She preached in various parts of England with acceptance, as she had opportunity, from shortly after her conversion till her marriage; and then, as it would have been a violation of a canon of the Church of England—­of which Mr. Fletcher was a minister—­for a woman to occupy the pulpit of the church at Madeley, her husband had a large building erected, in close proximity to the rectory, for her especial use.  Here, for the few years that he was spared to his wife, it was Mr. Fletcher’s pleasure—­though he had few equals in erudition—­to listen to the gentle teachings of this amiable woman.  Her eloquence was so very remarkable, that more than twenty years of public speaking had not in the least diminished the interest with which she was listened to.  Crowds attended on her ministry, not from idle curiosity, but for edification.

So beneficial had Mrs. Fletcher’s ministrations at Madeley been found to be, that on the death of her husband, and the appointment of a successor, the new rector, not wishing to retard the progress of true Christianity in his parish, requested her to continue to use the building erected for her convenience just as she had formerly done.  Mrs. Fletcher accepted the invitation so cordially given, and for many years was an efficient co-laborer with the rector.

Nor did the public career of Mrs. Fletcher mar her efficiency in the management of her domestic concerns.  Both at Laytonstone and at Madeley, she attended carefully to her household, overseeing every thing connected with what is technically termed the women’s department, with particular scrupulousness.  At last her long and active life was nearing its close.  For thirty years she had mourned the loss of her venerated husband, of whom, in her seventy-sixth year, she thus makes mention in her journal: 

“August 13, 1815.—­Thirty years, this day, I drank the bitter cup and closed the eyes of my beloved husband, and now I am myself in a dying state.”  Then, in view of her own approaching end, she continues:  “Lord, prepare me.  I feel death very near.  My soul doth wait and long to the bosom of my God.”  A little earlier in this year she had written:  “O, I long that the year fifteen [1815] may be the best year of my life.”  With the great apostle she could say, “Having a desire to depart, and be with Christ.”  And now she was realizing the fulfillment of that longing desire.  Her labors were about ended.  Soon she was to enter into the Christian’s promised rest.  On the 9th of December, 1815, she closed her eyes to sublunary objects to open them in the paradise above.  Rev. Mr. Dodson, who attended her funeral, said of her:  “Her congregations were fully as large, after thirty years’ labors, as when she first opened her commission among them.”

Where is the clergyman of whom more can be said?

MISS CROSBY.