This transcript attempts to retain the Memoir's text and paging.
1
MEMOIR
OF
MISS MARY ANN BOTTLE,
WHO DIED FEBRUARY 10, 1842,
AGED 16 YEARS.
---------------
Third Thousand.
---------------
LONDON:
HAMILTON, ADAMS, & CO., PATERNOSTER-ROW,
AND W. WHITE, BEDFORD.
-----
1844.
2d. each, or 1s. 6d. per dozen.
------------------------------------------------------
BEDFORD:
PRINTED BY W. WHITE, HIGH-STREET.
------------------------------------------------------
THE two former editions of this little work
having met with the most kind and favourable
reception, the author has reduced the size and
price of the present edition, hoping that it will
now be found a most suitable and valuable
book for sabbath schools, and for more general
distribution.
Offord Darcy,
November 20, 1843.
MEMOIR.
-------
MARY ANN BOTTLE, the subject of this mem-
oir, was born at Keysoe, in the county of
Bedford, October the 20th, 1825, and died
at Pertenhall, the adjoining village, February the
10th, 1842, at the age, as will be perceived,
of little more than sixteen years. She was very
delicate from her infancy, and seldom enjoyed
the blessing of perfect health; but although
she was weak in constitution, she possessed an
energetic mind, and from early childhood her
character was marked by sincerity and dec-
ision.
Whilst quite young, she attended the schools
in the village where she resided, and made very
pleasing progress in learning; but at the age of
thirteen, she was placed under the care of Miss
Hillyard, of Bedford, (daughter of the late
2
highly-respected and beloved Rev. S. Hillyard,
and now wife of the Rev. J. L. Poore, of Man-
chester). She continued at this school three
years, according entire satisfaction to her gover-
ness and parents, and enjoying much comfort
herself. Her health, while at Bedford, (owing
perhaps to the change of air, and to the kind at-
tention of Miss Hillyard and her mother), was
considered better than when at home. Whilst
she was with Miss Hillyard, she carried on a
regular correspondence with two of her beloved
young friends, who had been in the same
school, but left it before she did; and it is
thought that a few extracts from her letters
will exhibit her character to the reader better
than any description that could be penned by
the writer of this memoir.
The following is an extract from a letter
dated January 5, 1841. It will show her views
on letter-writing, and will also suggest an apo-
logy for any defects that may be found in her
correspondence. It is scarcely necessary to
premise, that all her letters were written solely
for the eye of her friends to whom she wrote,
and without the remotest idea that they would
ever be published.
3
"My beloved Friend, - You said in your letter, you
did not sit down to think how to construct a sentence,
but wrote what came first into your mind, and I am
sure that I can say the same, as you can tell from my
random unstudied letters. But, after all, I think it is
the best way of writing, as we are more likely to ex-
press our true feelings in such a letter, than in one
when we make composition our chief aim. I am very
fond of letter-writing when I can write in my own
words; but there is nothing I dislike worse, than hav-
ing to write what is called good composition, but
which I think consists in nothing better than a few
stiff sentences, called expressions, far-fetched thoughts,
and altogether a heartless unmeaning collection of fine
words, which would do better for a public essay than a
private letter. But I must lay aside this subject, or
you will think I have sent you a treatise on letter-
writing instead of a letter."
The following extracts upon different sub-
jects are selected from letters written by her to
her two young friends, before she had left
school, and before she had fully opened her
mind to them upon religious subjects:
ASTRONOMY.
"Are you fond of astronomy? I am reading "The
Sidereal Heavens," a work upon this delightful science.
Delightful indeed it is, for what can be more sublime
than to fly in imagination to those distant orbs that
roll over our heads - measure their diameters and cal-
4
culate their distances from our globe? This earth,
though greatly defaced by sin, still possesses scenes of
grandeur and beauty. Shew the traveller the fairest of
these. Let him survey them in their utmost magnifi-
cence. Then when night has thrown her mantle over
them, lead him further, and bid him look at the blue
vault of heaven, bespangled with innumerable lights,
the faintest of which is probably a world a thousand
times larger than this, and surely this exceeds in gran-
deur and sublimity everything on this terrestrial sphere.
If the power of God is wonderfully displayed in the
smallest insect that exists, is it not far more gloriously
in the multitude of worlds created and upheld by his
help alone?"
