Obituary. DIED, On the 11th of Dec. last, near that discriminating character which gave Birmingham, England, in the 64th year to it so much usefulness. It was when of his age, Rev. HENRY FOXALL, of Georgetown, District of Columbia. Mr. FOXALL had gone on a visit to England, the land of his birth, and expected to have returned to America, his adopted country, this spring. He died as the good man dies, tranquil and happy.Death was to him but the portal of life, and he entered it as he had often encouraged others, during the course of a long and a sincerely faithful ministry in the Methodist Church, to enter it. Mr. FoxALL was blest with both the means and disposition to be useful, and he was never found wanting in what was required of him as a neighbour, citizen, or friend. His benevolence was of other resources failed the enterprising and honest man, that Mr. FOXALL'S hand was put out to uphold his fall;nor was this extreme period waited for, but such helps as prudence demanded beforehand, and which he believed would be useful, were never withheld. The Methodist Church, in America, has lost one of its firmest supporters, and most useful members. His house was the home of the ministry. His purse, in various ways, was their auxiliary support. In Washington City is to be found a monument to his bounty. The Foundry Chapel, so called, was built by him, and presented to the society. ** Poetry. Lines written by MRS. MARGARET HOLMES, late of Belle-Ville, just before her death, and addressed to her Brother, the REV. JOHN Dow. Farewell, Dear Brother, cast your care on God, Oft have I sat to hear the gospel sound, For I am call'd to meet death's cold embrace, Be patient still, endure affliction's rod, And trust your Maker's providence and grace. View the rich mercies which have been bestow'd, While you are upright both in heart and life, With food and raiment let us be content, If God is pleas'd to call me first away, We shar'd each other's happiness and wo; name. Then hand in hand together we agreed, Of free salvation from a Brother's tongue, When saints were fed, and mourners comfort found, A word in season both to old and young. Oft when affliction my weak flesh assail'd But now his prayers no longer can retain And may my Brother persevere in grace, Hasten the happy period, God of love, METHODIST MAGAZINE, FOR MAY, 1824. Biography. MEMOIRS OF MR. LANCASTER B. DUSINBERY, AND HARRIET HIS WIFE, The latter of whom departed this life, February 6th, 1824, and the former the 23d of the same month. As the death of this pious and happy couple happened so near together, the funeral discourse for both was preached at the same time, namely, Feb. 29, 1824, in John-street church. We shall, therefore, in these Memoirs, present the reader with the substance of the discourse as then delivered, enlarging a little the extracts from HARRIET's Diary and Letters, and also inserting a few items in relation to LANCASTER, which were not in possession of the writer at the time the discourse was delivered. The following words were selected as the foundation of the funeral discourse: 2 SAMUEL i. 23. Lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided. THE circumstances which suggested the choice of these words as the foundation of our present discourse, seem to justify their use on the present occasion. The premature, in human estimation, deaths of our sister HARRIET, and of our brother LANCASTER B. DUSINBERY, which happened within seventeen days of each other, and which were so unexpected to their friends, excite sensations similar to those which moved the sorrowful heart of David when he received the news of the death of Saul and Jonathan, especially in his touching apostrophe to Jonathan :"O my Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me." If it might be ever said in truth of any two persons, that they were lovely in their lives, it may certainly be affirmed of our departed brother and sister DUSINBERY; whether they be considered as individuals-whether in respect to their personal appearance, their mental accomplishments, their intercourse in society-their spiritual attainments-Or whether they be considered in the most endearing of all other relations, that of HUSBAND and WIFE. VOL. VII. 21 That we may be convinced of the truth of these remarks, let us inquire, I. What is requisite to constitute real loveliness in life. A person may be said to be lovely when he is possessed of those accomplishments which are calculated to excite the love and esteem of others. Hence we say of a beautiful object, it has a lovely aspect. The face of nature, clothed in the sprightliness of spring, presents a lovely appearance-The fragrance of the rose, the beauty of the tulip and the pink, the opening blossoms of fruit-bearing trees, the verdure of the fields, the freshness of the mountain tops, all enlivened by the rays of the setting sun after a vernal shower, present to the eye of the admirer of nature a beautiful and therefore a lovely aspect; and in admiring nature in those glowing and lively colours, the Christian spectator extends his views to Him who made the round world and all things therein;' as possessing all those excellencies which render Him lovely and beloved by all who truly behold Him as He is. But it is to human beings chiefly that the present subject, and much more the present solemn occasion, directs our attention. Were we to describe a person every way lovely, we should say it is one possessed of a mind well informed by science, enlightened and sanctified by religion; and whose person is free from those deformities of nature which render personal appearance disgusting. Much of personal charms may appear, arising from a cultivated mind, from a truly Christian temperament and religious deportment, where merely bodily charms are wanting. But where all these are united, and are made to display themselves in gentleness and meekness of deportment, in obliging and affable conduct; and more especially in acts of justice and mercy, and true zeal for the honour and glory of God; there especially are found those charms which make their possessor every way lovely. But there is a station, which, being filled with suitable candidates, and its duties religiously performed, reflects a still brighter splendour around the heads of those who fill it, and which, on this account, renders them doubly beautiful and lovely-I mean the station of married people. If there be any one station on earth more enviable than another, it is that of a married couple, who have been united from reciprocal attachment, who love and are beloved-whose hearts glow with love and gratitude to God, and to their fellow men; who strive to make their mutual attachments lasting by mutual endeavours to please-to discharge all duties with fidelity-and who bear each other's infirmities without exposing them;-who steadily draw each to other by reciprocal acts of justice, and affectionate conduct. 