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.W* . “ • i JE m **
ding stations, or as assistants to the mission
aries in itinerating, Sic! The gifts of some
of these native helpers are very respecta
ble; they preach with great flnency, and
their labours have greatly succeeded: sev
eral large societies have been gathered
wholly by their means. A few have been
or are respectable authors; among these
may be mentioned Pitumbursing, who wrote
several pieces against idolatry, and in de
fence of Christianity,—which, i hope, have
done considerable good: they have been
frequently sought for by the natives. Tar
achund is one of our best Christian Hindoo
poets: he has composed more than a hun
dred of the hymns found in our Bengalee
hymn-book, and a pamphlet, placing in stri
king contrast heathenism and Christianity,
which I hope will be the means ofdiffusing
much Christian light. Krisbnu and others
have also written excellent hymns.
The converts maintain themselves bv ser
vice with Europeans, by agriculture, weav
ing, and various other means. Their own
industry has improved the outward circum
stances of many of them, so that their tem
poral losses in embracing Christianity have
been made up to them. Large groups of
children are rising up, aud the education
which they are receiving will, it is hoped,
render them truly respectable in society.
A number ot the converted Hindoos have
died happy in the faith of Christ, some ot
them leaving cheering testimonies of the
blessednes- they had found in Him, in whom
alone men can be blessed
Pitumbur-sing, before his conversion,
was a very respectable man of the writer
cast. His conversion is to be attributed un
der divine grace, to his reading a tract
wntteu for the Lascars by Samuel Pearce,
and translated into iho JJcug-/i.-e. i have
heard him preach with such force of rea
soning, that the idolaters have been cet to
the heart.—To show that he did not repen!
that be had given up all for Christ,*when
he came to die. he wrote a letter to his wife,
entreating her to come to Serampore, and
to put in her lot with the Christians, and
not to remain united to the idolaters,
among whom Imr soul would be lost; and,
just before his death, he intimated that he
then realized the benediction of the apos
tle ; “ the grace of the Lord Jesus, the love
of God, and the fellowship of the Holy
Spirit.”
KrisJ’nu-prnsad, a most interesting young
bramhun, Os a very respectable family, du
ring the three or four years which he lived
after his baptism, exhibited a fine proof of
the blessed effects of Christianity. And tho‘
he died on a boat at a distance from Seram
pore, yet, by the account given of his last
hours, it appears, that he possessed great
tranquillity and peace in his death.
Futik received the gospel with great sin
cerity, and professed it with ardent zeal.
In carrying the gospel to the village where
he had lived, he met with the most brutal
treatment; hut he was not ashamed of the
gospel, nor did he regret that he had borne j
11111 *-*- j ■ --- —."-anluit Kv I
seeing his mother, h:* sister, and her two|
children, all join the Christian congregation |
at Serampore. And when he catne to die, j
his spirit was wonderfully supported in pas
sing the dark valley: he called those na
tive brethren who resided near him, to I
come and sing with him ; and while they
were singing a Bengalee hymn, (Futik join- j
ing til! his voice expired in death.) his spir
it was liberated, borne away, as it were, on !
the wings of praise, and cheered in its as-!
cant by the glorious truth contained in the j
chorus of this hymn, 44 Eternal salvation.
through the death of Christ.”
Rughoo, a Hindoo somewhat advanced
in life when baptized, had been tbe devoted
slave of the priests ; at six different times,
according to the number of scars m his back,
he had been swing in the air, suspended
by large hooks thrust through the integu
ments of his back, and continuing thus stis
pended at each time a quarter of an hour.
In.one of my visits to him jfist before his
death, he expressed himse'fin (he roost art
less manner. 1 asked him some questions
in reference to the presence of Christ with
him ; when he immediately put his hand
upon his heart, and *aid, “ He is here, —he
is here. I feel that he is here.”
A number of other cases might be given.
But I must remember that this is merely a
letter. Tbe memoirs of these four have
been published.
I must now, my dear brother, again say
farewell. The Lord be with you tu the
end ! Yours, very faithfully.
W. WARD.
Late Missionary Intelligence. |
SANDWICH ISLAND MISSION. ,
EXTRACTS FROM THE JOURSALOFTHE MISSIONA
RIES.
From the Missionary Herald for September.
Oct. 11,1820. Dr. Holman and his wife
went on board the brig 1 Ann, Capt. Hale,
and sailed for Atooi, where ihey are doubt
less, anxiously expected every hour. Capt.
