entered on his new sphere of labour on the 3rd January, 1841. His attractive preaching soon brought around him a larger audience-sittingroom was imperatively called for, and by an internal (hange in the chapel, this was obtained. His labors were much blessed here-the membership increased as well as the congregation. God had evidently given him favour in the eyes of the people: his faithful, earnest, fervid Gospel preaching had a power and influence that was felt. But prosperity does not always advance like the gliding of a descending river. The political horizon was then much overcast, and politics were perhaps too often the themes of men whose lives were entered in a better cause. Mr. Atherton delivered a course of lectures on the aspect of the times, and more especially with respect to commercial freedom. Offence was taken where none was intended: indeed, many who heard the lectures, think that no ieal offence was given. He offered the manuscript to a neighbouring newspaper for publication; but, owing to the length of each, they were declined.

This circumstance led to the withdrawal of a few members from his ministry, and to the erection of a small chapel in a neighbouring village. But this did not injure Bingley: the shock was but momentary: others came in to fill up the places that had been vacated. In fact, the cry for increased accommodation was again rrised; and in 1845 an enlarged and considerably capacious chapel was re-opened, which continued to be well attended, and where many heard the Word gladly from his lips until 1848, when the Church at Idle, bereaved of their pastor, sought and invited Mr. Atherton to come among them and watch for their souls.

His people at Bingley were greatly beloved by him, and they were much attached to his ministry and himself. He was in a great strait what to do-he spread the matter before the Lord-he advised with brethren in the ministry, whose judgment he respected: his increasing family, and call for more resources, with a wide field of usefulness, and a unanimous desire on the part of the Church-all signing the call but one me:nber, and that through no dislike to Mr. A., but because he did not like to take a minister from his people-this led to his acceptance of the call from Idle.

Before leaving Bingley, his grateful and affectionate people presented him with some valuable pieces of silver plate, expressive of their strong attachment to him, and as a memento of that respect in which they held him-having increased their congregation, and added to the Church -serving them faithfully in the Gospel for the space of seven years and nine months.

He assumed the pastorate at Idle on 1st October, 1848. Here, as at Bingley, large audiences flocked to hear him. The chapel soon became too strait for the congregation, and the school too small for the children. His first effort, vigorously aided by his deacons and people, was to build a suitable school-room. This was effected in the spring of 1849.

After this, the old and venerable chapel was brought down, that on its site a more enlarged and commodious fabric might be reared. A "noble structure," as he called it, was speedily completed, and opened for public worship on Good Friday, 1850, amid the rejoicings of a happy pastor and a happy people.

His anxiety which was great, now began to subside. There is room provided, and his people think they stand in a wide place. How shortsighted is man! Why, minister and people have been co operating in the construction of his monument-to hand down to future generations the achievements of an energetic, faithful pastor, and an active, zealous people, in the short period of one year and eight months.

But in another respect he had approved himself a workman that needed not to be ashamed. Among them his diligence, zeal, and love for souls, was clearly evinced. The Sabbath-school, the Bible-class, the prayer-meeting-mixed and female-had all a place in his thoughts, and testify his desire to spend and be spent among them. His grand aim was to be instrumental in adding gems to Messiah's diadem; and the Lord honoured him, in his short stay at Idle, to see a number proportionally large admitted to the fellowship of the brethren.

He only occupied the pulpit of his new chapel for two entire Sabbaths, and part of a third. His last public appearance before his own people, when he was directed to that beautiful text, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you," was of a most 80lemnizing kind-rather enervated through a slight indisposition still he was permitted much liberty.

Little did he expect that this would so soon sound on his own ear, and its thrilling harmony be welcomed by a soul long since ready to depart and be with Christ, but for his dear family, and the friends which he held so dear.

His only sister, with her husband-a minister too-came on a visit, in the end of April, and enjoyed a most happy season. The two last days of their stay was saddened by Mr. A. complaining of what then assumed the symptoms of a cold. Through the week this passed away, and so did these dear friends-to meet no more on earth-never again to see that face that ever beamed with kindness-the index of that heart that was full of benevolence and love.