'Here virtue thrives as in her proper soil; Not rude and surly, and beset with thorns But gentle, kind, by culture tam'd, by liberty refresh'd, And all her fruits by radiant truth matur'd,' In the domestic circle, enlivened, sanctified, and directed by such a head-I say head, for 'they twain shall be one flesh'there is found every ingredient of human happiness. If an offspring crown the union, the tie of connubial affection binds them still closer, while an increase of duties and cares, only tends to keep alive a recollection of the mutual bonds of increased and perpetual attachment; and while the temporary pains and continual cares and burdens of the wife and mother accumulate, the tenderness of the husband and father, softens and tempers the stern inflexibility of a ruler, and blends the imposing dignity of authority with the sympathy of a kind and tender nurse. On the other hand, while the necessity of maintaining the dignity and authority of a Husband and a Father increases with the multiplication of dependent children and domestics, the softness and tenderness of the female, the conjugal and maternal virtues, blend with the sterner virtues of parental authority, and produce an amiable and lovely mixture of firmness and meekness, which insures order and tranquility in the family circle. On such a family God looks down with approbation, imparting peace and happiness, and all that wisdom and grace essential to direct in 'all time of need.' While the conscientious husband and wife thus endeavour to mix their souls together, that they may unite in one all the virtues essential to constitute a wise and faithful Head, a sense of their many infirmities, proves the necessity of mutual forbearance, and a conscious dependence on divine aid makes them assiduous at the throne of grace. Hence the altar of God is not the last thing, nor the least valued, as an article of their household furniture. The morning and evening sacrifices are not forgotten, nor offered with a frigid indifference, but with a feeling heart, and with a fervency of devotion. Nor is attention to business considered unessential to domestic happiness. Industry and economy are the inseparable companions of piety and good sense; and they are no less essential to domestic peace and prosperity, than fervency of devotion is to the growth of the soul in grace. Indeed both the one and the other marks the conduct of those whose usefulness in society is known by probity of conduct, by justice in contracts, or by munificence in deeds of charity. I think a husband and wife, a father and mother, characterized by these virtues, must be lovely in their lives. Must it not have been the contemplation of such a household, that inspired the poet when he penned the following lines? Domestic happiness, thou only bliss On the present occasion, we think we can present you with an example of persons, in whom were concentrated those excellencies which are supposed necessary to constitute real loveliness. That you may be able to judge of the truth of this remark, we will present you with a sketch of their characters, whom we shall simply distinguish by the names of HARRIET and LANCASTER, introducing the former first, because she first took her flight to glory. HARRIET, was the daughter of James and CATHERINE DONALDSON, and was born Nov. 10, 1802. Her parents gave her an early and a pious education, blending the habits of industry with intellectual improvement. Her diligence in acquiring knowledge in all the useful and ornamental branches of a female education, enabled her to make that progress which qualified her, in a very eminent degree, to discharge those duties in a more mature age, which resulted from her filial, social, conjugal and maternal relations. In all these relations, she indeed shone with a lustre which sets off the excellence of the female character to the greatest advantage. Though always possessed of an amiable disposition, and was early taught the obligation and utility of religious worship, to which she constantly attended; and was also remarkable for her filial duty, so much so that her father remarked to me, he was never under the necessity of resorting to correction to insure obedience; yet we do not find any thing special in her religious views until at the age of fourteen, when she was awakened at the funeral of her Grand-Mother. Being now convinced of the necessity of justification by faith in Christ, she earnestly sought with many prayers and tears, until she found redemption in His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. This was in October of 1816. She immediately joined the Church, walking in the fellowship of the saints, and in the comforts of the Holy Ghost. Indeed, such was the fervency of her piety, the gentleness of her manners, the purity of her morals, as well as the amiableness of all her deportment, that she gained the confidence and fellowship of all who had the happiness of her acquaintance. On this subject I can speak from personal acquaintance, having often witnessed, in the commencement of her Christian pilgrimage, her struggle of soul, and the spirit of devotion and sound discretion, by which she was actuated. Her peace and joy were not of a transient nature, quickly hot and quickly cold again, but they were steady and calm as a summer's evening, emitting a constant beam of pure light and heat. But we shall best be able to judge of the exercises of her mind from her own words; for it seems that she occasionally recorded, having her own benefit in view, the exercises and progress of her mind in religious things. |