on the other side, I pitched on my left knee, which was so injured, that I was confined a month, and felt my limb so much affected, that I had no other prospect than that of being lamed for life. My case was laid before the District Meeting, who thought it best for me to be a Supernumerary for the present. Therefore in August, 1821, having some of my family in Liverpool, I retired to that town. In December I was taken with an inflammation in my chest, which I thought would have terminated in my dissolution; but I was again raised to be exercised with deeper affliction. I felt my mind greatly affected with the change when out of the regular work of the ministry; and I dare say, that all my brethren, that were ever laid aside from the work, have felt the same. I have lost all my property, partly from persons failing, and by others from whom I had not received the proper security. I continued for months in a very weak state of body, and great confusion of mind, till my senses quite forsook me, nor was I conscious of any thing that passed. By the order of my kind medical attendant, Dr. Hicks, who is eminently skilful, I was removed into the country, to a delightful situa tion, where I have pure air, complete retirement, a pleasing view of the ships sailing round the Black Rock, and the unremitting attention of my dear wife and children; and by the blessing of God, my reason again dawned, though I felt my mental powers had received such a shock, that I should always be a sufferer. After I had lived some months in this village, I was seized in a moment with the most dreadful confusion in my head, an uncommon sensation and trembling in my limbs, till the motion ceased, and my left side was quite dead to all appearance. I breathed with the greatest difficulty, and every symptom of immediate dissolution ensued. I was confined to my bed a long time; and no one ever expected I could recover. Yet I am still spared, a monument of divine compassion, a miracle of mercy. The use of my left arm is entirely taken away; and I find that I cannot think, or talk, or write much. I desire to be thankful that I have every outward help that can contribute to my recovery or comfort. My Doctor still attends me with the greatest kindness, though he has never yet made any charge. The Lord reward him ten-fold! I have found it very difficult to draw up this little account. My memory fails; and the shocks I have received from the diseases I have laboured under, have affected my intellect; but my dear wife and children will accept it, however defective, as it is by their desire I have written it. They thought it would not only amuse me, but comfort me, to look back upon the goodness of the Lord towards me in times that are past. And if I am never able to take the pen in my hand again, I desire to leave upon record, that the Lord is gracious. I feel his supporting power; I feel myself to be upon the Rock Christ, a sinner saved by grace; and, though deprived of all outward means of grace, the God of all grace looks down upon the humble contrite spirit, and bids me live. When I am able to read the holy word of God, I get fresh light and consolation, and the promises are

yea and amen in Christ Jesus. In secret prayer the intercourse is opened between my soul and God; and the desire of my heart is, that every thought, word, and action may be holiness to the Lord. I trust these deep and continued afflictions will work for me a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, through the unsearchable riches of Christ. Amen, amen; so be it, O Lord! THOMAS COOper.

POSTSCRIPT BY HIS WIDOW.

NEVER was my dear husband able to write again; his sufferings were great, from a complication of various diseases. Repeated fits still impaired his faculties more and more; but in patience he possessed his soul. No murmur or complaint dropped from his lips during the many distressing years that he was confined; and when the recollection of all temporal things seemed entirely erased from his memory, he was absorbed in God, and would often repeat the words of our venerable Father, Mr. Wesley, "The best of all is, God is with us." Towards the closing scene, he did not seem capable of expressing his meaning; which distressed us much, as we could not understand what he wanted; but even then, he did not seem to lose his consciousness of the presence of God. With eyes and hands lifted up, and tears streaming down his cheeks, he would exclaim, My God, my God, my all!" He could always say this when the expression of other things failed, and his placid countenance evidenced the peace within. He was seized with another fit, which terminated in his dissolution October 1st, 1832. His lamb-like patience, and submission to the will of Heaven, had so endeared him to myself and children, that language would fail to describe what we have suffered by his removal, though it was so desirable on his own account.

