in which his soul delighted. The last time he appeared in public was towards the close of 1869, when he baptized several children. Those who witnessed that service say, that he spoke as a man delivering his last charge. With the deep seriousness of one standing on the verge of eternity, he pointed out to the parents their obligations, and charged them to remember the engagements into which they had entered.

His last illness was long and severe; but throughout it he manifested resignation to the will of God, and patience in the endurance of suffering. The unselfishness which had marked his whole career, and his solicitude that in all things God should be glorified, were often beautifully evinced. Many of the words uttered by him during his last days were very sweet. To his sister he said, "This is death; but what I wait for is life. I have nothing to do but just wait for the coming of my Master." His testimony to one of his friends was," All is well; my feet are upon the Rock. I have preached Christ to be the all' of men, and such do I find Him now to me. Everything else is vanity!" The day before he died, he said to one who came to bid him farewell, "I die a Christian; I have nothing to leave behind me but a Christian family, and these will soon rejoin me ; and then very slowly, yet with great distinctness, he repeated what seems to have been his motto through life: "Whosoever shall do the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and sister, and mother." The night immediately preceding his departure was to him one of intense pain, and will be long remembered by those who were watching beside him. About ten o'clock on the morning of Friday, March 25th, 1870, he became very uneasy, and desired to be raised in his bed. After being in that position about a quarter of an hour, without a struggle or any indication of suffering, his spirit passed away to the God that gave it. On the following Tuesday, his mortal remains were committed to their resting-place in the Rickmansworth cemetery, in sure and certain hope of a glorious resurrection.

Mr. Handcock was a man of studious habits. He was intent on the acquisition of knowledge; but his all-absorbing study during the latter part of his life was the Holy Scriptures. He delighted in the poetry of the Psalms, the glowing language of the Prophets, and the beautiful imagery of Job, which his acquaintance with the original language enabled him to appreciate. He was a man of deep piety, and of humble, unassuming manners. As a preacher, he was evangelical, but rather peculiar both in the choice of his subjects and his mode of expression. In treating of " the deep things of God" he ever spoke with solemnity and impressiveness. As a Superintendent he was precise in his arrangements, strict in matters

of discipline, and conscientious in the discharge of all his duties. He lived as well as taught the Gospel, and by his conduct and conversation proved himself to be a Christian indeed.

This sketch would be incomplete were we not to refer to the resolution passed at the Quarterly Meeting of the Uxbridge Circuit, held on the afternoon of the day of the funeral. In that resolution, the meeting expressed its profound sense of the loss which the Circuit had sustained in the death of Mr. Handcock; recognised both his saintly character and his untiring study of the Word of God, which rendered his ministry so valuable and edifying; and conveyed to the sorrowing widow and family an assurance of the affectionate sympathy of the Circuit with them in their bereavement. The Quarterly Meeting of the Jersey (French) Circuit also recorded a resolution, expressing the respect which it cherished for the memory of the deceased, who for eighteen years had laboured in the Channel Islands, winning for himself the confidence and affection of the Churches.

"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." (Revelation xiv. 13.) T. J. M.C.

MEMOIR OF THE REV. JOHN WESLEY THOMAS:

BY HIS DAUGHTER.

THE REV. JOHN WESLEY THOMAS was born at Exeter, on August 4th, 1798. His parents, John and Elizabeth Thomas, were members of the Wesleyan-Methodist Society, and brought up their children in the fear of the Lord. His father was a class-leader and Local-preacher. Among those who met in his class was a youth who is now a venerable minister, extensively known for his literary labours, the Rev. William H. Rule, D.D. He was also instrumental in the conversion of the Rev. William Oke, one of the five missionaries who perished in the wreck of the "Maria" mail-boat in 1826.

Two of Mr. Thomas' sons entered the Wesleyan-Methodist ministry, Elias, who died in 1841, after twenty-six years of faithful service; and John Wesley, the subject of this Memoir.

For a short time John was sent to the Exeter Grammar School; but he had few educational advantages, and was thrown almost entirely on his own resources in the work of mental culture. His anxiety to learn was so great, and his means of procuring books so limited, that, when very young, he borrowed a Latin grammar, and copied the whole of it.

When about twelve years of age, he was the subject of deep religious impressions; and found peace with God whilst partaking of the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper, an ordinance which he ever afterwards took part in with great delight. At the age of nineteen he was placed on the Exeter Local-preachers' Plan, and thus entered upon the work to which his life was to be devoted.

In the spring of 1820 he left his native city for the metropolis, with a letter of recommendation to the Rev. George Morley, Superintendent of the London West Circuit, who gave him a kind and cordial reception, and introduced him to a large circle of ministers and friends. He was at once set to work as a class-leader and Local-preacher, and, after an interval of two years, was recommended as a candidate for the Wesleyan ministry, and accepted by the Conference.

On three different occasions he offered himself for service in our Foreign Missions; but in the order of Divine Providence he was kept to labour for God among his fellow-countrymen. His first appointment was to the Newport-Pagnell Circuit; and for nearly half a century he continued his faithful toil. Though, at first, his health appeared to be delicate, his strength gradually increased, and he was enabled to discharge all the varied duties of the itinerant ministry. He was most conscientious in his attention to his appointments; and however stormy the weather might be, the congregations in country places were assured that he would be with them.

