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A 
 
 LETTER 
 
 ON THE 
 
 PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 CHRISTIAN FAITH, 
 
A LETTER 
 
 ox 
 THE PRINCIPLES 
 
 OF 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN FAITH. 
 
 BY HANNAH SINCLAIR, 
 
 DAUGHTER OF THK RT. HON. SIR J. SINCLAIR, BART. 
 NINETEENTH EDITION. 
 
 WITH A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, 
 
 BT THK LATE 
 
 REV. LEGH RICHMOND. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY, 
 
 Instituted 1799. 
 
 SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORY, 56, PATERNOSTER ROW, 
 
 AND BY THE BOOKSELLERS. 
 
 MDCCCXXXVI. 
 
BCNGAY : PRINTED BY J. R. AND C. CHILDS. 
 
 I 
 
LETTER 
 
 FROM HER ROYAL HIGHNESS 
 
 THE DUCHESS OF KENT, 
 
 TO THK RIGHT EOXOCRABLE 
 
 SIR JOHN SINCLAIR, Bart. 
 
 ACTHOKIZIjVG the dedication of miss HANNAH 
 SINCLAIR'S TRACT, 
 
 " On the Principles of the Christian Faith," 
 
 TO 
 
 THE PRINCESS VICTORIA. 
 
 Kensington Palace, Dee. 3, 1832. 
 Sir, 
 I have this morning had the pleasure of receiving your 
 letter of the 29th nltimo. I can easily enter into your 
 parental feelings on the subject on which you address me ; 
 and I very readily lend myself to your wish, — that I 
 should permit you to dedicate to the Princess Victoria 
 the Seventeenth Edition of " The Principles of the Chris- 
 tian Faith," written by your late lamented daughter. 
 I remain, 
 Sir, 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 Victoria. 
 
TO 
 THE PRINCESS VICTORIA, 
 
 In the conviction, that her Royal Highness, 
 
 under the happy auspices 
 of her illustrious and universally esteemed 
 
 Parent and Guardian, 
 
 will prove a most distinguished ornament 
 
 of her sex 
 
 and 
 
 of her country, 
 
 THIS WORK; 
 
 composed by his deceased Daughter, 
 
 whose life was a model of the piety she inculcated, 
 
 is, 
 
 with permission, 
 
 Dedicated, 
 
 By her ROYAL HIGHNESS'S 
 
 most faithful, 
 
 and very obedient Servant, 
 
 THE EDITOR. 
 
 133, George Street, Edinburgh, 
 December 24, 1S32. 
 
ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 TO THE 
 
 FIRST EDITION. 
 
 The writer of this Letter was, from 
 her earliest infancy, distinguished by 
 a warm attachment to religion. The 
 knowledge she had acquired of its 
 doctrines, as well as her accomplish- 
 ments in many other respects, were 
 of the highest description. It was 
 her great delight io explain to the 
 young the principles of the christian 
 faith ; and she took a peculiar plea- 
 sure in the instruction of her brothers 
 and sisters. One of the latter, my 
 (now) fifth daughter, had earnestly 
 requested her to put down in writing 
 what she had frequently explained 
 
X ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 in discourse. The result of that ap- 
 plication was the following Letter, 
 which, though never intended to be 
 printed, I feel it incumbent upon me 
 to publish, for the satisfaction of her 
 friends, and for the benefit of others. 
 During her life, nothing gave my 
 dear daughter so much delight as 
 doing good ; and if the spirits of the 
 departed are conscious of what passes 
 on earth, she will rejoice at being- 
 still enabled to contribute to the be- 
 nefit of those whom she has left be- 
 hind her. 
 
 The much-valued writer of this 
 Epistle had, for several years, been 
 afflicted with complaints of a con- 
 sumptive tendency. In going about, 
 as usual, for religious and benevolent 
 purposes, in January last, she un- 
 fortunately caught cold, which in- 
 
TO THE FIRST EDITION. XI 
 
 creased her indisposition to so great 
 a degree, that it baffled the skill of 
 the able professional characters who 
 attended her during her illness ; and 
 after above four months of slow decay, 
 she expired, without the least ap- 
 pearance of a struo^gle, on the morn- 
 ing of the 22nd of May, (1818.) It 
 was with her a favourite doctrine, 
 "That a lingering, was hetter than 
 a sudden death, as it gave the real 
 christian an opportunity of doing 
 good to others, by the example of 
 resignation and of piety which it fur- 
 nished." In that wish she was gra- 
 tified, and she never failed to avail 
 herself of the opportunities thus af- 
 forded her of acting upon an idea so 
 truly beautiful and sublime. 
 
 It is not too much to add, that no 
 one ever saw her temper ruffled, or 
 
XU ADVERTISEMENT, 
 
 ever heard her say any thing harsh 
 or unfeeling respecting the conduct 
 or the motives of others. She never 
 wilfully committed any error, nor 
 ever omitted to do good vrhen an op- 
 portunity presented itself. In regard 
 to the purity and excellence of her 
 religious sentiments, let the following 
 pages testify. No human being, on 
 the whole, could be better prepared 
 for the awful change she has under- 
 gone. But that veiy circumstance, 
 which is the source of so much con- 
 solation to her afflicted friends, must 
 aggravate the grief they feel for the 
 heavy loss they have sustained. 
 
 JOHN SINCLAIR. 
 
 Ormly Lodge, 1 
 
 Ham Common, Surrey, > 
 
 27th May, 1818. ) 
 
A LETTER, 
 
 ADDRESSED TO 
 
 MISS CATHERINE SINCLAIR. 
 
 Ormhj Lodge, Oct. 1817. 
 MY DEAR CATHERINE, 
 
 There are few things which have afforded 
 me more satisfaction, than the manner in 
 which you, and your brothers and sisters, 
 have uniformly received the instructions 
 which I have attempted to give you on the 
 subject of rehgion. The attention with 
 which you have listened to me, the candour 
 you have shown in appreciating my motives, 
 
2 LETTER. 
 
 and the good humour with which you have 
 taken any thing I may have said to you in 
 the way of reproof, shall ever be remembered 
 by me with affectionate gratitude. 
 
 You expressed, some days ago, a wish 
 that I would put down in writing the sub- 
 stance of some of those conversations which 
 have passed between us on this most im- 
 portant subject ; and with this request I 
 shall most readily comply. It could only 
 proceed, on your part, from a sincere desire 
 of farther instruction; and though I am 
 deeply conscious of my own inability to 
 write, on such a subject, as I could wish, 
 yet, as I can with truth say, that before I 
 took the pen in my hand, I earnestly im- 
 plored the Divine blessing on my feeble 
 efforts, I am not without hopes that they 
 may not prove altogether in vain. 
 
 i 
 
LETTER. 6 
 
 You are aware that one of my chief aims 
 has been, to impress upon your mind, by a 
 variety of arguments and considerations, the 
 superiority of what is called the evangelical 
 system of religion over every other ; and 
 also to explain to you what that system is,. 
 It consists of several doctrines, closely con- 
 nected with each other, and which all ap- 
 pear to be plainly revealed in scripture. 
 
 The first of these doctrines, and the 
 
 foundation of all the rest, is that of the deep 
 
 depravity and corruption of human nature. 
 
 This doctrine, in the main, is not, I believe, 
 
 denied by any ; but the evangelical preachers 
 
 explain it in a different manner from what 
 
 others do. By others it is considered a^ a 
 
 slight taint; — by them it is represented 
 
 as a deep pollution ; a total alienation of 
 
 the heart from God, which is most culpable, 
 p 2 
 
4 LETTER. 
 
 and wholly inexcusable, in his sight. So 
 far is man, in a state of nature, from loving 
 God above all things, that there is scarcely 
 any thing which he does not prefer to God. 
 To the majority of the world, what duty is 
 so irksome as that of prayer ? What day so 
 wearisome as the sabbath ? What time so 
 long as that which is spent at church ? 
 What books so uninteresting as those which 
 treat of religion ? 
 
 Besides this dislike and repugnance to 
 the exercise of devotion, or, in other words, 
 to all manner of intercourse with God, 
 there is in fallen man a spirit of disobedience 
 and rebellion against his Maker. It is true, 
 that many of the persons here described 
 do fulfil various moral duties, and so fai 
 obey his commands ; but they do not obey 
 them because they are his commands. 
 
LETTER. 5 
 
 Generally speaking, some motive of interest, 
 pleasure, or vanity, of self-gratification of 
 one kind or other, secretly influences them ; 
 or, if they do pay any regard to God at all, 
 it is the fear of his \^Tath v^^hich prompts 
 them. They do not obey from a sincere filial 
 desire of pleasing him, but from dread of a 
 power which they know cannot be resisted. 
 Such is man by nature, without any excep- 
 tion. This charge may be brought with as 
 much justice against the decent and moral 
 as against the vicious and profane. Nay, 
 even the most eminent christians, though 
 this is no longer their character, will most 
 1 readily acknowledge that it was once so. 
 They can all of them remember a time when 
 they were exactly in the condition here 
 described. Now as God has repeatedly 
 declared in scripture, that he will on nc 
 
b LETTER. 
 
 account admit into his presence those who 
 are thus ahenated from him, it follows, of 
 course, that if we live and die in this state, 
 we must perish for ever ; or, to use our 
 Saviour's own words, " Except a man be 
 born again, he cannot enter into the king- 
 dom of God," John iii. 3. The change^ 
 which our Saviour alludes to in these words, 
 is described in the Bible under a great variety 
 of figures and phrases, such as, being " re- J 
 newed," 2 Cor. iv. 16 ; Eph. iv. 23 ; Col. I 
 iii. 10, and "sanctified," 1 Cor. i. 2; vi.f 
 11 ; Rom. XV. 16; being adopted into the 
 family of God, Rom. viii. 13 ; Gal. iv. 5, 
 6 ; Eph. i. 5 ; being no longer " under the 
 law, but under grace," Rom. vi. 14 ; having 
 " passed from death to life," John v. 24 ; 
 1 John iii. 14 ; &c. &c. : and St. Paul 
 expressly says, " If any man be in Christ, 
 
LETTER. 7 
 
 he is a new creature : old things are passed 
 away ; behold, all things are become new," 
 2 Cor. V. 17 ; by which is plainly signified, 
 not only that the change must be great, but 
 that it must be universal ; that " all things 
 must become new." 
 
 To describe, as plainly and distinctly as 
 1 can, wherein this change consists, shall 
 be the purport of the remainder of this 
 Letter. May God grant that you, my dear 
 Catherine, and every member of the family 
 to which we belong, may know by experience 
 what it means ; for I must again remind you, 
 that unless such a change be made upon 
 every one of us, at some period or other 
 of our lives, we are assured by the Saviour 
 himself, that ]we cannot enter into the 
 kingdom of heaven, John iii. 3. 
 
 In describing this change, the first thing 
 
8 LETTER. 
 
 which I shall mention, is, that every true 
 convert becomes much more sensible than 
 he ever was before, of his need of a Saviour. 
 Though all are ready to acknowledge them- 
 selves to be sinners, yet those who are in a 
 state of nature, are not fully sensible of what 
 St. Paul calls the exceeding sinfulness of 
 sin, Rom. vii. 13 ; but Divine grace opens 
 our eyes in that respect, shows us our deep 
 depravity, humbles us in the very dust on 
 account of our manifold transgressions, and 
 compels us to acknowledge there is justice 
 in the sentence which condemns us to 
 everlasting punishment. For to those whose 
 eyes are thus opened to behold their guilt and 
 danger, the gospel becomes a joyful sound, 
 and the Saviour is indeed precious. They 
 can enter into the meaning of St. Paul's 
 words when he says, that he counts all 
 
LETTER. 9 
 
 things but loss that he may win Christ, and 
 be found in him ; not having his own right- 
 eousness, which is of the law, but the right- 
 eousness which is by faith in him, Philip, 
 iii. 8, 9. Instead of their former apathy 
 and indifference about religion, they delight 
 in reading about the Saviour — in thinking 
 of him — in listening to those sermons of 
 which he is the theme ; and the chief desire, 
 the most earnest wish of their hearts, is, 
 that they may be admitted to a further 
 acquaintance and to an intimate union with 
 him. 
 
 And here I would take notice of a pe- 
 culiarity in the evangelical system, which 
 was well explained by Mr. Gandy* in one 
 of his sermons, and which I have often 
 
 * Vicar of Kinfjston. 
 
10 LETTER. 
 
 heard mentioned by Dr. Buchanan,* and 
 other preachers of his class : I mean the 
 distinction of our Saviour's righteousness 
 into active and passive. His death and 
 sufferings form what is called his passive 
 obedience. By them he made atonement 
 for our sins ; but you know that our Lord, 
 while he was upon earth, not only died, and 
 suffered before his death a variety of tortures, 
 but that he lived a most meritorious life, 
 fulfilled all righteousness, and practised every 
 virtue in its utmost purity and extent. Now, 
 a mere moral preacher would tell you, that 
 he did this only that he might leave us an 
 example that we might follow his steps ; 
 
 *One of the ministers of the Canongate, Edin- 
 burgh, in whose sermons, as well as those of Mr. 
 Gandy, the writer of this Letter took a peculiar 
 delight. 
 
LETTER. 11 
 
 and no doubt this was one end which he had 
 in view, but it was not the sole nor the chief 
 end. The scripture tells us, that he obeyed 
 for us, Rom. v. 19 ; that he fulfilled all 
 righteousness in our stead ; that his right- 
 eousness is imputed to us, Rom. iv. 1 1 ; and 
 that by his obedience many are made right- 
 eous, Rom. V. 19. We must then believe, 
 not only that we are sinners, and stand in need 
 of his blood to atone for our guilt, and to save 
 us from hell, but that we stand in equal need 
 of his righteousness to entitle us to heaven — 
 that we can never claim any reward on account 
 of our own defective obedience, hut solely on 
 account of his all-perfect righteousness. 
 
 Are we then sensible that we are sinners ? 
 Let us think of the blood of Jesus, and be- 
 lieve that it cleanseth from all sin, 1 John 
 i. 7. Do we, on the other hand, lament 
 
12 LETTER. 
 
 the many defects which attend even our best 
 performances? Are we afraid that such 
 an imperfect obedience as ours is, can never 
 be acceptable to God ? Let us think of 
 him who has perfectly fulfilled all righteous- 
 ness, and believe that his righteousness 
 shall he imputed to us, if we are only 
 sincerely willing that it should be so. I 
 mean if we sincerely, and from the heart, re- 
 nounce all dependence upon ourselves, upon 
 any thing we ever have done or can do in 
 future, and rely solely and entirely on the 
 Lord Jesus, for pardon, salvation, and every 
 spiritual blessing. This, believe me, is no 
 easy matter. This is the rock upon which 
 the great majority of the children of Adam 
 do split and suffer shipwreck. It is, indeed, 
 what none are brought to but by the effectual 
 teaching- of the Holy Ghost ; for though 
 
LETTER. 13 
 
 it may be easy in words to renounce all de- 
 pendence on ourselves, yet to feel in our 
 hearts how lost and undone, how guilty and 
 depraved we are, and how incapable of our- 
 selves of doing any thing that is truly good, 
 even of thinking a good thought, and at the 
 same time to feel that implicit confidence 
 and firm reliance on the Saviour which the 
 Bible requires, is one of the hardest tasks 
 which ever was proposed to fallen man. It 
 is so contrary to his pride, and to his natural 
 notions, and, indeed, it is so very hm^d a 
 task, that we might well despair of ever 
 being able to fulfil it, were it not for the 
 promise of Divine assistance. 
 
