Christian observer

              f
NEW SERIES. NO. L58.
FOR THE DIFFUSION OF TRUTH AND THE SUPPORT OF THE ^RTMrnPf re n^  '	
  ^uri-UKi ui?  iHL PRINCIPLES OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
IN THE UNITED STATES.
A. CONVERSE, EDITOR:—134 Chestnut Street.
Southern Kelfflfous relesvaph.
PHILADELPHIA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 13, 1843.
POETRY.
THE CHRISTIAN GRACES.
The following lines of exquisite beauty are from the pen of Ja.mes Montgoimi:iiy, now in the decline of life. The Poet is a member of the Moravian Church, and it is pleasant to regard these stanzas, which he recited at a l)ublic breakfast recently given him, as an expression of his faith in the gospel,
" Faith, Hope, and Charity, these three,
Yet is the greatest Charity ;
Father of lights, these gifts impart
To mine and every human heart.
Faith, that in prayer can never fail,
Hope, that o'er doubting must prevail.
And Charity, whose name above,
Is God's own name,'for God is love'   '   '     ''
The morning star is lost in light, Faith vanishes at perfect sight, The rainbow passes wilh the storm, And hope with sorrow's fading form.
But Charity, serene, sublime, ¦   ¦
Beyond the reach of death and time, Like the blue sky's all bounding space, Holds heaven and earth in its embrace,"
RELIGIOUS.
MISSIONARY SCENES  IN SOUTH AFRICA.
In our last we presented a brief notice ofthe commencement of Mr. Moffat's missionary life in South Africa, and of the conversion of the chief, AFRICA^•ER, who was feared as the Lion of the desert. To those who read that article, the narrative which we subjoin, will be highly inter¬ esting:
"After Moffat had labored for a considerable time among the Bechuanas, and had made seve¬ ral distant e.xcursions on objects connected vvith his mission, he induced Africaner to accompany him on a visit to the Cape, though the expedition was not without danger to the chief, who for his former marauding upon the settlers, was still an outlaw, with 1000 rix-dollars offered for his head. He said, when the journey was proposed, that he thought Mr. Moffat had loved him better than to give him up to the government to be hanged. The affair was for three days publicly discussed; and when it was concluded, nearly the whole inhabi¬ tants of Africaner's village—all his subjects, or clansmen—accompanied them to the banks of the Orange River, and parted from them with tears. At Warm Bath, the place referred to in the subjoined e.\tract, there was a mission sta¬ tion, from whence religion and civilization had emanated to the wilds; and on the journey, it is said—
Arriving at Pella, (the place as before stated, to which some of the people from Warm Bath had retired when the latter was destroyed by Afri¬ caner,) wc had a feast fit for heaven-born souls, and subjects to which the seraphim above might have tuned their golden lyres. Men met who had not seen each other since they had joined in mutual combat for each other's wo; met—war¬ rior wilh warrior, bearing in their hands the olive branch, secure under the panoply of peace and love.
We spent some pleasant days while the sub¬ ject of getting Africaner safely through the ter¬ ritories of the fanners to the Cape, was the theme of much conversation. To some the step seemed somewhat hazardous, Africaner and 1 had fully discussed the point before leaving the station ; and I was confident of success. Though a chief, there was no need of laying aside any thing like royalty, wilh a view to travel in dis¬ guise ; of two substantial shirts left,I gave him one; he had a pair of leather trowsers, a duffel jack¬ et, much the worse for the wear, and an old hat, neither white nor black, and my own garb was scarcely more refined. As a farther precaution, it was agreed, that for once I should be the chief, .and he should assume the appearance of a ser- |vant, when it was desirable, and pass for one of iniy attendants.
Ludicrous as the picture may appear, the sub- lect was a grave one, and the season solemn and Important; often did I lift up my heart to Him whose hands are the hearts of all men, that his ;nce  might go with us.    It  might here be
jmarked, once for all, that the Dutch farmers,
|notwithstanding all that has been said against
ihem by soine travellers, are, as a people, cx-
Sieedingly hospitable and  kind to stranger.s.—
cceptions  there are, but these  are  few, and
lamb-like in his whole deportment, he lifted up his eyes, and exclaimed, "0 God, what a mira¬ cle of thy power! what cannot thy grace ac¬ complish!" The kind farmer, and his no less hospitable wife, now abundantly supplied our wants; but we hastened our departure, lest the intelligence might get abroad lhat Africaner was with me, and bring unpleasant visiters."
The Governor at the Cape was Lord Charles Somerset, who was somewhat surpiised to learn that the lion of the wilderness had been led in to him like a lamb. About this time, Dr, Philip and John Campbell had arrived from England to ex¬ amine the state of the African missions. It was Mr, Campbell's second visit lo Africa, and it appeared—
To be one of the happiest moments of Mr, Campbell's life to hold converse with the man, at whose very name, on his first visit to Nama¬ qua-land, he had trembled, but on whom, in an¬ swer to inany prayers, he now looked as a bro¬ ther beloved. Often while interpreting for Mr, C, in his inquiries, I have been deeply affected with the overflow of soul experienced by both, while rehearsing the scenes of by-gone days.
