Amid the storm of affliction he enjoyed uninterrupted peace; and amidst the infirmities of nature he was strengthened with might" by the Spirit in the inner man." His prevailing desire was, "to depart, and be with Christ; " yet was he willing to remain, if such were the will of God. He dreaded the thought of living to be useless. On the day before his removal, he appeared to be so far recovered, that the hopes of his family and friends were greatly revived. He even promised himself the pleasure of walking out the next day, should the weather be favourable; but God had other purposes. He retired to bed in the evening; a little after midnight was seized with difficulty of breathing; and in about one quarter of an hour yielded his spirit into the hands of the Saviour, who had bought him with his blood, whose redeeming love it had been his delight to publish, and to the arms of whose mercy, with his dying breath, he commended himself. "At midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him; and, without a lingering J. S. groan, he obeyed the summons. March 8th.-At Sligo, Ireland, aged fifty-nine, the Rev. Thomas Wade Doolittle, Wesleyan Minister. At the age of fifteen he received the remission of sins through faith in Christ, and never lost the clear evidence of his acceptance with God. In 1803 he was called to travel, and continued in the regular work of the ministry until 1815, when he was chosen to the office of Book-Steward, and became resident in Dublin, where he faithfully discharged the duties of his office, both as a Pastor and a public officer of the Wesleyan Connexion. In 1831 he was again appointed to a Circuit, and continued to labour with great acceptance and usefulness until 1840, when he was obliged to give up all public labour, and retire to suffer and to die. For about fortyfour years he walked with God, and enjoyed that peace which passeth all understanding," and that "joy" which is "unspeakable and full of glory." He was particularly remarkable for a holy cheerfulness, and a punctual and active discharge of the duties of his calling. During his severe affliction his confidence in God was unshaken, and in him patience had its perfect work. "No coward dread, no guilty fear, His parting soul oppress'd." To him to live was Christ, and to die was eternal gain. He was a good Minister of Jesus Christ; and having served his generation by the will of God, he has fallen asleep in Jesus. "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." POETRY. A PLEA FOR MISSIONS. MAN by nature does not know Him, Whom 'tis endless life to know; For salvation, what they owe Him, Christians must for ever owe: That we feel it, May our zeal to serve Him show! Is not Africa adoring Senseless blocks of stone and wood? Millions is not death devouring? Who will show them any good? Who will point them To the Lamb's redeeming blood? For God's word, more sweet than honey, Hear ye not the Heathen call? Send it to them, (you have money,) Nothing else can break their thrall: That will tell them, Jesus died to save them all. J. N. Through the floods of tribulation, Sharper than a two-edged sword. While you plead God's love exceeding, Men will feel their guilt and thrall, See, by faith, the Saviour bleeding, And for mercy through him call; And the Spirit Will descend upon them all. For lost sinners, young or hoary, You have but one saving tale, Like the sight of gushing fountains With the Gospel run to man. G. B. WATKINS, Relating principally to the FOREIGN MISSIONS carried on under the direction of the METHODIST CONFERENCE. ANNIVERSARY OF THE WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, 1842. THE Committee of this Society respectfully invite the attention of their friends in town and country, and of the Christian public generally, to the following announcements connected with the ensuing Anniversary in London. They have the pleasure to state, that THE REV. JAMES DIXON, President of the Wesleyan Conference, THE REV. ROBERT BUCHANAN, D.D., Minister of the Tron Church, in Glasgow, THE REV. JOHN HARRIS, D.D., President of Cheshunt College, and THE REV. ALFRED BARRETT, of Leeds, have kindly engaged to preach the sermons before the Society, for the present year. In compliance with an earnest request addressed to the Committee, it has been agreed that an early morning service shall be held. in the large upper room of the Centenary-Hall, when a sermon, specially addressed to the Officers, local Committees, and Collectors of the Auxiliary, Branch, and Juvenile Societies, will be preached by THE REV. JOHN LOMAS, of Bristol. In addition to the several Ministers already named, THE REV. THOMAS CRYER, from Madras, and VOL. XXI. Third Series. APRIL, 1842. B B have also consented, on the invitation of the Committee, to afford their valuable assistance to the Society on Sunday, May 1st. The times and places of the week-day services which these eminent Ministers have severally undertaken are as follows:Tuesday Evening, April 26th, at Seven o'clock, China-Terrace Chapel, Lambeth, The REV. ALFRED BARRETT ; Wednesday Morning, April 27th, at Six o'clock, in the Large Room of Wednesday Evening, April 27th, at Seven o'clock, City-Road Chapel, Thursday Morning, April 28th, at Eleven o'clock, in the Large Room of the Centenary-Hall, The REV. JAMES DIXON, President of the Conference ; Friday Morning, April 29th, at Eleven o'clock, Great Queen-Street Chapel, Lincoln's-Inn-Fields, The REV. DR. HARRIS. The following are the Arrangements made, in connexion with this Anniversary, for Sunday, May 1st. City-Road Chapel, at half-past Ten, The Rev. James Dixon, President of the Conference. Great