 Faith, we are told, is the gift of God. 
 This cannot well be said of a mere historical 
 faith ; but in reference to the faith I have 
 just been describing, it is perfectly true that 
 
14 LETTER. 
 
 God alone can bestow it. The propensity to 
 self-dependence in fallen man is so very 
 strong, that nothing less than Almighty 
 power can completely destroy it. To God, 
 then, let us apply for this faith with fervent 
 and repeated entreaties. Like the impor- 
 tunate widow, let us give him, so to speak, 
 no rest till he bestow upon us this inestima- 
 ble blessing. If we do obtain it, from that 
 moment we are safe — as safe as if we were 
 actually in heaven. " He that believeth on 
 me," says the Saviour, " hath everlasting 
 life," John iii. 36 ; also vi. 47. Observe the 
 expression : not, shall have it, but hath it 
 already — is as secure of it as those who 
 now enjoy it. From the moment we thus 
 believe, Christ's righteousness is imputed to 
 us, and thus do we become righteous with- 
 out works, Rom. iv. 6, and if it should 
 
LETTER. 15 
 
 please God to take us immediately from tliis 
 world after we have obtained this precious 
 faith, but before we have it in our power to 
 perform any good work, as was the case with 
 the thief on the cross, like him we should 
 immediately be with our Saviour in paradise. 
 But here, perhaps, some may ask. Is not 
 this licentious doctrine ? Will not believers 
 be encouraged by this assurance of being 
 righteous without works,"* Rom. iv. 6, 
 
 * It is proper here to explain what seems to be 
 the author's doctrine regarding that important 
 point, the union of faith and good works. Real 
 faith is sufficient without works, where there is 
 no opportunity, from sudden death, to perform any; 
 but if there is an opportunity, and if that oppor- 
 tunity is neglected, it is an evident sign that it is 
 not the faith of the gospel, *" but a false and spu- 
 rious imitation of it, with which the ungodly 
 amuse and deceive themselves." — Editor. 
 
16 LETTER. 
 
 to continue in sin ? I answer, No. True be- 
 lievers cannot continue in sin, because God 
 has declared that they shall not, Rom. vi. 
 14. He who justifies will also sanctify 
 them, 1 Cor. vi. 11. He who first made 
 man after his own image, can and will renew 
 believers after the same image. We are told 
 in scripture, that God hath predestinated 
 his people " to be conformed to the image of 
 his Son," Rom. viii. 29. He hath promised 
 to write his law in their hearts, and to 
 put it in their inward parts, Jer. xxxi. 33 
 — to take away from them their hard and 
 stony hearts, and to "give them an heart of 
 flesh," Ezek. xi. 19 — to cause them to walk 
 in his statutes, Ezek. xxxvi. 27, and to 
 incline their hearts to his testimonies, Deut. 
 vi. 17 ; Psa. cxix. 36 — to work in them 
 " both to will and to do of his good pleasu^-e," 
 
LETTER. 17 
 
 Philip, ii. 13. The hearts of men, you 
 know, are in the hands of God ; like the 
 rivers of water, he turneth them which way 
 soever he will. Pro v. xxi. 1. If he then 
 has promised to change the hearts of be- 
 lievers, who or what should hinder him 
 from effecting this change ? Is he a man, 
 that he should lie ; or the son of man, that 
 he should repent ? Hath he said, and shall 
 he not do it ? Hath he spoken, and shall 
 he not make it good ? Numb, xxiii. 19. 
 
 It is true, indeed, that there are some 
 who pretend to have faith, and who fancy 
 themselves believers, and yet continue to 
 lead a sinful, wicked life ; but their faith is 
 not the faith of the gospel. Of true faith 
 we are told, that it purifies the heart. 
 Acts XV. 9, works by love. Gal. v. 6, 
 and overcomes the world, 1 John v. 4 ; 
 c 
 
18 LETTER. 
 
 and whatever is not productive of these 
 effects is not true faith, but only some false 
 and spurious imitation of it, with which the 
 ungodly amuse and deceive themselves. In 
 fact, a true believer looks to Jesus for 
 sanctijicationy as well as for justification. 
 He abhors sin, he longs to be delivered from 
 it, and would account nothing worthy of the 
 name of salvation which did not include a 
 deliverance from the power and prevalence, as 
 well as from the guilt and punishment of sin. 
 And here I would observe, that a belief 
 in the doctrines of the gospel has in itself 
 a tendency to produce in the heart all the 
 virtues and graces of the christian life. Be- 
 fore, however, I proceed to prove this point, 
 I shall premise a few observations, which 
 may be necessary to obviate objections, and 
 prevent mistakes on the subject. 
 
LETTER. 19 
 
 But first, let me remind you, that sancti- 
 fication is a gradual work. The change I 
 am describing, from sin to holiness, from the 
 love of the world to the love of God, is not 
 instantaneous, but resembles the morning 
 light, which shines more and more unto the 
 perfect day, Prov. iv. 18. An established 
 christian differs in many respects from a 
 young convert ; and, generally speaking, 
 that diflPerence is in no respect more visible, 
 than in their feelings and experience re- 
 lative to the pleasures of religion. A 
 young convert is usually beset with doubts, 
 anxieties, and fears. He feels and knows 
 himself to be a sinner ; is depressed by a 
 sense of his own guilt and infirmities ; and 
 has not yet learned to rejoice in Christ 
 Jesus, and to cast all the burden of his sins 
 upon him. But, by degrees, more light is 
 c 2 
 
20 LETTER. 
 
 communicated to his mind ; — he perceives 
 how God can be just, and yet the justifier 
 of him who beheves in Jesus ; — he applies 
 all the promises of the gospel to himself; — 
 he looks to Jesus, not merely as the Saviour 
 of sinners, but as his own Saviour ; and 
 believes, not merely that he died for man- 
 kind in general, but for himself in par- 
 ticular ; — and thus he learns to look for- 
 ward to heaven, as "A^;? own certain por- 
 tion and inheritance^' not for any works 
 of righteousness which he has done, but 
 solely because he is united hy faith to the 
 all-sufficient Saviour. 
 
 Some perhaps may tell you, that this is 
 not consistent with humility ; but they mis- 
 take the nature oi christian humility yVf\v\c\\ 
 does not consist in believing that we are 
 going to hell, but that we deserve to go 
 
LETTER. 21 
 
 there. Who was ever more humble than St. 
 Paul ? He disparages hhnself in almost 
 every page of his writings ; yet he speaks 
 of his own salvation with the utmost con- 
 fidence — expresses a wish to be absent 
 from the body, that he might be present with 
 the Lord, 2 Cor. v. 8 — says, that he had 
 *' a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, 
 which is far better," Phil. i. 23 — and 
 that to him " to live is Christ, and to die 
 is gain," Phil. i. 21. And he describes 
 christians in general, as those who " rejoice 
 in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in 
 the flesh," or in themselves, Phil. iii. 3 — 
 plainly showing, that these two feelings are 
 no way inconsistent with each other. A 
 criminal may believe himself to be worthy 
 of death ; yet, if he receives a pardon, he 
 no longer fears death. Thus it is wdth 
 
22 LETTER. 
 
 christians — they believe themselves to be 
 pardoned for Christ's sake. 
 
 It is true, indeed, as I formerly observed, 
 that young converts do not usually view 
 things in this light; for faith, generally 
 speaking, is a gradual attainment. It is 
 also true, that established christians may 
 have their seasons of doubt and dejection ; 
 but this is owing to the weakness of their 
 faith, and these seasons are their worst sea- 
 sons. A variety of circumstances also, 
 such as nervous and other diseases, tempt- 
 ations, and misfortunes of various sorts, 
 may depress the spirits of christians : but 
 notwithstanding all these exceptions, for 
 which due allowances should be made, it is 
 perfectly true that the spirit of the gospel 
 is a spirit of hope, peace, and joy, an,d that 
 the " children of Zion" are not only humble, 
 
LETTER. 23 
 
 but "joyful in their King," Psa. cxlix. 
 2. Now, what are the effects of this chris- 
 tian joy ? 
 
 St. John tells us, that " every man who 
 hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even 
 as Christ is pure," 1 John iii. 3. And I 
 shall proceed to prove to you, that the hope 
 of the gospel not only fills the mind with 
 a peace "which passeth all understanding," 
 Phil. iv. 7, but that it is the best of all pre- 
 servatives against temptation, and is emi- 
 nently productive of every good word and 
 work. To love the Lord our God with 
 all our heart, and soul, and mind, and 
 strength, Deut. vi. 5 ; Matt. xxii. 37, is, you 
 know, the first and great commandment ; but 
 how can we love God, if w^e believe, or 
 even suspect him to be our enemy ? — " We 
 love him," says St. John, "because he first 
 
24 LETTER. 
 
 loved us," 1 John iv. 19. Those who look 
 upon God as their reconciled Father 
 through Jesus Christ ; who believe that he 
 loves them with an everlasting love, which 
 will endure to all eternity ; that he will cause 
 " all things to work together for their good," 
 Rom. viii. 28, in this world, and will finally 
 receive them into his blissful presence, not 
 on account of any works of righteousness 
 which they have done, but solely because he 
 has been graciously pleased to give his own 
 Son to suffer and die for them ; — those who 
 firmly believe all this, will find it easy to 
 love God, nay, impossible not to love him. 
 Such benefits would melt even a heart of 
 stone, and transform it into a heart of 
 flesh ; and those who thus love God will 
 take real pleasure in his ordinances^ 
 and in the public and private exercises of 
 
LETTER. 25 
 
 devotion. They pray to him with real 
 fervour ; they praise him with real grati- 
 tude ; they are glad \Vhen it is said to 
 them, Let us go up to the house of God, 
 Isaiah ii. 3, — even to God, our " exceeding 
 joy," Psa. xliii. 4. 
 
 I do not much wonder, that the people 
 of this world find the exercises of devotion 
 so tiresome. To them, they suggest nothing 
 but gloomy, or, at best, uninteresting ideas ; 
 but to the christian, they present views, 
 which are not only sublime and interesting, 
 but transporting and delightful. Nay, some- 
 times when he is enabled, by the Spirit of 
 God, to draw nigh with the full assurance of 
 faith, or when he is listening to an eloquent ser- 
 mon from an evangelical preacher, he almost 
 feels as if he were already transported to that 
 heaven to which his thoughts habitually tend» 
 
26 LETTER. 
 
 1 observe further, that the behef of this 
 system of doctrine must have a still more 
 direct tendency to promote in us the love of 
 Christ. Surely those who believe him to be 
 their own Saviour, and that he died for 
 them, will feel more love and gratitude 
 towards him, than those who merely look 
 upon him as the Saviour of sinners in ge- 
 neral. They can adopt the language of 
 St. Peter, and exultingly speak of their 
 Redeemer, as of him, whom not having 
 seen, they love ; in whom, though now 
 they see him not, yet believing, they rejoice 
 with joy unspeakable, and full of glory, 1 
 Pet. i. 8. 
 
 And this love to Christ produces in their 
 souls a sincere love and affection for their 
 fellow-creatures. As the blessed Jesus is 
 now in heaven, and they upon earth, they 
 
LETTER. 27 
 
 cannot personally give him any proofs of 
 their affectionate gratitude ; but they can do 
 what they know is, in his estimation, equi- 
 valent. You, of course, remember the beau- 
 tiful and affecting words of our adorable 
 Redeemer : " Forasmuch as ye did it unto 
 one of the least of these my brethren, ye did 
 it unto me," Matt. xxv. 40. : These words 
 make a strong impression upon every real 
 christian. When he beholds an object in 
 distress whom it is in his power to relieve, 
 he looks upon it as an opportunity of show- 
 ing his gratitude to him, who died for his 
 offences, and rose again for his justification, 
 Rom. iv. 25. 
 
 I would further remark, that all mankind 
 may be divided into two classes — those who 
 are christians, and those who are not. Now, 
 a christian finds no difficulty whatever 
 
28 LETTER. 
 
 in loving his fellow-christians, as they 
 have the same vievv^s, the same hopes, the 
 same desires, the same fears, the same aver- 
 sions, and the same Saviour. So complete 
 a sympathy cannot fail to excite affection 
 and esteem ; and, with regard to those who 
 are not christians, though a believer does 
 not love them in the same manner that he 
 loves his brethren, (I mean, that he does 
 not take pleasure in their society,) and that 
 he cannot join in their feelings and senti- ( 
 ments, yet he looks upon them with the 
 sincerest pity, and with an anxious wish to 
 promote their spiritual benefit. As he 
 knows, by experience, the full value of the 
 change which has passed upon his own 
 heart, he is desirous to communicate that 
 bliss to all around him ; and as he truly loves 
 his Saviour, he is solicitous to increase the 
 
LETTER. 29 
 
 number of his subjects. This desire to do 
 good, prompts him to avoid whatever might 
 appear harsh and repulsive, and to be 
 courteous and obhging, kind and benevolent, 
 even to those whom he cannot esteem ; 
 hoping that by these means he may gain 
 access to their hearts, and may become the 
 honoured instrument of promoting their 
 eternal salvation. 
 
 Thus I have endeavoured to prove, I 
 hope to your satisfaction, that the evan- 
 gelical system of religion has the m.ost 
 direct and powerful tendency to promote in 
 our hearts the love of God and of our neigh- 
 bour ; and if I have proved this, I have 
 proved every thing ; for, as our Saviour ob- 
 serves, " On these two commandments hang 
 all the law and the prophets," Matt. xxii.40 ; 
 that is to say, those who truly love both 
 
30 LETTER. 
 
 God and their neighbour, will fulfil all the 
 various duties which they owe to both. 
 
 I cannot, however, quit this part of my 
 subject without making one observation 
 more, which is, that the faith of the gospel 
 is our best preservative against the snares 
 both of prosperity and of adversity ; which 
 remark I propose to explain at some length. 
 
 To begin then with prosperity. The 
 chief danger attending that state is, that it 
 strongly exposes us to the temptation oi 
 becoming " lovers of pleasures more than 
 lovers of God," 2 Tim. iii. 4 ; and this 
 danger is considerably increased, when those 
 whose outward circumstances are on the 
 whole prosperous, are also young and lively, 
 and have been introduced into gay and 
 fashionable circles. Persons in such cir- 
 cumstances may be said to stand on the 
 
LETTER. 31 
 
 brink of a precipice. They run the greatest 
 risk of being drawn into a vortex of folly and 
 dissipation, in which all sense of religion is 
 likely to be sw^allowed up. But the faith of 
 the gospel, that faith which I have been 
 describing, not only fortifies the mind against 
 such temptations, but I might almost ven- 
 ture to say that, to a real believer, they 
 cease to be temptations at all. Ask an emi- 
 nent christian, who has just been rejoicing 
 in his Saviour, whether he would be willing 
 to give up these delightful contemplations, 
 or even to suspend the exercise of them for 
 a while, that he might go to a play, or a 
 ball, or to read a novel, and he would be 
 apt to smile at the question. Not only 
 does he look upon these amusements as vain 
 and insnaring ; not only does he know that 
 they are apt to steal away the heart from 
 
32 LETTER. 
 
 God, to indispose him for the exercises of 
 devotion, and to draw him back, as it were, 
 to that world from whence he has with so 
 much difficulty escaped ; not only does he 
 avoid them on these accounts, but he can 
 with truth say, that he has altogether lost 
 his relish for them, in the same manner as 
 you, now that you are grown up, have lost 
 your relish for the toys and amusements of 
 children. It is true, indeed, that a christian 
 may be so circumstanced, as to be obliged 
 to mix more with gay circles, and to join 
 more in vain diversions, than he could wish ; 
 but when that is the case, he will enter into 
 them with real reluctance, and will gladly 
 escape from them as soon as he can. 
 
 I ought to add, however, especially in 
 writing to a young person like you, that 
 this change from the love of pleasure to 
 
LETTER. 33 
 
 the love of God, is usually gradual, and 
 that a young convert does not, generally 
 speaking, gain so complete a victory over 
 the world at once. 
 
 I proceed now to remark that the faith 
 of the gospel is not only our best preser- 
 vative against the snares of prosperity, but 
 that its blessed effects are equally conspicuous 
 in adversity. It silences murmurs ; it in- 
 spires contentment and resignation ; nay, 
 it is a firm and effectual support in the midst 
 of every calamity to which a believer can b& 
 exposed. Is the christian visited with sick- 
 ness? he anticipates the period when pain 
 and sorrow shall for ever flee away. Is he 
 oppressed by poverty ? he reflects on the 
 treasure which he possesses in heaven. Is he 
 deprived of a friend? he looks forward to 
 the time when he shall join the society of 
 
34 LETTER, 
 
 saints and angels. In short, he knows and 
 believes that all things shall work to- 
 gether for his good, Rom. viii. 28 ; and 
 that his light afflictions, which are but 
 for a moment, shall work out for him 4 far 
 more exceeding, even an eternal Weight of 
 glory, 2 Cor. iv. 17. 
 
