An Account of the Death of GRACE MALTBY.

[By Mr. J. Pawfon.]

HERE was fomething very remarkable in her, when an

THER

infant. Her mother then frequently took her to the preaching, where in general, fhe was as ferious and attentive as any grown person; and was very foon much delighted with the finging. As fhe grew in years, fhe learned a great variety of hymns and tunes, and had a moft charming voice, and an excellent ear for mufic, and exceedingly delighted in finging the praifes of God to the day of her death.

Through the bleffing of God, upon the pious inftructions of her parents, and by conftantly attending the means of grace, fhe was ferious and thoughtful refpecting the falvation of her foul from her childhood. She was deeply awakened, and foon after found a clear fenfe of the love of God, under her father's preaching, when fhe was twelve years of age. For fome years fhe continued lively and happy in the enjoyment of communion with the Redeemer. But afterwards, although fhe continued to walk very circumfpeftly, and was conftant in attending all the ordinances of God; yet fhe did not enjoy the comforts of religion in so high a degree as fhe had done; which the greatly lamented.

About two years ago, fhe was married to a ferious young man, with whom the lived exceedingly happy; but fell into a very languishing state of health. About fix weeks ago fhe was taken exceeding ill: at which time I went to fee her, and was greatly fatisfied with the account she gave me. She was intirely refigned to the will of God; patient in the highest degree under her affliction; and had a full confidence in God that he would finish his work in her foul before he called her hence.

A little

A little after this, one night, fhe faid to her fifter, "I feel no pain at all; it seems to me that I fhall be quite well in the morning. She then defired her fifter to get up and read to her a little. She accordingly read for fame time in Mrs. Rowe's Devout Exercifes. But fhe faid, "That book does not fuit me; take the Bible and read the xv. xvi. xvii. of John, they are beautiful chapters. Her fifter did as fhe defired, but ftill fhe was not fatisfied, and faid, "I do not feel the word in my heart; pray give me the book and let me read it myself." She then read one of the chapters,twice over; but ftill complained that the did not feel the word, as she could with. She then defired her fifter to call her father, that he might pray with her. He came and spent fome time in prayer; and the then appeared to be comfortable and well fatisfied.

After this, another night, not being able to lay in bed for want of breath, the defired her fifter to help her up and place her in a chair; when on a fudden her countenance changed, and the glory of God feemed to fhine in her face. With fimiles of triumphant joy, fhe lifted up her eyes to heaven, and in a holy extacy cried aloud, "See, fee, fee, I am going to Jefus! O! I long to be with him; I could fly to Jefus this moment. See, fee, fee!" as if heaven itself was already open to her happy foul. She then defired her fifter to call all the family up, that they might fee how happy she was; and fervently prayed that the Lord would be pleased to prolong her life till they all came; so that she might bid them farewel.

When they had got into the room, fhe feared the Lord was difpleafed with her for defiring to live till the family came, and a kind of cloud came over her mind. She then broke out into earnest prayer, and faid, "O come, come, come, dear Lord Jefus; do come! O! do come, Lord Jefus !" She thes faid "He will come fpeedily." And foon after," He is come," She was then filled with unfpeakable confolation. All prefent faw her countenance fhine as it were with divine glory, and heavenly brightnefs; and in a moft aftonishing manner, fhe

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cried out "See! fee! fee! I believe I am dying! but can this be dying? Did you ever fee any die in this manner? O let me go, let me go; I fear that you hold me back by your prayers; pray let me go to Jefus; pray let me go willingly." And to her affectionate, and deeply affected husband, Willy, let me go! do, give me up; and let me go to Jesus." She then bade them all most affectionately farewel. The room seemed filled with the prefence and glory of God and all present were most amazingly affected; it was almost too much for human nature to bear.

