tion of her father), he had thankfully and joyfully regarded as already a saint in heaven, was still a heretic on earth; and all the list of converts who had followed in her train, had, with her altered position, passed out of existence.

Mr Luke now narrated the history of Marie. Mr Seager listened in silence. When asked, if he was prepared for such a communication? "I was,” replied he, "unhappily." His suspicions had been awakened by some circumstances. Mr Seager was afterwards introduced to Mrs Thomson, the Lady Charlotte of Marie's acquaintance, and to Mr Thomson who had so cruelly persecuted Elizabeth_to death, on account of her conversion to the Romish faith. No wonder he was bewildered. Putting his hand to his forehead, he said at parting, "I feel quite bewildered. My great difficulty will be to keep it from Marie. I think I shall not even tell Mrs Seager."

There was a meeting again in the evening to consider what should be done. It was agreed, that the impostor should be legally dealt with, Mr Seager acting as prosecutor, and Mrs Luke and Miss Thomson as witnesses. It was done; but for the particulars of the capture and examination, we must refer to the volume, if our readers wish more information. She is arrested, is examined before a magistrate, confesses her guilt, and is sent to prison. She seems quite unmoved. When her room was searched, letters were found from Mrs Cunliffe and other parties in Wales, with whom she had carried on this imaginary correspondence. These were written in an extremely small and cramped hand, crossed and recrossed after a truly feminine fashion, so as almost to make them illegible. With these fictitious communications from North Wales, which she read to them, she imposed upon her kind friends at Bonn. There was also a draught of a letter, regarding a confidential communication with the English episcopal minister at Bonn-was she meditating another conversion to Protestantism? There was a small volume of printed poems by "Matilda," containing all the verses she had passed off as her own, when residing with Mr Luke. Nor should we forget to add, that Marie's will was discovered among other documents, as another tale is suspended upon this. In February 1851, Marie writes Cardinal Wiseman, with the usual story of her conversion to Romanism, of her delicate health; and as she is desirous of bequeathing her large fortune to religious purposes, but cannot employ the family solicitor, she requests his eminence to recommend her to a Catholic lawyer. The sums she had to dispose of were considerable. There is L.4000 in one quarter, and L.2000 in another, etc. etc.; so that though she was not so rich a prize as Miss Talbot, with her L.80,000, she was by no means to be despised. The solicitor of Dr Wiseman entered into correspondence with her, and gave her such advice as his knowledge of her circumstances permitted. Accordingly, a will was drawn up in strict form, and with great legal accuracy. Consistent she was in all things. She was a liar and a deceiver from the beginning, and she seems bent upon playing out her part.

Marie's time of imprisonment is probably expired by this time. Arrangements have been made, we are informed, and at her own request too, by a lady in Bonn, for her temporary admission into a convent-penitentiary.

Mr Seager is about to publish a narrative of her conduct from her reception by the hospital Abbé at Brussels, to the exposure of her duplicity at Bonn, by Mr Luke. The title of the work will be, "The Female Jesuit Abroad."

Such is the history of this extraordinary impostor. With talents and perseverance which might have given her an independent and honourable position in society, she has sunk herself to the lowest depths of deception. At the early age of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, she has exposed herself, both in this country and upon the continent; and so long as she lives the brand of a liar is on her forehead. She has been living in an atmosphere of falsehood. She has been eating, drinking, and sleeping upon lies. Lies seem indispensable to her existence; and without some special miracle of Divine mercy, a terrible future is awaiting her. She has wearied herself with lies, and liars shall not stand in the presence of God. Let each, and especially the young, learn from this instance of youthful depravity, the danger of entering upon a course of deception. Let it be our prayer" Remove far from me vanity and lies."

MEMOIR OF THE REV. DANIEL GORRIE, KETTLE.

