The missionary. (Mt. Zion, Hancock County, Ga.) 1819-182?, September 24, 1821, Page 62, Image 2

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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