 There is one evil, however, which I have 
 not yet mentioned, and which, to the peo- 
 ple of this world, is the most formidable of 
 all — I mean death. Now here it is that 
 the triumph of the evangelical principles is 
 complete. I allow, indeed, that some weak 
 christians may, at such a trying period, be 
 assailed with unreasonable doubts and fears ; 
 but I am speaking of those who are strong 
 in faith ; and they are enabled, even in the 
 immediate prospect of dissolution, to give 
 glory to God. They know in whom they 
 
LETTER. 35 ' 
 
 have believed. They know that, though 
 utterly vile and worthless in themselves, 
 they are complete in Christ, Coloss. ii. 10; 
 and, relying on his mediation, they can 
 fearlessly commit their souls into the hands 
 of that merciful Creator, who has already 
 pardoned, justified, and sanctified them. 
 Though their heart and flesh do faint 
 and fail, they can lift up their heads with 
 joy, knowing that their "redemption draweth 
 niorh," Luke xxi. 28; and some of them 
 can even adopt the triumphant language of 
 St. Paul, " O death, where is thy sting ? 
 O grave, where is thy victory ? Thanks be 
 to God, who giveth us the victory through 
 Jesus Christ our Lord," 1 Cor. xv. 55. 57. 
 Thus, my dear Catherine, have I en- 
 deavoured to describe to you the life and the 
 death of an eminent christian ; and, let me 
 D 2 
 
36 LETTER. 
 
 ask you, would it not be desirable to lead 
 such a life, and to die such a death, indepen- 
 dently even of the eternal recompence of 
 reward? Surely a life of peace and joy, and 
 a death of exultation and triumph, are in 
 themselves preferable to any thing which 
 this world can bestow. 
 
 But perhaps you will tell me, that you do 
 not dispute this, but that you wish to know 
 how this precious faith is to be obtained. 
 How is it possible for us, frail mortals, 
 surrounded as we are with the objects of 
 time and sense, and with a great variety 
 of temptations, thus to live above the world 
 — thus to dwell among heavenly objects ? 
 I answer, in the words of our Saviour, 
 " With men this is impossible, but with 
 God all things are possible," Matt. xix. 26. 
 — " Draw nigh to God, and he will draw 
 
LETTER. 37 
 
 nigh to you," James iv. 8. There is no 
 spiritual blessing whatever but may be ob- 
 tained from the Almighty, " by earnest per- 
 severing prayer." But when you pray, 
 beware of formality. Many think, that 
 when they have uttered before God a set 
 form of well-chosen words, they have done all 
 that can be required of them. But I would 
 not call this praying. When you pray, you 
 should use the same earnestness and im- 
 portunity which you would employ in re- 
 questing from an earthly friend some favour 
 which you had very much at heart. And 
 be solicitous also for an answer to your 
 prayers. Many pray without even thinking 
 of an answer ; and how can they expect to 
 obtain one? Surely you would not bestow 
 a favour upon any one, who, the moment 
 after having asked it, turned away without 
 
38 LETTER. 
 
 waiting for a reply. If you then would really 
 desire to be renewed and sanctified, look up 
 daily, I might almost say hourly, to Him who 
 alone can effect this change ; and examine 
 carefully, and frequently also, into the state 
 of your own mind, in order that you may 
 ascertain whether your prayers have been 
 heard and answered. If you can perceive any 
 symptoms of this blessed change in yourself, 
 be thankful to God, and pray earnestly, that 
 you may be renewed yet more and more ; and 
 pray to him in faith, believing, that what 
 you ask of him in the name of Christ, you 
 shall in due time receive ; and this will 
 give vigour and alacrity to your prayers. 
 I have sometimes thought, that real 
 christians may be said to possess an addi^ 
 tional sense. They see what is invisible to 
 others. Like Stephen, they behold with 
 
LETTER. 39 
 
 their mental eyes the heavens opened, and 
 Christ sitting at the right hand of God, 
 Acts vii. 56. But we can no more confer 
 on ourselves this additional sense, than we 
 can add to the number of our bodily senses. 
 In fact, every conversion is so entirely 
 brought about by the agency of the Spirit of 
 God, that it may be called a miracle ; and 
 only differs from the miraculous cures re- 
 corded in the Gospels, in this respect, that 
 the latter were outward and visible miracles, 
 whereas the former is an inward and in- 
 visible one. 
 
 But here I would remind you of what 
 happened to the blind man who was sent to 
 wash in the pool of Siloam. Though the 
 miracle was performed by the power of our 
 Saviour alone, it was his pleasure that the 
 blind man should use the means which he 
 
40 LETTER. 
 
 prescribed to him. Thus it is with us. 
 Though God alone can convert us, we must 
 not neglect the means of grace. The chief 
 of these means, which is prayer, I have al- 
 ready mentioned to you ; but I would wish to 
 say a few words concerning the others. 
 
 To prayer, then, you should add a di- 
 ligent study of the Bible. It is not enough 
 to read it through, but you should study it 
 carefully. Endeavour to ascertain its mean- 
 ing ; and for that purpose, compare one 
 scripture with another, looking up to God 
 for light and direction in this most beneficial 
 exercise. You should also read frequently 
 the works of evangelical writers, and hear, 
 as often as you can, the sermons of evan- 
 gelical preachers. The frequent perusal of 
 religious books is of the utmost consequence 
 to those who would wish to make progress 
 
LETTER. 41 
 
 ill the spiritual life ; but I have long 
 thought, that the writinors and sermons of 
 those who treat merely of morality are 
 comparatively of little use. To the outward 
 means, add inward endeavours. Strive to 
 believe — strive to attain a realizing faith. 
 To explain w^hat I mean by this ex- 
 pression, I will make use of a familiar 
 comparison. You entertain no doubt, of 
 course, that there is such an empire as that 
 of China, but do not think of it, perhaps, 
 above once a-year. Very different are your 
 feelings with regard to your sister Julia. I 
 believe I may venture to say, that not a day 
 passes over your head in which you do not 
 think of her, and that you frequently in- 
 dulge in pleasing anticipations of what may 
 pas^ between you when you meet again. 
 I am far from condemning these feelings ; 
 
42 LETTER. 
 
 they are amiable and commendable ; but I 
 beg to remind you, that there is One to 
 whom you are infinitely more obliged than 
 you possibly can be to Julia, and who ought 
 to be as frequently the subject of your 
 thoughts. Think of Him who expired in 
 agonies, at the very mention of which hu- 
 man nature shudders, to atone for your sins. 
 Behold him, as it were, dying on the cross 
 for you. Then direct your thoughts to that 
 place where he still liveth to make interces- 
 sion for you. Imagine the greatest and 
 best of all Beings as looking down upon you 
 with an eye of inexpressible benevolence, 
 and addressing you in these most encou- 
 raging words, " Come unto me, all ye that la- 
 bour and are heavy laden, and I will give you 
 rest," Matt. xi. 28 ; and then ask yourself, 
 whether there be any thing in this world for 
 
LETTER. 43 
 
 which it would be worth your while to turn 
 your back upon such a Saviour, and to 
 reject such gracious offers ? 
 
 But it is not enough that you think of 
 these things now and then, or at distant in- 
 tervals. The oftener you think of them, the 
 more pleasure you will take in such medita- 
 tions, and the more you will feel inclined 
 to indulge in them again. I must add, 
 however, that you should not only think of 
 what Christ has done for you, but also of 
 what you ought to do for him. Endeavour 
 to say vidth sincerity, as David did, " What 
 shall I render unto the Lord for all his be- 
 nefits?" Psa. cxvi. 12. Let your look to 
 Jesus be a look of gratitude and of imitation. 
 Read with the utmost care, his life, his dis- 
 courses, and the writings of his apostles, in 
 order that you may ascertain how best to 
 
44 LETTER. 
 
 show your gratitude ; that you may learn 
 how to Hve to him who died for you. In 
 short, my dear Catherine, it is my earnest 
 wish and entreaty, that you would use all 
 these means and endeavours, and use them 
 immediately. " Behold, now is the accepted 
 time, now is the day of salvation," 2 Cor. 
 vi. 2. He who promises pardon, does not 
 promise to-morrow ; and if you should now 
 reject that hand, which is, as it were, stretch- 
 ed out to receive you, it may soon — you 
 know not how soon ! — be withdrawn for 
 ever. I shall say no more upon this part 
 of my subject. I have already extended 
 this Letter to a much greater length than I 
 at first intended ; but I felt unwilling to leave 
 any thing unsaid that I thought might be of 
 use, either to explain the doctrines of the 
 gospel, or to impress them upony our mind. 
 
LETTER. 45 
 
 I am now about to conclude ; but before 
 I do so, I would wish to say a few words, 
 in order to obviate some objections which 
 may perhaps occur to yourself, or which 
 may be suggested to you by others. 
 
 The first of these which I shall notrce, 
 is this : You may perhaps be told, that, 
 according to my system, you must be al- 
 ways thinking of religion, which is im- 
 possible. 
 
 But this objection is founded on mistake. 
 I readily allow that it is impossible to be 
 always thinking of religion, neither is it 
 possible for the learned to be always think- 
 ing of their books. Yet surely there is a 
 very considerable difference between a learn- 
 ed man and an ignorant one : and, to pursue 
 the comparison a little farther, though the 
 learned may meet with many interruptions 
 
46 LETTER. 
 
 to their studies, they are apt to look upon 
 those interruptions as troublesome, and they 
 gladly return to their studies when they can. 
 Thus it is also with the truly religious. 
 
 Another objection which may perhaps be 
 made to my system, is, that it is too strict^ 
 and that all this strictness is not necessary. 
 To this I would reply, Can we make our- 
 selves too sure of heaven ? Is not St, 
 Peter's advice most wise and rational, to 
 give all diligence to make our calling and 
 election SURE? 2 Peter i. 10. An error 
 on this side can lead to no bad consequences 
 whatever ; an error on the other side must 
 be fatal and irretrievable. Besides, every 
 true christian remembers, that he is not 
 his own, that he is " bought with a price," 
 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20; vii. 23; with no less a 
 price than the blood and the agonies of the 
 
LETTER. 47 
 
 Son of God ; and this thought is of itself 
 enough to set him free for ever from all ab- 
 surd apprehensions of being too strict. 
 
 But some, perhaps, may tell you, that 
 if you lead such a life as I have been de- 
 scribing, you will be singular and par- 
 ticular. To such I would answer, that the 
 people of God are uniformly described in 
 scripture as " a peculiar people," Titus ii. 
 14. We are told that they _^are not of 
 this world, John xv. 19 ; xvii. 16 — that 
 they love not the world — that they are not 
 conformed to the world, Rom. xii. 2 — 
 that they are crucified to the world. Gal. 
 vi. 14. These are striking texts. — But, above 
 all, I would wish you seriously to consider 
 the very remarkable words of our Saviour 
 himself, " Enter ye in at the strait gate : for 
 wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that 
 
48 LETTER. 
 
 leadeth to destruction, and many there be 
 which go in tliereat : because strait is the 
 
 o 
 
 gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth 
 unto life, and few there be that find it," 
 Matt. vii. 13, 14. 
 
 That you, my dear Catherine, and every 
 member of our family, may belong to that 
 happy few ; may know by experience the 
 change I have been describing ; and may 
 rejoice in Christ Jesus both in time and in 
 eternity, is the sincere and earnest prayer of 
 
 Your truly affectionate Sister, 
 
 HANNAH SINCLAIR. 
 
TO THE READER. 
 
 Such were the religious doctrines of 
 this most excellent person, on which she 
 acted with unceasing attention. Those 
 who witnessed her serenity of temper — 
 her uniform cheerfulness — the pleasure she 
 enjoyed in constantly doing good — the pa- 
 tience and resignation with which she bore 
 up against the sufferings of a protracted 
 illness — and the confident hope she enter- 
 tained of future happiness in another state 
 of existence — feel it a duty incumbent up- 
 on them, most earnestly to recommend to 
 others her principles and her example, as 
 the most likely means of attaining eternal 
 felicity. 
 
50 LETTER FROM 
 
 [The subjoined Letter from Mrs. Han- 
 nah More to Sir John Sinclair, is 
 written with so much abiHty, force, and 
 elegance of expression, that (the consent 
 of that celebrated Author having been ob- 
 tained) it requires no apology for laying 
 it before the Public] 
 
 Letter from Mrs. Hannah More to Sir 
 John Sinclair. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I FEEL much 'gratified at re- 
 ceiving from your hand the valuable little 
 work you have done me the honour of 
 sending me. I know not whether I should 
 
MRS. HANNAH MORE. 51 
 
 most congratulate you on having possess- 
 ed such a daughter, or sympathize with 
 you on having lost her. It is delightful 
 to reflect, that while she is gone to join 
 the society above, for which her whole life 
 seems to have been a preparation, she has 
 perpetuated her name by this valuable Epis- 
 tle ; and not only her name, but her desire 
 of doing good, for which she seems to have 
 had a peculiar vocation. 
 
 She was, indeed, a most extraordinary 
 young lady. Her views of the christian 
 Religion are very deep. She has taken, 
 in a short space, a comprehensive survey 
 of its doctrines. These doctrines, in her 
 estimation, are not merely a beautiful theory, 
 consisting of speculative dogmas, but the 
 sound substratum of all practical holiness. 
 Every other way of considering this all-im- 
 E 2 
 
52 LETTER FROlVI 
 
 portant subject is, in my opinion, dangerous 
 and delusive. Those who divide doctrine 
 from practice, of which we have lately heard 
 so many unhappy instances, separate what 
 the scriptures have joined in indissoluble 
 union. This young lady's life seems to 
 have furnished an admirable comment on 
 her writing : she wrote as she lived ; she 
 practised as she believed. 
 
 I trust that this posthumous publica- 
 tion will not only have the happiest effects 
 on the beloved sisters, for whose use it 
 was more particularly intended, but on as 
 many as shall peruse it, particularly on 
 those of her own sex, age, and rank in 
 life. Of her it may, with peculiar em- 
 phasis, be said, that, being dead, she yet 
 speaketh 
 
 I enter exactly, sir, into the sentiment 
 
MRS. HANNAH MORE. 53 
 
 with which you conclude your preliminary 
 address ; the very character and exemplary 
 life which so happily fitted her for the 
 blessed state on which she is entered, un- 
 speakably sharpen the feelings and aggra- 
 vate the loss of her afflicted relatives. 
 
 Cordially wishing you, sir, and your 
 mourning family, all the consolations which 
 religion can bestow, and there are no others 
 worth the name, I remain, 
 
 With much respect. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Your very obliged 
 
 And faithful Servant, 
 
 HANNAH MORE. 
 
 Barley M'^ood, near Bristol^ 
 .Turn 13, 1818. 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 A ClergYxMAn of great respectability, 
 
 (the Reverend Josiah Pratt,) to whom 
 Sir John Sinclair sent a copy of his 
 deceased daughter's Letter on the Prin- 
 ciples of the Christian Faith, suggested 
 in his reply — 
 
 " Miss Sinclair has, doubtless, left 
 private papers beliind her, which develope 
 the beginning and progress of religion in 
 her owTi mind. You would confer a great 
 benefit, dear sir, on young persons, for 
 many years to come, if you would provide 
 that a Memoir should be drawn up from 
 those, or any other authentic documents, 
 detailing the principal circumstances which 
 
58 PREFACE. 
 
 marked the efforts of her mind, under the 
 guidance and grace of the Holy Spirit, in 
 travelling from the darkness of nature, to 
 the clear and bright regions of truth and 
 day. Such a Memoir, prefixed to the Let-^ 
 ter, and the whole printed in the more per- 
 manent form of a small volume, would, with 
 God's blessing, prove of great use, especially 
 to the young." 
 