THE subject of this memoir was born at Condiecloich, a small farm on the banks of the Shilligan, in the vale of Logiealmond, in the closing year of the last century. From his infancy he was of a gentle, thoughtful, and retiring disposition; and gave early indication of those amiable features of character which afterwards formed the man. He became fond of reading, and manifested an ardent thirst for knowledge; stealing often away from the noisy sports of his more thoughtless youthful companions, to pore in secret over his favourite authors. These habits, growing by what they fed on, disposed him to seek a profession in life, requiring the exercise of the mind rather than of the body; and from an early period his heart seems to have been set upon the office of the ministry. His parents, with right Christian feeling, when they perceived it, favoured the bent of his mind, and furthered his wishes to the best of their ability. He was taken from the village school and put to the Grammar School of Perth; from which, after passing through a preliminary course of education there, he was sent to the University of Edinburgh, at the very early age of thirteen. Here he became, as usual, a great favourite with his fellow-students; while his diligence and proficiency in the prosecution of his studies, secured for him in due time the esteem of his professors. Mr Gorrie had been brought up in the Established Church of Scotland, and when he entered the College, he had no other intention than that of becoming a minister in connection with it; but when he had finished the usual curriculum of study in the Divinity Hall, his ecclesiastical views underwent an entire and permanent change. From strong conscientious convictions, he saw it to be his duty, notwithstanding the force of early associations, the influence of friends, and the certainty of future preferment, to relinquish his connection with the church of his fathers, and to attach himself to the interests of dissent. He put himself, accordingly, under the care of the Relief Presbytery of Edinburgh; and after undergoing the usual course of trial, was licensed to preach the everlasting Gospel, in the twenty-third year of his age.

Mr Gorrie soon gave evidence of possessing very acceptable pulpit talents, and only five months after license, he received and accepted a call to become the pastor of the Relief Congregation of Kettle. Here there was not only a large field of usefulness spread before him, which he was well qualified and disposed to cultivate, but the circumstances of the congregation at the time were such as strikingly manifested the overruling hand of Providence in his appointment. It had just been rent and distracted by events of a most distressing nature, and needed the voice of a comforter, and the hand of a healer, to compose its troubled spirit. Of all others, the individual who was sent to them was singularly formed for this very service, and soon, by his kind, affectionate, and gentle temper, he reduced the troubled elements to peace; so that, as he himself remarked, in his last sermon in the old church, before it was taken down, from that hour to this, during the course of thirty years, there had never been one discordant sound among them. From the first day of his coming among them, he secured the confidence and esteem of his congregation; and as his mind and heart matured and opened up, under advancing years and growing Christian experience, that first affection became increasingly warmer; so that never was it more ardent than just at the very moment of his untimely loss. Nor was this love on their part only, the feeling was reciprocal. He was deeply and tenderly attached to his congregation, and laboured much, and prayed for its prosperity. Into all that concerned the spiritual good of his flock he threw himself with generous devotedness; and, as a tender parent, cared for every one of them as if they were his own. Earnest and animated as he ever was, wherever he was called to preach the Gospel, he was nowhere more animated than in his own pulpit, among his own people. Here his affections seemed to have freer scope and exercise; and he felt as if he would compel every one of them to receive the Gospel call. Seldom have we seen him more excited, and felt him more impressive, than on his own communion Sabbaths. Th effect of these labours was, that his congregation steadily prospered, and never was in more hopeful circumstances than at the present moment. The old build

ing in which they had hitherto worshipped was just taken down, and a new and beautiful edifice was rising in its stead, in which they were anticipating many happy years of growing comfort and improvement, under the teaching of him who is no more. But, in the clear and cloudless day, when all was sunshine and peace, when hopes were high, and prospects were cheering, the bolt of death fell among them; and their beloved pastor, on whom their eyes and hearts were set, with perhaps too much confidence, was numbered with the dead.

