apparently to lead by painful footsteps into the dark valley. But the weary way was winding and very long, and the end was slowly gained, which was a blessing to many. The overshadowing wings that were spread as a shelter for the invalid mercifully concealed the lengthening road^ while soft whisperings of angel voices echoed through the sufferer's soul, and the peace that passeth understanding filled her heart.
Thus a life of more than eighty-two years was permitted to one who had from early youth such feeble healthy that death was often thought to be impending. Surely in that long sojourn in the outer vestibule of heaven, she must have caught a refrain of its songs and a rich foretaste of its joys.
Miss Charlotte Elliott was born March 18th, 1789, the third daughter of a family that were, at the end of the last century, the centre of a circle known and esteemed for evangelical principles and deep piety. Charles Elliott, Esq., of Clapham and Brighton, was her father; and Mrs. Elliott, her mother, was a daughter of the Rev. Henry Venn, the pious vicar of Huddersfield from 1760 to 1770. The Rev. John Venn, Rector of Clapham, was her uncle. Indeed, the members of the families of the Venns and Elliotts were well known throughout the kingdom as leaders of that evangelistic movement which sought, during the last thirty years of the past century, to revive and cherish pure, simple gospel truth in the teachings of the Church of