Mr. Thomas had the esteem of a large number of his brethren in the ministry, and enjoyed the friendship of many distinguished men beyond the pale of his own denomination. He was seldom absent from the meetings of the Conference, and frequently took part in its deliberations. His attachment to the Methodist economy was the result of deliberate inquiry, and was strong and decided. Throughout his long life he was a bold and uncompromising defender of what he deemed to be the truth. Fearless of consequences, he ever acted according to his convictions, and nothing could make him swerve from what he thought to be his duty. While his Christian excellencies and his blameless life won the respect of those who knew him, his genial humour and his rich fund of historical and ecclesiastical anecdote rendered him an agreeable companion.

His ability as a preacher, too, was of no mean order. The Rev. Hugh Jones says of him, "His was a very honourable career in the Wesleyan Connexion. He was, perhaps, more distinguished as a writer than as a preacher; but it is a noteworthy fact, that

the most intelligent members of his congregations were always those who most valued his ministry." In preaching he availed himself of his gift of speaking extemporaneously on any subject which he had carefully studied. He rarely wrote out a sermon in full,—indeed, among a mass of manuscripts, scarcely one complete sermon is to be found.

As an author and a poet he was widely known. By untiring application he had become conversant with seven languages; and more than half of his large library consisted of foreign works. His acquaintance with the works of both ancient and modern writers was very extensive; and his singularly good memory enabled him to recite copiously, at will, from the poets. So fond was he of his books, that he allowed himself little time for rest. He often rose at four o'clock in the morning; and in later years was sometimes unwilling to retire at night, and thus interrupt his studies.

Mr. Thomas possessed considerable debating power, and his great stores of knowledge enabled him to serve the cause of truth by publicly opposing, often at great personal risk, some prevalent social and religious errors. In one of his Circuits, which the Mormons visited, he lectured and spoke against their views, in the open air, with great effect. At the time of "the Papal aggression," which, for a while, roused the Protestant spirit of the country, he lectured on the subject to one of the largest audiences ever assembled in the Town Hall, Dudley, the mayor and many of the clergy of the town being present. When he was in the Heywood Circuit, the town was visited by a noted Secularist lecturer, who produced considerable excitement. Mr. Thomas delivered a public lecture on Secularism, at the close of which the Secularist agent spoke; but the result was a decided victory for the cause of religion. More recently, in the Newtown Circuit, in 1870, he attended a meeting held by the opponents of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and at its close, when questions were invited from any of the audience, he spoke at length, vindicating the principles of that Institution, for which defence he received the thanks of the Committee.

A glance at the volumes of this Magazine will show how large a contributor he was to its pages. As a poet, his chief work was a translation of Dante's "Divina Comedia," which met with a most favourable reception. Gavazzi, in writing to thank him for it, compared it to "the song of a lute," and pronounced it "faithful and accurate; and, as far as a difference of language is capable, expressing the sentiment and force of the inimitable Alighieri." He also published a volume of poems, "The War of the Surplice,"

and many smaller pieces. His principal theological work was a treatise on "The Lord's Day; or, The Christian Sabbath: its History, Obligation, Importance, and Blessedness," which was published by the Wesleyan Book Committee.

At the time of his decease he and the Rev. William Piggott, who was of the same standing as himself, were the oldest Wesleyan-Methodist ministers in full Circuit work. He was anxious to complete his fiftieth year of active service; and at the Manchester Conference of 1871, which he attended, he was appointed to Dumfries. For the last eighteen months his strength had been visibly failing, but he was able to discharge his ministerial duties until within four weeks of his death. He attended the Watchnight service, and spoke with unusual cheerfulness. On the following Lord's-day he preached twice in the Dumfries chapel. Soon afterwards more alarming symptoms appeared; and, at the urgent solicitation of his family, he consented to have medical advice. Still, no immediate danger was apprehended. Towards the close of January, being assured that some weeks must elapse before he could again preach, he consented to have a supply; and the President of that year kindly complied with his request, that one of his sons, who was a student at the Richmond Branch of the Theological Institution, might be sent to help him. On the 31st he appeared to be fast sinking, and the absent members of his family were summoned home. On their arrival he seemed much better, spoke cheerfully of his recovery, and dictated a letter to the late Rev. B. Frankland, B.A., then editor of this Magazine, and requested his son to read over to him one of his papers on the Hymn-Book, desiring to revise it before sending it away. On the Monday preceding his death he appeared so much better, and conversed with such energy, that hopes of his recovery were entertained, and two of his sons returned to Manchester. On the following day he was considerably weaker, and slept during the greater portion of it. Soon after midnight he was seized with a fit of coughing, and ruptured a blood-vessel. Those of his family who remained at home were soon with him; and it was evident to them that the final stage was at hand. Up to this time Mr. Thomas was sanguine of recovery, and expressed a hope that he might soon be able to write to some of his friends, who had kindly written or sent messages of affection to him during his illness. Nor did this hope forsake him even now. He suffered little pain;

and, as we stood beside him, he inquired why we stayed up. When his dangerous state was alluded to, he quoted the line of Pope:

"Hope springs eternal in the human breast."

Soon afterwards, feeling his extreme weakness, he remarked,