The illness by which he was removed so suddenly was one of great severity and unusual rapidity, and must have been long insensibly advancing upon him. There were many premonitory symptoms, indeed, of its presence long before, which friends and relatives can now distinctly remember, but they were unsuspectingly attributed at the time to other causes. He had been of a firm and vigorous constitution from his youth, and since he entered on his ministerial work had never been seriously indisposed, or laid aside from duty. Indeed, he gave promise above many of his brethren of bidding fair for a fresh and hale old age, wearing out in his Master's service, and dwelling with increasing usefulness among his own people. But in the midst of this seeming health, a worm unseen was insidiously preying upon his strength, and preparing to lay him prostrate in the dust. A few months ago he seemed to be attacked by cold, and when overtasked with labour, complained, but evidently without alarm, of pain in his right side. His friends became more concerned than he himself seemed to be, for they thought they could discern in his altered appearance something indicative of failing health; yet even then his usual happy temper and cheerful conversation tended to assure them there was nothing seriously wrong. About six weeks, however, before his death, he was instantaneously laid prostrate, and when medical aid was called in, it was found that disease of a most virulent and dangerous nature had fixed its seat in the liver, and already had advanced far in its fatal course. From that day to the last, in despite of all the means and skill that could be employed, the disease, which had long lain slumbering in his constitution, progressed rapidly in the execution of its appointed commission, until its work was accomplished. The whole history of his sickness and death has been so sudden and unexpected, that the overwhelming stroke can scarcely yet be realised by his weeping family and attached congregation, and the conviction that he has for ever passed away from them, and the scene of his loved labours here upon earth, time alone, with other changes, will gradually enable them to understand.

From contemplating the outward ravages of death, it is pleasing to turn to the case of the departing spirit. During all his illness, it is comforting to know that, though his strong frame was severely shaken, and reduced with amazing rapidity, God was exceedingly gracious to him in sparing him from bodily suffering. He had no pain whatever; and thus relieved from outward distress, his mind enjoyed great freedom and tranquillity to contemplate the things of God, and to look forward to eternity: and this he seemed greatly to enjoy. He died as he had lived, fulfilling the testimony of the Psalmist, "Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace." His end was truly a serene and peaceful one. Though his sun went down almost at noon, it was not in darkness; but like one of those beautiful autumnal evenings, when, after a bright and cheerful day, the orb of light sets calm and glorious among the heavy golden masses of the western sky, so full of hope and faith he looked forward to his change, and peacefully prepared for it. In meeting with the king of terrors he seemed to be taken by no surprise; but was as one who had long been familiar with the prospect, and had nothing to do but to lay aside his vestments and to die. The religious experience of his past life then fully appeared to all around him to have been a solid work, carried steadily and diligently forward, and needing not to be hurriedly brought up at the conclusion. He early saw the event that was approaching, and cheerfully awaited it with hope and faith. From excessive weakness and languor he was indisposed to speak much, but the few words that he uttered were always full of comfort. A few days before his departure a friend and brother in the ministry asked him what his views were in the prospect of a change,-when he promptly and firmly replied, "I have no fears." The same individual at another time said, "I hope that God is with you;"

to which he answered, with much assurance, "Not only that, but I shall soon be in him." He was naturally reserved in the expression of his religious experience, and always shrunk from everything that resembled the ostentation of piety; but to his friends and relatives around his bedside, in whom he could confide, he calmly and unhesitatingly expressed his entire acquiescence in the Divine will, either to remain and labour on in the vineyard, or to depart and to be with himself-his looks and manner meanwhile conveying more than his language ventured to express. On the evening of the last Sabbath he spent on earth he gathered those members of his family who were then at home around his bed, and after earnestly pressing them, in broken accents, to place their trust and confidence in the God whom he had served, and the gracious Saviour whose salvation he had preached, he blessed them every one with a father's and a husband's blessing, commending them all to the keeping of a covenant God, and then lay back exhausted on his pillow. Next evening he recognised another of his family who had just arrived from a distance, and gave him also a parting advice and parental blessing. After this he gradually became weaker: he lay apparently insensible the whole of Tuesday, neither seeing nor hearing the tender objects of his affection, who were clustered around his bedside. On Wednesday morning, at a quarter past six o'clock, his breathing suddenly ceased, and, without a sigh or a struggle, his pure and peaceful spirit fled away from its earthly tabernacle to the bosom of its God.

"Servant of God well done;

Rest from thy loved employ:

The battle fought, the victory won,
Enter thy Master's joy."

D. K.

Correspondence.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN MAGAZINE.

LATEST NEWS FROM CAFFRARIA.

