to forbid that measure of publicity to which her standing in the church, and her talents for edification, ought to have compelled her to submit. Her Christian course was full of beauty, and shone mildly and purely even in that retiring path of simplicity in which it was her choice to move. The quiet serenity of her mind, and the scriptural character of her daily experience, formed a practical comment upon that divine truth: "Great peace have they that love thy law." Taught, by Him who is "the way, and the truth, and the life," the line of demarkation between this world's shadows, and the realities of "an enduring substance," she dwelt above earthly attractions and fruitless anxieties; her spirit, continually ascending in aspirations, strong and fervent, after "the peace which passeth all understanding;" for in her estimate of happiness these communings with God constituted the deepest emotions of hope and pleasure. All her admirable talents were pressed into the service of her divine Master. She considered them as distinctively given for the benefit of her fellow-creatures, and the promotion of the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom. Hence her remarkable devotedness to God; her anxiety for the souls of those over whom she had the charge; and her uniform practice of introduc ing religious truths in every conversation with her friends. And here she was peculiarly happy. She would begin some general interesting subject, drawing nearer and closer to sacred ground, till religion became the all-absorbing topic; and then, so interesting was her manner, so lucid were her views, and so elevated her own feelings, that one seemed to catch a spark of her spirit, and to retire from her society with an instructed and edified heart.

By persons who are satisfied with humble attainments in religion, it will scarcely be apprehended at what heights of spirituality a truly devoted soul may arrive. There is a region elevated high above the tainted atmosphere of this world, to which the immortal spirit may ascend, and, free from earthly perturbations, hold converse with the Deity. Our admirable friend had discovered and entered into this purer region; and while she looked on all the plain below, heard the sighing of the captive, and beheld the sore bondage under which her fellow-immortals groaned, and besought Him who had been "lifted up" to draw all men unto him, her own soul walked abroad in the full liberty of the children of God; sustained in vigour and freshness by "the manna which came down from heaven," by the stream gushing from the living Rock which was smitten for her. This inward separation from the world will be scarcely understood by those professing Christians whose senses must be impressed with a thing before they can believe it to exist, and who measure others by their own scanty line. Such separation, however, is nevertheless practicable; and Mrs. Bulmer was an undeniable witness of its truth. She knew that "the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins;" and she constantly and earnestly sought to be cleansed

from all unrighteousness, and to "be filled with all the fulness of God."

It was in the autumn of 1795 that my revered and beloved parents, Dr. Adam and Mrs. Clarke, first became acquainted with the subject of this memoir. She was then in the twenty-first year of her age; and, I have heard my mother say, was one of the most interesting young women she ever met with. I recollect her narrating to me her earliest impression respecting Mrs. Bulmer, in the following words :-" The first time I saw her was in the old chapel at Spitalfields; and so strong was the feeling of my mind towards her, that I could not help, at the close of the service, inquiring who the young lady was to whom I had felt so irresistible an attraction." This was introduction enough. When they met on the next day they felt that they were not strangers. My father was equally pleased with her; and at that hour commenced a friendship which, built upon the only sure foundation, proved so strong, so rational, and so abiding, as to brave unhurt the varied trials of nearly forty years. From this time the intercourse of these choice friends was of constant recurrence; and for the three years of my father's ministerial labours in London, few days passed in which the two families did not exchange hospitalities. To the ardent mind of our excellent friend, this acquaintance must have been of great advantage; for Dr. Clarke ever delighted to assist the aspirations of genius and intellect. With Mrs. Bulmer's avidity for information, and her great facility of apprehension, he was alike pleased and surprised; and would, in his own energetic and characteristic manner, thus express his admiration of her intellectual capacity: “That woman astonishes me. She takes in information just as a sponge absorbs water. The nature of the subject seems to make little difference; for whether it be philosophy, history, or theology, she seizes upon it, and makes it all her own." Is it any matter of surprise, that, with such a capacity, and such opportunities of improving it, Mrs. Bulmer should have become what the Rev. William M. Bunting strongly, yet correctly, describes her," one of the most intellectual and holy women, probably, whose presence ever adorned this world?" Few of her friends now remaining are able to appreciate either her mental or moral worth more justly than himself.