H. is now bound towards Boston, via Can-!
ton. We send by him a packet of letters
to our friends, directed to the care of Mr.
Evarts. We hope to have opportunity at
least as often as once in three months, to
make direct communications to the Ameri
can Board.
20. How frail are earthly hopes ; and
bow feeble our tie to temporal comforts. ‘■
“ This is not your rest,” is written on all
earth can boast; and the thatched walls of
our spider’s web habitations speaks to us
emphatically the same language. Last
evening we retired to rest with our usual
quietude and security, and in a state more
settled asd comfortable than ordinary. At
3 o’clock the family were roused from
their slumbers, by the alarm of fire. We
had been taught to expect that a fire in
our“ straw houses,” as they are often call
ed, could not be easily extinguished; and
that, in case of fire, the natives would con- 1
aider it lawful, as it was customary, to
plunder as much as they Could. The sue
had broken out in Hooooree’s house,
where Dr. Williams, the wounded seaman,
and waiting lad, were lodged. The flames
had spread nearly over one eDd, and wa9
rapidly spreading over the roof. Tbe
wind was light and in a direction to expose
the other buildings but little. In 20 min
utes, by the blessing of God, the flames
were extinguished. Several native men
came seasonably to our assistance. The
wounded man was removed to the house of
Mr. Chamberlain. Dr. W.’s trunk, books,
apparel, bedclothes, fyc. were, during tbe
fire, removed a little distance front the j
house, from which some native females pil- j
fereda few articles. One of them to-day,
being reminded of the impropriety of steal,
ing, and especially in the time of such a
calamity, brought back her part of the
stolen goods, though she pleaded, as a full
justification of her crime, the long continu
ed custom of the country. The others,
who were known to be present, and who
doubtless shared io the booty, maintained
that they had taken nothing,
f The frame of the house suffered little
damage and the thatching destroyed ou
, tbe end ami roof has been replaced today.
God was exceedingly merciful to us. A
little increase of the wind, which bad been
strong in the former part of the night, but
was now light, would probably have baffled
all our efforts to extinguish the flames; and
then a change in its direction might have
laid our little missionary establishment iu
ashes. |
21. This is the season, called by the na
tives Muckehute, the anniversary'of the
grand taboo, which has sometimes continu
ed 10 days, and heretofore been celebrated
by special sacrifices to the gods, and by
games of boxing. Not unfrequently the
altars of abomination smoked, rm these oc
casion 4, with the blood of human victims.
Very little attention is now’ paid to this
season, which formerly occupied the time
and thoughts of the natives, 5 or 6 weeks.
We were told, that the young chief, Tama
hamaha, 2nd nephew of the late king, and
now governour pro. tern, of this place, in
tended to have a game of boxing today: bat |
it was omitted. He says, “1 no like it to
fight.” A game commenced two days ago,
and a boy was hurt by a blow from a man,
which displeased the chief. Should Chris
tianity prevail, this celebration w ill cease
entirely.
23. The Thaddeu*, capt. Blanchard,
and the ship Volunteer, capt. Bennett, ar
rived from the N. W. coast, having spent a
few days at Owhyhee. The crew of the
Thaddeus are in good bpalth.
21. Captain* Blanchard and Bennett vis
ited the school, and heard a class read in
telligibly one of Mrs. Barbaubl’s hymns.
This class had begun w ith the alphabet of a I
new language, since the sailing of the Thad- 1
decs from this place, only 5 months ago. |
The gentlemen favoured us with their com- j
oanv at ten. ana v, ;u important infnr. i
mation from the coast. They visited Nor-j
folk Sound, where is a small Russian set-1
dement, a fort, a church, and a school un- i
dor the care of two competent instructers 1
and open for the reception of native vouihs I
along (he coast. They dined with the •
governour, a respectable man, who treated !
them with civility and hospitality. The
priest of the Greek church there, is by their j
account, not distinguished for piety, or puri
ty of morals. To promote the civilization
of the natives, the Russian government en
courage the marriage of their colonists
with the native females. North West In
dian boys are sent a considerable distance
to attend school.
Tiie time is doubtless approaching, when
the rude and barbarous, and long neglected
inhabitants of tbe dreary N. VV. coast, will
be enlightened with science and Revela
tion, and be brought under the peaceful
sceptre of Jesus. A desire for instruction
begins to be manifested among them. Two
or three sprightly boys applied to capt.!
