life as merely the first stage of an endless existence; as a bud before the leaf, as a blossom before the fruit,-which will expand and ripen in the garden of the Lord." He saw that this affliction was sent to remove him hence, and uncomplainingly submitted to the behest. He loved the will of his Divine Master. Months of pain followed,of wearing, excruciating pain: yet he never murmured, nor did his wonted cheerfulness forsake him. In fact he contemplated his departure with pleasure. Not that he entertained low and unworthy views of life, or desired to escape the suffering part of the Master's service. He loved life, enjoyed the society of men, and was not dismayed at the fiery trial. But his whole soul happily confided in the will of God, as the best portion. He thought more and more, as weakness increased, and the outer man decayed, of the not very distant future; and often spoke of his heavenly home, in a manner which showed that his heart was already there. "I have left off," said he, "to read controversial books: for I have made up my mind, and do not wish it to be unsettled." For the same reason, he liked to converse on the "good hope through grace;" to meditate on the full fruition that awaited him in the better land; and to listen to sermons which led him to "look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen." He dwelt in the border-land, and longed for the glory to be revealed. Perhaps, also, the idea that he should not live long made him anxious to make the most of time for his Master; and hence he always had a word to say about the best things. Nor would he stay from the house of God, when he could go thither. No longer able to minister, he was glad to attend on the ministry of others. His faith in God was strong asever; his trust in Christ, as a Saviour, was unwavering; his love to Zion was ardent; his hope of immortality was full. No impatience embittered the close of life. Week by week, day by day, he grew weaker; but with unfaltering steps he marched grave-ward. On Sunday, August 18th, 1861, he was at the chapel in the morning; but he suffered so much, during the service, that he did not attempt to go out again that day. On Monday he took a short walk. On Tuesday he was too ill to leave his room; and on Wednesday, the 21st, he sped away to bliss, for the Master called him.

His early

Mr. Hunt was not a highly gifted or popular mau. education had been sadly defective; and, though he did much to overcome this disadvantage, he could not wholly succeed. And there was no Theological Institution in those days. His first Circuits were very extensive; and the preparation required for preaching, with other pastoral work, left him little leisure for literary pursuits. Moreover, while he had none to guide him, it is probable that his tastes led him to take the course which he afterwards pursued. He read extensively, particularly in Wesleyan theology. He did not allow himself to remain ignorant of such writers as Hooker, Barrow, Pearson, Paley, Bates, Charnock, Baxter, Chillingworth, and Howe; but he was more intimate with Wesley, Fletcher, Benson, Clarke, and Watson. He paid considerable attention to the preparation of his sermons; but he never used his manuscript in the pulpit, nor was his preaching altogether

memoriter. His style was colloquial, generally diffuse. His manner was often pleasing, sometimes very earnest, occasionally pathetic; but rarely impassioned or exciting. Had his sermons been shorter, they would have been deemed more valuable. If he had used fewer words and more thought, his ministry would have been more telling. There is a sense in which it is not desirable to be an exhaustive preacher. It is not, in public estimation, the more excellent way, to occupy half an hour with introduction, when the whole sermon should not exceed three-quarters of an hour. Though Mr. Hunt failed here, (as many others have done, and as extemporary preachers are too liable to do,) there was no mistaking of his aim. He sought to be a holy man, and a useful preacher of the Gospel; and he succeeded. His reputation was unsullied; and many, who were brought to God by his instrumentality, will in the great day call him blessed.

BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE LATE MRS. HUNT.

THE writer of this notice cannot but regret that the materials for a biographical sketch are very few. The personal friends of this estimable woman appear to possess no illustrative papers; and the diary which she occasionally kept does not furnish much incident.

MARY SMITH was born on the 9th of April, 1795; and in early childhood was visited with Divine influence. So graciously and powerfully did the Holy Spirit strive with her, that she never entered into the paths of vanity. Soft and fashionable worldliness she never knew. From such "hardness of heart" as leads to " contempt of God's word and commandment," she was mercifully preserved. If any dream that there are persons who need no repentance, they might take her for one. Yet she too needed both repentance and remission of sins. In her case, as in all others, a personal closing with Christ was necessary; and, when she was but ten years old, she entered into covenant with Jesus Christ as her Saviour. She repented, believed, and was saved. At that tender age she united herself with the church of God; and in its communion she remained to the end of life.