The last night she spent at school with one
of her friends is thus noticed:
"Often shall I watch the moon as it glides along the
azure sky, like a vessel in the calm ocean, and think of
the last night we watched it together. No doubt you
remember how lovely it looked as it tinged the clouds
with silvery light. There always seems to be something
melancholy in the moon, which makes it still more
beautiful. It seems to sympathise so sweetly with
those who, like itself, shun the blaze of the meridian
sun."
ON IRELAND.
"I am very glad you like the poor Irish. I wonder
that Englishman do not take a greater interest in a
country so nearly allied to their own. They exert
themselves to enlighten the remotest parts of the globe,
5
and yet leave poor Erin's sons involved in superstition
and ignorance. If once illuminated, would not "The
Emerald Isle" shine forth with a splendour as dazzling
as that even of England herself? Then, indeed, would
Ireland be
"First flower of the earth and bright *** of the sea."
It is supposed that she had some idea of
being engaged in the missionary work when she
wrote the following paragraph:
"Often I think, in after life how frequently will my
thoughts return to school days, and the many friends I
found there, particularly you. Perhaps the wide ocean
may roll between us, and many a lofty chain of main-
tains separate us; but what is distance? There is an
invisible chain, that will reach to any length, and bind
us firmly together. It is the golden chain of love."
The following extract upon the same subject,
is from a letter written after she had left school,
and had entered upon the subject of religion:
"Is it not delightful to think, though distance may
separate our bodies, it can have no influence upon our
spirits? No, my dear friend, we may still think of one
another, write to one another, and more than all, pray
for one another. What a blessed privilege is this, that
we can both approach the same mercy-seat, and pray to
the same God. Why should we talk of separation? we
cannot be parted; time and distance may unite their
powers, but in vain.
"Beneath the same fair dome we dwell,
"By the same hand are fed,
6
"And pilgrims in one narrow way,
"Are by one Spirit led.
"To the great presence of our God
"By hourly faith we come,
"And find in sweet communion there
"One everlasting home.
"Our hope, our life, our joy, our soul,
"In our one Saviour meet,
"And what in heaven or earth shall break
"A union so complete?"
ON HER LEAVING SCHOOL.
"I am sorry to say I think I shall leave school at
Midsummer, but I am not certain. Do not mention it.
Poor Bedford! How sorry I shall be to bid it good bye.
Oh, what an ignorant creature I shall be to have finished
school; but it is a comfort to think I shall not have fi-
nished my education. No, I hope that only will cease
with life."
On the same subject, written about ten
months before her death:
"It does indeed appear a short time since last Easter;
but in so brief a period what changes have taken place, and
what changes will take place, before it arrives again! This
no mortal can tell; but, in all probability, they will be
numerous to me; for before this year draws to its close
I shall have left school, and most likely Pertenhall;
both of these removals I dread, though the thought of
becoming once more a settled inhabitant of my much-
loved home is indeed pleasing; yet the thought also of
bidding farewell to those with whom I have resided for
nearly three years, is connected with a pang not to be
---------------
7
described, particularly when I know that it will most
likely be to some a last farewell. But the worst will be
to bid adieu to the friends and scenes of my childhood.
Even if I had no dear friends to leave, it would be very
painful to take a last view of the house and the orch-
ard; indeed, every tree belonging to them seems an ob-
ject of affection now. * How true are those lines!
"No word the English tongue can tell,
"So hard to utter as the word - farewell."
"But I have been talking of all these things as
though they were certainly coming to pass, when it may
have been decreed otherwise by that Supreme Being
who rules all things for the good of his creatures."
Mary Ann left school at Midsummer, and
continued in her usual delicate state of health
until near the close of the year, when the afflic-
tion commenced which, in the course of two
months, ended in death. Soon after the begin-
ning of her illness she made known the state of
her mind upon the all-important subject of re-
ligion to her aunt, Mrs. D., and her mother.
She said that although she had been the sub-
ject of very powerful impressions and serious
thoughts even from childhood, yet it was the
religious instruction she was favoured to receive
from Miss Hillyard that more especially led
* See Appendix, Note A.
-----------------
8
her to think of herself as a sinner, and of Jesus
Christ as a Saviour, and eventually led her to
seek the Lord in the days of her youth. It ap-
peared that in the spring of 1841, Miss Hill-
yard found her labouring under deep and anxi-
ous solicitude, and wished her at once to write
to her father to make known to him the state
of her mind; but she was too diffident and had
too much fear and jealousy of herself to do
this. About this time the Rev. J. L. Poore
conversed with her, and questioned her very
closely respecting her religious views and feel-
ings, and especially her love to Christ. The
result of these enquiries was most satisfactory.
