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Society—the Leipzic Society, and the Soci-1
etie* nf ini’ Grand Duchy ot VAeitnar and
Eisenach—ol Hesse Cassel, Marburgn, Ha
nau, Ht'MC Dermstadi, Giessen, Worms, aud
Hied the rg, aud others, are all worthy ol
parucular nonce, did our limits allow oi it;
as also those ol Frankfort, Wiesbaden, and
Wuertcmberg. These all are cben*<ed
and fostered by the clergy *nd the laity,
the peasant aud the prince, and protected
and pairooiz-d by royal munificence, au
thority, and influence.
While protestant Germany is thus associ
ated to revive the world with the waters ol
life, Roman Catholick Germany is turning
its eye to the guidance of a siugle individual
as Israel to Moses, expecting from his band
an abundaoce of water to tollow them
through me wilderness! The Roman Cath
olick Students in the various Universities,
the youth io the Elementary Seminaries,
the travelling mecbamcks, the military, and
multitudes of the peasantry, look (o Dr.
Leander Van Ness, a Roman Catholick
priest, ol primitive holiness, tor a supply ol
thnr wants. The war department of the
Grand Dutchy of Hesse Dermstadt has en
couraged hts exertions, and much good has
resulted lrou dis labours —ne has succeed
ed in organizing the Darmstadt and Nassau
Bihlt Societies during the last year ot ibis
mao'* labours —he distributed more than
50,000 Bioies and i'estaments, and since
the ctenmeocemeni ot his labours more
than 500,000. Many of the Rnmao Catbo
lick clergy encourage his labours, and ma
ny aid his operations with all their influence.
One of ibern took from him, for distribution
2,300 at once, aod atterwards sent an order
for SUOO more. The tears ot the starving
ntolinode, told their hunger and thirst for
the bread and water of life.
The Switzerland Bible Societies, are
generally flourishing.
The Scbafl’ Hausen, the St. Gall and
Toggeuhurg Societies are both labouring
and praying, tnat the good seed may be
sown over all their mountains and sallies,
and hi-mg forth much Iruit. The Zurich
Society is doing much lor the aged in pub
lishing a Bible in large priut. And the Fe
male society ol Aaran i? labouring with en
couragiog success. Ttie Societies ot Bern
and Geneva also, and the Society ot Lau
panne are prosperous; but the Bazte Suet
ety* tar exceeds them all—it has already
circulated more than 140,000 Bibles, Tes
taments and psalters.
In the Netherlands, the bible cause is
gaming every day fresh advocates aod stif
fluent aid. Nelheilands India too, glad
dens our hearts with good tiding-. The
Javanese bible is completed and promises
much good to ihe inhabitants of that coun
try; amt Cinmsurah, begins lo relinquish
her idol Gods; beholding (heir loathsome
ness m the light of the revealed will of God.
In France, the Bihle Society is flourish
ing in a most unexampled manner. The
Pvotestant Society at Pns. has an annual
income of more than 130,000 francs. It
has nearly 150 Auxiliaries Their activity
and usefulness Dear full proportion to their
income and encouragement.
Tt ptp ran be no lover of the salvation of
man, whose heart will not beat high with
emotion, while he contemplates the aston
ighiu,, rogreas of the sacred caase under
the management of the Societies establish
ed t Lvon", Bordeaux, Nimes, Manlanban,
Mar—ill°s, Montpelier, Toulouse, Roueo,
Orleans. Caen, Mens, and other places of
note and interest. And above all, the So
ciety formed at Feruey, formerly the res
idence of Voltaire. “O! Star of the roor
Ding,” how art thou fallen before the Sun
of Righteousness! The Society of Ferney
will flourish when the memory of the wick
ed “hall have finally perished
In Scotland, the Glasgow Auxiliary Soci
ety, and the presbytery of Glasgow to
gether, have contributed to the present in’
stitution more than SBOOO as their 14th An
nual remittance —and the Edinburgh Socie
ty wi'b i's 76 auxiliaries have sent up near
ly >he “ line amount. The bible has en
riched all that region, and made it bloom
and hear like the garden of God. While
therefore we expect great things from it,
we are not disappointed.
