1 70 MEMOIR OF GEORGE WILSON. CHAP. VII. 



himself included, a strange presentiment that death was at 

 hand. He wrote the names of several friends on books 

 that day. In the evening we were all reluctant to retire. 

 Mary and I had secretly resolved (unknown to each other) 

 to remain up all night, and his brother slept beside him. 

 We were reading together [in the next room] the eighth 

 chapter of the Romans, and had nearly finished it, when the 

 sound of his breathing heavily called us to his side, and we 

 had the satisfaction of witnessing him die. His mind wan- 

 dered slightly through the short period during which he re- 

 tained consciousness. He was not apparently aware that 

 he was dying, but believed he was about to fall asleep. He 

 spoke, however, with more freeness than usual, though with 

 much physical difficulty ; and in answer to our questions 

 referred to his never having, since he went to Glasgow, lost, 

 or ceased to have trust in Christ. He was repeating a con- 

 versation he had with Mary that morning, ending with a 

 confession of his ability to throw himself ' humbly ' (he 

 dwelt much on that word) on Christ. It was inexpressibly 

 touching to us seeing him dying, and desiring a repetition 

 of his assurances of faith, to be gently (very gently) inter- 

 rupted by his ' wait a minute.' He would not acknowledge 

 a true conclusion not legitimately arrived at ; and when we 

 anxiously repeated to him words of Scripture, he kept 

 quietly on in his own statement, and so lost conscious- 

 ness. 



" It would have been consoling to us to have heard him 

 again repeat his acknowledgments of reliance on God. But 

 it was not necessary to us, and it would argue a mournful 

 lack of faith to let the accident of his dying physical state, 

 which precluded speech, shake our trust in God. I never 

 felt the great privilege of prayer more fully than when I 

 knelt at my cousin's dying bed and implored our great, 