She acknowledged that the Lord Jesus Christ
was to her altogether lovely. After this, Miss
Hillyard conversed with her upon the subject
of joining the church of Christ at Bedford,
under the pastoral care of the Rev. J. Jukes,
(successor to the late Mr. Hillyard). These
conversations Mary Ann stated, made a deep
impression upon her mind, for she said, - what-
ever good opinion others might have of her, she
knew she was unworthy and sinful in the
sight of God. She was led to great searching
---------------
9
of heart. She resolved in her own strength
that she would be better, and frequently made
resolutions in the morning and broke them be-
fore night, or made them at night and broke
them in the morning; but all would not do.
The law in her members was too strong for the
law in her mind, and she was not long in mak-
ing the discovery that it was necessary to ob-
tain a better righteousness then her own, in
order to justification before God. "I disco-
vered," said she, "that I could find no comfort
until I went direct to the Cross of Christ, and
sought mercy there as a poor, perishing, and
polluted sinner." That passage of God's word,
1 John i. 7, gave her much comfort, "the blood
of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth from all sin,"
and she afterwards made choice of this precious
portion of divine truth as a text for her funeral
sermon. One of Toplady's hymns, the 195th of
Rippon's Selection:
"Rock of Ages cleft for me,"
yielded her much consolation, and especially
the third verse:
"Nothing in my hand I bring,
"Simply to thy cross I cling,
------------------
10
"Naked, come to thee for dress,
"Helpless, look to thee for grace,
"Black, I to the fountain fly,
"Wash me, Saviour, or I die."
So much comfort and support was she ac-
customed to derive from this verse, that she
requested her parents to have it engraved upon
the stone that might perpetuate her memory.
After she left school, Mary Ann still conti-
nued to correspond with the youthful friends
before mentioned, and the following extracts
from her letters will be appropriately placed in
this part of her little narrative, as calculated,
more than anything the writer can say, to de-
velope her state of mind upon the all-import-
ant subject of religion.
The following was written to her friend Miss
E. H., dated July 17, 1841. It will give the
reader an idea of her feelings in prospect of
joining the church:
"It was with feelings of the liveliest emotion that I
perused your last affectionate epistle; I sincerely thank
you for the advice you have given me. That was indeed
writing like a true friend, and as such, I shall without
restraint open my whole heart to you. Though I never
freely communicated with any one on religion, no sub-
ject has been so much upon my mind for the last year,
------------------
11
and although it would have relieved me to have made
some one acquainted with my feelings, yet when I
would have done so, my lips were sealed. But this is
not the principal reason that keeps me from professing
myself a follower of Christ; no, my dear E., my fear is
(and it is this that keeps me back) that I should be de-
ceiving myself, and that, having united myself with the
people of God, and by outward ordinances, professed my-
self one of them, I should still have neither part nor lot
in the matter; and what an awful, what a fatal mistake
would this be!
"'Tis a point I long to know,
"Oft it causes anxious thought,
"Do I love the Lord or no?
"Am I his or am I not?"
"Sometimes I humbly trust I am, but at others, my
heart and mind thoughts are so wicked, my whole con-
duct so sinful, that I am ready to think if I were really
a child of God I should not live so far from him. No
one can imagine the depravity of my heart; I think
my besetting sin is in indulging in silly fancies, imagin-
ing events that never have happened, nor ever will. O
that I may be wiser for the future; but I know I never
shall be if I trust in my own strength. No, I will cast
myself at the feet of Jesus, wretched as I am, and if I
perish, I will perish there. Need I ask you to pray for
me, that I may give myself to the church, for, though
I tremble lest I should do wrong in uniting, I cannot
say I feel justified in remaining out of it; knowing that
if I tarry till I am better, I shall never come at all. I
hereby heartily congratulate you upon the step you have
-------------------
12
taken; how many snares will you escape by it; may I
go and do likewise. And now I must conclude by sub-
scribing myself your loving, though unworthy friend,
"M. A. B."
TO HER FRIEND MIS S. H., UPON THE SAME
SUBJECTS.
"August 17, 1841. - I am much obliged to you for the
account you gave me of your being admitted into the
church; no doubt that was a sweet repast when you
partook for the first time of the emblems of the broken
body and blood of our adorable Redeemer. How often,
when witnessing the administration of the ordinance
have I wished myself among the happy partakers. I
can never remember the time when the subject of re-
ligion did not engage my thoughts. Very frequently as
I laid myself down in bed, have I determined from that
time to devote myself to the Lord; but alas! the next
morning I thought no more about my resolutions; and
now I perceive the reason; they were made in my own
strength. Religion then had no charm for me but now
I trust I can say from experience,
"'Tis religion that can give
"Sweetest pleasures while we live."
