see you again; but, unwilling to give you unnecessary alarm, I have kept my thoughts to myself. Yet I have the happiness to inform you, that divine comfort has been given to me; and I have felt no concern (except on account of my family) whether I depart this life in the night alone, or when surrounded by my friends. I esteem it a great mercy from Almighty God, that he has begun a good work in the hearts of several of our children; and the thought of meeting you and them all in a better world, gives me great pleasure.......I particularly desire that the children may be brought up in a plain, frugal way; that they may continue to be taught, that 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;' and that the way of sin is the way to present misery and eternal death. I also wish that they may be taught to be compassionate and benevolent to the poor and the distressed. If they all grow up in the fear of the Lord, it will be no great concern whether they be rich or poor: an interest in Christ is better than all the honours of the world."

Mr. Pearse was restored; and with his days, his usefulness expanded. Personal piety was his first concern; the salvation of his house the next; and thence his benevolence spread, and sought the good of his neighbours. By the increase of the congregation, the decent, but comparatively humble, chapel in Back-lane was not sufficiently large. In connexion with George Pearse, Henry Nicholls, and others, the heart of Mr. Pearse was set on a more suitable house for the worship of his God, and the highest advantage of those around him. A suitable place was soon found; and to the erection of a new chapel Mr. Pearse bent his best energies. He began by a liberal contribution; and, having set the example, he inquired of all within his reach, from whom there was any probability of obtaining assistance, in what degree they were willing to consecrate their gifts unto the Lord. That the chapel might be without a large debt, he applied to all, far and near, with whom he possessed any influence; and took several journeys for the purpose. In this disinterested work by many he was cheered and aided; so that his labour was by no means unsuccessful. At length Mr. Pearse beheld with delight the completion of this house for God's worship and honour. In the summer of 1810 it was opened for divine service by the late Rev. John Walmsley, and the junior Minister then stationed with him in the Launceston Circuit. By this last-mentioned Preacher, on the previous Thursday evening, were concluded the accustomed public services in the Back-lane chapel, from Exod. xxxiii. 13, 14.

The old chapel was not sold, but retained. And from that day, to the old age of Mr. Pearse, and chiefly under his direction, it has been devoted to the highly-important duty of Christian education. Auspicious will be that day, when every place of worship will have a school connected with it, where the young, the rising, mind, the hope of the church, they who will soon move the world,-shall be taught the

principles of the doctrine of Christ; and, in the best time and way, be prepared to go on to perfection! The times require that this should be speedily done. Not only advantages to be obtained, but also dangers to be avoided, call on the wise and the good promptly, in this respect, to attend to duty. Those Christian communities, as well as men personally, who are not prepared to take their place in what is truly (not in appearance merely) the onward course of things, will soon find that they must have the pain and mortification of being forced to fall back in what assuredly will be their place; namely, on one of less usefulness, and therefore of less honour, than they might have filled, if they had not been thus criminally negligent. In the prosperity and success of Sunday and other schools, Mr. Pearse felt a lively interest, and gave to them his countenance and support; and when education had created the mental, and, by God's grace, the spiritual, appetite, he was next careful to supply to this "the sincere milk of the word," suitable books, and especially religious tracts, as the proper food. His son writes, "Mr. Pearse spent no small sums of money in the purchase of books and tracts. These were not only largely given at home, but also in the neighbourhood. Whenever about to take a journey, he was accustomed to carry a selection of tracts with him, which he tendered at the door of the poor man's cottage, and distributed as he entered the village or town. This he did very largely."

The charity that dwelt in Mr. Pearse's heart was not to be restricted by country or nation. On man in destitution or in distress, however nationally known, it poured its blessings. The miseries of horrid war had sent many officers, &c., as prisoners on their parole, to Launceston. The more aged of these were of the Church of Rome; the younger part were, generally, the disciples of Voltaire. Mr. Pearse deeply sympathized with those unhappy captives, and sought their highest good. Whether they were men of western or central Europe, he procured tracts in their different languages, and gave them for their religious instruction: he also relieved the necessities of those who were in distress. Many of these gentlemen professed to be very thankful for these attentions, and some attended regularly the public worship of Almighty God. It deserves notice, that one of these prisoners (who, at the general peace, returned to his home) at length came back to Launceston, lived in the service of the Trustees of the Wesleyan chapel, and has found a grave among their dead.

Nor were the miseries and the claims of men whose home is in regions beyond Europe forgotten or neglected. In the days when the toil of Dr. Coke supplied, in a great degree, the means for Missionary enterprise, he usually found a home, in his visits to Launceston, with the family of Mr. Pearse, and a helper in its head. They went together, from house to house, in pursuit of contributions. occasion, they waited on the Rev. Dr.

the

When, on one
Vicar, and a

Magistrate, he not only met them coldly, but with some degree of hauteur also, and refused to give them any countenance or support whatever. Dr. Coke bade this gentleman "good morning," and was in the act of leaving; but the door was so hurriedly and violently shut, as to retain a portion of the Doctor's gown. When, at length, liberated, he said, "Brother Pearse, I would not have that man's soul in my body for all the world."

The Christianity of Mr. Pearse was founded on intelligence and principle: whether at home or abroad, it was the same. It was manifested in simplicity and godly sincerity; not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God; and it led to an exemplary conversation in the world. By divine mercy, the heart and life of Mr. Pearse were so governed and directed, that he was apprehensive of nothing that would lead to fear and amazement. On one occasion, when he had transacted business and dined with a merchant in London, the latter requested Mr. Pearse to accompany him to one of the theatres in the evening. This offer was declined; and, being pressed for the reason of his refusal, Mr. Pearse plainly stated his decided objection to such places; that, on religious principles, he could not sanction scenes and exhibitions so dangerous to religion and morality. He added, "I cannot go to places, of my visits to which I should be ashamed to hear in the presence of my family, my religious friends, or the world." Mr. Pearse truly laboured, wherever he was, to be accepted of God.