He preached on the next Sabbath from the text mentioned above; but this brought back his disease. Through medical treatment he soon found relief. He was under a long engage. ment to preach sabbath-school sermons at Pendlebury, in Lancashire, where a young brother laboured, whom he highly esteemed. His recruiting health led him to strive and keep this engagement. He requested his dear wife to go with him; and requested that, after preaching, they might visit their friends at Wigan. She tried to dissuade, but he never liked to break any promise he might make. They took the journey; and, arriving at Pendlebury, he preached, and for the last time publicly declared the Master's message to fallen man. Exhausted, he came to the town of his nativity-to die there. A nervous fever set in upon his active powers, and the strong man gave utterance to the language of delirium. He was removed to Norley Hall, a short distance from Wigan, for retirement. Here that active spirit could not be at rest. The new chapel-the people of his solemn charge-the school-ali have a share in his disconnected deliverances. The rather corpulent frame was soon emaciated-the fever assumed a more mortal, a typhean form-and he lay down to waste away on his bed. His tongue could not keep silent-be addressed his

friends in solemn words-he pleaded with his dear sister to give her heart to God, and to make sure work of salvation. His lucid moments were frequent-then calm resignation possessed his soul. He saw visions of a scriptural import-such as "the pale horse"-but he feared him not-to him he was no king of terrors. The day before his last was one of his clearest he prayed, and prayed as if in the desk before his God and his people-and then preached faithfully and earnestly. When asked to desist, he said, "I am happiest when I am preaching." He was hopeful too, regarding his ultimate recovery; yet the hope of life withheld him not from the joys of his Lord. His mind at times was completely absorbed in the contemplation of the atonement-the blood and righteousness of Christ; and so clear were his thoughts on this day, that with peculiar appropriation he repeated the verse,

"Jesus, thy blood and righteousness
My glory are, my beauteous dress."

At another time he recited with much feeling,

"Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood," &c. And again, the following, which was a great favourite with him at all times:

"The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day;
And may not I, as well as he,
Wash all my sins away?"

The last words that he uttered on earth were the most significant and important: "Nothing will do but the blood and righteousness of Christ." After this, the tongue of the charmer ceased-to lie silent in the grave. Death commenced his mighty struggle; but we doubt not that the soul of our dear departed brother, in the strongest assurance of faith in Christ, could say, "O death, where is thy sting?"-" What thou doest, do quickly." Nearing the Father's home, where he longed to be even in the days of his health, his hopes seem to have been most confident; and in no statement, when his mind poured forth its disjointed thoughts and strange fancies, did he ever speak one word that would, even by implication, bring discredit upon that profession which his Master enabled him to make. His end was peace: and this mortal put on immortality on the 16th of July, 1850, in the thirty-fourth year of his age. "Death was swallowed up in victory." But, thanks be unto God which gave him the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

On his dying bed he put forth no anxious wish about the temporal circumstances of his beloved wife and five dear children-not because he cared not about this important matter -he was most anxious "to provide for them of his own house"-but he felt he could trust them in the Lord's hand-that He would provide for them. He was always afraid of covetousness; a sin which he failed not to warn his people against-from which he prayed his Heavenly Father to guard him. He believed firmly in an all-wise Providence, but at the same time felt that the Christian must do his duty; and this led to his removal from Bingley to Idle.

His remains were deposited in the burialground attached to St. Paul's Independent Chapel at Wigan. The funeral procession was highly respectable. Many, from distance, were prevented from being there. Relations and VOL. VII.

friends from Idle, though they hastened to be forward in time to pay a last token of mournful respect, were too late.

The services at the interment were deeply solemnizing. The Rev. Messrs. Harvey, Minister of the Presbyterian Church, Marshall, Roaf, and Moore, Independents, cordially joining on the mournful occasion. And these brethren afterwards improved his lamented death among their respective flocks. All that friendship and medical aid could do for him,' when alive, was not wanting; and the mourners who attended him to his long home abundantly testified their sorrowful regards for a brother esteemed and beloved.

It is but justice to the congregations of Bingley and Idle, to state that they have not forgotten the widow and the fatherless, but generously entered into a subscription to raise a testimonial for them, as the best way of indicating their sympathy. May they receive "a disciple's reward."

He was called to the ministry, by God's grace, from a worldly profession. We are bound to magnify that grace in him. It was grace that made him what he was; enabled him to achieve what he did; and now has brought him to his Father's house. Never wickedly disposed in his natural state, beyond other natural men, yet those sins of youth, and that deliverance which God wrought for him, were always subjects for humiliation and thankfulness. He often lamented the want of a proper training for the ministry in some college or university: not that he felt unfit, or that God blessed such training more than that which he had received; but he thought he might have been still more useful, and enabled to occupy a higher position among his brethren. But he had what colleges cannot impart-a clear call from God, and seals to his ministry; and, by a diligent study of the Word and the old divines, and his Presbyterian tutor, he was not a whit behind, but vastly superior to, many who have attended a lengthened curriculum at some chartered institution. Nay, few of his years had arrived at such richness in theological attainments.