Her life had glided on, with almost uninterrupted felicity, until the middle of the year 1822. She was loved and honoured by all who had the pleasure of her acquaintance; and, what is rarer still, was admired without exciting envy. But the horizon, till now clear, began to gather blackness. The cloud grew heavier, and drew nearer. Her excellent and beloved husband was attacked by a violent spasmodic complaint, which so "loosened the silver cord," that, after a protracted illness, he passed from this world "of shadows," to the regions of uncreated light and endless felicity. Mrs. Bulmer felt this heavy stroke as a wife, and sustained it as a Christian. She knew, that

with respect to him for whom she mourned, and who was for awhile "hidden from her sight," there was that hope which "blooms with immortality." In the expiring prayer of her excellent husband was the sure trust expressed in Him "whose right hand had gotten him the victory;" and she felt too, that the peace which the world knows not of kept her spirit in the calmness of repose upon the sustaining power of Jehovah. Upon this mournful occasion she received a letter, full of consolation, from her friend Dr. Clarke, including an invitation to pass some time at Milbrook. This invitation was not accepted at that time, though I had the satisfaction of enjoying her society there at a subsequent period.

It is in the admirable economy of divine goodness, that there is no wound of sorrow which time does not assist to heal. Mrs. Bulmer felt the truth of this; and having pleaded, and laid hold upon, that gracious assurance, "Thy Maker is thy husband," she attached herself still more closely to his service; and, as she beautifully expressed herself in a letter to Dr. Clarke, she had "recounted the mercies of God during the first year of her bereavement; and she thanked God, and took courage." Upon the decease of Mr. Bulmer, she took up her residence with her aged and widowed mother. Two years only was this beloved and revered parent spared longer to her, and then sped to "join her friends above." She felt this separation as an affectionate daughter, who was alive to the tenderest sympathies and the dearest ties of nature, would do; and thus expresses herself to a relation on the occasion: "Affliction, with its intents and consolations, is a subject which the events of the last few years have frequently presented to my mind; and I can say, with David, It has been good for me.'" Again do we find her valued friend Dr. Clarke, with the spirit of genuine sympathy which so eminently distinguished him, endeavouring to console her under the anguish of this added bereavement. He says,

"Dear Mrs. Bulmer,-I hurried from Eastcot, hoping to be favoured with a last sight of your blessed mother; but found, on calling at your door, that she had gone to heaven the day before. I felt pained and disappointed on my own account; and yet, on a moment's reflection, I saw that my gratification would have added one day more to her suffering, and taken one from her glory. Such things are strictly true; but, O, how hard is it for friendship and affection to feel and submit to their force! Your mother, and a goodly number of her own family, are before the throne, eternally safe from the possibility of feeling or fearing evil. The prayers of those who are gone before are registered in heaven for those who are left behind. Several are on their way, and I trust all the others are about to set off! May God bless you all, and be with you to the last moment of the journey of life, that you may be with him in all the duration of life eternal!" The foregoing facts bring down Mrs. Bulmer's life to the year

1825. I cannot ascertain the precise time at which she was made a Class-Leader in the Wesleyan Connexion; but she must, at this period, have sustained the office upwards of twenty years. How efficiently and diligently she acquitted herself in the highly responsible and multitudinous duties which it involved, the records of eternity will show but the uniform testimony of all who were under her care goes to prove her intense anxiety for their best interests; her watchful care over their conduct; and her joy in their spiritual prosperity. To the young she was emphatically a mother in Israel; and to the sick and poor, a kind and sympathizing friend. She thus endeared herself to all with whom she had any intercourse; her exemplary deportment in every relation of life served to "adorn the doctrine of God her Saviour;" and it would not be hazarding too much to say, her whole life was purely exemplary. By this mode of expression, I mean, that, in every situation in which she was placed, all she said and did might be listened to with profit, and copied with advantage. More than this need not be said; and less ought not, in fairness to her uniform and high excellence.