Mr. Pearse was truly a liberal man. In relieving the distressed, as well as in supporting what he confidently regarded as the cause of God, he honoured the Lord with his substance. This is well known in the immediate circle in which he moved. The benevolent and religious institutions of his neighbourhood, the church of Christ, and that section thereof especially with which he was connected, had not merely his good wishes, but also his more effectual aid. And this was afforded, on some occasions, in the spirit of self-denial and sacrifice. "In the course of Mr. Pearse's pilgrimage, he experienced some few of the vicissitudes to which all persons in business are subject; and, at one period, a very great depression in trade so contracted his income, as to make it difficult for him to provide for his young and increasing family, and, at the same time, to do good as he had been accustomed to do. But the case was speedily met in another way: breakfast was taken without sugar, dinner without cider, &c.; and the money so saved enabled him to continue his accustomed contributions to certain funds, without doing any injustice to the claims of his family.”

By nothing was Mr. Pearse more distinguished, than by decision of character. The great principles of Christianity he held with a firm and a steady grasp. He had found them, on evidence that satisfied him, as facts, in God's holy word. On these his mind and heart relied. Mr. Pearse was not an unthoughtful man: proofs of this could be furnished, if necessary. Yet he no more made explanation as

to the essence of the divine Being, the mystery of godliness, the operations of the Spirit, or the work of faith, the condition of believing the facts of revelation,-than he required explanations of the same kind in relation to the physical world, ere he would believe in its actual existence. Such explanations were neither sought nor required. In the spirit the Apostle James recommends, he received the "ingrafted word," and this led to abiding faith and salvation. He lamented the feebleness and instability which had led some once-hopeful persons whom he knew, to become "wandering stars;" and they sometimes questioned the principles on which his unyielding integrity was founded. To the people of his early choice, his unchanging attachment was equally apparent. Nor was he unthoughtful here. Whether the stated expansion of old principles, or the alleged necessity for untried institutions, were the subjects proposed to him, he thought and deliberated ere he approved and supported. The general state of his mind, in reference to Methodism, led here to one great advantage: he had much confidence in the integrity of certain leading men in the Connexion; and, under the direction of that charity which "hopeth all things," his mind was guided as to duty. And it would do him great injustice not to say, that his approval of certain measures was most cordial; and that they might be properly carried out, his support was most generous. Printed documents abundantly attest these facts.

Mr. Pearse was eminently a domestic man. When the duties to which business called him were performed, in the bosom of his family he was accustomed to find rest. A prudent and affectionate wife greatly contributed to this. At home he was expected; and his was a home to which he could ever retire with comfort. In that retirement the worth of Mrs. Pearse was best and happily known. Abroad, where things are not always what they seem to be, and where only that which sparkles is estimated, she was comparatively unknown. At home, in the realities of life, the eye that saw her blessed her. The writer, from communications in early life, on most important subjects, with Mr. Pearse, states what he knows. Hers

"Was an unobtrusive blaze,

Content in lowly shades to shine."

At length this good woman, chastened by time, mellowed by years, and rich in piety, died as the Christian dies. To Mr. Pearse as a man of business, and especially to the younger part of his family, this loss was great. For four years, as a widower, he continued to meet the difficulties of his case; then, with the general approbation of his friends, he was united to Miss Penwarden,-one in every respect suitable to him. Mrs. Pearse yet lives, and the writer is thus restrained from speaking, as he otherwise could do, of one who might be correctly designated by the sentence used by St. John, when speaking of a Christian loved in truth, and by all that have known the truth.

becom

The "days of the years" of Mr. Pearse's life had now become many; and as the world was receding from him, he receded from the world. His elder children had homes of their own, the younger were ing mature. As a good father, he taught them that (by Heaven's blessing) they must depend for support on their own efforts and resources he prudently helped them as they, on right principles, attempted to help themselves. He beheld their prosperity with joy: he mourned the case of any whose hopes affliction had blighted, and whose heart was smitten. Heaven's merciful and bounteous providence had given to Mr. Pearse enough: he gradually retired from business, not to waste the evening of life in inglorious ease, but, as strength would enable him, to “serve his generation according to the will of God." In this way he was wishful to wait, and be prepared, for the call of his Lord; and, amidst the chastening whereof all are partakers, and some trials and disappointments, to him the wane of life was the increase of peace, and hope, and brightness.

"His days were in the yellow leaf,

The flower, the bloom, of life was gone;"

but, by divine mercy, he had a "good hope through grace ;" and thus in the consolation and manifestations of Christ's holy religion, and in its living realities and fruits, he was enabled to contemplate and meet this, to men generally dreaded, "downward course."

In the pocket-book of Mr. Pearse, after his death, was found written: "October 6th, 1834. My birth-day: aged sixty-eight.

'Through hidden dangers, toils, and deaths,'

a kind Providence has cleared my way, and given me a hope of a better world."

And again, in his pocket-book for the next year: "October 6th, 1835. My birth-day: sixty-nine years of age. Goodness and mercy have followed me all my days."

The mind and heart of Mr. Pearse had now become familiar with solemn events which were near; and when in communion with the good, these were the chief subjects of his conversation. Frequently would the following lines conclude his intimations :—

"Well, if our days must fly,

We'll keep their end in sight;
We'll spend them all in wisdom's way,
And let them speed their flight.

They'll waft us sooner o'er

This life's tempestuous sea:

Soon we shall reach the peaceful shore
Of blest eternity."

In the autumn of 1841, Mr. Pearse was attacked by pleurisy, which, it was thought, would terminate in death. Great was the support afforded him in this affliction. When some appeal was made to him