the ordinances of God dese

maid, and let wh

, not dream the

, death, and tha

nd, swe

IV.-FIDE

d to me the nearest approach I ever saw, in man or woman, to

Ande

TY AND HUM

e imagination. Christianity is in harmony with your moral nature. Truly and beautifully has Sir Thomas Browne said, "There is no felicity in what the world adores-that wherein God Himself is happy, the holy angels are happy, and in whose defect the devils are unhappy-that dare I call happiness." Your character is entirely sinful and depraved. Christianity presents to you the ideal of your original rectitude, and would win you to the love of holiness, as a thing of beauty and majesty. Christianity is adapted to you as an emotional being. The facility in shedding tears at the remembrance of sin, or at the cross, is no evidence of repentance; joy in the belief that sins are forgiven is no proof of conversion. Yet weeping is a mighty thing. Our Saviour never fell into sentimentalism or affectation, but His great soul ran over His eyes when on earth; and it would do the same if He dwelt with us now. Christianity excites the deepest emotion, and wakes up all the tumultuous feelings of the soul. Christianity is in harmony with your social nature. It takes your state

GRA

was founded by a number of Christian men and women, who went forth from St. Mary Magdalene church, Taunton, Somerset, in the days of Archbishop Laud. The home of her childhood was a plain one-storey farmhouse, the large family room of which served as kitchen, nursery, dining and sitting room. In that mountain-home life was quiet and simple, yet by no means dull and monotonous. Around the blazing fire the little circle gathe

inating, and holy woman. Early impressed by religious truth, Fidelia here found herself in a thoroughly congenial element. The diligence and thoroughness of study required suited her mental habits; while the prominence given to religious instruction and religious duties met the wants of her rapidly-developing religious life. As might have been expected, she soon formed an attachment for Miss Lyon, which was reciprocated, and which time only intensified. At the close of her first year, a malignant form of typhoid fever appeared in the academy. Miss Fiske returned home to her parents. Two days after, she was seized with the disorder, and for many days lay at the gate of death. During that season of sickness she learn

t her. While she and others were earnestly pleading for the heathen, the Lord's messenger was approaching her with a call to become a missionary herself. Dr. Perkins came to Mount Holyoke, and made a request for a young lady to go with him to Persia. Miss Fiske sent a note to him with these brief words, "If counted worthy, I should be willing to go." On her decision becoming known at the seminary, Miss Lyon said, "If such are your feelings, we will go and see your mother and sisters;" and in an hour they were on their w

ed for vigilance on the part of the crew, she writes: "I look out from my cabin window to trace a Father's hand in this wild commotion." She did not wait until she arrived in Persia, but began her ministry of love by taking under her special care the young daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Perkins, guiding her studies and leading her to the Saviour. On the 8th of April, the ship anch

ves beaten often and severely by their husband; yea, a whole village of these coarse and passionate creatures engaged in a quarrel among themselves, their hair all loose and flying in the wind. Miss Fiske's chief solicitudes were given to the educational agency. By great tact she effected considerable reformation in the schools, and corrected the prevalent habits of lying and stealing among her pupils. She also found time to visit the Nestorian women, to pray with them, and read the Scriptures. In 1844, her labours and plans were suddenly interrupted by a storm of persecution which burst upon the mission. When the missionaries had most reason to fear expulsion, Miss Fiske thus wrote:-"I knew not before that my affections had become so closely entwined around this poor people, nor how severely I should feel a removal from them." In the providence of God their enemies were thwarted; and they were permitted to remain and go on with their work, though not without great opposition. Towards the end of the year, Miss Fiske resumed her duties. How hard she laboured; with what holy fire her bo

ange was imperatively demanded; and as Dr. Perkins and Mrs. Stoddard were expecting to leave for America the following summer, it was decided that she should accompany them. During the intervening months she received ample evidence of the permanency of the work of grace that had been wrought in the land of her adoption. On the morning of her departure, about