Queen-Street Chapel, at half-past Ten, The Rev. John Lomas. at Three at Six, The Rev. Thomas Cryer, from The Rev. Dr. Buchanan. Spitalfields Chapel, at half-past Ten, The Rev. Dr. Hannah. at Six, The Rev. Thomas Waugh. Southwark Chapel, Long-Lane, Borough, } at half-past Ten, The Rev. Robert Newton. Lambeth Chapel, at half-past Ten, The Rev. Thomas Waugh. at Six, The Rev. John Lomas. at Eleven, The Rev. Alfred Barrett. The Rev. James Dixon. THE ANNUAL MEETING of the Society will be held in Exeter-Hall, Strand, on Monday, May 2d, at Eleven o'clock precisely; when EDWARD LITTON, ESQ., M.P. FOR COLERAIN, has kindly promised to preside. A COLLECTION, in aid of the Society's funds, will be made after each sermon, and in the course of the public Meeting. Ir is probable that a special Meeting of the officers, general and local Committees, and principal friends of the Society, in town and country, will be held at the Centenary-Hall, in the evening of Tuesday, May 3d; the particulars of which it is intended to announce in the course of the preceding week, and for which tickets of admission will be issued. WITH the greatest earnestness do the Committee once more invite and urge a numerous attendance of their friends, not merely at the General Meeting, but also at the preparatory religious services, and especially at the sermons to be preached before the Society on the preceding Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The Ministers who shall officiate in the London chapels on the foregoing Sunday, April 24th, are respectfully requested distinctly to announce those services, and the names of the Ministers engaged, from their respective pulpits. The Committee are solicitous to prosecute that enlarged course of usefulness which is now opened to the Society in the West Indies, in Australia, in New-Zealand, in the Friendly and Feejee Islands, in Western and Southern Africa, in Ceylon and Continental India, among the Indian tribes of North America, and elsewhere, in the spirit of humble piety, and of devout dependence on Him "without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy." They feel more strongly than ever the necessity of united supplication for the blessing of Almighty God; and are deeply anxious that all their proceedings, and especially those connected with the Anniversary, should be marked by a religious tone and character, and should be "sanctified by the word of God and prayer." They hope to be favoured and encouraged by the presence of many of the country members of the Society, who, they are sure, will not fail to derive much spiritual pleasure and benefit from meeting their friends in London, in the sanctuaries of God, on an occasion of such universal interest, and from uniting with them in those sacred ordinances by which it may be most effectually hallowed, and rendered permanently advantageous to the great cause of Missions. And they respectfully suggest, that a more than ordinary attendance of those attached and leading country friends, on whose example, influence, and activity, the Society, under the blessing of God, so essentially depends, is peculiarly desirable and necessary at the present period. With heartfelt delight and gratitude, the Committee acknowledge the very large addition which has been made to the Society's income, during the year 1841, and the greatly-improved condition and aspect of its finances, as pared with those of the three former years of accumulating deficiencies and embarrassments. But the large and burdensome debt, unavoidably contracted during those years, must now be carnestly and simultaneously encountered. The effort to extinguish it, in order to be effectual, must be strenuous and universal. Nor is even the present augmented income yet adequate to the certain expenditure of future years. The noble exertions of 1841 must be zealously continued and considerably increased in order to reinforce existing Missions, to follow up the successes already vouchsafed, and to prosecute those plans of evangelization for which openings and opportunities, never before equalled, either in urgency or in extent, are providentially afforded. Both for the extinction of the old debt, and for the prevention of new deficiencies, united counsels, prayers, and efforts are indispensable. Where or when can means for the accomplishment of these great objects be more properly or advantageously arranged, and put into a course of efficient operation, than at the ensuing general Anniversary of the Society? Why should not every principal Auxiliary or Branch be represented by some one or more of its officers or members, who may be kindly willing to undertake such a service, from the interest which they feel in the advancement of our Saviour's kingdom, and in the salvation of the Heathen "perishing for lack of knowledge ?" A large assemblage of the Society's active and liberal friends, from various parts of Great Britain and Ireland, on the ensuing occasion, would be at once an encouraging pledge, and a powerful instrument, of future prosperity and success. The financial crisis of our Missionary work, though very materially relieved, is not yet past. But after the noble efforts of the last year, the members and friends of this Society may well be animated to the further exertions required in 1842, and assured that, in such a cause, they can, by God's blessing, accomplish "greater things than these." * Our friends who may intend to visit London from the country, in order to participate in the approaching Missionary services, are respectfully informed, that an Address-Book will be opened early in April, at the Wesleyan Centenary-Hall and Mission-House, |