visiting every day, until the children of God began to trust the power of the gospel, and sinners to yield to such constant and faithful efforts for their salvation. At such times, he was scarcely ever known to fail of

success.

An eminent member of this conference, who knew him well, and had labored with him, says: "He was a man of great faith and spiritual penetration; he knew the signs of the times, and was prepared to profit by this knowledge. His experience was deep, and often overwhelmingly glorious." His faith in the power of God's holy Word, was such as to lead him to press appeal after appeal upon the conscience of the ungodly, in a manner that would have made a weaker faith tremble for the honor of the truth. He did not trust in human means, but believed, that if faithfully used, they would be blessed of God. He was instrumental in the salvation of many souls.

In 1842, being on a visit to his friends in Troy, he learned that a work of God was in progress at Petersburg. Enjoying the salvation of souls, more than the society of friends, he went to participate in it. Rev. Ensign Stover says, in reference to this visit, "Brother Foster was very successful in promoting the salvation of sinners. At one time, when we were making pastoral visits, we called upon a family where a mother and several daughters were under awakenings. Brother Foster asked them to kneel down and pray, assuring them that God would forgive their sins. The young ladies did so; but the mother, though bathed in tears, objected, on account of a small child, which she held in her arms. 'Give that child to me,' said he; he took it in his arms, the mother kneeling, while he alternately soothed the child, and pointed the mourners to Christ; thus he continued, until all were happy in the forgiveness of their sins."

His appearance in the pulpit was not in his favor. He was rather under the medium height, with a slight tendency to corpulency. His head was large and well developed. In consequence of a weakness of his eyes, he had contracted a habit of opening and shutting them with a nervous jerk, which was very detrimental to his appearance.

His style was forcible and chaste, but his gestures were rather quick, and not very graceful; yet, such was the clearness of his arrangement, and the vigor of his thoughts, that every thing else was forgotten, and the hearer's attention was secured.

46

Of his preaching ability, the Rev. Charles Pomeroy, who is well qualified to judge, says: "Brother Foster was a man of thought and profound reflection. I considered him an able minister, very methodical, argumentative and powerful." He was a Methodist in the fullest sense of that term; and if the doctrines or usages of the church were assailed, they found in him a willing and powerful defender. Though well acquainted with our standard authors, and the doctrinal works of other denominations, he was not a close student. He read too little," continues Mr. Pomeroy, "but was naturally a strong minded man. He was too good company, and enjoyed the society of his brethren too well, to be a great student. But he could study, and did think, and was, in fact, a very good preacher." His friends can but regret, that, with his natural abilities, he did not cultivate his vigorous intellect more fully. Had he done so, he might have stood in the front rank, ference.

in our con

"He was my colleague," says Rev. H. W. Ransom, "on the Chester and Warrensburgh circuit, in 1846-7. We were favored with a very extensive revival of religion, in which nearly all the adult population of Chester

village, not previously pious, were professedly converted to God. During this revival, a traveler, who called at the village tavern for entertainment, found a prayer meeting in progress, in the bar-room. The landlord and most of his houshold were subjects of the revival. Mr. Foster possessed the greatest faculty of bringing all the talent of the church into requisition, in the work of God, of any man that I ever knew. His plan was to cheer the people on to spiritual effort and engagedness. His sermons were full of encouragement. He sometimes preached very able doctrinal sermons. In times of revival, his discourses ordinarily consisted of a short exposition of the text, followed by a warm exhortation. He used to clap his hands, and as his small eye flashed, he would cry out, 'God help,' with an emphasis that bespoke the fervor of his soul.

"Ordinarily, he was lively, but subject to great depression of spirit. He was deeply pious, a loving colleague, and an humble, useful man.”

REV. JOHN LINDSEY.

BY REV. JOHN FRAZER, D. D.*

Rev. John Lindsey was born in Lynn, Mass., July 18, 1788. The precise date of his conversion can not now be ascertained. One of the members of the family thinks it was when he was about nineteen years of age. He soon felt called to the ministry, and began to preach in the neighborhood where he lived. In the fall of

This article appeared in the Christian Advocate, soon after the death of Mr. Lindsey.

1808 he was employed as a local preacher under the direction of a presiding elder. At the session of the New England Conference in 1809, he was admitted on trial into the traveling connection, and appointed to the New London circuit. In 1810 he was sent to Somerset and Warren. His appointment, in 1811, was New Market, Durham and Portsmouth, N. H. He was stationed at Portland in 1812; at Falmouth in 1813; at Nantucket in 1814 and 1815; and at Bristol in Rhode Island in 1816 and 1817. In 1818 he was appointed to the Vermont district, where he continued four years. He was sent to Boston in 1823; and in 1824 he was appointed missionary to South Hadley and Sunderland. In 1825 he was stationed at Needham. He was appointed to the Lynn district in 1826, and in 1827 the Lynn district was merged in the Boston district. Brother Lindsey was placed in charge of the Boston district, where he continued until 1830, when he was sent to Nantucket the second time. He was reappointed to Nantucket in 1831. In 1832 and 1833 he was at Boston North and at Boston South in 1834.

The interest brother Lindsey took in the cause of education, and the energy of his character, pointed him out as a suitable person for the agency of the Wesleyan University. He was accordingly appointed to this agency in 1835, and continued in 1836. In 1837 he was transferred to the New York Conference, and stationed on the New Haven district. He was at Forsyth street church in the city of New York in 1838 and 1839 and at Second street church in 1840 and 1841. In 1842 he was agent for the American Bible Society, and in 1843 and 1844 he was stationed at the First Church in Poughkeepsie. He was transferred to the Troy Conference in 1845, and appointed to the Garrettson station in the city of Albany. In 1846 he was placed in charge of the

Albany district, where he closed his life and labors near the end of his fourth year. He died at his residence in Schenectady, on Wednesday, February 20, 1850, at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. The writer was immediately informed by telegraph of the decease of brother Lind sey; he hastened up, and found sister Lindsey and her daughter Henrietta (the only member of the family at home) almost overwhelmed by the suddenness and severity of the blow. Intelligence was communicated to the other members of the family, and Saturday fixed for the funeral service. The remains were taken to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and after religious ser vices, including an appropriate address by Dr. Luckey, of the East Genesee Conference, they were deposited in a vault preparatory to their removal to Lynn for final

interment.

It may be asked, and is this all that can be said to rescue from oblivion the memory of such a man as John Lindsey, who for more than forty years stood in the van of the sacramental host, the uncompromising, self-sacri ficing, and devoted soldier of the cross? This is nearly all that can be said here, for the subject of this article has not, to the knowledge of the writer, left a single line in reference to his personal history. It is to be regretted that so many of that noble band-the pioneers of Methodism in this country-should have left us such scanty memorials of their labors, their conflicts, their sufferings, and their triumph. How interesting, how instructive, how encouraging to the young itinerant would many of the stirring scenes in the lives of the fathers prove, could they be simply told, without exag. geration or embellishment. In this respect "the children of this world are, in their generation, wiser than the children of light." What pains are taken to preserve the slightest circumstance that serves to illustrate