He was studious before entering into the ministry, and he never served with unbeaten oil. The products of his pen amply testify to his diligent preparation; not offering unto God and his people that which cost him nothing. His papers are full of interesting documents— many in a state of readiness to be sent to the CHRISTIAN WITNESS, or the PENNY, or the Baptist Magazine; to all of which he occasionally contributed short pieces. Many fugitive pieces of his are printed in Zion's Trumpet, the SabbathSchool Magazine, and the above-mentioned periodicals. Besides these, a sermon and some addresses have been published separately.

As a man, he was affectionate to friendshad love for relations in an uncommon degreewas kind to all, upright and honest, honourable and generous, candid and truthful, in his intercourse with the world.

As a Christian, of deep and ardent piety; looking for the Master's will, and then praying for help to do it. He loved his study. There he held communion with his God-there God met him. Prayer was no formal thing with him-no perfunctory duty. To this is traceable his fervour and zeal. Many a day did he set apart for humiliation and prayer. Many me

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moranda of these are to be found among his remains. Of these, the last paper traced by his hand on his own writing-table, is one. He informed the compiler of this sketch, in his last letter to him, of this fact; and when he went to examine the state of his manuscripts, found that paper as his hands had left it. It is given, not because there is anything extraordinary in it, but much that is useful; and that in it we see what he thought of himself, and how anxious he was to have everything rectified. It is dated May, 1850. He resolves,

1. To arrange time better, and rise earlier. 2. To live more abstemiously.

3. To read, devotionally, a chapter the first thing.

4. To be less formal, and more spiritual, in family worship.

5. To set apart every first Tuesday of every month as a day of humiliation, examination, and prayer.

6. To be more studious and careful in pulpit preparation; to fix upon texts as early in the week as possible.

7. To take regular exercise.

8. To visit as much as practicable in the afternoon; reserving the morning and evening for study.

9. NOT TO SET AN EXAMPLE OF SMOKING, either in public or in private.

"Lord, and can a feeble worm

Fulfil a task so hard?

Thy grace must all the work perform,
And give the free reward."

The good Lord help me steadfastly to keep the above resolutions till life shall end. They are upon paper. O Lord, inscribe them upon my future life, for Christ's sake. Amen.

W. A.

He was emphatically a man of prayer, and he loved the society of the prayerful. Had his valued life been prolonged, his beloved people would have profited much by his close walk with God.

As a preacher, he was animated, fervent. His appeals to the understanding and the heart were forcible, and in faithfulness he was not remiss. In the pulpit he honoured God, and felt the fruitlessness of the attempt to try to please men. Much liked by his own people, and much prized by others, the frequency of his being invited to preach in other places on public occasions, allows him to be ranked as popular. Yet he courted not, but rather feared applause, humbly desirous to lead sinners to that Saviour in whom he received peace in believing. So careful was he in pulpit studies, that some of his manuscripts bear the marks of frequent revisal. It were right that some of these able discourses should be transmitted to posterity. They are calculated to do good - have done good.

The reader, as well as the writer of these lines, may soon be called before the judgmentfeat of God. "Nothing will do then but the blood and righteousness of Christ." By this we stand or fall-through this we go to Jesus and our beloved brother; or, for rejecting this, we shall be everlastingly condemned.

Harbottle, Northumberland.

SAMUEL CATHCART.

MRS. PETHERICK.

OUR much-esteemed departed friend, Mrs. Petherick, the subject of the brief history now to be narrated, spent some of her earliest days under the roof of her godly and venerable grandather, who lived at a large barton, near the ancient Ford Meeting, most rurally situated in the south of Devon. Here, under the care of this good man, she was taught to lisp the praises of the great Redeemer-to learn the valuable and beautiful compositions of Dr. Watts, which she greatly loved to the last moment of her life.

At Ford Meeting-house she was afterwards permitted to hear the lively proclamations of the Gospel, from the mouth of that devoted Nonconformist minister, the Rev. Mr. Evans, whose energetic mode of preaching she often delighted to describe. Here, under the roof of her grandfather, strong impressions were made in favour of Divine Truth. This excellent man, being desirous of doing good, used to collect the neighbours under his roof, for the purpose of praise and prayer, and expounding the Sacred Scriptures, at a period when Gospel light and preaching were rare things.

ness.

Subsequently to Mrs. Petherick's first marriage, she was providentially brought under the ministry of the Rev. Thomas Windeatt, of Totness, an evangelist of great power and usefulUnder the ministry of this good man, she was deeply convinced of sin, and led to seek salvation in the crucified One. Mrs. Petherick became a member of the church under the pastoral care of Mr. Windeatt, and was much esteemed by her fellow church-members.