Banned to be taken on board his ship, and
carried away to some place of the world,
where they could he instructed. Some of
the savages, when they heard of missiona
ries being sent to teach tile Sandwich Is
landers, inquired why they were not sent
to them. When they were (old, (jocosely
perhaps,) that they had nothing for mission
aries to eat, they rejdied. “ We would give
them suet* •act have.”
Theie is a young female from the N.
W. coat now in this village, brought hither
to save her life, having been a prisoner :
and devoted to death ; and one young man,
who has once or twice been at our house ;
but neither have yet attended (he school. !
A letter from brother Loomis by capt. Ben- j
nett mentions, that he has one fine N. W.;
boy under his instruction at Toeaigh.
Some men, who have visited the N. W.
coast, says it is impossible to propagate the
Gospel there. But they forget, that God
has made of one blood all nations, and pro
vided a Saviour for all, and designed his
Gospel for every heathen nation, however
barbarous or inaccessible, as they have nev
;er learned that be can, with infinite ease,
i remove every obstacle to the promulgation
;of his law or his Gospel. Impossible to
propagate the Gospel ? So it is with man,
hut not with God. Impossible to propagate
the Gospel on the N. IV. coast ? So it is
on any other coast, or island, without a di
vine blessing; hut with it, the weakest in
struments are effectual, and the feeble
agency of mortals is attended with the en
ergy of Omnipotence. The energy of the
Holy Spirit is irresistible, and can as easily
transform the retaining savage of the north
into a humble child of God, as a persecut
ing Saul into the zealous Apostle of the
Gentiles. The Gospel can be propagated
on the N. W. coast. It Must be ;it will be.
26. Specimen of the production of the
Islands. Though we dare not yet speak
of the yams of Onehow, ‘ a fathom long,’
I we can say, that we have in our possession i
i two potatoes which together weights
i pounds und three quarters; one of which
, measures 16 inches in length. Mr. G.
lately took the weight of a potatoe brought
from Owhyhee, which was 17 lbs. ‘1 hese
are potatoes. Other kind* raised here
are small.
27. Several men and women of distinc
tion visited the school, and expressed a
general approbation, Some believed, and
some doubted, the truth of the scriptural
doctrines taught. Every day we have
more or less spectators, from 10 to 40 in
number, to witness our interesting school.
They seem generally pleased with the or
(der and regularity which appears, and oi-
I ten, with tneir bends crowding at the win
! dows and doors, listen with a kind ot ad
miration, to hear the school recite in con
cert, their religious lessons at the close ;
while they seem to say, “ We would know
what these things mean ”
2b. An interesting yputh was added to
the Sabbath school, who understands our
language considerably, and desires to be
taught the art of reading and the knowl
edge of Christ. Thus God continues to us
the blessing of bis grace, the means of use
fulness, health, peace, competence and fa
vour with the people, among whom we
dwell.
(To be continued.)
PALESTINE MISSION.
From the Missionary Herald.
While this sheet was iirenaring for the
press, letters were received irom air. Pisk
down to June Ist, containing intelligence
Mr. Parsons to March 13th.
We mentioned, in our number for July,
that Mr. Parsons had written to Mr. Fisk
from Gastello Rosso, Jan. 13th. We now
have before us a letter to tbe Correspond
ing Secretary, dated at the same place,
Jan. 25tb, giving an account of the voy age
thus far, of which we shall lay before our
readers a brief outline.
At Scio, Mr. P. had an opportunity to call
on Professor Bambas.St give him an account
of the tour in Asia Minor, especially of the
distribution of bonk*. He replied, 44 Much
| good may be done in this region by activity
and perseverance.” The number of stu
dents in the college had increased rapidly,
and the Young Minister’s Companion was
in high reputation. At Samos tbe vessel
took refoge for four days, in a solitary har
bour, far from any human dwelling.
On the morning of December 18th, they
passed between Samos and the ancient Mo
jitos. Mr. P. read to the pilgrims the 20th
of Acts, and pointed out the place where
Paul had his affecting interview with the
elders of Ephesus. Towards evening of
the 3ame day, passing near Patinos, the
epistles to the Seven Churches were read.