MEMOIR OF MRS. ELIZABETH PRIESTLEY,
Of Illingworth:

BY THE REV. ROBERT L. LUSHER.

THE maiden name of Mrs. Priestley was Burton. She was born near Enniskillen, in Ireland, March 10th, 1772. Her father was a soldier in the 52d regiment; and, being called from home when she was very young, the care and instruction of her and the other children devolved upon her mother, who was a pious woman, and a member of the Methodist society. She faithfully brought up her daughter in the "nurture and admonition of the Lord," and carefully instructed her in the principles and duties of Christianity. Her labours and prayers were not in vain. The seed, thus sown, sprang up, and appeared in fruits of piety through the whole of Elizabeth's life. From a child she was a subject of gracious impressions and drawings, and possessed that degree of the fear of God which kept her from much of the folly and wickedness of

youth. Still, when about twelve years of age, she was so deeply convinced of her depravity, guilt, and danger, as a sinner, and of the necessity and privilege of becoming a new creature in Christ Jesus, that she was led to seek the Lord with all her heart, in all the means of grace which she had an opportunity of attending. She sought redemption through the blood of Christ; and, after wrestling with many prayers and tears, she was enabled to lay hold of the hope set before her, and abundantly to rejoice in God her Saviour. Being convinced that it was her privilege and duty to unite herself to the people of God, she immediately joined the Methodist society; of which she continued a steady and most worthy member to the day of her death. She had left her mother, and at this time lived in a pious family her master was a Class-Leader, and the religious privileges which she enjoyed while in this family, eminently contributed to her spiritual improvement; and she always spoke of this part of her life as being most happy, since she enjoyed much of the divine presence, and intimate and delightful communion with God.

When fifteen years of age the providence of God called her to leave this pious family, and to engage with another, of the name of M'Cardy, which removed her nearly five miles from her class; yet, having permission to attend it, she regarded not the distance, but went whenever she was able, with singleness and joy of heart; always finding the communion of saints, on those occasions, a means of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. About this time, Mr. Wesley was expected to preach in a town about twenty miles from the place where she resided. Having never heard him, and thirsting for the word of life, she with a few friends embraced the opportunity of attending his ministry on that occasion; and they were all amply repaid for the toil in walking so far.

Elizabeth's introduction into the family in which she now resided was to her a most important event, as will be seen from her subsequent history. When about twenty years of age, a young man, of the name of John M'Cardy, a member of the family, who had enlisted as a soldier into the 12th regiment of foot, came home on a furlough-visit to his friends. Elizabeth soon became an object of his attention and affections, and before be returned to his regiment he proposed marriage to her. This, however, at that time she declined; for though he was a young man of good family, and steady habits, and, she had reason to believe, sincere in his attachment to her; yet, being a stranger to religion, she durst not venture upon a union on which, being "unequally yoked," she could not expect the blessing of God. M'Cardy returned to his regiment disappointed by the refusal he had met with, but still kept Elizabeth in mind. Shortly after, his steady and good behaviour procured for him the rank of Sergeant in the regiment; and it appears not long after his promotion, he was brought under a serious concern for his salvation, became a converted man, and joined the Methodist society in the town where the regiment lay; and he continued a pious and exemplary member while

he lived. If Elizabeth was the object of his esteem and love before, she became increasingly so now, when he was able fully to appreciate her motives for declining his offer while in an unconverted state; and he resolved to renew his proposal of marriage, believing that if they were now united in the fear of the Lord, they would become "helps meet" for each other. He embraced, therefore, the first opportunity of visiting her, both to make her acquainted with the blessed change which had taken place in his character, and again to solicit her hand in marriage. Being satisfied that he had experienced a real and saving change, her only objection to him was removed. She consented, and they were married in the year 1794; nor had either of them cause ever to regret their union he became a man of deep piety and a most affectionate husband.

