ion of a canon of the Church of
England--of which Mr. Fletcher was a minister--for a woman to occupy the
pulpit of the church at Madeley, her husband had a large building
erected, in close proximity to the rectory, for her especial use. Here,
for the few years that he was spared to his wife, it was Mr. Fletcher's
pleasure--though he had few equals in erudition--to listen to the gentle
teachings of this amiable woman. Her eloquence was so very remarkable,
that more than twenty years of public speaking had not in the least
diminished the interest with which she was listened to. Crowds attended
on her ministry, not from idle curiosity, but for edification.

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

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

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