! There was perfect sileuce ; and the pil
jgrims informed Mr. P. that they never be
fore heard these epistles in their own lan
! guage.
i After being becalmed off Coos, they ar
j rived at Rhodes on the 21st, and were de
tained there six days. During this time
! Mr. P. became acqnninted with the Greek
i bishop, the English consul, an Archiman
j drite of Jerusalem, and the President of a
| distinguished monastery. On Mr. P.’s pro
posing to the bishop to leave with him
tracts for distribution, and showing him
I specimens, he replied, “ Your offer is very
generous; i will send a man with you to
bring the rest.” Mr. P. sent 150 copies for
the priests and the schools, and the npxt
day received a message from the bishop,
approving the tracts, and expressing grati
tude for them. |
“ According to the statement of the Bish- 1
op, there are on the island about 10,000
Turks, a greater number of Greeks, 60
Greek churches, 100 priests, 22 monaste
ries, very few monks, one school of some
distinction, others smaller for children.”
The English consul is friendly to the dis
tribution of the Bible, though a Catholick.
j Mr. P. experienced from him marked to
kens of friendship and hospitality.
Mr. P. visited a synagogue and a school
for Jewish children. There are 200 Jew
ish houses in Rhodes. The Archimandrite,
and the President of the monastery very
gladly received tracts to distribute. The
latter made 44 repeated professions of his
gratitude, and implored a blessing upon
those through whose benevolence the fa
vour was conferred.”
Leaving Rhodes on the 28th, tbcy were
driven into a solitary harbour, where they
, wrrf Udjrs. -rr-riti conaide.
rable difficulty, the vessel reached the har
bour of Castello Rosso, Jan 7th. Some
! young men from the village coming on
iboard, tracts were distributed to such as!
were able to read. These tracts were cir-’
| dilated, and a general desire was excited
ito obtain a greateT supply. In the morning i
as Mr. P. passed through the village, a
multitude thronged the slreets, each crying
aloud in modern Greek, “ Sir, will you give
me a tract?” Mr. P. gave 125 tracts to the
schools, at the particular request of the
teachers ; and fifty to persons who came to
the vessel for the purpose of obtaining them.
There was but one copy of the Romaick
Testament in the village. This had been |
purchased at Rhodes, and was circulating :
among the inhabitants. While there Mr.
P. sold five Testaments, containing the an
cient and the modern Greek in parallel col
umn*, to individuals in the village, and five
to pilgrims. ‘‘ In nn place,” he adds, “ have
1 seen a greater desire to read the word of
God.”
Castello Rosso contains 250 or 300 houses,
of which 30 belong to Turks, and the rest!
to Greeks. It has a fine harbour, but is lit- j
tie else than a barren rock. The vessel
lelt that place on the 10th, but was driven
back by very tempestuous weather, and re
mained there at the dale of the letter. I
.“ Notwithstanding our frequent disappoint-!
ments,” says Mr. P. “ the goodness of God
i to us has beeD peculiar, and very affecting.” 1
62
“ Rev. and Dear Sir,
wln a letter dated Jan. 25th, 1 gave a
short account of the voyage from Smyrna
to Gastello Rosso. The u. xt morumg we
left the harbour with a favourable wind,
which conveyed us rapidly to the port of
Lunesol, in Cyprus. The Captain had giv
en orders to have the anchors in readiness,
and we were all rejoicing in the assurance
of.: safe arrival at the destined haven. But
our pleasant prospects were soon blasted.
The wind changed almost instantaneously,
and blew from the east with great violence
durjng the night. Again the vessel was
driven back < sea, but the next day w*e
were enabled to enter the harbour of BatTo,
(anciently Paphos,) 40 miles to the west of
Liraesol. At that harbour I left the vessel,
and proceeded by land to Limesol for the j
purpose of distributing Testaments and’
Tracts. The first place which I visited
was Paphos. The priests of the village
immediately conducted me to the church,
where, they say, St. Paul preached the
Gospel; from thence to the hall, where he
was condemned; and to the pillar where he
was hound,and received 44 forty stripes save
one.” It was truly affecting to see so ma
ny churches destroyed—some used for sta
bles, others for baths, others completely in
ruins. 0f365 churches, once the glory of,
Paphos, only four or five now remain.— !
Twenty-five or thirty miserable huts are all ’
that remain of the once most distinguished
city of Cyprus.
w From this placo I wool
house of a Greek Bishop, in a village two
or three mitoo ItiiiS itie snore. 1 here I
was received with the utmost cordiality;
and all the proceedings of the Bishop were ;
marked with great seriousness and dignity.
He said that it was his delight to entertain ;
strangers, and he wished for no pecuniary
compensation. He highly approved of the
tracts, which 1 brought with me, and en
gaged to distribute them among his people.
Under his government are 200 churches,
but only 50 are now open for religious ser
vice. In each of these churches is a copy
of the modern Greek Testament procured
at Nicosia from those sent to Cyprus by the
Rev. Mr. Connor.