It has been doubted by some, whether mere children should be allowed to become members of the church. "Not," it is plausibly argued, "that they should be neglected by the pastors, or be unprovided for in some way by the church; but, as it is impossible for them to understand what is involved in membership, and as there is much in Christian communion of which they feel no need, it might be better to deal with them separately." We may admit that there are things implied in the fellowship of saints, of which children must needs be ignorant; privileges which they cannot appreciate, duties which they cannot discharge. But we do not therefore allow that they should have no place in that fellowship. Are there no matters at home which children cannot understand, no duties in the nation which children cannot perform? And do you wish, therefore, to banish children from the resort of adults, and make of them a juvenile colony? They must be with adults, in order to learn duties, and to become familiar with privileges.

VOL. X.-FIFTH SERIES.

X

The church is to them a training-school. From the ranks of childhood we hope to draw our best agents for the service of God. By means of children we expect to produce an impression on large portions of the adult population. Converted children will give us good people for the next generation. They who secure the hearts of the children gain the adults also.

When Miss Smith was sent to school, she was exposed to a temptation by which she was nearly overcome. It seems that her father was not aware that dancing was taught in the school, as an "accomplishment;" and, therefore, had made no stipulation respecting such a matter. She soon found that the other girls were taught this fascinating folly; and, partly because she saw how much they enjoyed it, and partly that she might not be singular, she desired to learn too. But her father would not listen to the childish request. He positively forbad it; and for awhile she was annoyed at what she thought unnecessary strictness. Soon, however, she felt that he was right, and was glad that he had been consistently firm. And when the young people laughed at her, she betook herself to prayer, and became more fully determined to be a thorough Christian, eschewing pleasures which might prove a snare to her soul. Henceforward she sought her gratifications in the service of God, and so became prepared for the station she was afterwards called to fill.

In the year 1825 she was united in marriage to the late Rev. William Entwisle. She brought into her new sphere no extraordinary abilities; but she had true piety, good womanly sense, a mind capable of appreciating excellence, and a warmly affectionate heart. She sought not, loved not, glare; but she shone in her own quiet sphere, and was content that her husband and her God should know her worth. All her tastes, her convictions, her mental habits, led her far away from sympathy with blue-stocking ladies. She sought not to be a leader of opinion outside, but the associate and helper of her husband at home. She wrote no books; (perhaps, she did not read many ;) but she studied her husband's weal, entered heartily with him into the duties of his station, encouraged him when his spirit drooped, and filled his house with the sunshine of happiness. In many of his labours, she could not directly aid him; but indirectly, by providing comfort, and ridding him of care, she rendered him truly valuable assistance. From the day she took his name, she lived for him; and did him "good, and not evil, all the" remaining "days of his life."

In 1831 she became a widow; and when the late Rev. Joseph Entwisle was appointed Governor of the Wesleyan Theological Institution, Hoxton, she went to reside there as matron. And every way was

she fitted for the situation. Her amiableness, considerateness, prudence, attention to the wants of the students, and meekly Christian bearing, won for her the esteem of the household, and made her greatly beloved. Her years at the Institution were happy; and she afterwards reviewed them with pleasure.

In 1810 she became the wife of the late Rev. Joseph Taylor; and now began one of the most joyous periods of her life. Mr. Taylor

was an eminently holy man; and her devotion to him was worthy of his goodness. She loved him, indeed, as with the affection both of a daughter and a wife. During this union she had considerable opportunity of intercourse with distinguished Christians. She also took part in visiting sick persons, and affording religious counsel to inquirers who could more readily speak to a minister's wife than to a minister himself. Young females, especially, who needed looking up, fell under her care. Having no family, she became really a "sister of mercy;" and, in the spirit of a true deaconess, sought to serve the church. Of her own she gave freely to the needy; and gladly did she dispense the bounty of others. Several young women were, by her instrumentality, led to Jesus; of whom some remain unto this present, and some have fallen asleep. Mr. Taylor died in 1845; when, for the second time, she became a widow.