But sometimes I am harassed with the most distressing
doubts lest I should be deceiving myself. This it is that
keeps me back from openly professing myself a follower
of Jesus, but I hope I shall be enabled to overcome this
and every other obstacle. From your devotedly at-
ttached friend, M. A. B."
Soon after her affliction commenced there ap-
-----------------
13
peared but little hope of her recovery, and she
soon sunk into a deep and rapid decline. She
now wished very much to write to her beloved
friends, and asked for a pencil and paper to try
to write to her governess. She wrote two or three
lines, but her hand was too weak and feeble, and
her heart was to full, and she laid down her
pencil and paper in despair. She then requested
her father to write to her governess, to her
teacher Miss P., (whom she always spoke of
with the greatest respect, on account of her
kindness whenever she was ill at Bedford,) and
to her to correspondents, whose letters she had
by her unanswered, to tell them of her affliction,
and of her near approach to death, and to request
that she might hear from them before she died.
This he did, and she received a letter from each
of them which afforded her much pleasure and
much consolation during her affliction.
It was the custom of her father to spend some
time with her in the morning in reading to her
the Scriptures, in conversation*, and in prayer.
She said to him one morning soon after she was
confined to her room, "I have had some fears
* See Appendix, Note B.
----------------------
14
to-night, but I think it is only a temptation of
Satan; I think I need not fear so long as I can
cling to Jesus (an expression she often made use
of)." She then asked him to read to her the
51st Psalm, and the 169th hymn in Rippon's
Selection:
"There is a fountain filled with blood,"
And she afterwards repeated and dwelt much
upon the 2nd verse:
"The dying thief rejoiced to see
"That fountain in his day,
"And there may I, though vile as he,
"Wash all my sins away."
This psalm and hymn seemed to afford her
much relief. From this time she appeared to
be delivered from fear, and never after this ex-
pressed any doubt respecting the safety and sal-
vation of her soul.
She now regretted that she had not joined the
church of Christ at Yelling, of which her father
was the pastor, but she was prevented by her
fears and by not being able to attend constantly,
Yelling being thirteen miles from Pertenhall.
But as the family was about to remove to Offord
Darcy a village near Yelling, she intended, had
the Lord spared her life, to have been baptized
--------------
15
in the spring, and to have united with his people
in Christian Fellowship, and in commemorating
the death and sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The following letter written to her friend,
Miss E. H., dated Sept. 20, 1841, refers to this
subject:
"You wished to know when I thought of uniting
myself to the church of God: this I hope to be ena-
bled to do as soon as we leave Pertenhall, but can-
not conveniently before. I wish I could open my
mind freely to my dear parents; I know it would be
greatly to my advantage, but whenever they talk to
me upon religious subjects I feel as though my tongue
would not utter what I intended to say; did you ever
feel this reluctance?"
After referring to another important subject,
that of herself and her friend setting some por-
tion of time apart for meeting at a throne of
grace, at the same time, to pray for each other,
she concludes this letter in the following affec-
tionate manner:
"But I must now say farewell, and may He that nei-
ther slumbereth nor sleepeth continually watch over you,
guide and direct you, while travelling through this vale
of tears, support you in every trial, in the hour of
death place underneath you his everlasting arms, and
when you have for ever closed your eyes on all below,
conduct you to the pearly gates and golden streets of
----------------
16
the New Jerusalem, and there present you faultless be-
fore his Father's throne, is the fervent prayer of your
sincerely-attached friend, M. A. B."
She always conversed about death, in the
most calm and familiar manner, and said, as the
Lord Jesus Christ had taken away the sting of
death she was not troubled about the act of
dying. And when speaking upon this subject
would frequently repeat the 18th hymn in the
first book of Watts,
"Hear what the voice from heaven proclaims
"For all the pious dead."
One friend expressed much concern lest con-
versing upon death in her presence should dis-
tress her, but she said "it is a pleasure to me,
and one of the greatest comforts I have."
Her friends, on another occasion, were
mourning over, and speaking of her suffer-
ings and death, said they hoped that the Lord
would support her. "O yes!" she said, smil-
ing, "I know he will - he has supported me in
life - he supports me in my affliction - and he
will support me in death," and then repeated
that beautiful verse,
"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose,
"I will not, I will not, desert to his foes,
------------------
17
"That soul, tho' all hell should endeavour to shake,
"I'll never, no never, no never forsake."