“ The English consul at Limesol re
quested me to reside in his family, till the
arrival of our vessel. This afforded me a
favourable opportunity to visit the churches
aud schools and to distribute tracts to the
best advantage. A little boy, as an expres
sion of his gratitude,presented me a handful
of flowars.
“ The English consul made a request, in
behalf of two poor churches in the vicini
ty for two Greek Testaments. I mentioned
to him that it was not agreeable to the
I wishes of the members of the Bible Society
that Testaments should be permitted to re
main useless, but that they should be con
! slantly read. He assured me that he would
accompany the Testaments with a letter,
and the wishes of the donors would be
strictly regarded.
“ Near the centre of the island is a dis
tinguished monastery, which is visited by
I all pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem.
! “Monday evening, Feb. sth, (63 days
from Smyrna) arrived at Larnica. Letters,
which 1 brought with me from Smyrna, in
troduced me to Mr. Vondiziano, the Eng
lish consul, in whose house 1 resided with
great satisfaction. 1 sent to the bishop of
Larnica 200 tracts; 100 for his own use,
| and 100 for the archcishop at Nicosia. The
next day the bishop, in company with the
principal men of the village, came to the
house of the consul to express their appro
bation of the truths contained in the tracts,
and their gratitude for the favour. It was
my design to go to Nicosia by frr> m
Limesol, but the rain prevented. The
tracts which I send to that city will be dis
! tributed, as in other places, amoDg the
priests and schools.”
The last letter, which has been received
i from Mr. Parsons himself, addressed to the
Cor. Sec. is the following:
“Joppa, (Jaffa) Feb. 12, 1821.
41 Rev. and Dear Sir,
“ I arrived at this port Saturday morning,
after 48 hours passage from Cyprus. A
considerable number of pilgrims took pas
! sage with us from that island, so that, at
the close of our voyage, there were not
less than 75 souls on board. Eight hours
after leaving Larnica we came in sight,of
anon ’ in and from thence
we passed near me’ ihc „ .
Land, and had a distant .
Caiffa and mount Carmel. We looked
upon mount Carmel with uncommon inter
est as the place where the prophet Elijah
| “ cast himself down upon the earth,” and
i prayed for rain, till there arose “ a little
cloud out of the sea like a man’s hand.”
| “ The English consul at Jaffa, had re
j ceived information of our arrival, and his
; son and dragoman waited at the shore to
: take us and our baggage to his house. Ev
! erv assistance which he could afford, was
generously offered, while we should re
main at Jaffa, or at Jerusalem. u Mv gar
den,” he said, “ will afford many articles
j for your comfort, which cannot be well ob
j tained at Jerusalem.”
“The Russian consul at Jaffa, Mr. Mos
tras, to whom 1 had letters of recommenda
tion, invited me to occupy a room, which he
has under his own direction, in a monastery
at Jerusalem. After the passover, in May
or Junp, he proposes to take a tour to
mount Lebanon, and be wishes me to ac
company him. If it should be thought best
to pass the summer there, I may improve
this favourable opportunity.
“Ttesterday morning I attended service
in the Greek church of this place. The
assembly consisted, I should say, oi 250 peo
ple. all standing and repeating prayers, as
is the custom in all the churches. The on
ly difference which I observed was this,
that the Scriptures were first read in
ancient Greek, then in Turkish, and thpn
1 irf Arlbiclt, ns the Afabick is the commtfn
I dialect of the country.
“ After service, the president of the mon
astery in this village called at the house of
i the Russian consul. He examined the
tracts, which 1 brought with me, and ap
proved of the plan of distributing them
among the penple. He took 50 or 60 for
the use of pilgrims, and others who could
understand them. As it respects the distri
bution of tracts and Bibles, Jaffa is a station
of high importance. Almost all the pil
grims from Russia, and from Natolia land at
this port, and frequently remain here ma
ny days. Bibles and tracts can be landed
here without taxes at the custom house, and
can be distributed without danger of suspi
cion attending a portage to Jerusalem, If
a mission should be established at Jerusn
| lem, Jaffa can also be under the charge of
the missionaries, with the prospect ofgreat
usefulness to the souls of men.
“The Russian consul at Jaffa will lake
charge of all the letters or packages di
rected to his care, and forward them direct
ly to Jerusalem. He designs himself to be
there at the passover, for the purpose of
protecting the Russian pilgrims.
