The air was pure and delightful in this as well as in other parts of the cave. At the further part of this avenue, we came upon a reservoir of water very clear and delightful to the taste, apparently having neither inlet nor outlet.

Within a few yards of this reservoir of water on the right hand of the cave, there is an avenue, which leads to the north west. We had entered it but about forty feet, when we came to several columns of the most brilliant spar, sixty or seventy feet in height, and almost perpendicular, which stand in basons of water, that comes trickling down their sides, then passes off silently from the basons and enters the cavities of stone without being seen again. These columns of spar, and the basons they rest in, for splendor and beauty, surpass every similar work of art I ever saw. We passed by these columns and entered a small but beautiful chamber, whose walls were about twenty feet apart, and the arch not more than seven high, white as white-wash could have made it; the floor was level as far as I explored it, which was not a great distance, as I found many pit holes in my path, that appeared to have been lately sunk, and which induced me to return.

We returned by the beautiful pool of water, which I called the 'pool of Clitorius,' after the 'Fono Clitorius' of the classics, which was so pure and delightful to the taste, that after drinking of it, a person had no longer a taste for wine. On our way back to the narrow defile, I had some difficulty in keeping my lights, for the bats were so numerous and continually in our faces, that it was next to impossible to get along in safety. I brought this trouble on myself by my own want of forethought; for as we were moving on, I noticed a large number of these bats hanging by their hind legs to the arch which was not above twelve inches higher than my head. I took my cane and gave a sweep, the whole length of it, when down they fell; but soon, like so many imps, they tormented us till we reached the narrow defile, when they left We returned by Wilkin's armed chair,' and back to the second hoppers. It was at this place I found the Mummy which I before alluded to, where it had been placed by Mr. Wilkins, from another cave, for preservation. It is a female, about six feet in height, and so perfectly dried as to weigh but twenty pounds when I found it-the hair on the back part of the head is rather short and of a sandy hue-the top of the head is baldthe eyes sunk in the head--the nose, or that part which is cartilaginous, is dried down to the bones of her face-the lips are. dried away and discovered a fine set of teeth, white as ivory.— The hands and feet are perfect even to the nails, and very delicate like those of a young person; but the teeth are worn as much as a person's at the age of fifty.

us.

She must have been some personage of high distinction, if VOL. II.

53

we may judge from the order in which she was buried. Mr. Wilkins informed me she was first found by some labourers, while digging for salt-petre earth in a cave about three miles from the Mammoth Cave buried eight feet deep between four limestone slabs, and in the posture she is exhibited in the drawing I sent you. [Seated, the knees brought close to the body, the hands clasped and laid upon the stomach, the head upright.] She was muffled up, and covered with number of garments made of a species of wild hemp and a bark of a willow which formerly grew in Kentucky. The cloth is of a curious texture and fabric, made up in the form of blankets or windling sheets, with very handsome borders Bags of different sizes were found by her side made of the same cloth, in which were deposted her jewels, beads, trinkets, and implements of industry, all of which are great curiosities, being different from any thing of the Indian kind ever found in this country. Among the arti cles was a musical instrument, made of two pieces of cane put together something like the double flageolet, and curiously interwoven with elegant feathers-she had likewise by her side a bowl of uncommon workmanship, and a vandyke made of feathers, very beautiful.

My friend, Mr. Wilkins, gave me the mummy which 1 brought away, together with her apparel, jewels, music, &c.

The Grace of God Manifested.

DEAR BROTHER,

I have presumed to send this MEMOIR, of a very pious and worthy member of our Church, for insertion in the Methodist Magazine, if you think it of sufficient importance. L. R. FECHTIG.

MEMOIR OF MR. ROBERT M'ELHENY.

ROBERT M'ELHENY, the subject of this MEMOIR, was a native of Ireland, and lived the greatest part of his life in Londonderry, where he also first received his religious impressions.

His parents were considered good moral members of the Church of England, because they rigidly attended to the formula and ceremonies of that church: But according to good authority they did not understand the nature and import of religion. Notwithstanding their ignorance of vital piety, religi ous sentiments had a sufficient degree of influence to induce them to bring up their children in the fear of the Lord. The apostolic injunction, "Parents provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the

Lord," was considered of sufficient authority to the discharge of this important parental duty. Impressed with the importance of the charge, and the consequences resulting from fidelity in their work, though destitute of the motives that experimen tal religion inspires, they endeavoured to instil the principles of religion into the mind of this their son. The fruits of their moral instructions were soon perceived in the dawnings of pious dispositions, religious sentiments and moral habits.

There are but few cases, where a proper attention has been paid to the religious education of children, from early life. where the effects have not been witnessed sooner or later to the satisfaction of the good parents, in a greater or less degree.