It will probably be expected, that, even in so imperfect a sketch as this is, a few remarks should be made upon that part of Mrs. Bulmer's life in which she appeared in the character of an author. Her "Messiah's Kingdom" (upon which she spent much labour and time) has been long before the public; has been spoken highly of in some of the leading periodicals; and has its just and sober meed of praise from the elegant pen of James Montgomery, the Muses' own favourite, and a Christian man, concerning whom it may appropriately be said, "Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile."

I shall make no apology for the introduction of the following fact, for which I am indebted to the kindness of our mutual friend, Mrs. James Wood, of Manchester :

"When the foundation-stones of the Oxford-road and Ancoatslane chapels, in Manchester, were to be laid, Mr. Wood requested Mrs. Bulmer to write a hymn for the occasion; but as she was just entering upon a journey to Preston, no other opportunity presented itself than that which was afforded in the coach, where she composed those beautiful stanzas, which are now in the Supplement to the Wesleyan Hymn-book, beginning,

'Thou who hast in Zion laid

The true foundation-stone.'

They were conveyed to Manchester the next day, and sung upon the ground of those two chapels." To those who know that one of the essential attributes of a genuine poet is just this felicity of composition, the anecdote will speak for itself.

"The Memoirs of Mrs. Mortimer" was the next composition through which Mrs. Bulmer made herself known to the religious world. It

will appear to all who have read that excellent work, that she was fully competent to its efficient performance; and if I were desirous of impressing one who was a stranger to her with the most correct idea of her intellectual powers, I would recommend a careful perusal of the Preface, and the concluding pages, of that Memoir. The sound philosophy, the lucid argument, and the cool and discriminating judgment, displayed in the prefatory part of the volume, speak highly for the mental power of the writer; and the concluding observations, in the summing up of Mrs. Mortimer's character, do honour alike to the head and heart of our admirable friend. They afford the most indubitable evidence of the pure and elevated nature of her own religious experience; of the holy communings which her spirit held with the triune Jehovah; and of the power of vital godliness, to consecrate her high attainments to the most ennobling service in which they could have been employed.

It will appear from the above sketch, that the intellectual powers of our deceased friend were of no common order. There was a vigour, an originality, and a comprehensiveness in her mind, united with a large share of firmness, prudence, and amiability, which secured to her an unusual portion of influence among her friends. Her natural disposition inclined to seriousness; and there was a vein of philosophic contemplation transfused through her mind, which led it to associate itself rather with the sublime, than with the merely beautiful in nature, and which gave vigour to her thinkings, and great power in the expression of them, an evidence of which may be obtained by reference to her "Messiah's Kingdom;" a poem which, though it be of too lofty and sublime a character to meet the taste of superficial readers, will be valued by the few who happily possess an identity of feeling with its gifted writer.

In her social and domestic character, as exhibited among her numerous friends during the whole of her religious life, Mrs. Bulmer strikingly exemplified the excellence of Christianity. The principles laid down in Scripture were habitually referred to by her, and carried out in the various relations in which she stood to those around her. To her relatives she was strongly attached; and her venerable parent received, to the latest period of her life, from Mrs. Bulmer the most devoted and affectionate attentions. It has been already hinted, that, as a wife, her wisdom and influence were so exercised as to contribute in every respect to the honour and comfort of her husband. Those who were the most intimately acquainted with them both, have reason to believe, that his spiritual interests were by her constantly promoted; and that, during a very protracted illness, her affectionate counsels and fervent prayers were chiefly instrumental to the greatlyimproved state of his religious experience. Earnestly alive to the spiritual dangers and interests of her relatives, she improved every opportunity for the promotion of their benefit. In her ordinary