The period had now arrived when she entered into a marriage union with the Rev. J. Petherick, when she might be said to have adopted his children as her own. In Totness she entered with much activity and usefulness upon the duties associated with the station she now filled as the wife of a Dissenting pastor, and discharged them to the satisfaction of many.

Subsequently, our dear departed friend was providentially conducted to Exeter, where, under all the circumstances in which she was placed, she aimed to do good, especially in connection with the public labours of her husband.

The last illness of our departed friend was of short duration-but a few days. Prior to this illness her frame of mind appears to have been of the most calm and serious character. She frequently alluded to that sacred song, where the chorus seems to be," The mercy of the Lord endureth for ever;" and on one occasion she said, "What a solemn and interesting Scripture is that, All the days of my appointed time will I wait till my change come."" During the time of her sufferings, which were not of the most painful description, she often endeavoured to sing the songs of Zion. Her mind was kept calm, and sometimes even cheerful. When it was said to her, "The grace of Christ is sufficient," she replied, "It runneth over." She appeared very grateful for every kind attention -spoke of departed friends; and whilst her husband was speaking to her of a Saviour's love, she lifted up her eyes as if engaged in earnest prayer; and thus, as we trust, fell sweetly asleep in Jesus on Saturday, 21st September, about six o'clock.

Our departed sister was much attached to the leading peculiarities of the Gospel of Christ

which she regarded as the life and glory of the Church, and the everlasting song of Heaven. She loved Christ's ministers for their works' sake, and all who have Christ's likeness. She was punctual and early in her attendance on the means of grace, often remarking, that "Mary was early at the sepulchre." She was most forbearing and kind to her domestics, most of whom lived with her many years, and were greatly attached to her. Her deportment to her husband was faithful and kind, and to the children of her adoption, as we may say, she was a feeling-hearted parent. In her the poor have, indeed, lost a kind, considerate, and tender-hearted friend. She was always disposed to listen to the tale of woe, and to relieve, according to her means of doing good. Her loss will be greatly felt by not a few; but we trust her personal and everlasting gain is not to be

adequately told, because for the believer "to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Our departed friend endeared herself, by her kind, agreeable, and Christian deportment, to a large circle of friends of various denominations, many of whom will feel that "the memory of the just is blessed."

We ought not, we dare not now, sorrow as those without hope, knowing assuredly that "those who sleep in Jesus will God bring with him," to witness with sacred delight, and fully to realize all the inconceivable glories of the resurrection morning. Let us, then, all earnestly pray that we may not be slothful, but followers of those who, through faith and patience, are now inheriting, in all their fulness and glory in heaven, those precious promises which have been solemnly sealed, and completely ratified in Jesus' precious blood. X.

Ir will be seen that the business opened with a refreshing devotional exercise, and a masterly address from the Rev. John Stoughton, which prepared the hearts of the Assembly for the business of the coming day. Mr. Binney, as ex-chairman in 1848, occupied the place of Dr. Morison, to whose absence he referred with great tenderness and admirable tact, when, in his opening paragraphs, he assigned his reasons for complying with the request of the Committee. The Chairman entered deeply into the divers momentous questions now agitating both the Church and the nation, showing an intimate acquaintance with the workings both of principles and of parties. The discourse was alike lucid and philosophical-a strong and wellwrought texture of striking fact and profound observation. Nothing could have been more opportune; and its appropriateness seemed to be fully appreciated by the Assembly. The noble exposition of principles there given was worthy of the man who, upwards of twenty years ago, wrote the "Duty of Dissent. Such

a discourse was highly suitable to the many excellent individuals whose life is but one long act of suffering for great principles-for those principles which he so luminously and vigorously set forth. The humblest man then present felt that his position was one of honour and privilege, and we vouch for it, that the dignitaries of the land, had they been present to listen to the orator, would have found themselves in a position to excite regrets, if not shame, rather than pride and boast

ing. Such discourses are always timely and graceful in the midst of such gatherings; blending as it did the ecclesiastical with the doctrinal and ritual, it became an embodied defence of the great principles of Nonconformity, alike distinguished by truth, beauty, and eloquence.

NONCONFORMITY IN SOUTHAMPTON.