From the last report of the Hibernian
Bible Society, it appears that the issue of
bihles and testaments has been greater
during the past year, than for several year 9
preceding; and the Society, at its eigh
teenth anniversary, wore the cheering and
animating aspect of prosperity in all ii de
partments. That noble institution numbers
among its supporters 161 auxiliaries.hranch
es and associations; being an increase of
forty seven during the past year. Its re
ceipts during the year were £4.767 ; its
issue from its depository, 11.263 hibles and
10.610 testaments; making a grand total of
di-mb'ition from its commencement of
334 145 Surely there is hope of that Isl
and id rtier aids, that will soon be an Island
of Bibles
The British and Foreign Bible Society,
with all the strength and stability of a pa
rent stock, is still flourishing and increasing
with the vigour and luxuriance of youth.
During the last year, as we learn from their
twentieth report, the Society was increased
by the addition of five Auxiliaries, twenty
two Branch Societies,2 Ladies’ Branch Socie
ties,3s Bilde Association, and 60 Ladies’Bible
Associations-in a11,12 Inewßible institutions.
Its receipts into the treasury during the
year, wert £97,712 17 6, nearly four hun
dred and thirty four thousand dollars. This
was an increase over the previous year, of
£1,067 5 10. The issues from the De
pository were also greatly increased, ex
ceeding those of the former year by 30.941
Eible and Testaments; making an ami unt
of distribo.ioQ intweniy years, of 3.442,328
copies of the Bible and Testament circulat
ed in *!)■ British dominions, and more than
1300.000 circulated on Ihe continent of Eu
rope.
Tr Society were under engagements at
borne and abroad, amounting to 43,098 1 3.
I In England it ban published the Bible, or
parts thereof, io 23 languages. On the ron
tineot, the Society have aided in publishing
very extensively, Ihe Bible in 27 ‘angoa
ges! In Asia, they have preuio'ed the
translation and publication of the Bible io
14 languages and various dialects, and the
whole scriptures in the Chinese language,
in two versions; and io other parts, in sev
eral other languages The Society have
aided, directly or indirectly, in priming,
publishing, circulating, or translating of the
Bible, in whole or in part, io one hundred
and forty different languages and dialects.
Surely, we may say, in conclusion —sure
ly the time must be near at hand, when
“the deaf shall hear the words of the book,
and the eyes of the blind shall see out of
obscurity aud out of darkness; the meek
also, shall increase their joy tn the Lord,
and the poor among men shall rejoice in
the Holy One of Israel.”
For the Missionary.
DESTINATION OF MAN.
Contemplating the work- ot nature, a re
flection arise* on their design. This re
flection acquires peculiar loterest, ivheD
ielerred to man. Considering his bodily
conformation and mental endowments ; his
capacity ofimprovement, bis ardent hopes,
his active engagements ; the wide interval
ofhis separation from the brute creation,
tbetr subjection to bis sway, and the subser
viency of nature to bis necessities and en
joymenls, we perceive the superiour regard
ofhis Creator for him among (he visible
works of bis power.
But here u thought occurs to arrest our
attention and retard our inquiries. We be
hold decay aod dissolution inscribed on all
the works of nature. Man is not excepted.