41 This letter will be forwarded immedi
ately to Cyprus, to the care of the English
consul at Larnica. In the morning, we de
sign to set forward for the Holy City. I
now feel the need more than ever before,
of the prayers of God’s people. Surely
they will wrestle in prayer till the Lord ap
pears in his glory, and builds up Zion.”
Mr. Fink had received two letters from
ftYS rv iruN —imwvn.-*, wymn, xnvovj
which he had before mentioned. In the
first written at Jaffa, Mr. P. states, that
the Russian consul says, that, in his opin
ion, a printing press may be in operation at
Jerusalem without suspicion.”
The other is dated at Jerusalem, March
13lh, about a month after Mr. P.’s arrival
there. It is the third which he had written
to Mr. F. from Jerusalem, though the only
one which had come to hand. Mr. Fisk
makes the following extracts from it. 44 1 )
have made some short excursions in the vi
cinity of Jerusalem; that is, to the pool of
Siloam, to Gethsemane, mount Olivet, Beth
any, the tomb of Lazarus, mount Zion, &c.
1 have twice been to see the tomb of our
blessed Saviour, and twice to mount Calva
ry. The pilgrims weep and sob over the
tomb of our Saviour, just as they would
over the grave of a parent or a sister.
44 A Greek priest reads with me two chap
ters in Greek almost every day; and we of
ten converse upon passages, relating to the
new birth, human depravity, and salvation
by grace.
44 1 have sold two Greek Testament?, one
Persian, one Italian, and one Armenian, in
Jerusalem.
44 It grieved me to hear of the death of
brother Larned. Soon our work will be
done. Let us be diligent.”
Mr. Fisk’s journal from Feb. 17th to May
18th is among the communications trans
mitted by him. Early in April, he visited
Ephesus, in company wi'h three Americans.
On his return he found Smyrna in a state of
alarm, on account of the insurrection in Eu
ropean Turkey. The commotions at
Smyrna, and in the neighbourhood, render
ed it unsafe travelling, and presented ob
stacles in the w’ay of distributing books.
After describing the state of the country,
Mr. F. writes as follows : 44 Now thg ques
tion is, what effect should this have on our
plans ? Brother Parsons, I trust, will go on
with his labours in Judea without molesta
tion. For myself, I see no course but to
remain here, and wait the event.”
44 But what shall be done as to the print
ing press, &c. ? 1 should like to know how,
with the facts before you, the prospect
seems to you ifi Boston. 3o fax a* 1 can un
derstand the slate of affairs there is no
ground for despondency ; and l rather think
none for delay. One thought occurs to me.
If any body is ready to come out here, be
may get a passage to Malta ; and there he
will learn whether things have become
et in this region; and if they have not, he
can remain there a little while, most profit
ably employed in studying Kalian and
Greek.”
On the whole, it does not appear that the
present troubles in Turkey should damp
the zeal of Christians among ourselves, or
elsewhere, for promoting the cause of truth
in that part of the world.
FROM THE BOSTON RECORDER.
MONTHLY CONCERT FOR PRAYER.
cited, and the obvioas good which has resulted
from the publication of a little piece on the pro
per manner of conducting the monthly concert,
in the Recorder for December 16th, 1820,
prompts the belief that you will still be willing to
consecrate a small portion of your paper to the
furtherance of this great object. While such fa
cilities are offered, and so much still remains ,tb
be done, a benevolent heart can hardly he quiet,
without making further effort to render this meet
ing such as it was designed to be, and such as it
ought to be. Without reflecting at all on the ve
racity of those associations of ministers, who, in
their reports, state that this meeting is generally
well attended, we may state as fact, that the
monthly concert, such as it was designed to be,
is really known and attended but by compara
tively few. Lamentable and incredible ns it may
appear to the good people in your vicinity, it is
certain this meeting is not generally much better
attended, much more interesting, much more
profitable than the common meetings on othet
days; and of course, not much different from
them. This fact is ascertained by personal obser
vation, as well as by intelligence communicated.
The writer has attended with many churches in
different parts of the country. The meetings
are, in general, all of nearly the same character;
so that by giving a view of one, which he attend
ed, a tolerably correct vigw will be given of all.
At this there were four clergymen present. The
house was filled as usual. Much was expected.
But the exercises, though good, must have disap’
! pointed any one who expected to have united in
; supplicating the quickening influences of the.
Spirit on the church and on the world. Those
who led in these exercises, appeared to feel, yvhat
the Rev. Pastor of an adjoining parish, oh the
j same evening, expressed, that the object of th/
meeting was to pray for a revival of religion firsV
