country has served to exalt him in our personal regard, it has contributed to strengthen still more the fraternal ties which bind together the Wesleyan family in Europe and America.

"That we devoutly implore the blessing of God upon him; and pray that He may graciously vouchsafe to our beloved brother a safe return to his home and family, and the Church whose Representative he is to this body."

The Conference then knelt before God, and Bishop Hedding uttered the following prayer :-"O most blessed Lord, we adore Thee, that Thou hast vouchsafed unto us Thy grace; that we have been comforted and edified by intercourse with our beloved brother, who is about to take his departure from among us, by his holy walk, his conversation, and his ministry. And now, O Lord, lift upon him and upon us the light of Thy countenance; and mercifully continue to bless him with Thy great salvation. Go with him across the great deep. Calm the winds and waves. Multiply Thy consolations upon him, in the midst of the ocean. Return him in safety to his family. Still preserve him, even to a green old age, a light to the church and the world, O heavenly Father, through our Redeemer, Jesus Christ."

Mr. Newton then prayed in the following strain:— "And now, O Father, we are bowed upon our knees, looking unto Thee. Grant unto us Thy grace, mercy, and truth, in Christ Jesus. We thank Thee that we have been brought together. Our hearts have been comforted, and our spirits refreshed. We have looked upon each other's faces, and have been made glad. Continue, O Lord, Thy great and abounding mercy to this Thy church. Strengthen its Ministers by Thy presence and Spirit; and may Thy pleasure prosper still more abundantly in their hands.

And now we must separate. O merciful God, sustain us, preserve us, guide us, comfort us. May we all abide faithful to our trusts, obedient to Thy will, serve Thee humbly, and finally attain eternal life in Christ Jesus. Amen."

Mr. Newton then bade the Bishops farewell, shaking each of them by the hand. The members of the Conference pressed round him as he retired. The scene was solemn and affecting, and few were able to place their feelings under restraint. Many of the Ministers wept much.

CHAPTER XI.

MR. NEWTON took leave of the Conference on the 29th of May, and left Baltimore the next morning for New-York, where he arrived at midnight,-a distance of two hundred miles. Here he found that labours of undiminished magnitude awaited him; his former services in that city and neighbourhood, and the report of his doings elsewhere, having excited general attention, and stimulated the curiosity of some, and the pious feeling of others; so that the desire to hear him was strong, and all but universal, especially among religious people.

The day after his arrival, being the Sabbath, he was appointed to preach at eleven o'clock in the John-street church, where Methodist preaching was commenced in America about seventy-two years before. The crowd was immense, and far more went away than could find entrance. After the service he was invited by Colonel Ross, the Commander of the Forces, to preach to his officers and men; but the engagements which he had already made rendered it impossible that he should accept the offer. In the evening, when he went to the church in Seventh-street, he found it full of people, and about six thousand standing in the street. He therefore ascended some lofty steps, and preached in the open air, on Rom. viii. 32; and then, having dismissed the assembly, he went into the church, and preached to the crowded congregation, who had been waiting all this time, on Rom. xii. 12, and made a collection for the Missions. He concluded the labours of the day

about ten o'clock at night. The heat was intense, the thermometer standing at eighty-four in the shade.

The next morning he left New-York, for the purpose of visiting New-Haven, Middletown, Hartford, Springfield, Boston, and Providence; and having preached at each of these places with his wonted power, interest, and acceptance, he returned to New-York, where he arrived at sunrise on Saturday, June 6th. At four o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, he laid the foundation-stone of a new church in Bedford-street,-his name being inscribed upon a piece of white marble, which was to be placed in the building,-and preached to an immense assembly, on Psalm xxvi. 8: "Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth."

In the morning of the next day he went to the village of Williamsburgh to open a new church, multitudes of people from New-York accompanying him. The rain was very heavy, and had been falling from an early hour; yet about five thousand people assembled in and around the building; and more than a hundred vehicles of every description were exhibited in the vicinity. After the service a gold medal was presented to the Preacher, as a mark of respect from the congregation, and a beautiful album for Mrs. Newton.

In the evening he returned to New-York, and preached in the Vestry-street church, where a similar scene occurred, multitudes being disappointed. The Governor of the State of New-York, the Chancellor, and three or four of their friends, entered into the church through a window near the pulpit, being determined to hear the popular stranger. This was intended to be his last public service in

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America; but as the ship which was to convey him to England was not to sail before eleven o'clock the next day, the friends urged him to preach in Allan-street church the next morning at six o'clock. To this he assented; but the persons who accompanied him to the place could not obtain admission, the church having been filled more than an hour before the appointed time. It was observed that such was the eagerness of the people to hear, that when they came within sight of the church, they actually ran, like passengers by a railway or a steamboat, when they hear the bell ring, as the signal for starting. The text from which he preached his farewell sermon was Phil. iv. 6: "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." He spoke with his usual freedom and impressiveness; and his sermon, taken down in short-hand, was forthwith published in a pamphlet, with an account of the entire service.

Before the congregation retired, the following Resolutions were proposed by friends who were present from various places: Whereas, our esteemed brother, the Rev. Robert Newton, Representative of the Wesleyan Methodists in Great Britain to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America, after a brief and most welcome visit to our shores in his official capacity, is about to sail this day on his voyage to England: therefore,

"Resolved, That we have hailed his arrival among us with the most heartfelt joy and gratitude, as it is at once the proof and pledge of that affectionate union which has ever existed between the members of the great Methodist family in our own and other lands, which we pray may be perpetuated to the latest generation.