Her patience and cheerfulness were very great,
and afforded much comfort to her friends, and
great pleasure to those that came to see her.
She would always speak in the most kind and
affectionate manner, and in general such was
her composure and serenity, that while speak-
ing, a smile might be seen playing upon her
countenance.
A few weeks before she died, she received a
visit from Mr. W. Waugh, who was supplying
the Moravian Chapel at Pertenhall, in the place
of his beloved and departed brother. Mrs.
Waugh also, the bereaved widow, accompanied
him. Mary Ann said to her, "I shall soon be
with dear Mr W. Do you think we shall know
each other in heaven?" - a subject she often dwelt
upon. The answer was in the affirmative, which
seemed to afford her much pleasure. She wished
her mother to acquaint Mr. W . of the benefit
she had derived from his sermon on the last sab-
bath in the year. (The last time she was in the
house of God: she had been cast down for some
time previously, through fear lest she was not a
------------------
18
Christian, and this sermon afforded her much
comfort and encouragement. The subject was
Peter's walking on the sea.)
To a young friend that had not seen her for
some time, and with whom she conversed very
freely, she said, "I hope you will excuse me;
but let me intreat you to think about the salva-
tion of your soul, and to attend where you can
hear the gospel."
A cousin, a little younger than herself, and one
of the most intimate friends she had, was weep-
ing over her and saying, "I shall never have you
come in and sit with me again, and to walk by
my side when I go out." She replied, "but you
must think how much happier I shall be in hea-
ven." She would sometimes converse with her
two little brothers, one by one; and at night when
they came to bid her good bye, has been heard
to say to them, now you must pray to the Lord
Jesus Christ. You must pray to him to pardon
your sins, to wash you in his blood. You must
pray to him in the morning as well as at night."
The impression on her own mind was, that
she should not recover, and she requested that
she might be buried in the meeting yard at Key-
soe Brook-end, a place where she had been often
----------------
19
taken when a child; and their learned many of
her letters from the grave-stones, before she pos-
sessed the power of speech. She also arranged
her little concerns with much composure and
order. Her books she wished to give to her
younger friends and relations, and selected the
book she wished to give to each, requesting that
the name might be pencilled in the book that
there might be no mistake.
On Sabbath morning, January 23, having been
very ill during the previous night, she said
to her father, "pray do not go to Yelling to-day
for I think I shall die. My breath is short and
my pulse very feeble." He promised her he
would not go. Her medical attendant came
about 10 o'clock, and she said to him, "now,
sir, do you think I shall die to-day?" He told
her it was his opinion she would not. As soon
as he had left the room she sent for her father,
and said to him, "as Mr. P. says I shall not
die to-day, if you please you can go to Yelling
and preach this afternoon, and return in the
evening." When he returned in the evening,
she said to him, "we are going to have a little
meeting to-night," and expressed a wish to have
----------------
20
singing, and made choice of another of Toplady's
Hymns, the 223rd in Rippon's Selection -
"A debtor to mercy alone."
This was a most delightful meeting. A cousin
of hers, Mr. T. Robins, (who, in the short space
of eight weeks, and after one week's affliction,
was called to follow her into the eternal world,)
engaged in prayer.* After this a scene deeply
interesting followed. She said to her mother,
"as such a number of my friends are present, to
whom I have designed to give my books, and as
there is no probability of my recovery, I should
like to give them the books with my own hand."
This she did. All wept, some wept aloud - she
wept not, but was calm and composed, and gave
to each individual the book she designed, accom-
panying it with a suitable and affectionate ad-
dress, as "will you accept this small present
from a dying friend, and, if you please, read it,
for my sake."
On another occasion she mentioned a box that
was made for her when a child, to put her money
in that was given her by her relations and
friends. It was intended not to open it until she
* See Note C. by his pastor, the Rev. T. Gate, of Keysoe.
