But while Mr. Sharp will be best known to his countrymen by his eminent public services, it was in the private walks of life, in the domestic and social circle, that his real character was most apparent. He was truly the friend of the friendless. What he possessed he regarded as belonging to the poor. He was himself but a sharer in common with them of the necessaries of racy and lectureship which he had discharged in the most exemplary and useful manner, for upwards of seventeen years. The inhabitants of the parish, on this event, raised in a few days a sum of 6707. which was presented to Mr. Owen by a deputation of their number, who were instructed to express 'the sincere regret of a very numerous and highly respectable body of subscribers, at his leaving the pastoral station, which he had filied for upwards of seventeen years with credit to himself, and advantage to the parish; and to request him to accept their thanks for his unremitting attention to the several duties of his once, by visiting the poor and sick, relieving their wants, instructing their youth, and exerting himself in every possible way, both by his discourses from the pulpit, and his personal example, to promote their moral and religious improvement; as the result of which, they had witnessed, with great satisfaction, a progressive amendment in the manners of the lower orders, and a more frequent and serious attendance at Divine worship during his official residence among them. The address was sigued by 240 names, comprising almost all the nobility and gentry of the parish.† We do not remember to have read of a more outrageous act of tyranny, however it may have been sanctioned by the letter of the law, than the one related in the preceding note. Wherever the name of John Owen is known, and it is known extensively in the four quarters of the world, Mr. Vicar Wood will obtain an unfortunate kind of celebrity. That such a man as Mr. Owen should have been displaced by a professed minister of the Gospel, in these enlightened times, and prevented from preaching a funeral sermon on such a man as Granville Sharp;-and all this solely out of hostility to such an institution as the Bible Society, appears to us an event altogether unparalleled and almost unaccountable. FD. PAN. life which it could purchase: and many are now doubtless mourning his departure, of whom the world knows nothing, to whom he had been as an angel of God, drying their tears and causing their hearts to sing for joy. But if there were any feature in the character of Mr. Sharp, with which we were more struck than another, it was the grateful, yet awe-struck solemnity, with which he contemplated the presence and venerated the author ity of God. He seemed to feel his power and presence. And yet his was far from being a religion of gloom or apprehension. He possessed great cheerfulness of mind, and a remarkable tenderness and sympathy even for the failings of others. But we must check ourselves. Neither our space nor our time will allow us to proceed. We will only remark, that a good memoir of this excellent man, which without unduly veiling his singularities, should trace his character and his conduct both to their causes and their consequences, appears to us to be a desideratum in biog raphy, and we hope that it will be undertaken by some hand, which is equal to the task. DIED at his house in Boston, on the 30th inst. the Hon. THEOPHILUS PARSONS, Esq. LL. D. Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, in the 63d year of his age. At Dumfries, (Vir.) the Rev. CHARLES O'NEALE. At Newport, (R. I.) SAMUEL ELAM, President of the Newport Insurance Company, and the Rhode Island Bank, aged 63. Near the frontiers of Bohemia, Sept. 3, of wounds received in the battle before Dresden, Aug. 27, Gen. VICTOR MOREAU, for many years celebrated as one of the greatest military commanders in modern Iu England, JAMES WYATT, Esq. a celebrated architect. At New Orleans, DANIEL CLARKE, Esq. formerly delegate to Congress from the Louisiana Territory, aged 45. At Salem, & CHILD of Mr. Fish, of hydrophobia, having been recently bitten by a mad dog. In England, Miss ELIZA CONNEYS. She had a number of pins in her mouth, (a custom too prevalent, and at all times dangerous,) when starting at a clap of thunder, she swallowed ten of them, which occasioned her death. At Alexandria, Capt. THOMAS TRETCHER, aged 53. He had circumnavigated the globe with the celebrated Capt. Cook. At South Kingston, (K. I.) the Hon. FREEMAN PERRY, aged 83. POETRY. For the Panoplist. Thy patient suffrers, cheering them the while With many a smile of promise, thy pale hand Unlocks those bow'rs of everlasting rest, Where death's kind Angel waits to dry their tears THIS Ode was composed by a young lady in the last stage of the consumption, when convinced that her disease defied all medical aid, and she was reduced to such a state of weakness, that she could not walk across the room with- And crown them with his amaranthine out assistance. Perhaps it will be ac ceptable to some readers of the Panoplist. Under this apprehension it is transcribed. Should the editor judge it worthy of a place in his useful publication, he is at liberty to insert it. ODE TO SICKNESS. M. S. NOT to the rosy Maid, whom former Beheld me covet fondly, tune I now flow'rs. Yes, I have known thee long, and I have felt All that thou hast of sorrow. Many a tear Has fall'n on my cold cheek, and many a sigh, Call'd forth by thee, has swell'd my aching breast. Yet still I bless thee, Oh thou chast ning pow'r, For all I bless thee! Thou hast taught To rest upon its Savior and its God; And fix its hopes of happiness on Heaven. The shining trifles: never can they know Such pure and holy pleasures as await The heart refin'd by suffering. Not to them Does Fancy chaunt her pure and heav'nly song; "Tis not for them her glowing hand undraws The sacred veil, which hides th' An gelic world: They hear not in the music of the wind Celestial voices, that in whispers sweet, Call to the lingering pilgrim, 'Comė away.' They see not at the shadowy hour of eve, Descending spirits, who on silver wing Glide thro' the air, and to their harps divine, Sing in soft notes the vesper hymn of praise; Or, pausing for a moment as they turn Their radiant eyes on this polluted world, Drop on their golden harps a pitying tear. Prosperity! I count thy gifts no more. One fervent prayer I breathe; may God attend: If for my faded brow, thy hand prepare Some future wreath, let me the gift resign. Transfer the rosy garland; bid it bloom Forget that I have ever shed a tear. 2 ALMIRA. For the