They had been married only a few months, when the regiment to which he belonged was ordered to remove to England, to embark for a foreign destination. This was a trying event to Mrs. M'Cardy. She was called to bid a final farewel to her native country, her kindred, and Christian friends, and share with her husband in distant and foreign lands the dangers and toils of a military life. Europe, at this time, was roused to indignation and arms by the French Revolution. The fleets and armies of England were called forth in rapid succession, by the bold and successful enterprises of the French republic. The Netherlands, the Rhine, and the south of France had become the theatre of war. The Duke of York had gone over the year before to Flanders, vested with the command of the British and Hanoverian armies, to act in concert with the continental allies of Great Britain. Among the reinforcements sent to the Duke, in the opening of the campaign of 1794, was the 12th regiment, to which Mr. M'Cardy belonged. They landed at Ostend on the the 10th of May, and immediately marched to join the army. Shortly after, the troops came into action; and Mrs. M'Cardy, whose affection for her husband led her to accompany him into every scene of danger to which a female could have access, was with the troops on the battle-fields of Nimeguen, Courtray, Dommel, &c. On one occasion, a shell struck a soldier who stood near her, and killed him on the spot; and on another, she was seen holding by her husband's sash, while the balls were flying thick around, until borne by some of the soldiers into the rear. But her God in whom she trusted covered her head in the day of battle; and though her brother, a cavalry soldier, was slain in one of these engagements, and many of their own regiment fell also, she and her husband were mercifully preserved throughout that disastrous campaign. She did not, however, follow the fortunes of her beloved husband in this way without subjecting herself to great privations and sufferings. Amidst these dangers and alarms she brought forth her first child; and on the second day after, had to march eighteen or twenty miles, in very severe weather. She was, however, mercifully sustained and preserved; for neither mother nor child re

ceived any harm. Her confidence in God was strong; and though the toils and sufferings through which she had to pass were great, the Lord delivered her out of them all. The promise was fulfilled, "And as thy days, so shall thy strength be."

In May, 1795, the regiment returned to England, and shortly afterwards embarked again for an island on the west coast of France, for the purpose of co-operating with the emigrant Royalists and Chouans in the war of La Vendee. To this new scene of danger and bloodshed Mrs. M'Cardy accompanied her husband; and on this expedition also they were both preserved. The Vendean war being over, they returned to England; but in the course of a few months embarked with the regiment for Continental India. Nothing material occurred on the passage, until their arrival at the Cape of Good Hope. While at anchor in Table-Bay, a tremendous storm came on, which threatened them with destruction. They lost three anchors, but survived the gale. Between the Cape and Madras they experienced very bad weather, but were permitted to land in safety in January, 1797.

Amidst the privations and sufferings to which Mrs. M'Cardy was exposed in India, her greatest affliction was her separation from the people of God, and the want of the public ordinances of religion. In vain did she for a long time search for one individual with whom she might take sweet counsel, and join in holy converse, prayer, and praise; her pious husband was her only religious companion. Surrounded by the gaiety and dissipation of a British camp, and shocked by the barbarous superstitions and abominable idolatries of the native Hindoos, she was frequently led to weep and pray in secret places, and to cry out, with the Psalmist, "When shall I come and appear before God? My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary." But while she thus mourned her separation from the society of the pious in general, she cherished a cordial attachment to that Christian communion to which she had in early life united herself, and was as decidedly and conscientiously a Methodist in Holland and India, as in Ireland and England; rightly judging that, in her peculiar circumstances, it was her privilege to consider herself a Methodist while she felt she was a Christian. Having acquired some knowledge of the common language of Hindostan, she endeavoured to make herself useful among the female natives, by bringing them into conversation on the subject of religion; pointing out to them the folly and crime of idolatry, and instructing them, as she was able, in the knowledge of the true God, and of Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the world. By these endeavours she at least conciliated the esteem of these poor Heathens, some of whom wept, and were much distressed, when called to part with her.

In 1801 she was called to sustain a very severe loss in the death of her beloved husband. He was ordered with a detachment to Batavia,