------------------
21
should be 21 years of age; but as she found she
must die, she wished to have this box opened, to
see what money it contained, and to dispose of
it herself. Her father proposed that she should
give it to her two brothers, and that he should
buy each of them a writing desk, to keep for her
sake. She loved her brothers, and said her chief
concern was about them; but there were two so-
cieties she loved also, and as her brothers would
have many things that were hers, she said she
should like to give the money to the Baptist
Missionary Society and the Bible Society. As
this conversation occurred in the evening, and
she was weary, and needed rest, she said, "we
will wait until morning, and then have a waiter,
and empty the money upon, and see how much
there is." The morning came, the waiter was
brought up, the box broken open, and the con-
tents poured upon it; and, with her weak and
delicate hand, she took the money, piece by
piece, and told it into her mother's. The amount
exceeded her expectation - there were four
pounds, one shilling, and sixpence. She was
much delighted, and said to her father, "if mo-
ther and you please, give one half to the Baptist
------------------
22
Missionary Society, for if I had lived, and it
had been the Lord's will, I SHOULD HAVE
LIKED TO HAVE SPENT MY LIFE IN THE
SERVICE OF THAT SOCIETY; and give the
other half to the Bible Society, for I think that
the best society of all."*
The following extract from a letter to her
friend Miss S. H., dated Sept. 20, 1841, will
also show how much her heart was set upon do-
ing good:
"You desired to know, if, when we moved, I intended
being engaged in Sunday-school teaching:- I should cer-
tainly think it my duty, as they are greatly in need of
female teachers, and contemplate it with pleasure,
for think it must be a most delightful employment.
O how I wonder and contemplate where my fu-
ture jot will be cast; but I know this is wrong, for
will not He who has watched over me from my birth,
bestowed upon me every needful blessing, still continue
his gracious protection? This, I know He will; and O
may my only concern be, wherever I am, and whatever
may be my future condition, how I may best promote
His glory, and the good of my fellowbeings! M. A. B."
She was very thankful to all her friends for
their kindness towards her, and valued very
much her praying friends, and seemed quite sur-
prised, and much affected, when she was told
* See Note B.
------------------
23
that the friends of the Moravian Chapel prayed
publicly for her on the sabbath day. She would
often speak of the goodness of the Lord towards
her, and would say, "what should I have done
now, if I had not sought the Lord in health?
What should I have done now, if I had not
loved the Lord Jesus Christ? But I love Him,
because he first loved me; and what should I
have done now, if the Lord were not my sup-
port end comfort?" And she would often quote
portions of scripture, and pieces of poetry, of
which she was passionately fond, and frequently
the following verse from Watts was on her lips:
"Haste, my beloved, fetch my soul,
"Up to thy blest abode,
"Fly, for my spirit longs to see
"My Saviour and my God."
On the Saturday night preceding her death
she was much worse, her friends were called up,
and it was thought by all that she was dying,
but she revived, and soon became conscious and
calm, and her friends were all standing round
her bedside, except one; the scene being too
much for her, she had retired to another part of
the room. Mary Ann at once missed her, and
said, "O where is my dear mother?" She was
-----------------
24
much concerned about her mother, and said,
she knew it would be a great trial to her to lose
her only daughter, but she expressed a hope
that the Lord would give her strength to bear
it, and would often say to her, "O it will be
much better for me to be in heaven than to be
here, and you will soon follow after."
On the sabbath morning, her father read and
prayed with her, and when he had done, she
said to him, "if you please, father, when you
pray for me, pray that I may not have such a
cold heart." In the afternoon, her friend and
neighbour, Mr. J. B., came and held another
prayer meeting in her room, and sung the 1117th
Hymn in the Moravian Hymn Book; this
hymn delighted her very much, and she learnt
it before she died, by its being read to her.
When her father returned from Yelling in the
evening, she said to him, "O father, I have
been so happy to-day. Mr. B. has been here
again, and we have had another delightful little
meeting, and I have been thinking of the love of
Christ, and trying to realize something of the
happiness of heaven."
On Monday she appeared weaker, but still
-------------------
25
peaceful and happy in her mind, and requested
to have read her two favourite portions of the
Word of God, the 86th Psalm, and the 17th
chapter of John; and, during the day, several
of her favourite hymns also.
On Tuesday she was much worse, and re-
quested to have read to her the 17th chapter of
John, and the 17th Hymn of the First Book of
Watts:
"Oh for an overcoming faith!"
In the evening, for a short time, she revived,
and conversed with a friend, Mr. M., almost in
her usual and cheerful manner.
On Wednesday, Mr. and Mrs. Gate, of Key-
soe, of whose company she was always very
fond, came to see her for the last time. She was
too weak and feeble to converse much with them
then, but previous to this she had talked with
Mr. J. respecting his preaching her funeral ser-
mon, and wished him not to say any thing about
her, but when he said, "you will allow me to
speak of the goodness of the Lord towards you."
"Oh yes," she replied, "and tell the people that
the Lord Jesus Christ is very precious to me,
and will be to them, if they believe in him."