She continued in this holy extacy about half an hour, and then funk into a moft fweet and heavenly calm, and faid, "The Lord has fent me back to stay a little longer with you." When this was over, it appeared so exceedingly glorious, that she did not know what to think of it, and could not tell how it was; but thought it appeared fomething like a vifion. The next night the Lord vifited her foul in a moft extraordinary manner. She was inconceivably happy, and faid to her mother, "Tell my father that the Lord has perfectly fet my foul at liberty ;" and in a moft triumphant manner, she repeated the whole of the twelfth chapter of Ifaiah, and faid "The Lord has applied every word of it to my heart, and made it all my own." But the fourth verfe the repeated over and over. "Praife the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doing among the people, make mention that his name is exalted." And added, “O yes, tell it to all the world; O that all mankind might know it!"

On Sunday (the day before fhe died) my brother ftayed at home with her during the preaching, and had abundant fatisfaction in converfation and prayer with her. She continued. all day in a sweet heavenly ftate of mind, and in the evening feemed much delighted while her hufband played, and her fifter fung "Vital fpark of heavenly flame," &c.

She spent the forenoon on Monday cheerfully, in reading Mr. Charles Wesley's fcripture cards, with which he was always much delighted, and always preferred thefe to any others that

have

have been printed. She told her father The had read them all, but three. One day fhe drew one for herself, which was, "My breath is corrupt, my days are extinct, the graves are ready for me." At the fame time her husband drew another for her, which was, "There is but a step between me and death." Her fifter then drew a third for her, which was, "And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his fons, he gathered up his feet into the bed and yielded up the ghoft."

In this fweet, calm, and truly delightful ftate of mind, fhé continued till paft one o'clock in the afternoon, and then without a figh, groan, or the leaft ftruggle, fhe fweetly fell asleep, and her happy spirit took its everlafting flight to the regions of unclouded day, December 20th, 1790, in the 23d year of her

age.

J. P.

A COMPARISON of Ancient FABLE, with the SACRED

WRITINGS.

[By Mr. William De'Lavaur.]

[Continued from page 137.]

Of SATURN.

ATURN had by Rhea or Cybele (who was his fifter) many

SATU

children, the most confiderable of whom was Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto. All the rest he devoured, for fear of being dethroned by them; but Rhea faved thefe three by hiding them in a cave. In a little time after, the Giants or Titans i. e, the offspring of Terra or the earth waged war against Jupiter and the inhabitants of heaven, into which they defired to afcend: but after having got up a confiderable height by piling one

mountain

mountain on the top of another, they were caft down and imprifoned by Jupiter.

This is a copy of the three fons of Noah, who were shut up in the Ark, when the flood swallowed up all the human race. Thefe Titans are the defcendants of Noah's fons, the new and audacious fenfual children of the earth, who undertook after the deluge to build a Tower (viz. Babel) that fhould reach beyond the clouds, with the defign of putting themfelves out of the reach of Divine Power.

The relation, which thefe three fons of Saturn, who were faved, and had the univerfe divided among them, have with the three fons of Noah, and the divifion of the earth among them, is felf evident.

Of JANU S.

:

Janus is often confounded in the heathen Mythology with Saturn; the hiftory of both is equally evident in that of Noah. Ovid difcribes the univerfe as coming out of the hands of Janus after the deluge, as it did out of the firft Chaos and fets him forth as having fhut up the firft world, which the deluge had a fecond time fwallowed up in Chaos (as Noah had shut it up when he fhut up the Ark) and as having opened it and feen under his miniftry the reproduction of a new world, as did Noah when he opened the Ark after the flood, and went out with his family to cultivate and people the universe. Janus explains and attributes to himself this renovation, nearly as Hefiod had related its first production. (vid. Ovid de Faft. lib. 1.)

It is from this that he was painted with two faces, one of which looked backward at what was done in the old world, and the other was turned towards the new, which he faw re-eftablished. This is applicable only to Noah, who had feen the end of the one, and the re-eftablifhment of the other. From VOL. XIV.

A a

this