On him is legibly instamped, “ Dust thou
art, and to dust thou shall return.” lo
respect to the first cause , this is a subject ot
difficult soluiiou. For consider how, in this
tndiscritninate catastrophe, the superiour
legard ot ueaveo lor mao is vindicated,aod
whether its ail-wisc purpose is not defeat
ed. In respect to man, it is a subject 01 1
melancholy regret. This event deprives,
! him of objects of his high valuation, re
moves him from seen. endeared to him by
familiar intercourse, disappoints bis fond,
hopes, disconcerts his best schemes, ter j
minutes his sanguine and active pursuits ; j
and seems sufficient, in a pp speettve view, i
to embitter his sweetest joys anti darken bis J
brigntest pro-pects. It is an incident too,}
of fearful uncertainty in reference to its is
sue ; —an uncertainty incapable ot relief
from human observation or tesiim ny ;
whose tearfulness ts not removed, whether j
regarded as the extinction of hts being, or j
as only a change in the mode ot its exis i
tence. The terrors of this tyrant, reason |
cannot dissipate. For thick darkness, irn j
penetrable nignt hangs over his empire aud ;
hides from the view, the extent of hts do
minion.
tsucb is Death lo those who have no
voice but nature to instruct them. Such
its efforts to all our unassisted views of the
destiuy of man. Sucn it is to the pagan , i
who wants,— to the infidel, who discredits,
—and to toe sensualist, wtto disregards, the i
instruction of revelation. But this voice
from Heaven, io them who regard it, selves
the difficulty and dissipates the painful mys
tery of (be subject. It teaches them that
meriali’y is not the original, and will not be
the ultimate destiny oiinau; —that its rava
ges have been introduced by sin ;--ihat its
force will operate on the organs of the
body, without affecting the vital principle
of the soul ; that this, unimpaired by the
revolutions of time, and the convulsions of
nature, will survive the slroke of death and
(be rums of the grave, aud be coeval with
the existence of its author. It instructs the
Christian, that, being specially overruled
in regard to him, it will prove the exlmc
tion of bis guilt, restoring his original puri
ty, and refining, ennobling and perfecting
his powers—the termination ofhis infirmi
ties and sufferings—the commencement of
vigorous existence and Complete fruition.
This wreck of matter , seen through the
light of revelation and by the eye of
faith, loses its formidable appearance.—
Its terrors, mostly dissipated, are insufficient
to give alarm or uneasiness to a steady
faith and a settled hope ; regarded by the
Christian as a necessary and salutary pro
vision for the realization of his wishes, —as
the commencing boundary of bis hopes and
joys.
That state of fruition being, by the en
dowment of freedom of will and of action,
rendered attainable by all, may therefore be
regarded as the ultimate destination of man.
The whole destiny of man, embracing his
present state, is not, we discover, a proper
subject of complaint or despondency. If
: he discharges his duty, though difficulties
attend his condition, they are not insur
mountable ; though distresses are incident,
they are not insupportable. Nor if man
, fully met, do they impede his progress to
wards his high destination If be discharg
es b duty, though decay spread its bale
■(, Tut influences on the fair face of creation, |
new he avens and anew earth shall arise,
more glnriops from the ruins ot the old; —
though his frail tabernacle will be dissolved,
there are mansions in reserve Without
hi* consent, these changes cannot injure , —
cur should they alarm bim.
A frequent aod familiar contemplation on
his fulure destination may afford esseniial
advantage to the Christian. It will instruct
him to resist ensnering pleasures, to distrust
the flattering and fallacious objects ol cor
poreal vision, to disregard inferiour pur>
suits, and chiefly to value properties, com
mensurate in utility with his existence. It
willinstruct him to estimate personal quali
ties, and adventitious accomplishments, as
having only a temporary, often oniy a ficti
tious value, and as unsuitable subjects o!’
self-gratulation. It will serve to sober his j
views and regulate, his desires—to prevent
timid fears and sudden alarm, aod to direct
his whole conduct io subordination to bis
highest concerns. It will check a greedy
pursuit of worldly good, which only cloys
and sickens fruition. It will elevate his
views above the debasiug prostitution ot
faculties, and the sacriflce of his substantial
enjoyments to the temporary gratification
of v:ce and folly. It will assist him to pass
an uninterrupted tenor of life, enjoying
with a true relish, its innocent pleasures,
and meeting its vicissitudes and shocks with
unshaken firmness. It will, in fine, enable
him, possessing a cheerful courage, anon
yielding fortitude, sustained by a firm con
tidence in beaven, lo welcome afflictions,
and triumph over death. CERIN.