MR EDITOR,-In the last communication which I sent to your valuable Magazine, I gave you the account which I had received from South Africa up to the middle of January, concerning the residence and condition of some of the Caffre converts connected with our mission. Since then I have had information as late as the 23d of March. In little more than two months a great change has come over the face of matters at the Chumie. Early in February a party of soldiers, under General Somerset, marched thither, with the design of destroying the crops in that district, which were very luxuriant, and rapidly approaching maturity. Destruction instantly commenced. The crops were cut and trampled under foot. The cottages were broken down, and the materials, with books, tracts, Bibles, were soon seen scattered over the place. The Fingoes appropriated to themselves whatever they had a fancy to. Mrs Chalmers was compelled to leave, and those who had hitherto been protected by her presence, forthwith found themselves exposed and defenceless.

In this state of matters Dukwana, and about twelve other individuals, who had hitherto been harbouring about Chumie, came out of the bush in the neighbourhood, and voluntarily surrendered themselves. They were, of course, stripped of their arms, marched to Fort Cox, where, after being examined by the commissioner, they were set at large, turned adrift to join their countrymen, and ordered across the Kei. I have seen no account of the particular charges brought against them, but they could not be of a rebellious character, since, immediately after their examination, they were set at large, and only banished into Caffraria Proper. A full account of the whole matter may be expected by next mail.

The treatment to which the females at Chumie were subjected, appears to have been very shameful and revolting. They were turned naked across the Chumie river; and, on its banks, were afterwards beheld the remnants of their clothes,

carosses, mats, baskets, etc. etc. Mrs Chalmers is now safe at Lovedale, though she has lost some of her goats, and been compelled to leave her house.

About the 18th of March, the troops were to move to the Chumie mission station, which for some time was to be made the centre of military operations. This is greatly to be deplored, as the mission premises have not been unroofed; and therefore, while they will afford a sheltering place for the military, they will be in great danger of catching fire, and of being burned to the ground. It is said that Mrs Chalmers's house has been unroofed by a friendly hand, and it is greatly to be desired that the church and mission house had been dealt with in the same way before the military had encamped upon the spot. Amid the firing of guns, and the smoking of tobacco, no roofed premises are safe.

The arrival of the next mail will be waited for by all the friends of missions with great anxiety. General Cathcart, the new governor, has arrived at Cape Town, taken the necessary oaths, and entered upon the government of the colony. Sir Harry Smith was on the eve of sailing for Britain when the last information was despatched. Private accounts do not entirely corroborate the glowing official accounts of the late military triumphs at Waterkloof. "After the first day or two of fighting" between the British troops and Caffres, says a person writing from the spot," the runaway dodge was observed to the fullest extent; but we much fear that, as soon as we leave, the Caffres will return again to these immense mountain forests."

By a letter which I have seen in Glasgow, Mr Cumming is off Deal, in the Channel, and before your Magazine can be issued, I hope and trust he will have arrived safely in his native city, Edinburgh. GAVIN STRUTHERS.

PRACTICAL STEP FOR THE ADOPTION OF NEXT SYNOD, FOR THE BETTER SUPPORT OF THE GOSPEL MINISTRY.

SIR,-Having observed, with growing interest, the great and gratifying progress of sentiment and feeling in our church, in favour of the more liberal support of the gospel ministry; and being convinced, after what has been said, written, and done, on this subject, that at next meeting of Synod, some practical step will be called for in advance of those already taken by the Synod's committee; permit me to submit to your readers the following suggestions, with the design of contributing somewhat to the bringing forward of a practical measure on this most urgent and most important question. If the suggestions commend themselves to those to whom they are more especially addressed, they can easily be thrown into the form of resolutions, which may be moved in presbyteries or sessions, when the report on this matter, sent down to them by the Synod, comes before them for consideration.

Suggestion 1st, That the Synod adhere to its expression of opinion in May 1851, to the effect, that, without giving a decision on the matter of stipends, binding on the congregations of the church, the sum of L.150 be kept in view as a desirable minimum to be aimed at, and, if possible, ultimately attained.

2d, That in the meantime an endeavour be made to raise as many of the smaller stipends as practicable to L.120.

3d, That to gain this object, congregations able to give L.120, but not raising so much, have their attention directed to the circumstance, with the view of suggesting to them the desirableness and propriety of reaching this sum.

4th, That congregations, unable to give L.120 without assistance from others, be entitled to apply for aid to the supplementing fund, subject to the regulations laid down in the rules and forms of procedure.

Such are the suggestions of yours, etc.,

A MEMBER F SYNOD.