 A similar opinion having been also 
 given hy others, to whose judgment Sir 
 John Sinclair pays great deference, he 
 requested a friend * to arrange, in the 
 form of a Memoir, such materials as were 
 accessible, through different channels of 
 communication with Miss Sinclair's rela- 
 tives and intimates. 
 
 * The Rev. Legh Richmond, Rector of Turvey, 
 in Bedfordshire. 
 
PREFACE. 59 
 
 In the hope that the christian prin- 
 ciples, which are developed in the nar- 
 rative, might prove an additional be- 
 nefit to the readers of the " Letter" the 
 compiler presents the following faith- 
 ful, though imperfect sketch, to Sir John 
 Sinclair, and to the public, as a testi- 
 mony to the value of the gospel of Christ, 
 resulting from a genuine display of its 
 influence on the character of the deceased. 
 
MEMOIR 
 
 MISS SINCLAIR 
 
 Hannah Sinclair was the eldest daugh- 
 ter of the Right Honourable Sir John Sin- 
 clair, Baronet, of Ulbster, in the county 
 of Caithness, in North Britain ; a gen- 
 tleman well known to the public by his 
 works on financial, and a variety of other 
 subjects, and by his practical, as well as 
 theoretical, exertions in matters of agricul- 
 ture and civil economy. Her mother was 
 the daughter of Alexander Maitland, of 
 
62 MEMOIR. 
 
 Stoke Newington, Esq. She died during 
 the infancy of the subject of this Memoir. 
 
 The distinguishing character of this lady's 
 early years in childhood, was a mind far be- 
 yond what is generally discovered at the 
 same age. A thirst for superior knowledge, 
 and a comprehensive understanding, directed 
 even to abstruse subjects, marked her as an 
 uncommon child. Amidst the playfulness 
 and ordinary occupation of extreme youth, 
 there was a determination of mind towards 
 intellectual attainments, which would not 
 easily be restrained. 
 
 At the infantine age of eight, nine, or at 
 most ten years, she had read through a great 
 number of volumes in a library belonging to 
 her father at Thurso Castle, in the county 
 of Caithness, where she and her younger 
 sister resided with her grandmother, Lady 
 
MEMOIR. 63 
 
 Janet Sinclair. She read authors on every 
 variety of subject : history, fiction, divinity, 
 philosophy. Her delight was to read a new 
 book ; and on whatsoever subject of litera- 
 ture it treated, her young mind seized upon 
 it wath singular avidity. She was often seen 
 to be climbing on chairs, even when so little 
 a girl, to search for what many grown per- 
 sons would think very dry reading. She 
 never took pleasure in the common amuse- 
 ments of children : to amuse her, there must 
 be always something to engage the mind. 
 
 She had a turn for argument. One day 
 she took a clergyman into her nursery, 
 opened her Bible, and desired him to explain 
 a passage which she did not fully understand. 
 He did so, but she was not satisfied with 
 the explanation, and argued the point, until 
 he left her with much astonishment at the 
 
64 MEMOIR. 
 
 depth and acuteness of intellect displayed by 
 a child not yet ten years old. 
 
 She possessed at this time great powers 
 of memory : the clergyman of the parish 
 church dining with her father on a Sunday, 
 Hannah was asked for an account of the 
 sermon. She went so regularly through the 
 heads of the discourse, and what was said 
 upon each, that the minister (who, contrary 
 to the practice of many in the church of 
 Scotland, read his sermons) declared he 
 could not have told half so much about it 
 himself. 
 
 At that period she often spoke of religion, 
 especially to the servants ; some of w^hom 
 were pious. She would converse, and even 
 argue, about faith and works, evincing no 
 small share of attention to the distinct nature 
 of each. But it may be doubted, and her 
 
MEMOIR. 65 
 
 own subsequent and deliberate acknowledg- 
 ments confirm the doubt, whether that germ 
 of spirituality, which afterwards so strikingly 
 adorned her more mature character, was yet 
 formed. 
 
 The early expansions of intellect must 
 not be confounded with the genuine opera- 
 tions of Divine grace. No mere character- 
 istics of mind, nor amiableness of natural 
 disposition, must usurp, in our apprehension, 
 the place which is alone due to the influences 
 of the Holy Spirit in changing the heart of 
 man, and making him " a new creature in 
 Christ Jesus." Hannah Sinclair's own 
 views on this subject, as recorded in the first 
 pages of the preceding " Letter," are con- 
 clusive, and perfectly accord with the repre- 
 sentations made in the word of God, on the 
 fall and recovery of man. ' 
 
66 MEMOIR. 
 
 Nevertheless, it is always important to 
 ascertain the constitutional character of the 
 mind, previous to the formation of the gra- 
 cious principle ; to trace the specific effects 
 of the Spirit's operation on the heart, and 
 to observe how, amidst the diversity of na- 
 tural intellect and affections, God makes use 
 of the gifts and talents bestowed upon his 
 people, for the furtherance of his own glory 
 in their salvation. 
 
 To the intelligent observer of the history 
 of the church of Christ, the period of infancy 
 will often afford the most valuable materials 
 for unfolding " the mysteries of his kingdom." 
 
 It is also of the first consequence to ex- 
 hibit the benefits which may arise to chil- 
 dren from an early acquaintance with the 
 holy scriptures, and a judicious cultivation 
 of useful knowledire in general. Even re- 
 
MEMOIR. 67 
 
 liglous parents err too frequently, in forming 
 a right estimate of the duty of giving an 
 early direction to the infant mind, as to the 
 essentials of christian knowledge, displayed 
 in the pure gospel of the Redeemer. 
 
 After the period above mentioned, Miss 
 Sinclair came with her grandmother and 
 younger sister to reside in Edinburgh. 
 Here they first enjoyed the privilege of at- 
 tending the parochial ministry of the Rev. 
 Dr. Walter Buchanan, of the Canongate 
 church. She soon testified a partiality for 
 the sermons of her valuable pastor, and re- 
 tained much of them in her juvenile, but 
 well-stored recollection. Yet still, in order 
 that her own views of the progress of prin- 
 ciple in her heart may be faithfully kept in 
 sight, it is proper to observe, that, during 
 the three years which were then passed in 
 F 2 
 
68 MEMOIR. 
 
 Edinburgh, an intellectual, rather than de- 
 cidedly spiritual, attachment to the great 
 truths of the gospel, was manifested in her 
 conversation and deportment. ^ 
 
 At thirteen, Hannah was placed at a 
 school in Stoke Newington, near London. 
 Here she distinguished herself in every branch 
 of education, which more especially calls 
 forth energy of mind. She excelled in his- 
 tory, geography, the elements of astronomy, 
 arithmetic, grammar, and the French lan- 
 guage. But for the lighter accomplishments, 
 excepting music, which she cultivated with 
 much success, she had no inclination. She 
 took great delight in the celestial globe, and 
 once calculated an eclipse, with no other as- 
 sistance than the remembering to have been 
 told some time before, how it ought to be 
 performed. 
 
MEMOIR. 69 
 
 Still, however, although her mind was 
 pursuing and acquiring knowledge with an 
 eagerness seldom witnessed at the same age, 
 the distinguishing characteristic of true re- 
 ligion was undeveloped. Her governess had 
 a great respect for religious principles, and 
 a stricter regard to many points of regularity 
 was observed, than, it is deeply to be la- 
 mented, is usual at schools in general. But, 
 to be faithful to the history of the work of 
 God upon her heart, it did not as yet appear 
 that her mind was inwardly and affectionately 
 sensible of the vast distance which subsists 
 between a mental assent to the truth and 
 decencies of religion, and a spiritual recep- 
 tion of its power into the . heart. At the 
 same time it should be remarked, that as 
 she grew up, good sense and benevolence 
 were manifested in her whole demeanour and 
 
70 MEMOIR. 
 
 aspect. To those, who are unconscious of 
 the vital character of the principles by which 
 " the wisdom that is from above" is distin- 
 guished ; principles ratified by the Saviour's 
 blood upon the cross, and very distinctly 
 portrayed in the excellent " Letter" to which 
 this Memoir is prefixed: to such Hannah 
 Sinclair would have appeared, as in every 
 respect, even then, a real christian. 
 
 She returned to Edinburgh at the age 
 of sixteen, and was restored to the accustom- 
 ed privilege of attending on the ministry of 
 Dr. Buchanan. Not long afterwards the 
 time arrived, when the great concerns of 
 eternity began to interest her heart in a man- 
 ner to which it had hitherto been a stranger. 
 The truly scriptural and impressive instruc- 
 tions of her esteemed pastor seemed in an 
 especial degree to be accompanied with a 
 
MEMOIR. 71 
 
 blessing from Him, " with whom is the pre- 
 paration of the heart." The value of an 
 immortal soul, the uncertainty of human life, 
 the approach of another state of existence, 
 the fall of man, the corrupt state of the sin- 
 ner, the NNTath of God against sin, the awful 
 consequences of spiritual ignorance and 
 error, were subjects which now occupied her 
 thoughts, and led her to contemplate, with 
 seriousness and solemnity, that great ques- 
 tion, " What must I do to be saved ?" 
 
 Amidst many feeble notions, and dark 
 conceptions, as to what real religion was, 
 and what it was not, she formed the de- 
 liberate resolution of becoming religious, of 
 devoting herself to God, and seeking in 
 right earnest for him, who is " the Way, and 
 the Truth, and the Life." The doctrines of 
 the cross were no longer viev/ed as subjects 
 
of a mere acquiescent speculation, but as 
 the soul and substance of present and eter- 
 nal happiness. 
 
 She afterwards often looked back, and 
 was filled with astonishment, that so small 
 a seed should 'bring forth any fruits. But 
 He who planted nourished it ; and to Him 
 alone she ascribed the rise, progress, and 
 increase. She now felt the decided convic- 
 tion, which was strengthened by. the de- 
 liberate conclusions of her future and more 
 matured judgment, that she must, on scrip- 
 tural grounds, from this period, date the 
 holy and happy change of " passing from 
 death unto life," through the renewing in- 
 fluence of the Spirit of God upon her soul. 
 
 The reader is referred to her own " Letter 
 on the Principles of the Christian Faith," 
 for a proof of the clear and consistent views 
 
MEMOIR. 73 
 
 which she entertained of the nature of that 
 spiritual change. 
 
 From this time, although nothing very 
 striking, or observable, to those around her, 
 might be apparent, yet there was a great and 
 felt alteration in her views, desires, and pur- 
 suits. Her devotional exercises, although 
 they had never been externally omitted, were 
 now performed with a regularity and earnest- 
 ness which gave them an entirely new cha- 
 racter. The sabbath was not only more 
 punctually observed, but its essential privi- 
 leges were duly and gratefully prized. The 
 faithful preaching of the gospel was now 
 ardently desired, and beneficence to the 
 poor became a more fixed principle. Until 
 then, she had not comprehended the force 
 and meaning of the apostolical injunction, 
 " Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of 
 
74 MEMOIR. 
 
 God ;" nor to apply it, in what are usually 
 considered the more trifling concerns of 
 daily occurrence. Now^ that precept was 
 written upon her heart, and became the re- 
 gulating motive of her conduct. 
 
 Under such circumstances, nothing could 
 be more favourable to her christian progress, 
 than a constant attendance on Dr. Buchan- 
 an's ministry ; for which she felt to the end 
 of her life, that she never could be sufficiently 
 thankful. His affectionate manner was well 
 calculated to make a deep impression : and 
 his truly christian spirit forcibly struck her, 
 as indicating that there is, in true religion, 
 somewhat infinitely beyond what appears in 
 the lives of even the decent and moral ; 
 that there is an uniting principle, by which 
 the sinner obtains an interest in all that the 
 Saviour is, and all that he has done, for man. 
 
MEMOIR. 75 
 
 The great fundamental points of scrip- 
 tural doctrine, such as the utter depravity of 
 human nature, salvation through a crucified 
 Redeemer, the necessity of the continual in- 
 fluences of the Holy Spirit, and of holiness 
 of life, had long been subjects of mental 
 acquiescence on the part of Miss Sinclair ; 
 but they had never, until this period of her 
 life, produced that solicitude and desire 
 which binds them on the conscience, and 
 makes them the actuating principle of the 
 affections. Like Job, she had previously 
 heard of God " by the hearing of the ear," 
 and had lived in comparative self-com- 
 placency ; but noiv, her " eye saw him" in 
 his grace and truth, and the result was 
 similar : she " abhorred herself, and repent- 
 ed in dust and ashes." 
 
 She lived at this time as much out of the 
 
7& MEMOIR. 
 
 world as was in her power. She had no 
 real hking for its company nor amusements. 
 Although possessed of qualifications which 
 would have been deemed ornamental to the 
 most polished circles, yet she sought not her 
 happiness there. She loved retirement, and 
 wished for communion with God. With 
 the pious she had little opportunity of con- 
 fidential intercourse. Her much-valued mi- 
 nister she occasionally saw, but it was in 
 company with others, and he had then no 
 particular knowledge of the change which 
 had been wrought in her sentiments. 
 
 She now first commenced the affectionate 
 and dutiful task of instructing the younger 
 part of her father's second family, in the 
 different branches of education, wherein she 
 herself excelled. It was her delight to in- 
 form their young minds. She had the hap- 
 
MEMOIR. 77 
 
 py art of making instruction agreeable, by 
 the interesting mode in which she commu- 
 nicated it. Many a time would her little 
 brothers and sisters beg as earnestly for a 
 lesson, as others commonly do for a holiday. 
 These valuable exercises made a deep im- 
 pression on their young minds, from the 
 kindness with which they were given : and 
 are still remembered with affectionate grati- 
 tude by those who were the objects of her 
 sisterly care and love. 
 
 Miss S. was modest and gentle in her 
 temper, and without the most distant ap- 
 pearance or assumption of superiority. It 
 was necessary to be thoroughly acquainted 
 with her, before it was discoverable how 
 much her mind exceeded others. She had 
 a remarkable candour in the exercise of 
 judgment, and never could bear to think or 
 
78 MEMOIR. 
 
 speak harshly of any one. She esteemed 
 what was amiable, even where she saw cause 
 to lament that real religion was deficient ; 
 but her estimation of such qualities was of 
 a discriminating character, and did not lead 
 her into any erroneous conclusions, to the 
 disparagement of those affections and mo- 
 tives to action, which Divine grace only can 
 bestow. 
 
 She had a perfect indifference to finery 
 and ornament in dress, not unfrequently re- 
 marking, how wearisome it was to hear that 
 subject so constantly spoken of; and ex- 
 pressing a wish that there was but one 
 fashion, which never changed. But with 
 her distaste to the pride and frivolity of ex- 
 ternal attire, she possessed most correct and 
 consistent ideas of neatness and propriety. 
 
 With her, the apostle's precept had great 
 
MEMOIR. 79 
 
 weight. She sought not " that outward 
 adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing 
 of gold, or putting on of apparel." But it 
 was " the hidden man of the heart, in that 
 which was not corruptible, even the orna- 
 ment of a meek and quiet spirit, which is, 
 in the sight of God, of great price." 
 
 It were happy for many of those who 
 profess the same sentiments of religion which 
 Hannah Sinclair did, if a more holy indif- 
 ference and more consistent abstinence on 
 the score of external decoration, were as 
 visible and exemplary as in the present 
 instance. 
 
 But her regard for simplicity in matters 
 of outward appearance had an additional 
 motive. She was thereby enabled to ap- 
 propriate the more to purposes of beneficence. 
 She acted upon the christian principle, 
 
80 MEMom. 
 
 that charity loses its own appropriate dis- 
 tinction, if not accompanied by self-denial. 
 
 Miss Sinclair was a great advocate for 
 justice, as well as mercy, in what she dis- 
 tributed. She weighed with much delicacy 
 and propriety of judgment the relative cir- 
 cumstances of each case of distress which 
 was submitted to her notice. ' She thus 
 found herself enabled to do far more essen- 
 tial good, than by an indiscriminate mode of 
 alms-giving. She felt it a duty, as much 
 as possible, to add the labour of investiga- 
 tion to the indulgence of a benevolent spirit. 
 
