advanced, when she again returned to the village of Nailsworth.

Early in the spring of 1829 Mrs. Ellis was seized with a severe attack of her disease, which assailed her shattered frame with apparently greater violence than before. But in the following summer she once more revived, and having been removed to a more eligible residence, she became every day perceptibly better. Under the emotions of hallowed joy which her progressive recovery now excited, she thus wrote to a beloved friend in London, in a letter, dated Newmarket, August 19, 1829:

"You will see, from the date of this, that we have removed from Nailsworth. From what I suffered nearly the whole time that I resided in the town, which, you know, is situated in a valley, and the great improvement in my health since my removal, I am induced to think that Nailsworth was not suited to my constitution, and that it was a wise arrangement in Providence that obliged me to remove thence. O that I may be duly grateful to Him who numbereth the very hairs on our head, and without whose knowledge even a sparrow falleth not to the ground. Behind our house we have a beautiful grove, in a shady and elevated part of which I have had a seat made, on which I am able to recline most days, when the weather is fine, beholding with a pleasure which those only know whose views have been for many months circumscribed by the walls of a sick-chamber, the delightful scenery of our little sequestered valley, and enjoying the benign influence of the pure and refreshing breeze."

In the commencement of 1830, Mrs. Ellis' mind was

greatly relieved from the anxiety which she naturally felt about her children, by the kind offer of two excellent ladies in Dublin to receive her eldest daughter as an inmate of their dwelling, and to superintend her education. An offer of a similar kind was made by another lady in the same town to take charge of the youngest. These proposals were gratefully accepted, and the two children removed to the metropolis of Ireland, where they remained-the eldest for two, and the youngest for three years. Thus relieved of one great cause of her solicitude, Mrs Ellis' health gradually improved; and in the middle of April she removed to London, where she was cordially welcomed by her friends and relatives on her return, after an absence of three years. Shortly after her arrival in the metropolis, å visit to the sea-side was recommended, and she set out, accordingly, for Brighton. Here the most alarming symptoms again appeared, and for some time her friends entertained the most fearful apprehensions as to the result. The means employed, however, to alleviate her sufferings were, by the divine blessing, to a certain extent successful, and hopes were cherished that she might yet be raised from her bed of sickness, restlessness, and pain. Vain were all such expectations; the disease recurred with unabated violence, and for some months her life was regarded as in a very precarious state. But it was not the will of God that she should yet enter into rest. She once more rallied, and in December 1831 she was conveyed to London, where Mr. Ellis had received a permanent employment. In the metropolis her health continued, during more than two years, in the same unsatisfactory state as at Brighton,

152

MEMOIR OF MRS. MARY M. ELLIS.

alternating between apparent improvement and augmented suffering.

During the whole course of her illness, the temporal comfort and spiritual improvement of her children dwelt much upon her mind, and it was a peculiar source of delight when, in 1834, the whole were collected under one roof. Though still confined to bed, and evidently becoming daily weaker and weaker, she spent much of her time in conversing with her family on the things that pertained to their everlasting peace. This high privilege they were not long permitted to enjoy, for although, in the opening of the year 1835, no perceptible change to the worse had taken place, this affectionate mother, this eminent Christian, was suddenly summoned, on the 11th of January of that year, from this world, which had been to her, in all its emphatic meaning, a vale of tears, and called to enter into the joy of her Lord. "Help, Lord; for the godly ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.”

CAROLINE ELIZABETH SMELT.

EARLY piety is peculiarly engaging, lending, as it does, a lustre, a beauty, and a grace, to the character of the young. And in no instance could the truth of this remark be more strikingly exemplified than in the amiable and accomplished young lady whose life we are about to sketch. Her career was short, but it was long enough to exhibit the brightest and most beautiful traits of the mature Christian. She lived in faith, and died in the joyful hope of a glorious immortality.

Miss Caroline Elizabeth Smelt was born in the city of Augusta, in the State of Georgia, North America, on the 28th December 1800. Her parents were of the highest respectability, and affluent in worldly circumstances. Dr. Smelt, her father, was a practising physician of considerable eminence in Augusta, and having realized an independent fortune, he retired from active business to spend the remainder of his days in the bosom of his family. Caroline was much beloved by her parents, and, in very early life, began to exhibit

marks of intelligence beyond her years. Her dispositions, too, were remarkably tender and winning. At the age of four she was sent to school, where she made the most satisfactory progress. As soon as she could read she took a peculiar delight in the employment, and showed a ready understanding of what she read.

When Caroline was in her eighth year, her tender heart was grieved by the death of a sister only three years younger than herself. The afflictive dispensation produced a deep impression upon her mind, and from that period she was accustomed to date her first serious thoughts of religion. She was observed now to lend greater attention to the instructions which her parents sedulously endeavoured to impart; and when her mother, as was frequently her practice, invited her to retire along with her for private prayer, Caroline evinced a readiness to engage in the exercise, which was remarkably pleasing. In the beauties of nature she felt an inexpressible enjoyment. She was an enthusiastic lover of flowers, both on account of their beauty, and as bearing the stamp of the divine perfections. In the acquisition of knowledge she spent much of her time, so that before she had reached her sixteenth year, though her bodily constitution was weak, her mind was stored with much valuable information.

The time had now arrived when Caroline, having completed her education, was about to be ushered into society. This was, of course, a season of much anxiety to her affectionate mother, who was naturally afraid lest the allurements of a vain and fascinating world should prove injurious to the spiritual interests of her dear child. Resorting, therefore, to a throne of grace, Mrs,