a Christian-a child of God? Now answer honestly, my soul. But what constitutes a Christian-a child of God? The Bible standard. There! Thou art weighed in the balances.' Art thou 'found wanting'? or, art thou a child of God?”

'Another brotherly letter shows the growing spirituality of his mind : "Hope Cottage, New Zealand,

"MY DEAR SISTER ANNIE,

"July 1st, 1864. "I have just received your April letter, with violets and music. I will not answer it now, except in reply to your earnest enquiry after my soul's welfare. If you can and will read the hymn, Jesu, Lover of my soul,' carefully and slowly, uttering every word with heartfelt sincerity and truth, offering up every petition it contains with humble, childlike, implicit confidence, you can and will do what your brother can and has done within the last half-hour, and so you will receive my answer. I would, my dear sister, that I could write something that might encourage you to still persevere, to stand fast, to watch and pray. Yet in that case I could place before you no new motive. I could but remind you of one of the many, many old ones, and that is because it is the wish, the hope, the earnest prayer of your loving brother,

"DANIEL BAYLISS."

'His piety and brotherly affection plainly appear in a letter addressed to a brother at home:

"DEAR WILLIE,

"New Zealand,

"April 20th, 1862. "You will, I am sure, be anxious to know how I am prospering in the Divine life, as well as in pounds, shillings and pence affairs. I will be the very soul of frankness with you, if I can. Well, I am very far from being what I should be; who is not ? -but I am eminently so. This, however, is indefinite. Well, brother of mine, I am trying my very hardest to be a Christian. But you will say, 'None ever tries his best and fails.' Very well, then I must be a Christian. If a perfect hatred of sin, a forsaking of sin, a crying to God for pardon of sin, an entire trust, confidence and repose in the merits of the atonement of Christ for pardon, peace and holiness, an earnest endeavour to live a holy life, and a good hope of eternal blessedness are evidences of the Christian life, I dare, can, do humbly claim to be of the family of God, of the household of faith. My wanderings, waverings and backslidings, alas! have been grievous. For these I have been humbled. Thank God, I have found balm in Gilead-the Physician there! And you, how fare you? Forgive me, firstly, for having written to you so little on these subjects; secondly, for when writing, dwelling on my own welfare to the exclusion of yours; for detailing my little trouble to you without one word of sympathy to you in your great affliction. Without attempting to excuse myself, I will tell you what I think have been the reasons.

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"And, first, why I have not written more to you on religious matters has been, that when I was going to write on such important subjects to you, I wished to do more justice to the subject than I had time or opportunity for at the moment, and so put it off to a more convenient season,' which never came; and, secondly, why I have written so little to you about yourself. Not because I did not think of you, did not love you, did not sympathize with you,-the fact is, I did not know what to write, nor how to write to you. You seemed so much my superior in every point. Could I not advise you? You knew more, had a calmer judgment than I. Could I not recommend you to be patient and resigned? The grandest ideas of patience my mind ever grasped I learned from you. Could I not write words of sympathy to you? No! I can sympathize, do sympathize with you from the bottom of my heart, but I cannot write it. Believe me then, once for all, whether I mention this subject or not, that ever since we parted, now and until we again meet-or if we meet not again in the flesh, till death-there has existed, does exist, and will exist in my heart of hearts a chord which has vibrated, does vibrate, and shall vibrate strongly at news of your weal and woe. I do not write this as infor

mation. Without these words you were satisfied that some such feelings were dwelling in my breast. I scarcely know what I do write it for. Perhaps it is an attempt to express sympathy; if so, it is an entire failure, for it does not half express my feelings of what I believe sympathy in reality is.

"There are other sufferers around you that are dear to each of us. To them I would say much the same that I say to you. Well, let us keep our eye fixed on the 'recompense of reward'; 'so run that we may obtain' the prize. We are looking forward to two rennions: the lesser and the greater, the happy one and the happiest. Let us lay our plans and earnestly strive for both. It is a very pleasant subject to dwell upon. I think of these reunions very often; and, I believe, profitably to my soul."

'One of his short essays is as follows:

“IRRITABILITY: ITS CAUSE, SIGNS, FOLLY AND CURE.

"1. Cause. Sometimes it is constitutional, and arises through ill-health, especially of the nervous system. Not unfrequently it may be traced either to intemperance or disappointments; generally it increases where it is unopposed or encouraged.

**2. Signs. Fault-finding, snappishness, complaining, sour looks, surliness. "3. Folly. It is foolish to be irritable (always supposing it avoidable), because the irritable man is miserable, and annoys those with whom he comes in contact. It is a hindrance in the performance of duty. A man cannot pay a due attention to his occupation whilst his mind is engaged in brooding over trifling grievances. It is morally wrong; for the conscience, if it be allowed to speak, will pronounce it a feeling altogether at variance with the feelings of content, satisfaction and repose which true religion is designed to produce. Therefore, it is obviously wrong in a professor of religion, because by showing it he misrepresents the religion he professes.