 Hers was a rare union of intellectual with 
 spiritual attainment, enveloped in a robe of 
 modesty and retiredness, which shrank from 
 observation. But whilst we are called upon 
 to speak of and admire what constituted so 
 valuable a character, the christian memori- 
 
MEMOIR. 81 
 
 alist will always feel, that to the Author of 
 every virtue and every grace the praise alone 
 is due. 
 
 Wjiat she was, she was by the grace of 
 God. VS^erfiiniti^e. differed from others, it 
 was He that made her'itjg. di^er. It was the 
 unvarying language of her ownl^art, when 
 living, arid should be of aiJfewlio,^^^^e they 
 admire, would follow her steps, " Not unto 
 us, not unto us, but unto thy name give 
 glory, forilhy mercy, and for thy truth's 
 sake," Psa. cxv. 1. 
 
 The design of christian biography is to 
 glorify God, by recording the mercies which 
 he bestows on his sinful creatures. It is to 
 exhibit the loveliness of that new disposition 
 which grace produces ; but, in doing so, to 
 ascribe whatever is excellent to its originat- 
 ing source. The highest character to which^ 
 
82 MEMOIR. 
 
 since the fall, man can aspire, is that of " a 
 sinner saved by grace." And every sinner, 
 so saved, will wish and endeavour, that of 
 all which he is, and all which he is to be, 
 the Author and Finisher of his faith may 
 have the undivided glory. 
 
 To those who are at all acquainted with 
 the interior history of the hearts of real 
 christians, and with the manifold exercises 
 of their thoughts, it will not appear surpris- 
 ing, that a mind, constructed like Miss 
 Sinclair's, should, at some periods, have been 
 exercised by deep and anxious speculations 
 on mysterious points, connected with some 
 of the great doctrines of the gospel. 
 
 It was not until about the age of twenty- 
 one, that she communicated to a confidential 
 friend, how much she had recently suffered 
 in reflecting on the subject of the nature and 
 
MEMOIR. 83 
 
 duration of the future misery of the wicked. 
 For a considerable time she remained at a 
 loss how to take that comprehensive view 
 of the different attributes of God, as un- 
 folded in his revealed word, which might 
 enable her to rest her judgment with com- 
 posure on the result of the question. Her 
 reflecting mind frequently revolved the 
 subject, and still doubts and difficulties were 
 presented. 
 
 After this, she expressed great anxiety as 
 to the real nature of the doctrine of the 
 Trinity, and of the theological language in 
 which it was sometimes expressed. Oc- 
 casionally, darkness and confusion, on this 
 point, produced much disquietude. 
 
 She was also led into earnest, and some- 
 times distressing thoughts, in regard to the 
 sovereignty of God, in the plan of salvation 
 G 2 
 
84 MEMOIR. 
 
 in the commencement, carrying on, and final 
 consummation of the work of grace in the 
 hearts of his people. 
 
 She did not at that time express any 
 doubts relative to the other truths of the 
 gospel ; but long afterwards told her friend, 
 that there was not one of them, in the belief 
 of which she had not at some period or an- 
 other been shaken. 
 
 But let not this case be misapprehended. 
 Hers was not the hesitation or unbelief of 
 the infidel, but the doubts of an inquiring 
 mind, anxious to arrive at the truth. All 
 this while, she appears to have been con- 
 vinced of the reality of the christian system 
 in the aggregate, but felt a solicitous uncer- 
 tainty as to some particular tenets. She 
 was even daily and usefully instructing the 
 young members of the family in many es- 
 
MEMOIR. 85 
 
 sential points, before she had cleared up 
 others to her own satisfaction. 
 
 The judicious friend, to whom she un- 
 bosomed her inmost thoughts, was often 
 distressed at the state of her mind ; but sel- 
 dom argued with her, and rather talked of 
 the lovely features of Christianity ; the beau- 
 ties of holiness, as exhibited in the face 
 of our Lord, and in a faint degree, in that 
 of his people ; the grandeur and magnifi- 
 cence of the scheme of redemption ; and the 
 things that belong to our everlasting peace. 
 Her friend felt assured, that as religious 
 principles gained strength through study of 
 the scriptures and prayer, her doubts would 
 vanish, and only prove a prelude to a solid 
 and permanent peace of mind. Hannah 
 repeatedly said, how much she was bene- 
 fited by these observations, and expressed 
 
86 MEMOIR. 
 
 the most affectionate anxiety not to lose the 
 advantages which they afforded her. 
 
 Accordingly her mind became gradually 
 and substantially composed, in regard to 
 each and every one of those difficulties, 
 which for a season had disquieted her. So 
 true is it that, " Then shall we know, if we 
 follow on to know the Lord," Hosea vi. 3. 
 
 Through mental trials of such a descrip- 
 tion, God exercised her faith and patience 
 for a while, only that his own glory might 
 be the more abundantly promoted, by her 
 happy attainment of that " peace which 
 passeth all understanding." It is " thus 
 that he giveth his beloved rest," Psa. 
 cxxvii. 2, 
 
 Religious friendship and intimate commu- 
 nication of heart, founded upon mutual ex- 
 perience of Divine mercy and love, are means 
 
MEMOIR. 87 
 
 of grace, which in the secret, and for the 
 most part undeveloped history of private 
 christians, promote much of their growth 
 and advancement in the divine Hfe. Such 
 opportunities can never be too highly prized ; 
 their remembrance will ever be sweetly 
 cherished, whilst we live on earth, nor does 
 it appear probable, that they can be forgot- 
 ten in glory. 
 
 Miss Sinclair was constantly in the habit 
 of studying books on all subjects of a 
 literary character, whose tendency she be- 
 lieved to be that of enlarging the mind, and 
 furnishing it with materials for useful medi- 
 tation. Amongst the manuscripts in her 
 own hand-writing, which were discovered 
 after her decease, appeared extracts from 
 Paley's Evidences of Christianity, Reid's 
 Inquiry into the Human Mind, Addison on 
 
88 MEMOIR. 
 
 the Christian Religion, and Campbell's Lec- 
 tures on Ecclesiastical History. As a proof 
 that her mind was not unaccustomed to ab- 
 stract reasoning, these papers contain some 
 well-arranged passages on the Geometry of 
 Visibles, the Powers of Vision, and the 
 Theory of Optical Instruments, with some 
 philosophical and metaphysical observations 
 connected with these subjects. The date 
 of these papers was not ascertained. But 
 although her mind was well stored with the 
 materials which literature afforded, and that 
 in some branches not so usually cultivated 
 by her sex, yet no one was ever more unob- 
 trusive, diffident, or unassuming, in manner 
 and deportment. Her object was the attain- 
 ment of valuable knowledge, but not its dis- 
 play. Her disposition had the genuine cha- 
 racteristics of female delicacy. She pos- 
 
MEMOIR. 89 
 
 sessed a mind fraught with masculine energy, 
 but it was veiled from general observation, 
 by a modesty as truly feminine, as by a 
 humility essentially christian. 
 
 In the year 1806, twelve years before her 
 death. Miss S. was first seized with the 
 fatal complaint which at last terminated her 
 life. A neglected cold began to assume 
 serious appearances, fever ensued, and the 
 physicians apprehended danger. Of this 
 she was not herself aware ; but those around 
 her were surprised with the patience and 
 good humour exhibited during her illness. 
 
 I To one of the family, who afterwards asked 
 iher the cause of it, she said, " it proceeded 
 from trust in God, who, she knew, would 
 
 1 manage much better for her, than she could 
 
 I for herself." 
 I 
 
 She never entirely recovered her health. 
 
90 MEMOIR. 
 
 but was for some years tolerably well, 
 more especially during the summer season. 
 During that period it was remarked, that in 
 each succeeding year towards the end of her 
 life, she manifestly grew in grace, and the 
 knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. No 
 more was heard of doubts ; the doctrines of 
 the gospel were now her only trust, and de- 
 pendence upon the Saviour her greatest joy. 
 She could now, both intellectually and spi- 
 ritually, trace the origin and progress of that 
 confusion of thought on some mysterious 
 points, which had formerly prevailed in her 
 mind. She could review them with calm- 
 ness, and repose them with consolation on 
 the bosom of her heavenly Father. She 
 saw more clearly the distinct provinces of 
 faith and reason in matters of religion. 
 Where, aforetime, she was at a loss to ac- 
 
MEMOIR. 91 
 
 count for the Divine procedure in some par- 
 ticulars of the economy of grace, she now 
 felt satisfied, that as they were indisputably 
 revealed in the word of God, so, considerhig 
 how little we know, or can know, of the vast 
 extended universe, it were folly to suppose, 
 that we can reconcile to our limited concep- 
 tions, the ways of Him, who directs the 
 whole. Where her reason could not com- 
 prehend, faith acquiesced in revelation, and 
 so her heart found peace with God. 
 
 In 1814 Sir John Sinclair and his family 
 left Scotland, and went to reside on Ham 
 Common, in Surrey, not far from London. 
 She had here the privilege of cultivating the 
 christian friendship of a few very estimable 
 individuals, with whom she enjoyed an affec- 
 tionate intimacy. She had also the satisfac- 
 tion, as often as her declining health would 
 
92 MEMOIR. 
 
 permit, of attending the faithful ministry of 
 the clergyman of the parish church, from 
 which she derived much solid edification. 
 
 During this concluding period of her life, 
 she became the diligent visitor of the sick 
 and instructor of the poor, near her resi- 
 dence, amongst whom her name and memory 
 will be long held in grateful affection. 
 
 It is amidst scenes of this nature that the 
 Christianity of females shines with its own 
 appropriate lustre ; and in this department 
 of benevolence, pursued with active simpli- 
 city and devotedness of mind. Miss Sinclair 
 most usefully laboured. 
 
 An increasing anxiety for the spiritual, 
 as well as temporal, welfare of her father's 
 family, was manifested in the pains which 
 she took with the younger children. This 
 was further proved by the " Letter on the 
 
MEMOIR. 93 
 
 Principles of the Christian Faith," written 
 to one of her sisters, solely with a view to 
 private advantage, and without the most 
 distant idea of its being made public. 
 
 Such an elder sister was truly a blessing 
 to her domestic circle. An intelligent 
 writer, after speaking of the value of the 
 female, and more especially the maternal cha- 
 racter, justly remarks ; 
 
 " There is another class of females, whose 
 power of benefiting their immediate con- 
 nexions, and ultimately society at large, is 
 often second only to that of mothers them- 
 selves, but whose duties have not, perhaps, 
 been sufficiently noticed in the exhortations 
 which have issued from the press, or been 
 inculcated in the pulpit ; we mean the elder 
 sisters in laro^e families. 
 
94 MEMOIR. 
 
 " On these, in the event of the death of 
 one or both parents, and even in a consider- 
 able measure during their hfetime, must often 
 devolve a large part of the task of forming 
 the minds and regulating the principles of 
 the junior branches of the household. Their 
 more immediate contact and intercourse with 
 them, together with other circumstances, 
 will often invest them with an influence, 
 which though nominally far less than that 
 of a mother, will not unfrequently be found 
 practically equal, or even greater. The 
 difference of age and j^ursuits between the 
 parent and child is such, that they must 
 necessarily live in a very different world : 
 the child, therefore, though it may respect 
 and obey the parental decision, and know- 
 it in theory to be the best that can possibly 
 be given, finds, perhaps, no common ground 
 
MEMOIR. 95 
 
 between them on whicli to argue the ques- 
 tion, and would not, therefore, be displeased 
 to discover how the same subject would be 
 viewed by those whose age and circum- 
 stances would tend to bring the parties 
 somewhat nearer together. 
 
 " Again, every age has its peculiar fashions 
 and modes of instruction : and a younger 
 child is often more swayed in its real opi- 
 nions, whatever it may ostensibly profess, by 
 the conduct and sentiments of one wire has 
 , gone over identically the same ground, 
 i though advanced, in its estimation, to a 
 . vast distance of superiority, than by the 
 views of one who has been educated under 
 ;; different circumstances, who has not read 
 T.precisely the same books, been influenced 
 ■fin childhood by exactly the same associations 
 iwith the junior members of her own family. 
 
96 MEMOIR. 
 
 A parent often appears ' a being of other 
 days ;' an elder sister is a friend of the same 
 generation, who sometimes, in the child's 
 estimation, makes up, by greater similarity of 
 education and views, what may be wanting 
 in maturity of thought and authority of cha- 
 racter." — Review of^^ Han7iah Sinclair s 
 Letter,'' in the Chy^istian Observer, No. 
 204. 
 
 Too wide a currency cannot be given to 
 sentiments of so much domestic importance. 
 
 In the summer of 1816, Miss S. visited 
 an endeared relative and congenial friend in 
 Scotland. Of the frame of her mind at that 
 time, some idea will be formed from the fol- 
 lowing observation, which she made early 
 one morning : " I never have been so happy 
 as last night. I was not able to sleep, and 
 
MEMOIR. 97 
 
 began to meditate on the employment of 
 saints and angels around the throne. I ru- 
 minated, until I thought I saw the multitude 
 of the redeemed, which no man can num- 
 ber. I fancied I heard their angelic voices 
 singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. 
 Methought I joined with them, and at last 
 I concluded by praying that I might be 
 soon, if not immediately, removed, to unite 
 my note of praise with theirs." 
 
 Such expressions illustrate the character 
 of those highly favoured moments, in which 
 ;; God is sometimes pleased to animate his 
 [ faithful people, by a peculiar blessing upon 
 ) their meditations, concerning the heavenly 
 r state. " He thus giveth songs in the night," 
 I Job XXXV. 10. 
 
 [ Miss Sinclair was possessed of a mind 
 ) feelingly alive to the rich features of the 
 
98 MEMOIR. 
 
 sublime and the beautiful, with which the 
 scenery of her native country is adorned. 
 No where could such a taste be more sub- 
 stantially gratified than on the spot where 
 the foregoing meditations were enjoyed, and 
 where many of her happiest hours i^ad been 
 spent in the society of her sister, Lady Col- 
 quhoun, at Rosedoe-house,* on the banks 
 of Loch Lomond. 
 
 There are few contemplative christians 
 who have surveyed the loveliness and mag- 
 nificence of Loch Lomond, studded with 
 its numerous islands, encircled with its 
 mountains, and beautified with its groves 
 and rocks, but must have felt that the 
 Mighty Architect shone with a resplendence 
 
 * The seat of Sir James Colquhoun, Baronet, 
 who married the second daughter of Sir John 
 Sinclair. 
 
MEMOIR. 99 
 
 of creative power peculiar to the place. 
 To such an eye, the majestic dignity of 
 Ben Lomond, reflected in its mountainous 
 mass from the bosom of the lake, and con- 
 trasted with the rugged pinnacles of the 
 neighbouring hills, would ever suggest sacred 
 and delightful subjects of contemplation. 
 
 Not a ray of sunshine, or a beam of 
 moonlight, would glitter amidst the vast dis- 
 play of objects, but it would seem to speak 
 the glory of its Maker. Whether viewed 
 in the early dawn of the morning, the 
 brightness of noon, the calmness of evening, 
 the sobriety of tw^ilight, the dimness of the 
 starry night, or the silver lustre of the 
 moon ; in all its varieties, this noble and 
 congenial prospect would be, and was, the 
 delight of a mind constituted like that of 
 
 Hannah Sinclair. 
 
 H 2 
 
100 MEMOIR. 
 
 Here she often sought and found her 
 God in the wide range of his wisdom and 
 power, whilst she was privileged to share 
 in the delights of kindred and christian 
 communion with the beloved friend of her 
 infancy, childhood, and youth. 
 
 In 1817, she first commenced a Diary, 
 wherein to record, for her own personal 
 benefit, some of the reflections of her mind 
 on passing events. This was unknown to 
 her friends until after her decease. The 
 following extracts are here subjoined, and 
 will serve to unfold something of the exer- 
 cises of a heart so evidently sincere in its 
 converse with God. 
 