group which surrounded her at the old sanctuary on the first Sunday after her return. During 1860, she visited Boston, to say farewell to a band of missionaries destined for the Nestorian field. Although glad that labourers were being sent forth, she could not repress a pang of regret that she could not go with them. Most ext

cancerous, proved to be a general inflammation of the lymphatic vessels. For two or three nights she was obliged to remain in a sitting posture. Her last loving message to the teachers and pupils of Mount Holyoke, closed with the words, "Live for Christ; in so doing we shall be blessed in time and in eternity." On the Sabbath morning she asked to have a number of the tra

n heaven. At the funeral, one who knew her well, said: "God sent her to benighted Persia, that those poor people might have there an image of Jesus, and learn what He was like; not by cold theories, but by a living example. He brought

pure spirit! a

love and devot

toil, that with

above, in the h

ND BETTE

k at the fountain-head as at the stream. When thirteen years of age, her Sabbath-school teacher-a daughter of her pastor-one day faithfully addressed her class on the subject of personal religion. That night Fidelia lay on her bed wakeful and tearful. At length her anxiety became too great to be concealed. Her mother suspecting the true state of the case, and alluding to the fact that something seemed to be troubling her, one day kindly said, "What is it, my child?" The full heart instantly overflowed with the long pent-up feeling, as she answered, "Mother, I am a lost sinner.

HABIT OF

fort them, but to improve her own piety by listening to their simple records of Divine goodness. She loved the Lord's poor intensely; and could not bear to hear their infirmities too freely animadverted upon. She delighted unbidden

ty, regularity, kindness, and devotion. Her interest in her pupils was not confined to the hour spent with them on the Sabbath. She sought, in various ways, to win them to Christ, often calling the pen to her aid. Verily she believed that the whole Church was fo

watch the n

ng from its

the heath-

ight emer

ts bold care

t may o'erl

in oce

ening bil

hat little

of some mi

vies to

rchs at t

n the stre

he course of

p on the

e giant oak

ONARY

ost devoted agents who ever entered the field. At Seir, the Lord gave her an earnest of the blessing He was about to bestow on her self-renouncing labours in Persia. When the intelligence wa

true Christians." The female seminary, which has done so much for the social, intellectual, and spiritual improvement of woman in Persia, was, during the first five years of its existence, simply a day-school: the pupils boarding at home, and spending only a few hours daily with their teachers in the school-room. From the first, she was very desirous of changing the character of the school, making it a boarding-school, in which pupils might remain several years, and be under the exclusive care and training of the teachers. The very idea of such a school was so repugnant to all the hereditary views

membered it. The next question was, "What does it mean?" Here too they could give no answer; but were delighted to find that the first man was called red earth, because he was made of it. This was enough for one lesson. It woke up faculties previously dormant. She was not content with th

A CONSEC

selves." The intellects of the girls seemed greatly quickened by the grace in their hearts; thus illustrating the power of the gospel, to elevate and improve the whole character and life. The conversion of Deacon Gewergis, one of the vilest of the Nestorians; and his subsequent devotion to Christ, is too beautiful and of too profound significance to be omitted. After much faithful and affectionate conversation, Miss Fiske said to him, "When we stand at the bar of God, and when you are found on the left hand, as you certainly will be if you go on in your present course, promise me that you will tell the assembled universe that, on this 22nd day of February, 1846, you were told your danger." She could say no more; her heart was full.

R OF MIS

atures, to a gauntlet or ribbon, all are on the graphic page. But the excellent memoir recently published in England, gives us no account of the personnel of Fidelia Fiske. Ju

t, which hardly ever made a failure, or put forth an inefficient effort. Every stroke and every touch from her always told in every undertaking. There was not the slightest bluster nor pretension abo

rer to Jesus in self-sacrifice. If ever there should be an extension of the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, I think the name of Fidelia Fiske would stand there. That is a list of those who either had remarkable faith, or who suffered for the truth. She was a martyr. She ma