GENERAL ASSOCIATION.
The General Association of the Baptists
in Georgia, held its annual session in Ea
lonton on Friday the 27th May, and contin
ued till Monday thereatier. The meeting
was harmonious and engaging. The preach
ing was generally approved and pieasing.
The congregation large and attentive, and
some times affected On Sabbath morning,
according to order, the Missionary Sermon
was delivered, and a collection taken up
for the funds of the Association, and with
some hills which were handed in after
waids, amounted ios2!B The Association
engaged the Rev. John M. Gray as their
Agent, for the ensuing year, to travel c* an ,
Itinerant through the Slate, and lake con- (
tribmiMOS to enable the Association to carry
into effect their benevoleni objects. And ‘
the churches, and all well disposed .person- 1
are hereby respectfully requested to pay a
rational and brotherly repect to our bro
ther Gray, as the Agent of this body, and
strengthen hi® heart and hands in this good
work. On the subject of discipline, the
Associations were invited to send Messen 1
gers to the next meeting of this body
(which is to he in thp city of Augusta, on Fri
day bpfore thp 2d Sabbath in March next) to
confer particularly on that subject. A com
mittee was appointed to confer (with dis
cretinnary power) with one from the South .
Carolina Baptist Convention, on the erec
tion of a general seat of learning in South
Carolina, with a Theological Department.
A number of articles were passed in refe
rence to the general good ot the cause of
the Redeemer’s kingdom.
The Board of the United Associations,
for reforming aod evangelizing the Creek
Indians, had its session at thp same time and
place. The teacher at Withington , under
the superintendence of the Rev. L. Com
pere, was present, who gave the Board a
satisfactory account of the internal state
and prosperity of the instituiion ; hut a
i gloomy aspect as to the state of the Nation
But as nothing could be ascertained as ta
i events connected with the present unset
! tied affairs of the Nation, it wa determiu
|ed to proceed on as though all was well,
’till some certain aud determined course
could be fixed on ; the opinion prevailed
that in the event of the Nation’s going over
the Mississippi, the station would go also.
The Treasurer reported at full length
his accounts, which was directed to be
printed.
Abner Davis, Treasurer, to the Co-operating
Board, Dr. I
1822. June 2. To amount col
lected at Fishing creeji church
Bald. co. by Rev. Mr Compere $lO 06 1 4
Oct. 25. Amt. rec. of L. Bat
tle Trea. Oc. Asso. 500 00
Dec. 24. Amt. rec. of J. Sharp
from the Ebenezer Asso. 127 50
1823. Sept. 15. Amt. rec. of
L. Battle, Tr. Oc. A. 250 00
Oct. 4. Amt rec. by John Me
Kinsie from the Ebenezer A. 22 22 1 2
1824 Apl. 25. Amts. rec. by ,
Rev. J. Mercer—from Geo.
Missioo Board 350 00
From the Beaufort B. F. M. S.
for the support of two pupils
at the station, lo he named
Joseph B. Cook & John Wal
ker, ‘ 60 00
Ami. advanced by J. Mercer 127 00
Amt. rec. from the Yeung
Ladies’ Benevolent Sue. Sun
bury, for the support of a pupil
|to be named Harriet Newell, 30 00
From a young lady • 1 buries
ton S.C. for the support of
a mini I to be named Jane
Hand. 0 00
May 10 Amt. rec. by Rev. J.
Ross, from church and congre
gation at New Pn.videnr.e 9 00
Sept. 7. Amt. rec. from Tho.
Cooper, Tr O. As. 300 00
Nov 3 Amt. rec. from Jesse
Mercer as part ot the Govern
ment appropriation, &c. 200 00
1825. Jan. Amt. rec. from J.
Merqer from the Mission Board
of the Geo. A9. 300 00
$2295 78 3 4
Contra , Cr.