And then she said to him, in her usual affection-
------------------
26
ate and fervent manner, "and, if you please, sir,
be very earnest with the young." Her great
concern seemed to be, that her death might be
made a blessing to her youthful associates and
other young people.
On Thursday morning she appeared fast sink-
ing, and repeated, with a faltering and feeble
voice, the following verse:-
"With pining sickness I decay,
"Diseases wear my flesh away,
"But I shall soon his leave obtain
"To be released from all my pain."
And, to all our enquiries, said so long as she
could speak "I am quite comfortable," or
"very happy," and "the Lord will support
me." Her two brothers were now brought into
the room, that she might speak to them once
more. She said to them, "I cannot talk to you
now, but think of me when I am gone, and re-
member what I have said to you." It now be-
came very difficult for her to speak, so as to be
understood, though she often tried, and as her
father and mother were leaning over her bed,
she addressed them in the last verse of the hymn
that had been sung in her room, on the sabbath-
day, and these were the last words they heard
--------------------
27
her utter, so as to understand them - words
never never to be forgotten by them, so long as
memory retains her seat:
"My loving friends, farewell, farewell,
"I go with Jesus Christ to dwell;
"Welcome, my heavenly country, now,
"Parents and brethren, all adieu."
As she could no longer speak so as to be under-
stood, she pointed to the drawer where those
letters were, that she had received from her be-
loved friends, during her affliction, and made
her friends understand that she wanted them.
They bought them to her, and she put one of
them into her father's hand. He told her he
would write. She then held them all up, and
he told her, that after her death he would an-
swer them all. This was enough - she then laid
them down. She seemed even now happy, and,
as long as she could move her trembling and dy-
ing hand, she gave it first to one friend and then
to another, and would still greet them, not with
her usual, but with a dying smile. Some short
time before she departed, as her aunt D. was
weeping over her, she made one more effort to
speak, and her aunt thought she said, "I long to
be gone," but she heard her say distinctly, "the
----------------
28
Lord will support me." Thus her confidence in
the Lord was continued even unto the end, and
she fell asleep in Jesus a little after three o'clock
in the afternoon, on Thursday, February 10th
1842, aged a little more than sixteen years.
The following is a very short extract from a
letter that she wrote to her friend, Miss E. H.
Dec. 15, 1841, not more than two months before
her death, and was doubtless the last letter she
ever wrote:
"O that I may place my affections more on things
above. But are there not sweet moments, when we are
enabled to feel that we are merely travellers from a
wilderness, and that in a short time we shall arrive at
our Father's home, where every tear will be wiped from
our eyes, and we shall commence a song of praise that
will continue through the boundless ages of eternity."
Another of her beloved and pious young
friends, Miss A. H., who left school at the same
time that she did, and had not heard of her af-
fliction until near its close, wrote to her, sympa-
thizing with her in the most tender and affection-
ate manner. The letter was dated on the day her
beloved friend and schoolfellow, Mary Ann
Bottle, died, and was received and read by her
parents and other friends with mournful plea-
sure, two or three days after her death.
--------------------
29
On the Wednesday following, Feb. 16, 1842,
her mortal remains were interred in the burying
ground at Keysoe Brook-End meeting, and the
funeral services performed by her friend, the
Rev. T. Gate, minister of the place. The at-
tendance was large, and especially of young peo-
ple. The services were interesting and solemn,
and, at the conclusion, the following verses were
sung over her grave, which seemed deeply to af-
fect almost every one present:
"O how I long to go and see,
"The Lamb of God, that died for me;
"O how I languish night and day,
"To hear him bid me come away.
"My loving friends, farewell, farewell,
"I go with Jesus Christ to dwell;
"Welcome, my heavenly country now!
"Parents and brethren, all adieu!"
------------------
30
APPENDIX
- -
NOTE A.
MARY ANN BOTTLE was a great admirer of the works
and beauties of nature, of flowers, shrubs, and trees. A
short time before she died, she was told that the flowers
in the garden under her window, were making their ap-
pearance; she requested a friend to gather her some.
She took them in her hand and admired them, had them
placed in a room in her sight, and the flowers and
she drooped, withered and died together. She seldom
mentioned Offord, as she had no desire to leave Perten-
hall, but oftentimes, when she did, she would say, when
we get there we will plant a weeping willow. It was the
intention of her father to have done this; it is his in-
tention still to plant a weeping willow, as a remembrance
of her, and as an emblem of the friends and the world
she has left behind.
