48 MEMOIR OF MRS. SUSAN HUNTINGTON. Her end was full of peace, Fitting her uniform piety serene. 'Twas rather the deep humble calm of faith. THE RIGHT HONOURABLE WILIELMA VISCOUNTESS GLENORCHY. THIS estimable and highly useful individual, who was the daughter of William Maxwell, Esq. of Preston, in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, was born after her father's death, on the 2d of September 1741. Her education and early training, as well as that of her sister, devolved entirely upon her mother, who, of a proud and ambitious spirit herself, strove to instil the same character of mind into her daughters. About the same time the two sisters, still in the bloom were married Mary, the eldest, to the Earl of Sutherland, premier Earl of Scotland; and Wilielma, the subject of our present sketch, to Lord Viscount Glenorchy, the only son and heir of John the third Earl of Breadalbane. of youth and beauty, Lady Glenorchy, besides being possessed naturally of a strong mind, had received a very expensive and liberal education, and was thus well fitted to adorn the high station to which, by her marriage, she had been raised. D But amid all the amiable and endearing qualities which she possessed, she appears to have been nearly, if not altogether, destitute of piety. Spending her whole time in the gay and giddy round of fashionable pleasure, she walked according to the course of this world; and she felt the more pleasure in the pursuits and amusements of the world, from the habits and inclinations acquired in the course of two years' residence on the Continent. This mode of life, however, was productive of considerable injury to her naturally delicate constitution; and often in her seasons of indisposition did she resolve to abandon her present pursuits, and devote her life to the practice of piety. These resolutions were, no doubt. in themselves good, but, alas! they too often proved "like the morning cloud or the early dew, which soon passeth away." The time at length came when Lady Glenorchy was rescued from a state of thoughtlessness in regard to the concerns of her soul, awakened to a sense of her sin and danger, and called effectually out of darkness into God's marvellous light. Her attention was first directed to the subject of religion through an intimacy which she contracted with the pious family of Sir Rowland Hill, at Hawkstone, in the neighbourhood of her occasional residence, Great Sugnal, in Staffordshire. To this family she became much attached, and often wished that she could imbibe somewhat of their pious spirit. The impressions thus excited in favour of godliness were every day acquiring strength, when it pleased God, by means of an afflictive dispensation of his providence, to render them permanent and efficacious. Early in the summer of 1765, while residing at Taymouth Castle, in Perth shire, she was seized with a dangerous putrid fever. In recovering from this disease, her thoughts turned frequently upon the vanity and emptiness of all things here below, on the awful consequences of sin, and on her own melancholy condition, as in God's sight a sinner. For some time she continued in a state of despondency and deep dejection of mind, but by means of a letter from Miss Hill, a member of the above-mentioned family at Hawkstone, she was encouraged to look by faith to the crucified Redeemer, and to view all her sins as washed away in his precious blood. From that period she resolutely bade a final adieu to the unsatisfying pleasures of time, and dedicated herself to the service and the glory of God. To her correspondence with Miss Hill, Lady Glenorchy was at this time indebted for much of the spiritual instruction and consolation she received. In her retirement at Taymouth, she spent much of her time in reading and reflection, and, by the blessing of God, she felt her mind much relieved. As the family were in the habit of spending the winter in London, she was not a little afraid lest, immersed once more in the follies of fashionable life, she would be deprived of those serious feelings which had now begun to take possession of her soul. It was her earnest desire that in her whole conduct and deportment she should evince the purifying efficacy of religion. The peculiar doctrines of Christianity, which happened then to be the common topics of pulpit discussion and private conversation, were frequently present to her thoughts; and being distrustful of her own judgment on points of such vital importance, she applied to Miss Hill, her valued counsellor and friend, who furnished her, in a long letter, with a very clear and luminous statement of the mode of our justification in the sight of God, and the nature and necessity of regeneration by the influences of the Holy Spirit. In these fundamentai doctrines of God's Word she felt a lively interest, and lost no opportunity of attaining a complete knowledge of them. In vain did her friends attempt to divert her mind from such topics, by persuading her to return to the dissipated world. She remained firm to her purpose, and neither severity nor persuasion were of any avail. Nor did her stedfastness in adhering to a religious course tend, in the slightest degree, to lower her in the esteem of some members, at least, of the noble family with which she had become connected. Lord Breadalbane entertained for her the warmest regard, and continued to do so till his latest hour. And although in some other respects she was not exempt from family crosses, she bore them with a resignation becoming her Christian profession. Naturally of an amiable and sensitive mind, Lady Glenorchy felt deeply the frequent annoyances to which she was subjected. But while lamenting these, her heart was torn by a painful bereavement, in the death of her only sister, Lady Sutherland, who, a few days after her husband, was cut off suddenly, in the midst of youth and prosperity. The stroke was heavy, but Lady Glenorchy had ere this learned to seek the true source of consolation. With such accumulated trials, arising from her domestic sorrows and the death of her sister, she looked to Heaven for help, and on earth she found a sympathizing friend in Miss Hill. Under the pressure of these severe and complicated |