RELIGION ON THE SICK-BED. 189 
suffering the most acute pain, exhorting and 
encouraging others to pursue the same path he 
has trod, telling the love of God to his soul, and 
of his desire to depart, that he may enter into 
the presence of his Redeemer; — when we wit- 
ness such unwavering confidence, amid such 
intense sufferings, and when the sanity of the 
patient is undoubted, can we hesitate to say at 
the demise of such an one, ' Let me die the 
death of the righteous, and let my last end be 
like his ! ' It has been my felicity to witness 
several departures of this description within a 
few years ; two from accidents, one from a cancer 
in the breast, one shortly after child-birth, and 
one from disease of the heart. All these died in 
the faith. Some of the diseases were lingering, 
others rapidly fatal ; but in all cases the subjects 
were ' strong in faith, giving glory to God.' '" 
It is pleasing to notice the terms of respect 
and regard in which the teacher is mentioned 
in the several communications from the island. 
Indeed, many valuable qualities appear to be 
united in him for the due discharge of his office. 
His good common sense, and plainness of speech, 
accompanied with an inoffensive firmness of 
conduct and manner, and that kind and Christian 
demeanour, without which all other important 
points of character in the " messenger of grace " 
are useless and unmeaning, distinguish him as 
the man for the situation to which it has pleased 
God to call him. 
His remuneration had for many years been 
wholly inadequate to the necessities of his 
family, and to the maintenance of that respect- 
