Though frequently suffering the chidings of his conscience, he remained unconnected with the church of Christ till the year 1840, when, by the persuasions of pious friends, he again attended a class-meeting, and with earnestness sought "the kingdom of God and his righteousness," He found however that the habits which he had formed while in a state of backsliding, were hard to be conquered. He had become attached to gay company, and addicted to the intoxicating cup. To deliver himself from his most powerful besetment, he signed the total abstinence' pledge, and then gave himself decidedly to the Lord, and to his people. From this time his constant care was to grow in grace and adorn the Gospel of Christ. He was admitted a member of the St. Blazey society, in June, 1842, and became much esteemed for his regular attendance at the house of God, and his holy deportmont. He was a miner, and generally worked at 170 fathoms below the surface. There he has frequently been heard earnestly engaged in the worship of God. The symptoms of the disease which has removed him from his now mourning family and friends, were apparent about four months previous to his decease. During his illness, he had almost uninterrupted communion with God. His religious experience was exceedingly gratifying and instructive to those friends who were privileged with his conversation. He frequently expressed the joy of Christian triumph. He requested that if a sermon should be preached to improve his death, the text might be, "I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, write, blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, from henceforth." Some of his sayings on his death bed were these-I am going home.' 'I have fought a good fight.' 'All is right with my soul." "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth my soul from all sin,' placing emphasis on the words my soul. 'My prospects are brightnever so bright as at present.' Just before his final change, he requested those friends who were near him to join him in singing "All is well." He died exulting in the cross of Christ; thus leaving the most satisfactory assurance of his meetness for heaven. His funeral sermon was preached on March 21st, by the writer of this, to a crowded and deeply affected audience. W. D. DIED suddenly, at Keighly, on Sunday, June 11th, John Ogden (chapel-keeper), aged sixty-two. He attended to his business in the chapel, during the morning and evening service; he was also present while we held a prayer-meeting after preaching: he afterwards attended another prayer-meeting, in which he engaged, went home, took supper, and returned to rest as usual. He had not been long in bed before he began to cough, and in about ten minutes he was dead. The last words he was heard to say, were, Lord, help me. Oh! what need of being 'always ready.' POETRY. PSALM 46TH PARAPHRASED. GREAT God! Thou art our hope and strength, And mountains fall into the sea, A river of life, which maketh glad In vain do kings and heathens fight; W. R. Thy voice is heard, the kingdoms fear, Burning its chariot, sword, and shield. Thy saints, secure in love divine, T. C. JOHNS, PRINTER, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. THE WESLEYAN METHODIST ASSOCIATION MAGAZINE. SEPTEMBER, 1843. MEMOIR OF THE LATE MR. B. ROBINSON, OF SCARBOROUGH. By Mr. M. Beswick. Mr. BENJAMIN ROBINSON was born in the town of Scarborough, Yorkshire, March 26, 1763. His father, a man of good moral character, was twice married, had eighteen children, and was remarkably diligent in attending to the morals of his family. Towards the latter period of his life an event happened, which, from the singularity of its circumstances, deserves to be placed on record. One Sunday afternoon, while attending divine service in the church, he was suddenly struck blind, so that, at the conclusion of the service, he had to be conducted home by some of his friends, and continued in a state of total blindness the remainder of his life. The subject of the following brief memoir was issue by his father's second marriage. Early in life he was placed in a charity school, connected with the Established Church, where he acquired a knowledge of the rudiments of learning, and became prejudiced in favour of a Church Establishment. Owing to a misfortune in his thigh, he was continued at the school till he was fourteen years of age, when he was apprenticed as a sailor for seven years; but about twelve months before the termination of his apprenticeship he entered a man of war, and in the year 1783 was in an engagement with the Dutch, under the command of Admiral Parker, on the Dogger Bank, in the North Sea. At this time he experienced a very narrow escape of losing his life; for a person with whom he had been conversing only a few minutes before, and who was still standing on that part of the deck which he had left, waiting for him while he went up to adjust the rigging of the vessel, was killed on the spot with a cannon ball. When our deceased brother related this providential deliverance, he remarked, that, at that time, his heart was as callous as the nether millstone, and he had no thoughts either of God, or his soul, or eternity. About two years after this he obtained his discharge from the navy, and came home to Scarborough, and in a very short time was married to his first wife. He then, so far as external deportment was concerned, became a rigid churchman, or, as he has often expressed it, "a thorough going pharisee, full of self-righteousness and good works." But as age and experience increased, he underwent a gradual change, his rigid views as a churchman, became more flexible, and occasionally he went with some of his friends to a Baptist chapel. Still, however, he was not properly enlightened respecting his moral destitution, depravity, and guilt, until he went one week evening to the Methodist chapel, and heard the Rev. A. E. Farrar preach. On that occasion the word came home with power to his heart, and the sentence which seemed most particularly to arrest his attention, and to penetrate his conscience more forcibly than any other, was this, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them." When relating his conversion to God, and alluding to the effect this sentence produced on his mind, he would often say emphatically, Oh, it was then that all my pharisaical props at once gave way, and fell from under me; I wished I were a dog, or any thing but a responsible being, nay, I even wished that there were no God.' In this state of wretchedness and condemnation, he besought the Lord to have mercy upon him, and to justify him freely through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, that he might be justified from all things, from which he could not be justified by the law of Moses; and it is gratifying to know that he did not seek the grace of God in vain, for the Lord indeed heard and answered his prayer to the joy of his soul; so that he could afterwards testify, "O Lord, I will praise thee, though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and behold now thou comfortest me." He then became a member of the Methodist Society, along with his wife, who had been brought to a knowledge of saving truth a little before him. After this, he began to take great pleasure in reading the Scriptures, and in praying with his family; he was also exceedingly industrious in getting to the means of grace, and in taking his family with him: in short, he adopted the resolution of Joshua, and would often say, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." His attachment to religion was uncommonly strong and fervent, and in every thing which he had to do for the cause of Christ, he engaged in it heartily and conscientiously, and with a sincere desire to glorify God and to do good. So great was his zeal that he would very faithfully reprove others, if he observed in them any remissness of duty, or any want of strict conformity to their Christian profession and character. To shew the happy change which Divine grace had accomplished in him, a circumstance may here be mentioned which took place after his conversion to God. Being a man of great muscular energy, and of rather an irritable temper, he was considered by those who knew him, while in his carnal state, to be a very dangerous character when provoked, for he would then, on the slightest provocation, enter into conflict with his opponents, and would do his best to beat them most unmercifully. One day, when on the sands, two fishermen disagreeing with him on some subject or other, both fell on him and struck him severely several times, but he, under the superior influence of Divine grace, and considering his Christian character, and the example which |