1822. Sept. 3. Cash paid Tr.
Oc Aw. $lO 06 1-4
Oci. 25. “ Ex- Com 300 00
1823 Sept. 15. “ Lee Com
pere, by order, 250 00
1824. Jan.s. “ Tho. Sim
mens, 123 00
Apt. 25. “ Ex. Committee 600 00
Sept. 16. “ Rev. L. Compere
superintendent 300 00
1825 Jan. 20. do. do. 300 00
Apl. 21. Thus. Cooper, order
ofsup’dt. 200 00
Bad bills (Kendall’s) rec. from
Eb. Asso. 2 50
$2285 56 1.4
Leaving in the bands of the Tr. $lO 22 1-2
Note. Monies received at this meeting
are not accounted for in this report. Mes
sengers from a newly formed Society iu the
bounds of the Ebeoezer Association, for In
dian Reform aud Domestick Missions, paid
in the appropriation of the Society for the
Withington station, and the Benevolent Fe
male Society of Beaufort, S. C. forwarded
through Jesse Mercer, President of the
Board, its annual amount for the present
year.
These sums, together with SIOO appro
priated to the Station by Ihe General As
sociation, were ordered to be sent on by
Mr. Simons, the Teacher.
JESSE MERCER,Moderator.
mans mßßHaAanr
MOUNT ZION, SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 1825.
American Bible Society. —The operations of
this great and noble institution are among the
most efficient efforts of Christian benevolence.—
The abstractor the Manager’s last Report, given
in this paper, will excite the surprise of every
reader who is not already acquainted with the
great and successful exertions which are making
by Protestant Christians to place the Oracles of
God in (he hands of the poor and destitute of ev
ery nation and every tongue. On this account,
we preferred, notwithstanding its length, to pub
lish the docnment entire in one paper: and we
readily omit to accompany it with any remarks of
our own, in order to afford room for the subjoined
Speech, delivered at the Society’s meeting, by
George Griffin, Esq. It is aD eloquent appeal to
the Patriotism of our country in favour of the Bi
ble cause, and the truths which it so forcibly ur
ges ought to awaken into action, not the energies
of Christians only, but of every man who wishes
to perpetuate the freedom and happiness of this
Republick.
The efficacy of the Bible in preparing roan for
the great and decisive interview betwixt him and
his Creator, is a theme which I leave to consecra
ted lips. Nor will I now attempt to portray its
influence upon individual man in his earthly pil
grimage,—how it elevates him from a worm of the
dust into a candidate for the skies—how it
smooths the pillow of disease and pain—how it
sustains him in those scenes of deep affliction when
the hand of God hath riven his heart, and nothing
but the balm of God can heal it. My present ob
jecjt is to hint at the intimate connexion between
the Bible and our national prosperity. The des
tinies of our beloved country are peculiarly asso
ciated with the Bible. It was under the auspices
of the Bible that our country was settled: it was
the Bible that conducted the pilgrim to our eas
tern, and the friend to oufr central wilderness. It
the revolution Which made us free, differed in
mildness of character from all previous revolu
tions, it was because the Bible mitigated its se
verity. If our emancipated country has risen
from infancy to vigorous youth, if she is now hail
ed as the hope of the world, the tyrant’s dread,
and the patriot’s boast—let her thank her states
men much, let her thank her Bible more.
A despotick government may subsist, and per
haps prosperously too, without the Bible; a repub
lick cannot. A republick cannot, like a despot
ick government, be sustained by force She can
not, like the despot, tame her children into heart
less submission by the bayonets of a mercenary
army : her bayonets are reserved for the invading
foe. She must depend for domestick tranquillity
—for preserving her mild institutions pure aud
unimpaired, on the wide diffusion of moral princi
ple. Were men angels, they would need do gov
ernment but the precepts of their creator; were
they devils, they.must be bound in adamantine
chains; and as they approximate the one state,
or the other, their government may be free, or
must be severe. The patriot then, as well as the
Christian, may anxiously inquire what are the best
means of promoting, what the surest foundation
of human virtue. The melioration of the moral
condition of fallen man has been in every age a fa
vourite object with the philanthropick legislator.
