The Experience and Death of Mrs. Alice Gabriel, Widow of Mr. C. Gabriel, the first part of which was found in her own writing, after her decease.

I was born June 1743 at Soham in Cambridgeshire, of respectable parents. My father's name was William Trowell, his father and family had been great supporters of the Independent interest at that place for many years. When I was about three years of age, God, in his providence, removed them to a large farm, nine miles distant, but they continued their attendance at Soham on the Lord's Day, tho' I was too young to attend until I was about 10 years of age. I went about that time, and heard a young man preach from Psalm xlviii. 14, '' For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our Guide even unto death'' He spake of the privileges of those who had this God for their God, - even Jehovah Jesus.
I thought at the time, if I were possessed of all the world, I would freely give it to be assured that Jesus was my God, and would be my Guide and Portion for ever. I had such a strong desire in my heart after a knowledge of Jesus, that I was continually praying that this God might be mine. I do not remember that I went again for some time; and being of a volatile disposition, those serious impressions partly wore off, and I was very light and trifling, like other girls.
About the age of 13, my parents sent me to a school at Ely, where all was carral,  vain and ungodly; but I was not without convictions; for I remember one night I had been at the card table, and had won some money, and on retiring to bed, I knelt down to say my prayers, but my conscience was so burthened I could not pray, so I resolved the next day to buy a prayer book, and my legal views led me to make some satisfaction to an offended God. I went on in this way until I left school, at the age of 17. At that time I was deeply concerned about my salvation, and I often prayed God would make me what he would have me to be. I was very desirous to read God's word and pious books, and if I could meet with any one that would converse with me on religion, I was all attention, as we had not the gospel preached in our village.
A person came to my father's one day on business, and began to talk to him on religious subjects, he said he would call his daughter, as she liked any one to speak about religion. I found he was one of Mr. Wesley's people, and told me he had preaching at his house every other week, and invited me to come and hear. I got leave to go the next week: it was at a distance of about four miles. The preacher's name was Paul Greenwood, his text was, ''Except a man be born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven;'' and the word verily sounded so solemnly, that it entered into my immortals so.. and I was led to cry out, '' What must I do to be saved,'' I was fully convinced that it was the word of God, and must ever stand, so that, unless I experienced a new birth in my soul, I could never enter the kingdom of Heaven. I was in great distress for many months.
About this time it pleased God to remove my father by death. This increased my trouble. We left the farm, it being too large for us to manage. One Lord's day before I was going to church, I prayed the Lord would give me some comfortable hope in himself, lest the soul he had made should fail before him. It pleased the Lord to hear my prayer, and to apply those precious words to my soul, '' Thy sins are forgiven,'' Luke vil. 48. Never did I feel such light, life, and love before. I saw Jesus had shed his precious blood to atone for my sins, and that it was sufficient to cleanse me from all sins. Then did I go on my way rejoicing in his salvation, and often thought, if I had been a man, I would have preached the gospel to poor sinners. Indeed from house to house in the village, I went, telling them what poor miserable helpless sinners they were by nature and practice, and if they lived and died in that state, they must be miserable to all eternity. I told them Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, and exhorted them to pray to him to give them repentance and remission of sins. It was my practice to take my Bible and Mr. Hart's Hymns, and go in the fields in the morning, and in some secret place to read and pour out my heart to God, and he has often met me, and blessed my soul with a view of his love.
One morning, when I was returning home, I saw my dear mother sitting on a bank in the orchard, crying bitterly. I thought she was weeping on account of my father's death. I went to her, and asked why she wept so. Her answer was, 'I may well weep, to see my children taking the kingdom of Heaven by violence, and I myself shall be shut out, '' I was glad to hear her tell her concern after salvation, and as well as I was able, I pointed her to the ''Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world,'' begging her to seek him by secret prayer, and I do believe from that time, the Lord carried on the work of grace in her soul.
Soon after this we removed to Soham, my native place, and sat under the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Adam, a sound judicious preacher of the Calvinistic doctrine. My mother was admitted a member of the church, and I have no doubt, lived and died a believer in Christ. When I was about 22, I came to London, to see my relations, from some of whom I met with much persecution, for I went constantly to hear the gospel, but the enemy of souls set in with their discourse to tempt me to believe that my salvation was uncertain. This led me to a throne of grace to pray that the Lord, if the work was his own, would seal my pardon afresh upon my soul. One day, praying with great earnestness that the Lord would give me a word of promise to support my tottering faith, he was pleased to bring those words with a divine power to my soul, ''I have blotted out as a cloud your transgressions, and as a thick cloud your sins,'' Then I enabled to see myself justified in the sight of God, through the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Various has been my experience in tho last 40 years, but glory be to God, he is faithful, and will never alter the thing that has gone out of his mouth. My everlasting all I do with confidence cast upon Jesus! I Know in whom I have believed, and that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him!.

Thus far, say her sons, we have from her own pen, and as the Obituary of Mr. C. Gabriel will shew how the Lord led them for the last 40 years, we have but to add our testimonies of her being a kind, tender and affectionate parent, whose prayers were constant for her children at a throne of grace. For the last three years she was much afflicted by a paralytic stroke, and the last eight months was not down stairs. Her affliction, though long and painful, was borne with Christian patience. She had been a widow only four months, when she was called to unite with her beloved partner.