 In the perusal of these simple and inarti- 
 ficial illustrations of her thoughts, the real 
 christian will discover much of what has 
 often passed in his own. In this develop- 
 
MEMOIR, 101 
 
 ment of the recesses of one heart, when en- 
 gaged in the work of self-communion, a 
 kindred sympathy will arise in others. 
 They throw light upon the real character 
 of the individual who recorded them, as well 
 as upon the principles contained in her pub- 
 lished " Letter." The same views of natu- 
 ral depravity, of the atoning merits of Christ, 
 of the necessity of the Spirit's influences, of 
 the efficacy of prayer, of the unworthiness 
 of the creature, and of the rich mercies of 
 God through the Redeemer, which are so 
 faithfully stated in the " Letter " to her 
 sister, all manifestly appear, from these ex- 
 tracts, to have filled her own heart with self- 
 abasement and gratitude. As such, they 
 will, in their original simplicity, approve 
 themselves to every kindred mind. 
 
 They are now withdrawn from their 
 
102 MEMOIR. 
 
 hitherto sacred privacy, not that they may 
 pass through the ordeal of the cold and fas- 
 tidious critic, but rather that they may in- 
 struct and warm the heart of the sincere 
 christian. 
 
EXTRACTS 
 
 MISS SINCLAIR'S DIARY. 
 
 Ormly Lodge, Ham Conunon, 
 Sunday, Jan. 5, 1817. 
 
 As it appears from the memoirs of many- 
 eminent christians, that it has been their 
 practice to keep a diary or journal of their 
 religious experience, and that they have de- 
 rived much benefit from that practice ; I 
 propose (in humble dependence on the Di- 
 vine blessing) to follow their example in 
 that respect. May that great and glorious 
 Being, without whose assistance I can do 
 
104 MEMOIR. 
 
 nothing aright, guide my pen ! May he 
 open my eyes to discern my sins and fail- 
 ings of every kind, and to record them with 
 sincerity and truth ! May he also enable 
 me to record with real, heartfelt gratitude 
 the mercies with which he may be pleased 
 to favour me ; and when exercised with 
 vexations or disappointments, may he enable 
 me to receive them, and to write about them, 
 without a murmuring word or thought, say- 
 ing, as Job did, " Shall I receive good at 
 the hand of the Lord, and shall I not also 
 receive evil?" 
 
 It is my duty at all times to dedicate my- 
 self to the service of my God and Redeemer, 
 but I would desire to do so especially now, 
 at the beginning of a new year. O ! that 
 this year may be better spent in every re- 
 spect, than those which have preceded it ! 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 105 
 
 Do thou, I beseech thee, O ! my God, 
 give a check to the wanderings of my mind, 
 and enable me to love thee with more sin- 
 cerity, and to serve thee with more fidelity, 
 than I have ever yet done ! 
 
 January 12. — Read Hervey's Theron 
 and Aspasio. Earnestly wished and prayed 
 that I may obtain that precious faith which 
 he so well describes. Heard something in 
 the course of the day which much hurt me. 
 Endeavoured to feel resigned. 
 
 January 13. — Awoke this morning in a 
 better frame, and felt during the whole day 
 more disposed for the duties of devotion 
 than usual. Lord, I thank thee for this 
 great mercy. In the afternoon I heard an 
 attack made on some of the doctrines of the 
 
106 MEMOIR. 
 
 gospel, and did not say much in their de- 
 fence. But, Lord, thou knowest I was 
 kept silent only by the fear of doing more 
 harm than good. Thou knowest I highly 
 prize thy gospel. 
 
 January 20. — This day my mind was 
 full of fears and doubts of various kinds. 
 Read Hervey, Newton, and Chalmers' Evi- 
 dences. Prayed earnestly for a confirmed 
 and assured faith. 
 
 January 21. — The day being mild, I 
 ventured to take a walk in the garden : 
 every thing there looked dull and withered ; 
 but soon, O, my God I may we expect to 
 see the face of nature revive at thy com- 
 mand. O that thou wouldst be pleased 
 also to revive the power of religion in my 
 
MEMOIR. 107 
 
 soul, and cause it to grow, and to flourish, 
 more than it has ever yet done ! 
 
 January 26. — My devotions, both to- 
 day and yesterday, met with many interrup- 
 tions, various things occurring to take up 
 my attention. — O I that my heart were 
 more fixed, that it were not such an easy 
 matter to take off my thoughts from the great 
 truths of rehgion, and indispose my mind 
 for the duty of prayer ! — In the forenoon of 
 this day read two rehgious pamphlets, writ- 
 ten by a quaker ; was much struck with a 
 description in one of them, of the horrors 
 and miseries of war, and earnestly wished 
 that this dreadful scourge could be banished 
 from the earth. 
 
 January 27 — My mind this morning 
 
108 MEMOIR. 
 
 full of foolish thoughts ; composed myself 
 with difficulty, and prayed sincerely, but not 
 with fervour. Heard in the evening with 
 pleasure, that one of my sisters had been 
 arguing in favour of some of the great doc- 
 trines of the gospel, with another person. 
 Lord, grant, I beseech thee, that she may 
 not only defend the gospel in theory, but 
 feel its transforming influence upon her 
 heart ! 
 
 January 29. — This day not well spent ; 
 my devotions much neglected : surely. Lord, 
 I have great cause to be humbled before 
 thee : O ! that thy strength may be made 
 perfect in my weakness. 
 
 January 30. — Heard an attack made on 
 a pious and faithful minister, and took his 
 
MEMOIR. 109 
 
 part : felt inclined to be angry, but endea- 
 voured to check that sinful propensity. 
 
 Fehmary 1. — I have this day, Lord, as 
 thou knowest, completed my 37th year. 
 
 ! that I could add, that everyone of these 
 years, since I became capable of knowing 
 thee, had been indeed devoted to thy service. 
 But when I reflect on the manner in which 
 they have been spent, I cannot but blush, 
 and be confounded, in thy awful presence. 
 
 1 can only address thee in the words of the 
 publican, " God be merciful to me a sinner I" 
 Yet, Lord, I cannot but hope that, in the 
 course of the year which is past, I have 
 made some little progress in thy good and 
 holy ways, that my faith is confirmed, my 
 -desires to love and serve thee more sincere 
 iand lively. Surely, if it be so, I have much 
 
no MEMOIR. 
 
 cause for gratitude to thee. Thou knowest, 
 that my most earnest wish is to grow in 
 grace, and in the knowledge of my God and 
 Saviour, Jesus Christ. In him would I 
 desire to place all my hopes, and surely, 
 Lord, they shall not be disappointed. 
 
 February 2. — Awoke this morning in a 
 good frame of mind, and prayed with fer- 
 vency and pleasure : read the Bible, and 
 Skelton's Dialogues. As my life is par- 
 ticularly retired and uniform, I purpose, for 
 the future, to write in this diary only once 
 a week, on Sundays, unless any thing re- ' 
 markable should occur on a week day. 
 
 February 9. — Yesterday evening our 
 heavenly Father was pleased to bestow upon 
 our family another proof of his great mercy, 
 
MEMOIR. Ill 
 
 in the safe delivery of my sister-in-law, Mrs. 
 Sinclair, of a daughter. Accept, Lord, our 
 humble thanksgivings, and do thou, I be- 
 seech thee, perfect the recovery of the mo- 
 ther, and grant that the child may live to 
 praise thee, and, above all, that she may 
 live to thy praise. May she not only be 
 devoted to thee in baptism, but may she be 
 a christian indeed and in truth. — Was at 
 church to-day, the first time for some months, 
 and felt glad to be again able to enter the 
 house of prayer. 
 
 February 16. — Was not able to go to 
 church to-day, the weather being too cold : 
 
 but heard that Mr. had preached a 
 
 truly scriptural and very impressive sermon 
 on the parable of the pharisee and publican. 
 Regretted that I was not present, but felt 
 
112 MEMOIR. 
 
 grateful for the prospect of having such a 
 preacher in the vicinity, and implored a 
 blessing on him and his labours. 
 
 February 23. — I spent the forenoon in 
 reading, meditation, and prayer. In the 
 course of last week paid a visit to Mr. and 
 
 Mrs. of ; was much struck with 
 
 the appearance of piety and devotion which 
 I saw there. 
 
 March 3. — Walked to Richmond Church ; 
 felt too coldly disposed for devotion. Lord, 
 I beseech thee, pardon my weakness, and 
 enable me for the future to devote all my 
 days, and especially my sabbaths, unto thee ! 
 
 March 23. — Have at length been pri- 
 vileged to hear Mr. , and listened to 
 
MEMOIR. 113 
 
 his sermon with perfect dehght. He preach- 
 ed from Isaiah xxviii. 16, and described in 
 a most affecting manner, the nature of that 
 ■union with Christ, on which all our hopes 
 depend. Prayed that I may know by ex- 
 perience what it means, and that this ser- 
 mon may be blessed as the means of reviv- 
 ing the power of religioii in my soul. Hope 
 it may be so, as I felt deeply impressed 
 by it. 
 
 April 20. — Was again at Kingston 
 
 church, and again heard Mr. . He 
 
 preached from the three concluding verses 
 of the gospel of St. Matthew, and gave 
 such an interesting view of the power, the 
 grace, and the faithfulness of our Divine 
 Redeemer, that I was quite delighted, and 
 felt truly grateful for having been permitted 
 
114 MEMOIR. 
 
 to hear such a sermon. Hope it may be 
 the means of confirming my weak and wa- 
 vering faith. 
 
 May 4. — -Was at Kingston church. 
 Prayed with fervency, when I came home, 
 and spent the remainder of the day, on the 
 whole, profitably. I hope that religion has 
 of late been on the advance in my soul. 
 Grant, I beseech thee, O ! my God, that it 
 may be so indeed ! 
 
 May 11. — During the whole of the last 
 week have been in a better frame than usual. 
 Lord, accept my humble and grateful ac- 
 knowledgments for his mercy. Have been 
 reading Dr. Chalmers' Discourses, and ad- 
 mired them greatly. Was happy that 
 
 had a plan of getting them translated into 
 
MEMOIR. 115 
 
 the German language, as I hope they may 
 do good among the infidel philosophers of 
 that country. 
 
 May 18. — Heard a charity sermon at 
 ICingston, from the Dean of Westminster, 
 for the benefit of the Society for Promoting 
 Christian Knowledge. He gave a very good 
 discourse from Mark xvi. 13.. Last week, 
 on the whole, profitably spent, although, at 
 one time, I suffered myself to be unreason- 
 ably discomposed at a trifle. 
 
 May 25. — In the evening had some se- 
 rious conversation wdth my sisters, and was 
 particularly pleased with what one of them 
 said. If, in any respect, thou, O God, 
 shouldst be pleased to make me instrument- 
 al to her spiritual benefit, I would desire 
 I 2 
 
116 MEMOIR. 
 
 to be truly grateful to thee, for having thus 
 blessed my feeble efforts. 
 
 June 1. — Accompanied Lady Sinclair 
 to Kingston church, where we partook of 
 the sacrament, for the first time in England. 
 Pardon me, I beseech thee, Lord, if I have 
 not been prepared according to the purifi- 
 cation of the sanctuary. Grant, Lord, that 
 this service may be blessed to my soul, and 
 that as I have outwardly partaken of the 
 symbols of my Saviour's broken body and 
 shed blood, so I may inwardly feed upon 
 Him by faith with thanksgiving ! 
 
 June 8. — Was at Teddington church, 
 
 and heard Mr. preach from John xiv. 
 
 21. He gave a very interesting discourse 
 on the various degrees of happiness in the 
 
MEMOIR. 117 
 
 Redeemer's mansions above. Hope that 
 I do not decline in religion I but, alas ! 
 my progress is much slower than I could 
 wish. 
 
 June 15. — Heard Mr. again. A 
 
 very ingenious and interesting sermon on the 
 doctrine of regeneration, from 2 Kings iv. 
 37. Grant, I beseech thee, O ! my God, 
 that the opportunities I now enjoy of hear- 
 ing the gospel, may not be lost upon me. 
 For some weeks, thou knowest, my mind 
 has, on the whole, been in a better frame 
 than formerly. Do thou, I beseech thee, 
 perfect that which is yet lacking in my faith, 
 and reform whatever thou seest amiss in my 
 conduct. In thee would I desire to put my 
 trust, and surely thou wilt not suffer me to 
 be confounded. 
 
118 MEMOIR. 
 
 June 29. — Mr. preached from Acts 
 
 xi. 26. and gave a very just and pleasing 
 description of the character of a real chris- 
 tian. Lord, grant that this character may 
 indeed be mine, that I may make nearer 
 and nearer approaches to it, the longer I 
 live, through the blessed influences of the 
 Holy Spirit ! 
 
 July 20. — I have lately made a very 
 
 valuable acquaintance in Miss , who 
 
 has every appearance of being a real chris- 
 tian. Lord, bless our intercourse, and grant 
 that I may derive true and spiritual benefit 
 from it ! 
 
 August 3. — In the course of last week 
 
 was introduced by Miss to some poor 
 
 people in the neighbourhood, and determin- 
 
MEMOIR. 119 
 
 ed to visit them occasional]}-, and to read 
 the Bible to them. On Saturday I went to 
 one of them, read and explained the second 
 chapter of Ephesians. Lord, enable me to 
 keep this resolution, and grant that these 
 readings may prove beneficial both to myself 
 and my neighbours. Read Leighton on the 
 Psalms to-day, an interesting book lent me 
 bv , and heard the children in the 
 
 August 10. — The weather unfavourable, 
 so that I could not go to church. In the 
 course of last week visited several of my 
 poor neighbours, read and explained the 
 scriptures to them. Hope to derive benefit 
 from this exercise. In the fore part of this 
 day, I felt very cold and dull ; but in the 
 afternoon better disposed for devotion. Read 
 
1 20 MEMOIR. 
 
 the Bible and Leighton. In the evening, 
 heard the children read, and was particularly- 
 pleased with some observations made by one 
 of them. 
 
 August 17. — Was again disappointed in 
 going to church by the weather. O I do 
 thou. Lord, supply in private, the advantages 
 of which I am deprived in public. Thou 
 canst make ample amends for the want of 
 outward means, and I earnestly implore thou 
 wouldst now do so to me. 
 
 August 24. — Confined at home by the 
 weather. Read the Bible, Leighton, and 
 Watts's Meditations. Was much pleased 
 to find that some of my sisters, one day 
 last week, had been very kind to a poor 
 woman, and that thev showed ffreat anx- 
 
MEMOIR. 121 
 
 iety that she might receive rehgious in- 
 struction. Grant, I beseech thee, O Lord, 
 that the impressions made upon their minds 
 may not wear off, but prove real and per- 
 manent ! 
 
 August 31. — Heard a very interesting 
 sermon from Gal. vi. 14, on " Glorying in 
 the cross." The latter part of last week 
 was comfortably and profitably spent, but 
 the beginning by no means so. Have pity 
 on my weakness. Lord, and teach me how 
 to love and serve thee. Have compassion 
 on a poor unsteady creature ! 
 
 September 2\. — Was at Kingston church. 
 Felt too much of a cold and careless frame 
 while there, and during the whole day. 
 Alas ! Lord, I know not at all what to say 
 
122 MEMOIR. 
 
 for myself ! I fear such conduct must be 
 very offensive in thy sight ! O, cause me, 
 I beseech thee, to return unto thee. Grant 
 that thy word may come home to me with 
 the demonstration of the Spirit, and with 
 power, and may be the means of reviving 
 the power of religion in my treacherous 
 heart, of which I have still cause to com- 
 plain ! 
 
 October 5. — Heard a beautiful sermon 
 from Mr. , on Ephes. v. 18, and after- 
 wards partook of the sacrament, which he 
 administered in the most impressive manner. 
 Surely, Lord, I have now every assistance 
 that means can afford me, but, I well know, 
 that all will be ineffectual, without thy 
 blessing. Be thou graciously pleased to 
 impart that inestimable blessing, which 
 
MEMOIR, 123 
 
 maketli us indeed rich both in this world and 
 in that which is to come, and which addeth 
 no sorrow with it. Heard the young people, 
 as usual, in the evening. 
 