For this object Solon propounded l.is theory, and
Lycurgus bis theory, and the Roman Numa his.
The Being who made man has also condescended
to propose a plan for his moral improvement—a
plan exceeding in effect all human systems as far as
the legislator of the heavens surpasses in wisdom
the statesmen of the earth. The Bible is not a
scheme of abstract faith and doctrine; its great
object is to render man virtuous here, and thus
prepare him for happiness hereafter. For this
purpose it addresses itself to all his fears and all
his hopes. It fastens its benign influence upon
him at the dawn of childhood, and never leaves or
forsakes him unless his conscience becomes sear
ed ; and even then it bangs up before his intel
lectual vision a fearful looking for of judge
ment,” which, though it cannot melt him into
penitence, mftkes him falter in the career of guilt.
1 Not confined, like the code of honour, to the cir
cle of ti e ert .>t, it visits 100 the abode* of penu
ry : il pees the orphan destitute, friendless, j, er .
baj s, about to become the victim of temptation
am 1 kindly provides an Asylum for the liitp. ()Ut .
, cast, and trains him up (or future usefulness; it
find*, file spendthrift, bankrupt in fortune, charac
ter end hope, “ tit for treasons, stratagems, and
spoils,” and with a father’s voice calls back the
desperate and starving prodigal to the rich hun
quet of virtue ; in short, it pervades every depart
ment of society, and brings its variegated mass
within the influence of that high moral principle
which is the only substitute for despotick power.
7 his controlling and sustaining principle has no
substantial basis but the Bible ; its other founda
tions have ever proved to be sand ; the Bible is
found to be its only rock. A republick without
the Bible will inevitably become the victim of li
centiousness; it contains within itself the turbu
lent and untameable elements of its own destruc
tion. ‘I he,e is no political Eden for fallen man
save what the Bible protects.
A republick without <he Bihle, never did and
never can permanently confer uational happiness.
The renowned commonwealths of heathen anti
quitity form, alas, no exception. Even classick
Greece—that intellectual garden, that birth place
and home of the artist, that fairy land of elo
quence and poesy -was not the abode of wide
spread and permanent felicity. Destitute of the
“anchor” of the Bihle, “ which is both sure and
steadfast,” that brilliant but hapless repnhlick
was perpetually tossed, and finally w.ecktd on
the troubled sea of anarchy. If we pass on to
contemplate ihe republick of martial Rome, the
eye will be dazzled indeed with the glories of her
spleuded few, but the heart sickened with tl>w
crimes and variegated wretchedness of her miserfl
able many. In modern times the experiment has
been made of creating a republick without the
Bible—made too under every circum-tance that
could aid the hope of success—the fairest portion
ol the European continent selected as the ample
theatre of operation—the profoundest statesmen,
the most learned philosophers, the most chival
rous and able chieftains, the mightie-t combina
tion of taleut the world ever beheld—united in
the daring enterprise. The “ terrible republick”
was created; but from her withering eye, and
polluting touch, and deadly embrace, even the
fathers that had formed her recoiled with dismay,
and sought refuge from the workmanship of theiri
own hands under the banners of an iron despo-l
tism. Her reign was inde.d “the reign of
ror.” No human historian can adequately record
its horrours. But there is an historian above who
has faithfully recorded them. And when tha* his
torian shall one day open his portentous volume,
in the presence of Ihe judgement seat, and of an
gels and of men, and read the record of the deeds
committed on “this ball of the earth,” perhaps
no part, save that containing the crucifixion of
the judge himself, will produce deeper emotiou in
the ranks of assembled creation, than the page
crimsoned with the atrocities of the unbaptized
and Bible rejecting republick of France.