4. Cure. Strive to keep your body in a healthy condition by means of moderation and exercise. Study well the folly and sinfulness of irritability. Be determined, with the help of God's grace, you will overcome it. Acquire the habit of asking Divine aid at the moment when the feeling comes on. Consider, if you are a Christian (and if you are not, seek a change of heart, and become one at once), that all the annoyances that occur, great or small, are permitted for your benefit, and that the benefit will be wholly or partially lost if you allow them to irritate you.”

'A paper which he wrote some time afterwards shows that he went to the right source to "let the peace of God rule in his heart." Thus he expresses himself:

"The thing I most desire just now is to live continually to the glory of God; enjoying and practising that holiness to which I am called.' It will henceforth be sinful to live below this standard. I enjoy it now. How retain it? Pray without ceasing.' Retire to pray regularly. Never leave the Throne with one bit of self."

'To a member of his family, whom he was expecting to see in New Zealand, he sent the subjoined letter:

**DEAR ANNIE,

"There is one subject on which you write that is never long absent from my thoughts; it is reunion. I recollect when a boy,-on reading Forty Years from Home : or, A Voice from the Main-deck,-resolving to go into some distant land for a great number of years on purpose for the pleasure of the return and the reunion. Reunions with those we love are happy seasons, pleasant to look forward to, but how joyous to realize! Well, Annie darling, we have now the joyful anticipation of two reunions: one on earth, one in heaven; one in New Zealand, and the other in God's presence, where there is 'fulness of joy.' Of the one we may entertain a reasonable hope, of the other we may have a certain, joyful confidence. Each I earnestly desire. To bring about each, I will do my best.......Be it ours, while looking forward to, and trying to bring about, a family reunion in New Zealand, to do our utmost that our family reunion

in heaven may be complete (O, that none may be absent in that day!)—not only by keeping our own lamps trimmed, but by inviting each other to join and persevere in the Christian warfare, race, and journey. Sister, pray for me. Your brother prays for you. We may have a daily reunion in spirit at the Throne of Grace. Though our temptations, trials, shortcomings may be various, we have much in common. Ours is the same inherent depravity; the same only remedy; redeemed, purchased, delivered, renewed, saved, justified, sanctified, glorified by the same sacrifice, atonement, humiliation, passion, bloody sweat, cross, agony, death, resurrection, and ascension."

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'The friends of missions will be glad to read the following extract, taken from one of his earliest letters, dated from Te Awaiti, June 25th, 1860: As regards the dark Maories, there is a Maori village just across our paddock, and when there, the Maories are all called together, morning and evening, for prayers, by the ringing of their bell, which is an old gun-barrel bent in the form of a V, and hung up by their chapel door. The old chief officiates as Minister, and they all join in the responses and prayers. About two months back I saw about fifty or sixty Maories coming from the Waimate to the pah. They camped for a night at Waimate, near where we were at work. They camped in the open air for the night. After tethering out their horses, and gathering ferns and branches for their beds, they then put about a bushel of potatoes into a copper, and some eels, for supper. While these were cooking they all assembled together, took off their hats, and sat on the ground, when one of them unpacked the books. They spent nearly an hour in singing, reading and prayer. Of course, we could not understand a word of what they said, but we could distinguish the tune of God Save the Queen, which they sang to their hymn. On another occasion I heard them singing the Old Hundredth."

We conclude with an extract from his

"THOUGHTS ON PROVIDENCE.

""Particular providence is that Divine interference and control which is required by the exigencies of moral government.

"It is from the bright heaven-lit summit of experimental Christianity that we can obtain the clearest idea of the providence of God.

"It is only to those who, in the strength of grace, have renounced self, who humbly recognize and willingly, cheerfully and lovingly do the will of God, that all the privileges and immunities of Divine providence are vouchsafed. Whatever the limit of providential good to the irreligious may be, it is only to those who in all their ways acknowledge God, that He has promised to direct their paths, and to those only who love Him does He pledge His word that all things shall work together for their good.

"If we would know what God would have us to do, we must first inundate self; expel self-will; chain down self-love; recognize only God's will as the rule of life. Our path then is what our unbiased, sanctified, Bible-taught, heaven-instructed judgment tells us is our path.

"While an almighty, wise and benevolent Friend careth for us all, and invites us to cast all our care upon Him, and promises that everything shall work for the best, why should we wickedly and foolishly harass and perplex ourselves with vain worries about the little difficulties that rise, or that our imagination raises, in our pathway?"'

MEMOIR OF MRS. PERKINS, OF DARLINGTON:

BY THE REV. JOSEPH PORTREY.

MARY ANN ISABELLA DOUGLAS was born at Dundee, in the year 1798. Her father, the Rev. Neil Douglas, was a Minister of the Relief Kirk. She was only ten months old when her mother died. Some time after this, her father married again. Her step-mother, a very godly woman, treated her as if she

had been her own child, and trained her in the way of righteousness. In due time she was privileged to reap the fruit of her labours.