Panoplist. ON THE DEATH OF MRS. NEWELL. WHEN heroes die, the sons of song Bend tearful o'er their hearse, And love their mem'ries to prolong When heroes die, the sculptor's skill Their mighty emprize learn. Vain strife! devouring time to cheat Departed saint! whose virgin-star, Tho' short it's bright career, Outshone with steady lustre far The hero's dazzling sphere. We grieve not, that no poet tells In lofty rhyme thy worth, Nor that no sculptur'd marble swells In splendor o'er thy earth: TO CORRESPONDENTS. The elegy on Miss E. S. communicated by L. L. has been long under consideration. We decline inserting it. We owe an apology to H. for delaying the publication of his lines. They were intended for earlier insertion; but were overlooked. The communications of D. C. A. have been some time on hand. Perhaps parts of them may be published. The lines of JUVENIS are under con sideration. A paraphrase of David's elegy on Saul and Jonathan is received. The Sketches of Lord Chief Justice Hale, sent us by a correspondent, are too imperfect to be published. À SINCERE FRIEND is informed, that we cannot enter upon the discussion of the question, which she has proposed. The fragment furnished by JULIANA requires too much correction. THE PANOPLIST, AND MISSIONARY MAGAZINE. No. 9. NOVEMBER, (PART I.) 1813. VOL. IX. BIOGRAPHY. MEMOIRS OF MISS SARAH SMITH. THE subject of the following brief memoir lives in the remembrance of her numerous friends; but the excellence of her character ought to be more extensively known, for its brightness and dignity may attract others to goodness. She was the daughter of the late Rev. John Smith, D. D. professor of ancient languages in Dartmouth College, a man no less eminent for oriental learning, than for piety. She was born at Hanover, (N. H.) April 23, 1789, and died August 17, 1812, in the 24th year of her age. Having an easy access to books and a taste for reading, she perused, while yet very young, many volumes; but as she afterwards perceived, she read without judgment and with little improvement. To the undisciplined mind of a youth, whose imagination is ardent and whose heart is tender, the wild and affecting scenes of fiction have very powerful attractions. She She devoured many novels; but happily at the age of fourteen her reason acquired strength, and the enchantment of romance was in a great degree dissolved. Her reading was now more wisely directed, and her application so VOL. IX. intense, as to prove injurious to her health. Her letters and her poetical productions, written at the age of fifteen or sixteen, furnish proof, that her mind was much more matured, than is common at that period. With the pencil also she became unusually skil ful. She possessed genius and talents; but unless they had been conjoined with the unfading beauties of religion, the remembrance of them would be accompanied with unavailing regret for their perversion. It was her religion, which made her friends look upon her almost as upon an angel, and which gave her peace and triumph, as she went down to the grave. Although, through the care of pious and faithful parents she was early instructed in the great truths and duties of the Christian religion; yet before she reached. the nineteenth year of her life she seems not to have been actuated by the principles and mo tives, nor to have been cheered with the hopes of the Gospel. The renovation of the sinful heart is a most interesting and important event; and the redeemed servants of Jesus delight to retrace the steps, by which they have been rescued from perdition. 49 In January, 1808, Miss Smith being absent from home spent Saturday evening, and a part of the Lord's day, in a manner very remote from the habits of her past life. She was not only destitute of serious thoughts, but so gay and giddy, as to astonish her companions. After return ing home, as she was sitting by the fire, she fainted; and falling, was burnt in her neck. On escaping from this danger, she could not but reflect on death, and on her peculiar unfitness to die in a sudden manner, after the giddiness and folly of the past day, during which, as she herself observed, she seemed to be completely given up to sin. Possibly her reflections may be thought by some to be too severe, as her only offence was that of violating the sacred rest of the Lord's day; but the enlightened conscience must speak with disapprobation, when any one of the divine commands is transgressed; and the humble penitent will have no wish to justify or palliate any conduct, which implies a destitution of love to God. Her life having been spared, when thus imminently exposed, she formed the resolution of devoting it to the service of her God and Preserver. Her serious purposes were strengthened during a long and dangerous illness, which soon followed. For four months she was scarcely able to sit up, or to converse; but in this period her soul held intercourse with heaven. Her iniquities were arrayed before her, and she abhorred them, repenting deeply of her sin in neglecting supremely to love and diligently to obey God, She felt the want of mercy, and she sought, and, as charity must say, obtained pardon and salvation at the feet of Jesus, so that she beheld the king of terrors without fear or dismay. There are some, who are fil. led with terror before they obtain peace. But Miss Smith seems not to have experienced great anxiety respecting her future condition. A taste for excellence was imparted to her, and she could not but hate sin. She was attracted by the love of Jesus, and her soul was the abode of joy. After her recovery, in July she made a visit to her friends in Boston, where she remained until January. The death of her pious and excellent father in April 1809, made a deep impression upon her mind, and soon afterwards she became a member of the church, which had been under his care, thinking it her indispensable duty to avow herself a disciple of her Redeemer, and deploring her neglect in not sooner obeying his explicit command. The sentiments of religion can be nourished only by divine truth, and by prayer, as the means of obtaining the abiding influence of the Holy Spirit. From her recovery in 1808, until her death, Miss Smith ha bitually, three times every day, read the Scriptures, and kneeled in prayer to her heavenly Father. Even from the age of sixteen she read much in the Bible, marking the most interesting passages with her pencil, seldom going abroad to spend a night without taking it with her; but now it was her constant compan ion, and its truths were the joy of her heart, while its benevolent |