Let our own beloved republick cling to her Bi
ble. It can “ counsel her counsellors and teach
her senators wisdom.” It has hitherto rolled on
the tide of our national prosperity without ebb or
intermission. Are there any patriots who some
times cast a foreboding glance at the future ? Con
templating the period so near a* hand, when our
extensive country covered with a population pro
portionate to its resources, shall contain more mil
lions than any other civilized nation can call its
own,—contemplating at the tame time the mild
and unpretending character of our republican in
stitutions, divested as they art of all the imposiug
trappings and formidable apparatus of dtspotick
power, and comparing the unassuming gentleness
ol those institutions, with the mighty mass over
whose destinies they are to pieside—do these
foreboding patriots, with such views before them,
sometimes fear that the government bequeathed
lo us by our fathers, will not be strong enough for
our children ; that it will be unable to lift its ma
ternal voice to that tone of awful dignity, which
cau hush the contending elements of faction, and
say with controlling effect to the stormy passions
of so many millions, “ thus far shall ye come and
no farther, and here shall your proud waves be
staid ?” To such patriots I would say. Supply any
lack of political force by augmenting the potency
of the moral principle. Distribute with an un
sparing hand that Bible which is the aliment of the
moral principle. You cannot, if you would, sink
your countrymen into slaves; elevate them then
to the rank ol virtuous freemen. Let the circu
lation of the Bible be commensurate with your
population; place it in every hovel whose smoke
ascends from the suburbs of your cities, in every
hut that breaks in upon the stillness of your re
motest wilderness. The Bible can do more for
your country than her ablest generals ; it can pre
serve her domestick tranquillity,aud transmit her
whole circle of blessings to the latest posterity,
better than could hosts of standing armies.
The friend of the Bible is the triend of his coun
try. His voice may have been unheard in her “
councils, but his time and his talents are never
theless employed in her best service His ships
may have brought no gold to her coffers, but h©
has multiplied the resources of her moral treasury.
He may not (have added to the produce of her
soil by causing “ two spears of grass to grow
where one grew before,” but he has planted the
rose of Sharon in the midst of her moral deserts.
And that distinguished soldier of the revolution,
who has just been removed frdm our circle into
the more immediate presence of the great Cap
tain of his salvation, whilst so kindly devoting the
evening of his philanthropick life to the interests of
this Society, whose ninth anniversary we are con
vened to celebrate, whilst animating its exertions
by his own example, and watching over all its
destinies with such parental solicitude, rendered
the country that gave him birth a less splendid in
deed, but no less important service, than when he
drew his youthful sword in her defence.
Fads worthy of notice. —At the late meeting of
the National Tract Society held in New York,the
Rev. Mr. Sumnierfield, (recently returned from
Europe) mentioned the following singular circum
stances :—ln the very room where the arch-infidel
Hume predicted the downfal of Christianity in the
19th century, and declared that he already saw
the evidences of its decline, the first committee
assembled for the formation of the Edinburgh Bi
ble Society—and at the commencement of the
19th century the British and Foreign Bible .Socie
ty was organized, which has distributed in nine
teen years, more than four millions of Bibles and
Testaments, and aided in the translation of the
Holy Scriptures into 140 different languages and
dialects.
One of the converts of Carlisle (an infidel book
seller in London) who sent bis destroyer a dona
tion, as a compliment for having delivered him,
at he said, from his ridiculous fear* of hell and his
fantastical hopes of heaven, lately died iu the
most horrible agony, exclaiming, lam lost !
Voltaire, (whose bold and inveterate hostility
to the Christian Religion and awful death are well
known) declared, that though it required twelve
men to establish Christianity .his single arm should
root it out. This he attempted to do bj the pub
licatiou of infidel Tracts, which were scattered
through Germany and France, and like the frogs