Miss Douglas herself records that she could not remember the time when she did not fear the Lord; so genial and so gentle had been the influence exerted upon her childish nature through domestic training. Notwithstanding this, she was conscious that something more was requisite to make her 'accepted in the Beloved,' and to give her a meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light.' This gave her much anxiety. Her step-mother, ever observant of any indications of seriousness, took special care to teach her the simple method of salvation by faith. And it became now her joy to witness the spiritual change spoken of by the Great Teacher. The change was to Miss Douglas's own mind clear and distinct. She had felt the bitterness of sin, and the loathsomeness of her own nature as defiled thereby, to such a degree that she could not rest by reason of the anguish she endured. She had retired to her room for the night, but sleep departed from her eyes. She wrestled with God till midnight, when in an instant she 'received the Spirit of adoption.'

Henceforth the Word of God, which she had been so diligently taught, became the rule and the comfort of her life. She searched the Scriptures daily, and found therein hid treasure. The following is her own record on the subject:

'From the first of my Christian profession the Lord has been pleased to give me by His Holy Spirit some portion of His Word, and to apply it in such a manner to my mind that I feel it to be more particularly my own, as given me. The first I will mention was when I gave my name as a member of Society: "Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ." A few weeks after, while waiting in simple faith for the blessing of pardon, the following passage was applied, and I was enabled to cry: “() Lord, I will praise Thee: though Thou wast angry with me, Thine anger is turned away, and Thou comfortedst me "; and, at the same time, "I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee." A few days after, when the question arose as to whether my peace was of the right sort, this passage was given me while on my knees: "My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you."'

Miss Douglas had now gone to reside in Glasgow, where she strove by every possible means to make herself useful to those who came within the circle of her influence, and living testimony is borne to her success. Her zeal in the Church of her choice was earnest and consistent, always guarded against wild extremes, yet always fervent and abounding. She not unfrequently took the lead in female Prayer-meetings.

In 1826, Miss Douglas became united in marriage to Mr. Perkins, who also was a member of the Wesleyan-Methodist Society in Glasgow. Into this new relationship she brought a fixed purpose to serve Christ as earnestly as she had done before. Her highest ambition still was to be the honoured instrument in His hands of saving souls from death. Her communion with Christ was constant, the result of which was manifest in her holy life. Doing ' good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith,'

no task was considered irksome which related to the cause of her Divine Master. In her domestic arrangements, as in all the other duties of her station, she was 'a pattern of good works.'

The earlier part of Mrs. Perkins' married life was spent in London. This was the beginning of a new era in her religious associations, and new doors of usefulness were opened to her earnest and enterprising spirit. She united herself to the City-Road Society, becoming a member of Mrs. Agnes Bulmer's Class. This in itself was a great blessing, there being such a community both of feeling and interest between them. It was a rich treat to hear her tell in after life of the many hallowed and happy seasons spent in that sacred enclosure of sanctified friendship. This association, however, was but one of the advantages of her residence in London. Mrs. Perkins felt greatly honoured in the friendship of such Ministers as the Rev. John James, John Anderson, Richard Watson, Dr. Bunting, Dr. Newton and Dr. Jobson -all of whom, and many others, found congenial companionship beneath her hospitable roof.

In 1828 her only child was born. The additional responsibility called forth new effort in the service of her Master. From his earliest days he was taught to understand the Holy Scriptures, and to walk in the paths of righteousness. Mrs. Perkins, remembering well the influence which had been exerted on her own mind by her step-mother, resolved to pursue the same course toward her child. Her first and constant aim was to teach him the way of salvation. She lived to gather precious fruit as the result of her maternal toil. In due time the same concern was felt in seeking for him an educational home. Wesley College, Sheffield, was selected. Under the plastic hand of the Governor, the Rev. John M'Lean, and the vigilant attention of the Superintendent of the Circuit, the Rev. Samuel Jackson, he was brought to early religious decision. His piety was real and abiding. The days of his pilgrimage, however, were but few. He was taken to his rest in the nineteenth year of his age. Mrs. Perkins bowed in reverent submission to the will of her Heavenly Father. It ought also to be noted that she had other domestic trials that caused her piercing anxiety and sorrow, and vexed her righteous soul even more than death.

In 1844, Mrs. Perkins went to reside at Darlington, where her hospitality was as large and as generous as it had been aforetime. Many a happy circle has been formed around her table by the Ministers and their families, when the hours have pleasantly passed away in intelligent religious intercourse. No worldly ostentation found admission there. A high tone of spirituality was given to these gatherings, and such seasons were not unfrequently 'times of refreshing...from the presence of the Lord,' and have been found to yield rich fruit. Would that such evening parties' were more encouraged amongst us!

Mrs. Perkins had not been long among her new friends before her services were sought as a Class Leader. After much prayer and serious consideration she resolved, in the strength of Divine grace, to give herself wholly to the