 October 19. — Was occupied, during a 
 great part of the day, in writing a Letter to 
 my sister Catherine, at her request, explain- 
 ing the evangelical system of religion. Do 
 thou, I beseech thee, O ! my God, grant 
 me the powerful assistance of thy Holy 
 Spirit in the composition of this Letter, 
 that I may be enabled to explain clearly, and 
 to enforce earnestly, the interesting and im- 
 portant truths which I have undertaken to 
 illustrate. O ! that all my hopes with re- 
 gard to this Letter, and in every respect, 
 may be in thee; for without thee, I can do 
 nothincr 1 
 
124 MEMOIR. 
 
 Novemher 2. — Heard to-day a truly in- 
 teresting sermon from Matt. v. 6. Grant, 
 I beseech thee, Lord, that I may indeed 
 hunger and thirst after righteousness, in the 
 
 various senses which Mr. described, 
 
 and that the promise in the text may be ful- 
 filled in my experience. 
 
 Presented to Catherine this evening the 
 Letter which I have been writing to her. 
 O ! that it may be blessed by thee for her 
 spiritual benefit, and for that of the other 
 members of our family ! 
 
 Novemher 9. — Heard, in the course of 
 last week, of a most striking and afflicting 
 event — the death of the Princess Charlotte 
 and her child. Grant, O Lord, I beseech 
 thee, that the event may be sanctified to the 
 Royal Family, and to the nation at large ! 
 
MEMOIR. 125 
 
 surely it is a most affecting call to repent- 
 ance, and to prepare for death. 
 
 Novembei^ 16. — Heard Mr. preach 
 
 from Isaiah xl. 6, a most eloquent funeral 
 discourse on the Princess's death. 
 
 November 19. — Was again at church, 
 being the day of the Princess's funeral. 
 
 Mr. gave a very affecting discourse 
 
 from Hosea vi. 1. The church excessively 
 crowded. All ranks seem to be much im- 
 pressed by the late awful event. May God 
 grant that the impression may be lasting on 
 the minds of many ! 
 
 November 30. — Heard a charity sermon 
 at Kingston from Mr. . Was inter- 
 rupted in the evening. Lord, I fear that 
 
126 MEMOIR. 
 
 this month has not been well spent, not- 
 withstandhig the frequent opportunities I 
 have had of hearing the word of life. Alas ! 
 what a cold, dead heart have I ! O do thou 
 strengthen iny weak faith. Revive ,my lan- 
 guid affections, and grant that in the con- 
 tinuation of this journal, I may be enabled 
 to give a more favourable account of my- 
 self. I implore it for the Lord Jesus 
 Christ's sake. Amen. 
 
 These extracts abundantly witness how 
 close a union always subsists between the 
 reception of the scriptural doctrines of grace 
 into the heart, with unaffected humility, and 
 active obedience to the will of God. Miss 
 Sinclair appears, from her published " Let- 
 ter," as well as from every other testimony, 
 to have had peculiarly clear views of the 
 
MEMOIR. 127 
 
 principle and plan of salvation, as enforced 
 by the apostle. " By grace are ye saved 
 through faith ; and that not of yourselves ; 
 it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest 
 any man should boast. For we are his 
 workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto 
 good works, which God hath before ordain- 
 ed, that we should walk in them," Eph. ii. 
 8—10. 
 
 She felt no difficulty in reconciling the 
 precepts which enjoin a sober, righteous, 
 and godly life, with the essential truth of 
 the word of inspiration, that " to him that 
 icorhetli not, but helieveth on him that 
 justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted 
 for righteousness," Rom. iv. 5. 
 
 She felt from the experience of her own 
 heart, what is " the blessedness of the man 
 unto whom God imputeth righteousness 
 
128 MEMOIR. 
 
 without works ; " and yet put her seal to 
 the sacred declaration, that " blessed are 
 they that do his commandments," Rom. iv. 
 6 ; Rev. xxii. 14. 
 
 During the year 1817, she was frequent- 
 ly engaged in reading the following books, 
 in addition to those referred to in the pre- 
 ceding Diary : Witherspoon's Essays, Scott's 
 Force of Truth, Romaine's Life of Faith, 
 Buchanan's Christian Researches, Rich- 
 mond's Annals of the Poor, Owen on the 
 Work of the Holy Spirit, Flood on the Di- 
 vine Conduct, Coles on God's Sovereignty. 
 These volumes she greatly valued, and often 
 observed how much comfort and edification 
 she derived from their perusal. The works 
 of the celebrated Hannah More were like- 
 wise the frequent subject of her meditations. 
 
 In October, 1817, she wrote the "Let- 
 
MEMOIR. 129 
 
 ter on the Principles of the Christian Faith," 
 to a younger sister. It will be seen from 
 her Diary, in what spirit she accomplished 
 this task. In writing to a confidential friend, 
 she mentioned the pleasure which she felt 
 in this act of sisterly duty and affection ; 
 but also with her usual diffidence, expressed 
 her fear of not executing it as she ought. 
 It was, however, composed speedily, and 
 without any particular care, excepting to 
 explain sufficiently the infinite importance 
 of the subject on which it treats, and to en- 
 force the truths of religion upon the minds 
 of her family. Its publication was the last 
 thing she designed when she wrote it. She 
 was indeed solicited by a friend, to allow it 
 to be printed anonymously, as a tract for 
 distribution amongst the poor. But she 
 never gave her consent to the proposal. 
 
130 MEMOIR. 
 
 Another view of the thoughts and affec- 
 tions of this interesting character will be ob- 
 tained, by the insertion of the two forms of 
 prayer, which were accidentally discovered 
 in her own hand-writing, a year and a half 
 after her decease. 
 
 It is in the secret retirement of the closet, 
 that the reality of personal religion is ascer- 
 tained ; when the heart communes with it- 
 self in the stillness of solitude, and pours 
 out its inmost feelings before God. At 
 such seasons is that intercourse sustained, 
 on which the vigour of the spiritual life so 
 essentially depends. The sincerity of cha- 
 racter may here be brought to its most sim- 
 ple and conclusive test. 
 
 These prayers Miss Sinclair appears to 
 have drawn up for her own use, as the re- 
 sult of many deep and anxious exercises of 
 
MEMOIR. 131 
 
 soul. These sacra jynvata^ exhibit a por- 
 traiture of mind, in which many humble and 
 devout christians will discover their own si- 
 militude. They are inserted not without 
 the hope that they may become practically 
 useful to some, as a guide and model for 
 their devotions. 
 
 A Prayer. 
 
 Ever blessed, and most adorable Lord 
 God Almighty ! Thou, Lord, art the first 
 and the last, the greatest and the best of 
 Beings, the King of kings, the Lord of 
 lords, the blessed and only Potentate, who 
 alone hast immortality, who dwellest in light 
 
 * A title given to his Meditations and Prayers, 
 by the Bishop of Sodor and Man, Dr. Thomas 
 Wilson. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 MEMOIR. 
 
 inaccessible, whom no mortal eye hath seen, 
 or can see, to whom be glory for ever and 
 ever. When I reflect on thine infinite ma- 
 jesty, thy glorious perfections, and, above 
 all, on thy spotless purity, I may well be 
 ashamed to approach thee, or to take thy 
 holy name into my polluted lips ; but thou 
 hast thyself assured us, that thou art the 
 hearer of prayer, and thou hast commanded 
 us to make our supplications unto thee. 
 Encouraged, therefore, by thine own decla- 
 rations, and in obedience of thine own com- 
 mand, I would now desire to pour out my 
 soul before thee, and to entreat that thou 
 wouldst be merciful to me a sinner. 
 
 When I look back on my past life, when 
 I consider what I have been, and compare 
 it with what I ought to have been, I cannot 
 but be deeply sensible of my own guilt and 
 
MEMOIR. 133 
 
 unworthiness. Which of thy holy com- 
 mandments have I not broken, times and 
 ways without number ! I have done those 
 things which I ought not to have done, and 
 have left undone those things which I ought 
 to have done, and there is no spiritual health 
 in me. Woe, woe is unto me, because I 
 have sinned, because I have so grievously 
 offended thee ! But blessed, for ever bless- 
 ed, be thy holy name, there is mercy with 
 thee, that thou mayst be feared, and plen- 
 teous redemption, that thou mayst be sought 
 unto. Thou hast laid our help upon one 
 who is mighty to save ! Oh ! that I may 
 be enabled from the heart to renounce every 
 false confidence, and every refuge of lies, 
 and to lay hold on the hope set before me 
 in the gospel. 
 
 Remove, I beseech thee, every remaining 
 
134 ftfEMOIR. 
 
 doubt and perplexity from my mind, and 
 grant that I may rely on the Lord Jesus, 
 and on him only, for salvation, and for every 
 spiritual blessing. For his sake, pardon, I 
 beseech thee, my multiplied and aggravated 
 transgressions, and give me a just sense of 
 the evil and demerit of sin, that I may in- 
 deed be humbled in the very dust before 
 thee, and may have that genuine repentance 
 which needeth not to be repented of again. 
 For his sake I would also implore thee, that 
 I may be renewed in the spirit of my mind, 
 after thy Divine image. I would acknow- 
 ledge before thee, (oh ! do thou make me 
 more and more sensible of the important 
 truth,) that I am insufficient of myself even 
 to think a good thought ; that all my suf- 
 ficiency is of thee. Oh ! do thou create in 
 me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit 
 
MEMOIR. 135 
 
 within me. Make me in every respect such 
 as thou wouldst have me to be, and to thy 
 thrice holy name be all the praise. 
 
 With respect to my future lot in this life, 
 I would desire to resign myself entirely to 
 thy Divine disposal. Do with me what thou 
 wilt ; deprive me of what thou pleasest ; 
 cross, in whatever manner seemeth good 
 unto thee, my foolish wishes and inclina- 
 tions ; only bestow on me my daily bread, 
 and a spirit of resignation and contentment. 
 Enable me to say to thee at all times from 
 the heart, and with perfect sincerity, " Not 
 my will, but thine be done." 
 
 And, that I may be enabled more cheer- 
 fully to confide in thy goodness, I would 
 desire to recollect the many mercies I have 
 received from thee in the times that are 
 past, and thankfully to acknowledge them 
 
136 MEMOIR 
 
 before thee. 1 would bless thee, O my 
 God ! that ever since I had a being, thou 
 hast never ceased to provide for all my 
 wants, and to load me with benefits, and 
 that thy mercies have been continued to 
 me every night, and renewed every morning. 
 Surely goodness and mercy have hitherto 
 followed me all the days of my life, and 
 thou hast often caused my cup to run over. 
 Oh ! make me truly grateful to thee for all 
 thy mercies, and above all, for thy spiritual 
 mercies. 
 
 I would bless thee, O my God ! that thou 
 hast not confined our views to this vahi and 
 transitory scene, but hast taught and en- 
 couraged us to hope for a state of perfect 
 and endless happiness beyond the grave. I 
 would bless thee, that my ears have ever 
 heard the joyful sound of the gospel. I 
 
MEMOIR. 137 
 
 would thank thee for all the opportunities 
 of religious instruction I have enjoyed, espe- 
 cially for the encouragement thou hast given 
 me, to expect the gracious assistance of thy 
 Holy Spirit, and, above all, for thy unspeak- 
 able gift — That thou so lovedst a lost and 
 guilty world, as to give thine only and well- 
 beloved Son, that whosoever believeth on him 
 might not perish, but have everlasting life. 
 Oh ! that my very heart and soul, and all 
 that is within me, might be stirred up to 
 bless and magnify thy holy name, for this 
 transcendent instance of Divine mercy, and 
 that, from a just and lively sense of infinite 
 obligation, I might henceforth endeavour to 
 live to Him who died for us. 
 
 I would further desire, ere I conclude my 
 address to thee, to recommend to thy favour 
 and protection my kind and beloved friends, 
 
138 MEMOIR; 
 
 all whom I am bound by any tie to pray 
 for. Oh ! do thou bless them in all their 
 concerns ; grant them as much worldly pros- 
 perity as is consistent with their own best 
 interests, and with the purposes of thy pro- 
 vidence concerning them. Above all, grant 
 that their souls may prosper, that they may 
 all of them be united to the Lord Jesus, and 
 finally admitted into thy heavenly kingdom. 
 I would pray for the prosperity of my native 
 land. I would thank thee for the invalu- 
 able privileges thou hast bestowed upon it, 
 and would earnestly implore a continuance of 
 them. I would also pray for the extension 
 of the Redeemer's kingdom, that the glad 
 tidings of salvation by Jesus may be sent to 
 all the ends of the earth, and that numbers 
 may be daily added to the church, of such 
 as shall be saved. 
 
MEMOIR. 139^ 
 
 My humble prayers are before thee, O 
 my God and Father. Listen to them gra- 
 ciously, I beseech thee, for the Lord Jesus 
 Christ's sake ; and to him, with thee and 
 the Holy Spirit, one God, I would desire to 
 join with angels and archangels, in ascrib- 
 ing glory, honour, and dominion, hence- 
 forth, even for evermore. — Amen, 
 
 Another Prayer. 
 
 To thee. Blessed Jesus, the eternal Son 
 of God, and the Redeemer of a lost and 
 ruined world, would I now desire to look 
 up, and most humbly and earnestly to im- 
 plore thy gracious aid. 
 
 Thou hast assured us, that whosoever 
 cometh unto thee, thou wilt in no wise cast 
 out ; and that whosoever believeth on thee, 
 
140 MEMOIR. 
 
 shall not perish, but have eternal life. 
 Lord ! help thou mine* unbelief. I would 
 desire in the first place to adore that unde- 
 served goodness, that astonishing love, which 
 led thee to forsake thy heavenly throne, to 
 take upon thee our nature, to fulfil in our 
 stead all righteousness, leaving us an exam- 
 ple that we should follow thy steps ; nay, 
 to humble thyself unto death, even the 
 cursed death of the cross. To die that we 
 might live, to die in agonies, which human 
 
 * It may not be uninteresting to the christian 
 reader to be informed, that in the original copy, 
 Miss S. had at first written this sentence, " Lord, 
 / believe ; help thou mine unbelief ; " but conform- 
 ably to a diffident and spiritual delicacy of feeling, 
 her pen subsequently crossed out the words, "I 
 believe," and left the latter, as a memorial of the 
 tenderness of her conscience, and the lowly views 
 which she took of herself in the presence of God. 
 
MEMOIR. 141 
 
 nature shudders even to think of, that we 
 might escape the pains of hell for ever. 
 
 Surely, if I have any feeling, any sense 
 of gratitude in me, it ought to be exerted 
 in the very highest degree, when I reflect 
 upon what thou hast done and suffered for 
 us sinners. Grant, I beseech thee, that 
 thy death and sufferings may not be in vain, 
 as to me. Confirm, Lord, and increase my 
 faith, and bring every thought into captivity 
 to the obedience of thee. I would desire to 
 accept of thee in all thy offices, as thou art 
 freely offered in the gospel. As my Pro- 
 phet, to believe whatsoever thou hast re- 
 vealed ; as my Priest, to rely upon thee, 
 and thee only, for salvation, renouncing 
 every other hope and confidence ; and as 
 my King, to submit to thy all-righteous 
 laws. Oh that thou mightest be made of 
 
142 MEMOIR. 
 
 God unto me, wisdom, righteousness, sanc- 
 tificatlon, and complete redemption. 
 
 Make me, I beseech thee, more and more 
 sensible of my need of a Saviour, and that 
 thou art just such a Saviour as I need. 
 Lord, save, or I perish. Lord, have mercy, 
 or I am all undone. I am a vile sinner, 
 deserving nothing at thy hands but con- 
 demnation. But thou didst descend from 
 heaven to earth to seek and to save that 
 which was lost. Oh ! that thou wouldst 
 receive me — accept of me — bless me — take 
 me into the number of thy genuine disciples, 
 of thy little flock ; save me, I beseech thee, 
 from the guilt and the punishment, and also 
 from the power and dominion of sin. En- 
 able me from henceforth to live to thy praise, 
 to be a christian, not in name only, but in 
 deed and in truth. 
 
MEMOIR. 
 