But she was led by the Spirit of the Lord from the
kingdom of nature, to realise the kingdom of grace, and
to contemplate the kingdom of glory, and was much de-
lighted with the following verses, among others, sent her
during her affliction by her friend Miss E. H.
"My loved habitations and garden, adieu,
"No longer my footsteps ye greet;
"A mansion celestial stands full in my view,
"And paradise welcomes my feet.
"My weeping relations, my brethren, and friends,
"Whose souls are intertwined with my own,
"Adieu for the present! my spirit ascends,
"Where friendship immortal is known."
NOTE B.
Her father was one day conversing with her on the
Lord's hearing and answering prayer, and said that the
Lord had answered prayer on her behalf. "Oh yes," she
said, "I knew that you and mother often prayed for
me;" and said she thought it a great mercy that she had
praying parents. But he said we have often prayed *
------------------
31
* In particular after you had retired to rest. "Well,
* she replied, "the Lord does hear prayer indeed,
* not long ago, after I had returned to my bed-room, I
* heard mother and you in prayer. I know not what you
* I knew not what or who you were praying for, but
* Lord inclined me to unite with you, and I knelt down
* prayed too."
"This shall be known when we are dead,
"And left on long record,
"That parents yet unborn may pray,
"And trust and praise the Lord."
NOTE C.
* Mr. Thomas Robins, a near relative of the subject of
* memoir, was a young man of superior intellect, which
* cultivated by diligent application. Eager in the pursuit
* of knowledge, he made it, to use his own expression,
* idol," and, till he was about 20 years of age, he
* remained a stranger to vital godliness; yet he was per-
fectly moral and correct in his deportment, unstained
* those vices which too many of our youth are addicted
* Been fond of mathematical pursuits, he required a
* demonstration for every thing, which, on the subject of
*, brought him to a state of scepticism, bordering
* infidelity. While in this state of mind it pleased the
* to bless a discourse, founded on Psalm xc. 1, 2,
* the removal of his doubts. Becoming decidedly pious,
* was invited to the communion of the Baptist church
* at Brook-End, Keysoe, and was baptised by
* uncle, the Rev. H. Bottle, on Lord's-day, Dec. 16,
* His conversation was such as became the gospel,
* gained him the esteem and confidence of his minister
* friends. He was a diligent and effective sabbath-
school-teacher, and every institution calculated to pro-
* the best interests of mankind found in him a firm
*. His friends fondly hoped he would be spared
* many years of active usefulness, but the great Head of
* Church saw it was good to disappoint their expecta-
tions. On Monday, April 4, 1842, he was seized with
apoplexy, which soon deprived him of the power of utterance
* he lingered till Saturday, the ninth, when his ran-
------------------
32
somed spirit entered into rest, in the 25th year of his age.
His remains were committed to the earth on the Wednes-
day following, exactly eight weeks after the funeral of his
cousin. Though there was not the slightest reason to
doubt his piety, yet it grieved his weeping parents and
relatives that he was not permitted to tell them his feel-
ings when entering the "dark valley." But after his de-
cease some memoranda were found, in which he had re-
corded his religious feelings, on some special occasions;
from which it appears that none could have more soul-
humbling views of the depravity of the heart then he had,
or be sensible of their dependance on free and sovereign
grace, rely with a more simple "naked faith," on the
all-sufficiently of the GREAT ATONEMENT.
Though his understanding was vigorous, and his bear-
ing, in his intercourse with others, what would be called
MANLY, yet, in these fragments, he expresses himself
with all the simplicity of "A LITTLE CHILD." Reader,
should thy removal be as SUDDEN, will it be as SAFE?
NOTE D.
When at the age of twelve years on her birth day, her
mother made her a present of a small pocket bible, and
wrote in it the following words: "My dear child, read
and believe, believe and be happy." She did both. A
few days before she departed, she was asked for what
purpose she so often left the family and retired to her
chamber, she said, "to read and pray;" but she added;
"not so often as I ought to have done, nor in the manner,
I could have wished." And, four weeks before her death,
when asked the state of her mind, she invariably said,
with only one exception, that she was quite comfort-
able and very happy. Need we wonder that she should
love the Bible? Need we wonder that she loved the
Bible Society? Need we wonder that she should give her
money to that society? Need we wonder that she should
say, she thought this the best society of all? Need we
wonder, that in her affliction, and in the prospect of eter-
nity, she should be happy? Reader, go thou and do like-
wise. Read thou and believe; believe thou and be happy!
FINIS.
Home Page.