That widowhood was a season of providential trial. Family circumstances were embarrassed; an aged mother, and an invalid sister, claimed her care; and she had no enlarged means. Property that would have amply supplied all their needs had been scattered, and Mrs. Taylor had unsuspectingly lent money which was never repaid. Troubles arose, from which she could not escape, and which could not but be aggravated by the solitude of her condition. In 1852 she became the wife of Mr. Hunt, whose memoir is given in the preceding pages. Of this part of her life she speaks largely, in papers left behind. From these we learn that she had still a good share of domestic happiness. But she felt, nevertheless, that life's palmy season was gone. Her health soon began to decline; and the trials to which brief allusion has been made cast a gloom over her spirit. In addition to these, she had to bear the afflictions of her husband, now about to retire from the active duties of the ministry, and become a Supernumerary. There were times, moreover, when Satan harassed her sorely. So severe were her mental conflicts, that it was hard to hold fast her confidence in God. She had a thorny path; but, though faint and weary, she held on her way. Happily, she was accustomed in everything to make her requests known unto God; and the aid she needed was not denied. Her faith was greatly tried, but it was victorious. She never gained the lofty summits from which some eminent saints have been enabled to look down on the region of storms below them. Her direction was right, and she was arduously climbing; but many a time she could not see her way for the fog, and often the storm burst upon her head. She was still urging her way onward, upward, homeward, when the Master came.

Mrs. Hunt made no great stir in the world; but she will be remembered by those who knew her, as an unobtrusive and truly Christian woman. No doubt, she had imperfections; and who has not? But her deportment was such as to bring no discredit on the profession she made. A certain bluntness of manner appeared, to some, like obstinacy or inconsiderateness. But she was a believer, if not a faultless one; and she was not wont to forget her failures. "If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous." In secret prayer

she delighted; and it was her daily habit to spread her whole case before God. There was no tinge of self-righteousness. Her whole trust for salvation was in Jesus. Her felt helplessness drove her to Ilim; and she clung to Him as the stay of her soul.-She survived Mr. Hunt but three months. On Thursday morning, November 21st, 1861, she was found dead in her bed. So suddenly she exchanged mortality for life.

HADES; OR, THE PLACE OF THE DEPARTED.*

ALTHOUGH the word HADES has never been properly naturalized in English, and does not occur either as a general or a proper name in the English Bible, it is necessary to assume its existence in a work which aims at embracing the full circle of Bible terms and ideas. The word hell, which is always used as its equivalent in the Scriptures of the New Testament, and frequently also in those of the Old, no longer conveys the exact meaning of the original. It is now only employed as denoting the place of final torment, and precisely corresponds to the Greek term yéevva, for which it is also used in our English Bible. For Hades we have still no proper equivalent; and in order to get a correct view of the reality indicated by the name, we are obliged to retain the name itself.

HADES [Gr. "As, derived, according to the best-established and most generally received etymology, from privative a and iv, hence often written ans] means strictly what is out of sight, or possibly, if applied to a person, what puts out of sight. In earlier Greek this last was, if not its only, at least its prevailing application; in Homer it occurs only as the personal designation of Pluto, the lord of the invisible world, and who was probably so designated, not from being himself invisible, (for that belonged to him in common with the heathen gods generally,) but from his power to render mortals invisible, the invisible-making deity. The Greeks, however, in process of time abandoned this use of hades; and, when the Greek Scriptures were written, the word was scarcely ever applied except to the place of the departed. In the Greek version of the Old Testament it is the common rendering for the Hebrew sheol, though in the form there often appears a remnant of the original personal application; for example in Gen. xxxvii. 35, “I will go down to my son," els acu, i. e., into the abodes or house of hades (cóuous or olxov being understood). This elliptical form was common both in the classics and in Scripture, even after hades was never thought of but as a region or place of abode.

The appropriation of hades by the Greek interpreters, as an equivalent for sheol, may undoubtedly be taken as evidence that there was

* From Part ix. of "The Imperial Bible-Dictionary," edited by Dr. Patrick Fairbairn, and now in course of publication by the Messrs. Blackie, of Glasgow, Edinburgh, and London.