The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1868-12-02

cheerful and hopeful spirit, and those
who had been at variance with each
other saw their causes of alienation
dwindle down under her kindly smile
until they were able to meet and be re-
conciled as friends;
Ifso to live as a Christian, that ne pres
sure of household cares was ever allowed
to abridge or alter the time allotted to
her private devotions, and yet in them
all to feel with increasing humility that
she was less than the least of all saints;
If so to live as mother that there is
not the minutest line of her long, un-
changing example in life, which her
children need hesitate to follow; to be a
friend so true and so faithful that when
others grew cold or shrunk away in the
hour of trial, her brave, magnanimous
spirit only clung the closer and threw its
shield of loving vindication around the
good name with loftier courage;
We say if He who works in us "both to
will and to do, enabled her so to live,
and thus to exempify the precepts of the
Gospel, then without any desire to exalt
human merit, we may ascribe it all "to
the praise of the glory of His grace.
And if every member of human society
were to receive this grace, in this way,
and be made precisely such an illustra-
ton of it, how beautiful this earth
would be
Whether she whose mortal remains
are now before us was such a trophy of
the grace of God, through Jesus Christ,
and much more besides, your own
hearts can now respond. Indeed if
there was any thing that magni6ed that
grace more than her gentle and blame
less life, it was her calm and triumphant
death. Her life was like long summer
day, bright and vocal with sunlight, and
birds, and flowers, and Beulah breezes,
and ending in a sunset of crimson and
gold that seemed to come softly down
from the gates of pearl that opened to
let her in.
During much of her life she was a
timid, self-distrusting believer, and feared
that as she neared her end clouds would
hang around the dark valley. But it
was a beautiful illustration of the gentle
grace of God, that from the time that
the entrance to the valley became clearly
visible to her, not cloud ever darkened
the brightness of her hope; and like the
two timid travellers in Bunyan's match
less allegory, we doubt not she passed
through the diminished river, well nigh
dry shod. "At the evening time," it
was all light.
The closing months of her life were
months of unspeakable agony, combining
in strange and sorrowful union the terri
bic certainty of death, with all the vivid
susceptibility to suffering of the unweak-
ened powers of life. And yet she was
never heard to murmur, but continued
from day to day, as she slowly sank be-
meath the wasting malady, to praise God
for his wonderful and peculiar goodness
and mercy to her. And when the last,
stern struggle came, and she knew that
she was entering the dark valley, she
declared that the 23d Psalm was COM
plete and exact expression of her expe-
the good Shepherd who had
led her all her life long in the green
pastures and by the still waters was with
her in the valley of the shadow of death,
her spirit by the strong rod
and the beautiful staff, and would sure
ly lead her through the gates of the city
to her home in her Father house above.
And as the earthly Sabbath, which she
loved so well, was silently passing to-
ward the dawn of new week, there
dawned on her waiting vision that day
that has no night, and
Her spirit with bound
Left its encumbering clay,
Her tent at sunrise on the ground
A darkened ruin lay"
And we may add to the praise of this
glorious grace, that "enabled her to be
faithful unto death;
Servant of God, well done,
Rest from thy loved employ,
The battle fought, the victory won,