A Brief Memoir | Page 2

that country in 1845 by
appointment of the London Yearly Meeting. He was the author of a
work entitled "State Churches and the Kingdom of Christ," and of
several pamphlets on religious subjects. He died in 1859.
John Allen retired from business at an early age; and a prominent
reason for his doing so was that he might devote himself more fully to
the education of his daughters, which was conducted almost entirely at
home. Having a decided taste for the ancient classics, he considered
that so good a foundation of a sound education ought not to be
neglected. The same might be said of the older history and literature of
his own country, including its poetry, in which he was well read; but he
fully encouraged his pupils to become acquainted also with the better
productions of the day, to the tone of which their younger minds were
more easily adapted. Nor was education confined to direct instruction
in the school-room. In a little memoir of John Allen, published in the
"Annual Monitor," we read, "In the domestic circle, the tender,
watchful care and sympathy of the parent were blended with the
constant stimulus to self-improvement of the teacher; and the readiness
to sacrifice personal ease and convenience, in order that he might enter
into the pursuits and amusements of his children, was united with an
unremitting endeavor to maintain a high standard of moral and
religious feeling. Thus by example as well as by precept did he evince
his deep concern for their best welfare. As years passed on, his cordial
sympathy with their interests, and his anxiety as far as possible to share
his own with them, gave an additional power to his influence, not easily
estimated." Such were the simple and natural means of education
employed. The aim was true enlargement of mind; and the desire was
carefully instilled that the knowledge acquired should be valued for its
own sake, not as a possession to be used for display. At the same time,
care was taken not to destroy the balance between the intellect and the
affections, so that, whilst the growth of the mental powers was
encouraged, domestic and social duties should not suffer, and habits of
self-reliance should be formed. From earliest childhood the great
principles of Christianity were instilled into the opening minds of the
children; and when the reflective powers had come into operation, their
reasonings were watched and guided into safe paths. In this object, as

in all the pursuits of her children, was the loving influence of a
watchful mother gently felt. Thus by the united love and example of the
parents were the affections of the children directed to a risen Saviour;
and it is the aim of this volume to show, principally from records
penned by her own hand, how one beloved daughter grew in grace and
in the knowledge of the Lord, until it pleased Him to take her to
Himself.
Eliza Southall possessed a mind of no common order; and hers was a
character in which simplicity and strength, originality and refinement,
were beautifully blended: diffident and retiring, she was best
appreciated where she was known most intimately.
In very early life she manifested an unusual degree of mental power.
When quite a little child, her earnest pursuit of knowledge was
remarkable: she delighted in her lessons, and chose for her own reading
a class of books far beyond the common taste of children.
Her ardent, impulsive nature was, to a beautiful degree, tempered and
softened by a depth of tenderness and intensity of feeling, together with
a warmth of affection, which bound her very closely in sympathy, even
as a child, with those around her.
These sweet traits of natural character were so early blended with the
unmistakable evidences of the fruit of divine grace in her heart, that it
would be difficult to point to any time in her earliest childhood when
there was not an earnest strife against evil, some sweet proof of the
power of overcoming grace, and some manifestation of love to her
Saviour.
Her own words sweetly describe her feelings in recalling this
period:--"When I look back to the years of my early childhood, I cannot
remember the time when the Lord did not strive with me; neither can I
remember any precise time of my first covenant. It was the gentle
drawing of the cords of his love; it was the sweet impress of his hand; it
was the breathing in silence of a wind that bloweth where it listeth."
The following instances of the serious thoughtfulness of her early

childhood are fresh in her mother's recollection. On one of her sisters
first going to meeting, Eliza, who was younger, much wished to
accompany her; saying, "I know, mamma, that R----