The Southampton meeting, if from the nature of the case it was less numerous than those of Manchester, and some other great centres of society, was absolutely large, and in its essential character and moral aspect, inferior to none of its predecessors. In all respects it much exceeded our expectation, and, we presume, that of all reflecting visitors. We hardly looked for such an exhibition of strength in a town which has yet but virtually a single congregation; since, although there are now two, the one is but an offshoot from the other, and is still young, and of course not yet strong; but assuredly the congregations, both by day and at night, presented a very imposing aspect. The attendance, even in the galleries, at all the Morning Sessions was very large, and when the Essay on Watts was read on Wednesday, almost full; and not only large, but respectable, orderly, and most attentive. It was really a proud,the term for want of a better, and in a modified sense,-it was a proud week for Southampton, and one which will serve as an epoch in the history of Nonconformity in that great and important town: the history of which, we presume, is one of the most interesting in the nation. It

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may be doubted whether there be any Church in these realms of which a history could be given, that would admit of advantageous comparison with the striking and instructive statement set forth by the Rev. Thomas Adkins, at the Morning Session of Wednesday. All the pastors seem to have died in the harness, and at a good old age. The average of life of five successive bishops, far exceeded the average life of man; and it was the happiness of all to have reason for entertain. ing the belief, that the honoured occupant of the pulpit at present, and for well-nigh the last forty years, bids fair, according to all human appearance, to run a race which will equal the most patriarchal of his predecessors. Even after his long course of splendid and effective service, Mr. Adkins is still in the full vigour of manhood; his intellectual and physical force is, apparently, in no respect abated.

WATTS AND HIS FAMILY.

The circumstance of Southampton being the birth-place of Dr. Watts added exceedingly to the interest of the occasion; and it was successfully turned to the best account: the production of the study-gown,-a very decent and rather sumptuous garment,-excited deep emotion: the exhibition bore somewhat the air and aspect of a resurrection of a prophet from the tomb. To this was added one of the earlier portraits, perhaps the first, that was ever drawn of the Sweet Singer of our Nonconformist Israel. This, whatever it may be as a likeness, is, as a piece of art, a very beautiful object, which was placed behind the Chairman, and in front of the pulpit. There, too, in addition, was the portrait of Watts, the father, once a reputable inhabitant of Southampton, the gift of the poet to certain relatives, whose names are recorded. Then came the Family Bible, with its wooden boards and steel clasps, and its interesting records of divers events, both private and public, on the fly-leaves and other parts of the venerable volume. Among these was the birth of Isaac himself, and the proclamation, in Southampton, of the ascent of King Charles the Second to the throne of these realms. There, too, were the Hymns, in their original costume, and the first edition of his Latin Poems, as well as a pocket Bible,―a very gem of typographical beauty. Such were the materials with which Mr. Adkins was supplied, and with the exhibition of which he crowned his admirable and striking oration. With such a theme, and such accom

paniments, we need not say that Mr. Adkins, by his effective address, made a most valuable contribution to the business, the interest, and the pleasure of the week. The close was amusing and exciting in the extreme, when, with one of those dignified and benignant smiles, befitting royalty, which characterise the speaker, he made a faint essay to place the robe of Watts on the shoulders of Conder, the effect of the Address might be said to have reached its climax. There was but one insignificant drawback on this occasion, which might easily have been obviated in the system of arrangements, had Mr. Adkins' intentions been known. The excellent pastor performed the great service just referred to, under cover of moving a resolution upon the Essay of Mr. Conder; but the tendency of the oration was, for a moment, to throw Mr. Conder and his Essay into the shade,— a circumstance to which the Chairman, from a sense of duty, called the attention of the speaker, who slightly but perceptibly resented the correction. This little escapade caused a momentary jar to the harmony of the proceedings; but the speaker kept to his point, although obviously not in order, but at last, with admirable tact, he set all right in a manner the most delightful, which entirely effaced the momentary pain which the slight collision had occasioned. truth is, Mr. Adkins should have had a separate and special place assigned to him; when his historical narrative would have been meetly followed by a resolution of congratulations to himself and his flock, upon their honourable pedigree and their prosperous position. Then the motion on the paper of Mr. Conder would not have been encumbered by anything extraneous, and would have left the speaker free to keep to his topic.

POWER OF UNION.

The

No subject was more successfully brought forward than that of British Missions, by the Rev. John Corbin, of Derby, who delivered a speech of great practical excellence. By an appeal to Statistics, he very strongly brought forth the happy effects of the Autumnal Meetings of the Union on the Churches of the different localities in which it has been held. In this way the claims of British Missions are brought more fully and impressively before the minds of many, both ministers and laymen, and hence the interest which is excited in their favour. The pleasing facts set forth by Mr. Corbin,