every step must

In acquiring the force and decision of character, which she finally exhibited, it was of great importance that the ques tion of duty was fully settled in her own mind. Had not this been done, she must have been often turned aside from her object by secret misgivings of conscience. Her attachment to the object must have been weakened; and have been taken haltingly and tremblingly. But by much deliberation, and many prayers to God for direction, the question of duty was at length settled; after which she proceeded without wavering. Devoted as she was, to the cause of Christ, and borne on with a strong desire of advancing it in heathen lands, she was prepared for trials. The hardships and sufferings, peculiar to the missionary life, became perfectly familiar. They were so closely associated in her mind with the glory of God and the conversion of the heathen, and so continually mingled with her purest affections and joys, that, instead of aversion and dread, they excited sensations of delight.

Is it possible that a character so elevated, should not be universally admired? Is it possible that any should be found capable of admitting the thought, that conduct so noble, so Christ-like, was owing to a weak or misguided zeal? Shall I stoop to notice so unworthy a surmise? If compassion to those who indulge it require, I will. Look, then, upon the apos tles, and primitive Christians, who were so united and consecrated to the Saviour, that they were willing to endure the greatest evils for his sake; whose ardent love to him rendered every affliction light, and reconciled them to the agonies of a violent death. Will you urge the charge of misguided zeal against the holy apostles?

The character of Mrs. Newell, instead of being exposed to any dishonourable imputation, had an excellence above the reach of mere human nature. Behold a tender female, when all the sensibilities of the heart are most lively, united to

friends and country by a thousand ties; a female of refined education, with delightful prospects in her own country; behold her voluntarily resigning so many dear earthly objects for a distant pagau land. But this fact becomes still more remarkable, when we consider the circumstances attending it. She mades these sacrifices calmly; with a sober deliberation ; in the exercise of those sensibilities which would be overwhelming to mankind in general, and yet with steady, unyielding firmness; and all this, not for wealth, or fame, or any earthly object, but " to make known among the heathen the unsearchable riches of Christ."

I should blush to offer a vindication of a character so fair and exalted as that of Harriet Newell, a lovely saint, who has finished her course, and gone to receive an unfading crown. But if there be any one base enough to envy such excellence, or rash enough to impute extravagance and folly; I would refer him to a case not wholly unlike the present. On a certain occasion Mary came to Jesus as he sat at meat, having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head. Judas, and some others instigated by him, charged her with extravagance and waste But Jesus approving her conduet, declared that she had wrought a good work, and that it should be known for a memorial of her, wherever the gospel should be preached in the whole world.

Do I still hear it said by some foolish calculator, that 'she threw herself away?' But do you not applaud the conduct of a man who goes to the earth's end to gratify a worldly passion? And can you think it reasonable to make greater sacrifices for self-interest, than for the kingdon of Christ? Threw herself away! What! does a devoted Christian, who, for the love of Jesus, forsakes all that she has, to receive an hundred-fold here, and life everlasting in heaven-throw herself away?

Should any ask, what that hundred-fold reward was, our appeal would be to herself, to her peace, and quietness, and joy in God. For several of the last months that she spent at home, and from the time of her leaving America till her death, her religious enjoyment was almost constant, and at times elevated.

In her last interview with her beloved friends in America, and in the scene of final separation, the consolations of the Spirit supported her, and produced not only a tender meekness and calmness of mind, but astonishing resolution. Her happy serenity continued through the dangers of a long voyage, and amid all the difficulties which befel her, after arriving in India. Her spiritual enjoyment was not materially interrupted by the various distresses which prevented the establishment of the mission; nor by the sufferings she was subsequently called to endure; no, not even by the pangs which rent her heart, over a dear infant child, wasting away with sickness, and soon committed to a watery grave. Through all this sorrow and suffering, the Lord was with her, and gave her rest. During her last long and perilous voyage, separated by half the globe from the presence of a mother, whose presence was more than ever needed, and without a single female companion, she could thus write: ' It is for Jesus, who sacrificed the joys of his Father's kingdom and expired on the cross to redeem a fallen world, that thus I wander from place to place, and feel no where at home.How reviving the thought! How great the consolation it yields to my sinking heart!-Let the severest trials and disappointments fall to my lot, guilty and weak as I am, yet think I can rejoice in the Lord, and joy in the God of my salvation.'

In her last illness, which was attended with many distressing circumstances, she possessed her soul in patience and peace. God was pleased to manifest himself to her, as he

does not to the world. During her whole sickness, she talked in the most familiar manner, and with great delight, of death and the glory that was to follow." At a certain time, being advised by a physician to cast off such gloomy thoughts, she replied, "that those thoughts were cheering and joyful beyond what words could express." When it was intimated to her, that she could not live through another day; "O joyful news!" she replied, "I long to depart ;" and addded soon after," that death appeared to her "truly welcome and glorious."

But the simple narrative of her afflicted husband shows, better than any thing which I can say, that amid all the pain and languishment of sickness, and in the near view of death, she had that enjoyment of God her Saviour, and that hope of a blessed immortality, which was an hundred fold better than all she had forsaken.

To her widowed mother, this is an affecting scene. But in the midst of your sorrows, dear Madam, forget not what reason you have to be comforted. Remember the grace of God, which was manifested to your dear Harriet, which, we trust, effectually sanctified her heart, and brought her to love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. While you mourn for her early death, bless God that you do not mourn over a child, who lived without God, and died without hope. Call to remembrance her dutiful and pious temper; her resolved and peaceful mind in the parting hour; and the fortitude and resignation which she afterwards exercised under her various afflictions. Give thanks to God for the consolations which were afforded her through a languishing sickness. Her amiable and elevated conduct reflected honour upon the grace of God. Through all her sufferings, especially when her dissolution drew near, she displayed a character that was ripe for heaven.

It must afford you peculiar satisfaction to contemplate "the

usefulness of her life." "That life is long, which answers life's great end." This was eminently the case with your be-loved daughter. Had she lived in retirement, or moved in a small circle, her influence, though highly useful, must have been circumscribed. But now, her character has, by Divine Providence, been exhibited upon the most extensive theatre, and excited the attention and love of Christian nations. Yea, may we not hope, that her name will be remembered by the millions of Asia, whose salvation she so ardently desired, and that the savour of her piety will, through divine grace, be salutary to pagan tribes yet unborn? Madam, what comforts are these? Comforts, which many mourning parents would gladly purchase with their lives. Let your sorrow, then, be mingled with praise. Render thanks to God, and magnify his name, that he has given you a daughter, so lovely in her character, so useful in her life, so resigned in her sufferings, so tranquil and happy in her death. It is better to be the parent of such a daughter, than to have brought forth a child to bear the sceptre of the earth. Nor is she the lessprecious, or the less yours, because she is absent from the body, and present with the Lord. Dwell upon these cheering thoughts, and enjoy these comforts; and may all your surviving children enjoy them too. In her example, in her diary and letters, and in her dying counsels, she has left them a legacy, which cannot be too highly prized. Let me affectionately intreat you, my beloved friends, to attend seriously to the weighty counsels, which you have re ceived from the dying lips of a dear sister. In her name, in the name of her bereaved husband, by whose request I now address you, and in the name of her God and Saviour, I do now, from this sacred place, repeat that solemn counsel. God Almighty open your hearts to receive the message. "Tell them," she said, "tell them from the lips of their dying sister, that there is nothing but religion worth living for. Oh! exhort them to attend immediately to the care of their immortal souls, and not to delay repentance. Let my