In training up their son, these pious parents inculcated the excellent principles of the Church of England. Being instructed in the principles of this Church, and having a predeliction for the mode of worship practised there, and being now advanced to maturity, he was initiated into the Church according to its rules. From this period his life was particularly regular, and he was esteemed very religious; his attention to religious worship was punctual and devout. He experienced religious impressions on his mind; and his tenderness of conscience prevented him from being contaminated with the corruptions prevalent around him. Flights of passion, indeed, sometimes indicated the inward triumphs of sin, and tarnished his external morality; but the repeated efforts he made to suppress angry nature, and his success on some occasions, made him conclude that he was advancing in piety. His acquaintances also were disposed to grant him the honour of being super-eminently pious. It was no wonder therefore that he considered himself, and increased in goods, and having need of nothing;" not perceiving that he was "Poor, and miserable, and blind, and naked." Such is the blinding nature of sin, that it deceives in the performance of religious acts, those who are under its influence; and many are induced to believe they are in a safe state, while exposed to endless misery.

Rich

Although Mr. M.Elheny, was religious in his own estimation and that of others; his state was not a safe one. However, he finally perceived that his fair religious fabric which he had taken so much pains to erect, was only a splendid outside, a castle in the air; or at best only a building on a sandy foundation; and that when the "Floods should come, and the winds blow, and the rains descend, it must fall, and great would be the fall of it."— He had not been apprised of this, while building on this foundation, and was therefore the more surprised when he found all fail. He was apprised of his dangerous condition by the word of God, power ully applied to his mind by the agency of the Holy Ghost. This was the effect of evangelical preaching.

When divine light shone into the benighted regions of his mind, he was convinced that he had no religion at all; and that his profession and strict attention to the external duties of religion were insufficient, and would not, as he had supposed, be a sufficient passport to eternal joys. He began now to perceive that religion implied a change of heart-a new creation in Christ Jesus-the love of God shed abroad in the heart, and this change witnessed by the Spirit of God. When he discovered his mistake in his religious sentiments, and that all must be done over again, and that unless he experienced the favour of God he must perish forever; his mind was dreadfully alarmed, and his false peace departed from his breast. His convictions were deep and pungent, and the "Arrows of the Almighty drank up his spirits." During several months his distress increased, and the bitterness of his soul was so great that he could not find rest in any thing-company, friends, amusements and employments rendered him no satisfaction. Sometimes he was ready to despair forever; but then again a gleam of hope would dawn on his benighted soul and portend better days. Now also, that gospel which first illuminated his mind, directed him to a cure, to a Saviour who is both able and willing "to save to the uttermost, them that come unto God by him."

At this period his soul hungered and thirsted after righteousness, and his whole desire was to obtain pardon through the merits of Jesus Christ. He watched every step he took; and being scrupulous in all his conduct, and fearful of deception, the progress of his soul toward the object of pardon, was painful and slow, but sure in the end; his soul was now constantly engaged in prayer, and looked every moment for the accomplishment of the work so graciously begun. He endeavoured to claim the divine promises, and often derived from this exercise a degree of consolation that left his mind suspended between hope and joy: But nothing less than the testimony of the spirit would satisfy his soul. While thus engaged, according to his own account, he thought he saw the Lord Jesus, hanging on the cross-the blood streaming from his side-the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness, and that the worst of sinners might come and realize its efficacy. He felt hope and then confidence spring up in his heart-he believed that this Saviour was omnipotent-that he came to save sinners like himself. He immediately relied upon him with all his heart, and dedicated to him his whole soul, and was instantly assured of his favour in the pardon of all his sins. From this moment all his sorrows fled, and the spirit of rejoicing succeeded the tempest in his bosom; the internal conflict subsided, and sweet peace and love restored order and harmony to his conflicting passions.

"Being justified by faith, he had peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ."

The doctrine of justification by faith, and the "Knowledge of salvation by the remission of sins," being considered novel at that time in Londonderry, (and indeed in the religious world in general) he was in consequence subject to persecution and temptation, which threw him into some perplexities and doubts; but he was enabled finally to triumph over every difficulty and doubt, holding fast the "Beginning of his confidence steadfast unto the end:" which was more than thirty years.

Although he was brought up religiously, and adopted his creed, and practised the duties of religion so rigidly in his own church; he always acknowledged the ministry of the Methodists, the means under God, of bringing him from "Darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God." It is natural in all such cases to esteem the means and the people that have been rendered useful to us in our conversion. Mr. M'Elheny loved the Methodists and the means of religion enjoyed in their church, and from this time associated with them, continuing a steady member of the church until the period of his dissolution.

Having experienced the comforts of religion in a consciousness of the divine favour, and being now united in close fellowship with a humble, pious people, and enjoying the privileges amongst them, he was enabled to "Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." By the ministry of the Methodists, and an attentive perusal of the Scriptures, he perceived that it was possible to experience a constant progression in religion; that the soul might be purified from all moral defilement; that the love of God might so rule in us as to influence every faculty, every word, and every action. He therefore commenced his Christian race with vigor, experiencing a gradual subduction of wrong principles and unholy dispositions; until the graces of the spirit were brought to a degree of maturity, and the love of God influenced his whole soul. The words of the poet,

"Grace in his looks, and heav'n in his eye,

In every gesture, sanctity and love,"

seemed to me to be as appropriate to his appearance and experience as to any one I ever saw.

This progress in piety, which was noticed at an early stage of his Christian life, enabled him to live superior to doubts and fears for he assured me, that he had not had one doubt of his acceptance with God for thirty years. It is only a poor sickly state of religion that is always accompanied with doubts;