 143 
 
 Oh ! that thou wouldst manifest thyself 
 unto me, as thou dost not unto the world. 
 Show me thy glory. Fill my mind with 
 joy and peace in believing. Remove my 
 doubts. Quiet my fears, console me in ad- 
 versity, meet me in thine ordinances, sup- 
 port me at all times. Never leave nor for- 
 sake me, and do to me and for me — 
 exceedingly abundantly above all that I can 
 ask or think, and to thy thrice holy name be 
 everlasting praise. Amen. 
 
 During the last two years of her life she 
 enjoyed the intimacy of a christian friend in 
 the neighbourhood of Ham Common, from 
 whose society she derived much benefit and 
 consolation. — With her she was accustomed 
 to visit the sick poor, and to engage in the 
 work of their instruction. 
 
144 MEMOIR. 
 
 Many of the most useful lessons which 
 christians of higher rank in society ever 
 learn for their own spiritual advantage, are 
 obtained in the dwellings of the poor. 
 When they, happily for themselves, as well 
 as the objects of their pious benevolence, 
 become, like Miss Sinclair, the frequent 
 visitors, the assiduous instructors, and the 
 diligent superintendents of the poor, the ig- 
 norant, the young, and the distressed ; re- 
 sults of eminent importance continually arise. 
 In the schools of spiritual charity, the 
 teachers are taught, the benefactors are 
 benefited, the comforters are comforted, and 
 the visits of mercy to man are repaid by 
 visits of mercy from God. 
 
 That thus " it is more blessed to give than 
 to receive," was fully proved to Miss S. whilst 
 she was engaged in these labours of love. 
 
MEMOIR. 145 
 
 In the month of January, 1818, when 
 enffaged in one of these errands of kindness, 
 she caught an additional cold, which termi- 
 nated her life in the May following. She 
 became gradually weaker, and ceased to 
 record the thoughts of her heart in the 
 Diary. The concluding sentences of this 
 kind were found in a separate paper, of 
 which the following is a copy. 
 
 Concluding Diary. 
 
 Sunday, Dec. 28, 1817. — Again at 
 home. My heart in a better frame than 
 last Sunday, for which I w^ould desire to be 
 thankful. In the course of last week we 
 had an evening party, which occasioned a 
 great bustle in the family — felt thankful for 
 the retired life I generally lead, and that I 
 
146 MEMOIR. 
 
 meet with so few interruptions. Heard the 
 children in the evening. 
 
 Jan. 4, 1818. — It has pleased my hea- 
 venly Father to bring me to the beginning 
 of another year. Surely I ought not to 
 suffer such seasons to pass over without 
 humbly and earnestly resolving, " so to 
 number my days, as to apply my heart unto 
 wisdom." In the year that has just passed, 
 I flatter myself that I have, upon the whole, 
 rather gained than lost ground ; though, 
 alas ! I have many things to reproach my- 
 self with, and have had many vicissitudes in 
 my religious course. Even this morning, 
 my mind was so full of foolish thoughts, 
 that I could scarcely compose myself, so as 
 to pray to my heavenly Father. Lord ! I 
 would resolve to walk more stedfastly in the 
 
MEMOIR. 147 
 
 year that is to come, if thou shouldst spare 
 me to see the end of it ; but in thy grace 
 alone do I rely for power to keep that re- 
 solution. I am much too prone to form 
 resolutions in my own strength. Oh ! do 
 thou cure me of this sinful propensity. En- 
 able me, I beseech of thee, to put a more 
 entire reliance on the blessed Jesus than I 
 have ever yet done. May he indeed be, ac- 
 cordinor to the heads of a sermon suggrested 
 
 O DO 
 
 by my beloved sister, " all my strength, all 
 my righteousness, and all my joy." 
 
 Jan. 18. — In the course of last week was 
 far from well, and was bled yesterday : feel 
 weakened, and not able to exert myself much 
 in the way of religious duty. Lord ! par- 
 don this, and grant that this illness may be 
 
 the means of bringing me nearer to thee ; 
 L 2 
 
148 MEMOIR. 
 
 and then, assuredly, I shall have no cause 
 to regret it. 
 
 Feb. 1. — This is my birth-day. I have 
 now spent thirty-eight years in tliis vain, 
 insnaring world. Surely, Lord, the advance 
 of time, and my very delicate health, call 
 loudly upon me to prepare for death. Oh ! 
 may I listen to the call, and do thou assist 
 me in my preparation ; for without thee I 
 can do nothing. Still feel very poorly and 
 weak ; but found liberty and com.fort in my 
 devotional exercises. 
 
 Feh. 8. — This morning my heart was in 
 a particularly cold and careless frame ; but 
 in the after part of the day, performed my 
 devotional duties with comfort to myself. 
 Oh ! do thou, Lord, fix this unsteady heart. 
 
MEMOIR. 149 
 
 and grant, I beseech thee, that this illness 
 may not be lost upon me in that respect ! 
 
 She afterwards wrote occasionally a very 
 few lines to her sister, Lady Colquhoun, 
 who from infancy had been the depositary 
 of her confidence and affection. They were 
 executed with much difficulty, but clearly 
 expressed the consolatory state of her mind, 
 her entire resignation to the Divine will, and 
 the hope she entertained that her illness 
 would be blessed to her. 
 
 At this period she once said to a friend, 
 "I never spend one dull hour;" although 
 she was very often necessarily left alone, 
 being unable to bear the fatigue of society 
 for any length of time together. 
 
 The flattering nature of the consumptive 
 disease, and the medical cautions which, in 
 
150 MEMOIR. 
 
 the great state of weakness to which she was 
 reduced, were observed towards her, might 
 probably not lead her to anticipate that death 
 was quite so near at hand as it eventually 
 proved. But the tranquillity, resignation, 
 and devotedness of her mind, testified how 
 ready she was to depart, whenever it should 
 please her heavenly Father to call her home. 
 
 A friend who well appreciated her state 
 of mind, wrote at that time : " Our dear 
 Hannah is sweetly and gently leaning upon 
 the Beloved : however exemplary and con- 
 sistent her life and conversation have been, 
 she has no confidence in herself. The Sa- 
 viour's righteousness is her strength, and 
 his everlasting love her hope." It was add- 
 ed, " her views are clear and scriptural ; not 
 perhaps triumphant, but solid and placid." 
 
 On another occasion, the same friend 
 
MEMOIR. 151 
 
 wrote : " She yesterday derived great 
 strength and comfort from the visit of the 
 
 Rev. Mr. . He selected the 23d Psalm, 
 
 as a portion of scripture for our consider- 
 ation. He beautifully and affectionately led 
 us to the death of the christian, evidently 
 manifesting his sure hope of her stedfastness 
 in the faith, and his convietion of the far 
 greater probability of hers being a sickness 
 unto death. He asked our friend, if she did 
 not believe that Christ's everlasting arms 
 were underneath for support ? She replied, 
 * Yes ; and that is all my strength and con- 
 fidence.' He then prayed, under the full 
 impression of the same ; and with this try- 
 ing exercise, in her weak state, she did not 
 confess herself to be fatigued." 
 
 The same friend wrote on a subsequent 
 day : " I was with her last nisjht, and 
 
152 MEMOIR. 
 
 although my conversation was short, it will, 
 I am sure, afford you satisfaction. Being 
 left alone with our dear friend, I asked her 
 whether there was any passage in the sacred 
 volume which afforded her especial conso- 
 lation ? She answered, ' Yes,' and repeat- 
 ed, 'As thy day is, so shall thy strength be,' 
 Deut. xxxiii. 25 ; together with these 
 words of Isaiah, xliii. 2, 3, ' when thou 
 passest through the waters, I will be with 
 thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not 
 overflow thee : when thou walkest throusfh 
 
 o 
 
 the fire, thou shalt not be burned ; neither 
 shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am 
 the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, 
 thy Saviour.' 
 
 " She told me that she had felt some 
 doubts and anxieties respecting herself at 
 the commencement of her present illness. 
 
MEMOIR. 153 
 
 I remarked, that at such a time, akhough 
 the enemy of souls might make a vigorous 
 attack, to deter her from the profession of her 
 faith, that Jesus Christ was the same yes- 
 terday, and to-day, and for ever, and that 
 his was a finished salvation. She replied 
 again, ' It is indeed a finished salvation, and 
 none can pluck us from his hands.' 
 
 " I then read to her the hymn, ' When 
 languor and disease invade,' &c. She thank- 
 ed me most affectionately, and we parted 
 for the night." 
 
 A younger sister one day lamented, that 
 her sufferings were so great. She replied, 
 " I would cheerfully suffer it all over again, 
 that you might enjoy the same consolation 
 from religion in the same circumstances." 
 
 This gave rise to a conversation on the 
 impossibility of any sufferings of ours 
 
154 MEMOIR. 
 
 procuring for ourselves or others either tempo- 
 ral or spiritual benefit, and the necessity of 
 the anguish which Christ endured on our 
 account. 
 
 Although her daily conversation at this 
 period did not seem to indicate her own ap- 
 prehension of immediate death, yet 'the so- 
 lemn, serious, and interesting delight, which 
 she took in religious intercourse, listening 
 to the scriptures, and other congenial books, 
 when read to her, manifested that the whole 
 tendency of her thoughts was directed to- 
 ward " the rest which remaineth to the peo- 
 ple of God," Heb. iv. 9. 
 
 Conversing with a friend, she observed, 
 " how delightful it was to think, that in one 
 moment she might be removed from that 
 sick-bed to a world of glory." 
 
 " Her thoughts and occupations," writes 
 
MEMOIR. 155 
 
 a near relative, who witnessed her faith and 
 patience at this trying period, " were in 
 sickness, as they also had ever been in 
 health, such as became one so deeply im- 
 pressed, as she had the happiness to be, 
 with the unspeakable comfort, as well as 
 importance which belongs to the truth, as it 
 is in Jesus." 
 
 She took particular pleasure in the 53d, 
 54th, and 55th chapters of Isaiah. She 
 often desired one of her sisters to read them 
 to her, and always desired her to pause at 
 the seventh verse of the 54th chapter : " For 
 a small moment have I forsaken thee : but 
 with great mercies will I gather thee." 
 
 One near and dear friend, who constant- 
 ly wrote to her from the north, repeatedly 
 alluded to what she considered as the dying 
 circumstances of Miss Sinclair. Those 
 
156 MEMOIR. 
 
 letters were written under that impression, 
 and with a view to support her mind in the 
 prospect of it. 
 
 She used to have them frequently read to 
 her, would lay them under her pillow, and 
 after reading the last which she ever receiv- 
 ed, observed that these letters were always 
 written in the language and spirit which she 
 most desired, and that this in particular was 
 a source of great delight to her. 
 
 Her uncommon patience struck every one 
 who saw her. She never complained ; and 
 when it was noticed to her, said, " It would 
 be a wonder if I were not patient, when I 
 have so many mercies to be thankful for." 
 
 After any distressing fit of cough or 
 breathlessness, when asked how she felt, she 
 would merely answer, " Better ;" but the 
 slightest complaint never escaped her. Be- 
 
MEMOIR. 157 
 
 fore her death her breathing became much 
 worse, and she was so weak as to be unable 
 to turn in bed. Her mind at this time oc- 
 casionally wandered, probably from her being 
 obliged to take laudanum. Often, however, 
 she was perfectly herself, especially when 
 religion was the theme, and her mind to 
 the last at times retained its wonted supe- 
 riority. 
 
 The last words she ever spoke to one of 
 her brothers were, " Love not the world, 
 neither the things that are in the world. If 
 any man love the world, the love of the 
 Father is not in him," 1 John ii. 15. 
 
 On the day before she died, having re- 
 covered from a breathless fit, she asked 
 Lady Sinclair to read the Bible, and being 
 desired to fix upon the place, said, " The 
 two chapters at the end of St. Matthew, 
 
158 MEMOIR. 
 
 which describe the sufferings and death of 
 our Saviour." These were read, and she 
 was able to listen to the whole. Some time 
 after she wished one of her sisters to read, 
 and left the choice to herself. The eighth 
 chapter of the epistle to the Romans was 
 selected, and read to her. 
 
 Subsequently to this she remained chiefly 
 in silent meditation. A few minutes before 
 three in the morning, a faithful and pious 
 servant, who was constantly with her, asked 
 if she should turn her. The reply was, 
 " No, I am so comfortable and happy, I had 
 better remain as I am." 
 
 At three, she literally fell asleep in Jesus. 
 She departed without even a finger being 
 moved, and when her attendants thought 
 she was sleeping. 
 
 She was found with a perfectly placid 
 
MEMOIR. 159 
 
 and serene countenance ; a happy emblem 
 of that peace, which her departing soul had 
 experienced. 
 
 Never was a death-bed more tranquil and 
 calm. Not a doubt nor a fear disturbed 
 her. Not a complaint or a murmur once 
 escaped her lips ; " all was peace, peace ! " 
 As her life was retiring and placid, so was 
 her death. " She softly lived, and at length 
 gently slept in Jesus. She did but, as it 
 were, breathe under his shadow, and found 
 his fruit sweet unto her taste." 
 
 Thus closed the mortal pilgrimage of 
 Hannah Sinclair. 
 
 Her remains were deposited in the chan- 
 cel of Kingston church, to await the great 
 day of the resurrection of the just. 
 
 Some of her friends among the poor 
 pressed respectfully forward, when the funeral 
 
160 MEMOIR. 
 
 was over, to view their benefactress's place 
 of rest, and to embalm her relics with their 
 affectionate tears. 
 
 The following extracts of letters, from two 
 of her most intimate christian friends, on the 
 occasion of her decease, shall conclude this 
 Memoir. 
 
 " I am persuaded, from her natural re- 
 serve and timidity of character, that an ac- 
 quaintance of years was requisite to have 
 discovered her talents, acquirements, and 
 various graces. For that they were graces, 
 I have repeatedly heard her confess, when I 
 was unwilling to believe there could have 
 been much to check, or subdue, in her 
 temper and disposition ; so greatly did she 
 adorn her outward profession by a conde- 
 
MEMOIR. 161 
 
 scending, useful, benevolent, and amiable 
 conduct to all around her. During the last 
 year and half of her life, I had the privilege 
 of introducing her to many of the sick and 
 dying poor ; and I have reason to believe, 
 that not a few have blessed the God of their 
 mercies, from the advantages they derived 
 from her visits ; although through her diffi- 
 dence, I had some difficulty in prevailing 
 with her to go alone. 
 
 " With respect to intellect, as far as my 
 observation and judgment allowed me to 
 form an estimate, I should say, it was strong, 
 and accompanied by an uncommonly reten- 
 tive memory. Her piety was unquestion- 
 able ; I can bear full testimony to her love, 
 her humility, her patience under great pri- 
 vations from sickness, and her affectionate 
 zeal in training the younger branches of her 
 M 
 
162 MEMOIR. 
 
 father's family in the nurture and admonition 
 of the Lord. Every sabbath evening was 
 regularly devoted to this exercise. There 
 was not one of her near relatives, for whose 
 immortal interests she did not feel the deep- 
 est anxiety. She often spoke on this sub- 
 ject with a fervour and solicitude truly ami- 
 able and truly christian. It evidently lay 
 very near to her heart." 
 
 A letter from another correspondent con- 
 cludes thus : 
 
 " Alas ! what a friend have I lost ! with 
 more propriety, however, I should express 
 my gratitude to God for having given her 
 to me at first, preserved her life for so many 
 years, united us in uninterrupted friendship, 
 and blest me with the well-grounded hope 
 of meeting to part no more. 
 
MEMOIR. 163 
 
 " Her latter end was indeed peace. Not 
 a fear disturbed her serene composure ; and 
 whether she conceived that her change so 
 nearly approached or not, nothing but faith 
 in Christ could have supported her in un- 
 disturbed tranquillity, when in such trying 
 circumstances. 
 
 " The things of time may afford some 
 satisfaction to us while they are continued ; 
 but when all enjoyment in them is taken 
 away, what but a hope full of immortality 
 can enable the christian to maintain a calm 
 resignation, and scarcely to feel their loss ? 
 — May I then die the death of the right- 
 eous, and may my last end be like his ! " 
 
 FINIS. 
 
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