Africaner's appearance in Cape Town excited considerable attention, as his name and exploits had been familiar to many of its inhabitants for more than twenty years. Many were struck with the unexpected mildness and gentleness of his demeanor, and others with his piety and ac¬ curate knowledge ofthe Scriptures. His New Testament was an interesting object of attention, it was so completely thumbed and worn by use. His answers to a number of questions put to him by tlie friends of Cape Town, and at a public meeting at the Paarl, exhibited his diligence as a student in the doctrines of the Gospel, especial¬ ly when it is remembered lhat Africaner never saw a Catechism in his life, but obtained all his knowledge on theological subjects from a care¬ ful perusal of the Scriptures, and the verbal in¬ structions ofthe missionar}'.
The conduct of Africaner to his dying hour was edifying and consistent. His later years were spent in conducting the public offices of religion at the station, and in teaching in the schools. In his dying exhortation to the people, whom he had called together to hear his last words, when he had given them directions for their fuiure conduct in temporal affairs, he bade them remember that they were no longer sava¬ ges, but men professing to be taught by the Gos¬ pel, and that it was accordingly their duty to walk by its precepts. In summing up the cha¬ racter of Africaner, who from a fierce predatory warrior, the chief of a savage tribe, had by the power of the Gospel been converted into the Alfred of his subjects, Mr, Moffat remarks:
Many had been the refreshing hours we had spent together, silting or walking, tracing the operations of the word and Spirit on his mind, which seemed to have been first excited under the ministry of Christian Albrecht. Subsequent to that period, his thoughts were frequently oc¬ cupied while looking around him, and .surveying the "handy-works" of God, and asking the ques¬ tion, "Are these the productions of some great Being 1—how is it that his name and character have been lost among the Narnaquas, and the knosvledge of Him confined to so few 1—has that knowledge only lately come to Ihe world 1—how is it that he docs not address mankind in oral language!" "** * "* In trying lo grasp the oflen indistinct rays of light, which would occa¬ sionally flit across his'partially awakened under¬ standing, he became the more bewildered, espe¬ cially when he thought of the spirit ofthe gospel message, "Good-will toman." He often won¬ dered whether the book he saw some of the far¬ mers use said any thing on the subject; and then he would conclude, thai if tliey worshipped any such being, he must be one of a very different character from that God of love to whom the missionaries directed the attention ofthe Narna¬ quas.
How often must the same doubt have occurred to the Hindoo, the Mussulman, and the gentle savage of many other regions'!
THE  GRIQ,VA MISSION. '
Mr. Moffat gives a very interesting account of the rise and progress of the Griqua mission, in which he was personally concerned; and a re¬ trospective view of other inroads on heathen¬ dom, which will be perused with pleasure, were it only from the enterprise and bold adventures ofthe daring pioneers, and the light incidentally thrown upon the moral and physical condition
VOL. XXII. NO. 2.
jrhaps more rare than in  any country under i °^^'^^'^^'"^^^""^ ^"•^^^ ^^^^ ^'^^>''^''^'*^^-   His re- sun.   Some of these worthy people on the I lotion of his own conflicts and long fruitless cn- ¦ders of the colony, congratulated me on re-   deavors, have yet deeper interest.    His actual ing alive, having often heard   as ihoy ..aid,   experiences bring greal doubt upon the theories I had been long since iTiurdered by Africaner , •
h wonder was expressed at my narrow es- ' "^ ^ natural conscience, a moral sense, and the from such a monster of cruelty, the report ¦''^^a. °^ ^ "vicarious offering," or atonement 5 been spread that Mr. Ebner had but just ! said to be diffused over the whole globe, and
|0g
ed with the skin of his teeth.   Wjiile some scarcely credit my identity; my tcstimo- to  the entire  reformation of Africaner's r, and his conversion, was dLscardcd as ¦usion of a frenzied brain.    It soiuetiiiies no lillle entertainment to Africaner and ^ aquas, to hear a farmer denounce this
Bappdscd   irreclaimable   savage.     There- were oM^a few,  however,  who were skeptical on ubject.    At one farm, a novel scene cxhib- phe state of feeling respecting Africaner and "If, and likewise displayed the power of D
also of man being a religious creature. The ex¬ istence of a Supreme Being, and the immortality ofthe soul of man, had never, even in a shadow or tradition, been heard of among these people: A chief, after listening attentively to me while he stood leaning on his spear, would utter an ex¬ clamation of amazement, that a man whom he accounted wise, should vend such fables for truths. Calling about thirty of his men, who stood near him, to approach, he addressed them, pointing to ine, "There is Ra-Mary, (Father of
Hc.c ^^vc seven wonders in the world:
uU   be the eighth."   I appealed to the
of Divine grace iu a Paul, a Manasseh,
i by the pi
that Morimo causes winter to follow summer, the winds lo blow, the rain to fall, the grass to row, and the trees to bud;" and casting his arm
re another d('.sV-''''t'^"^"*^>'^'   ^^'^ ''epli(!d ; above and around him, added, "God works in ;•-'iiptiou uf men, but that i every thing you see or hear] Did ever you hear
ler was one of the arfm-r,! rntin,, . n      '^''^'-'-'i^ed sons o
hW Men guilty. Bvthi.stimc with' Africane
Hum, I such words!"    Seeing them ready to burst into
of which he i laughter, he said, "Wait, I shall tell you more;
^¦, we were standing ! Ra-Mary tells me  that we have spirits in us,
ninCe sat asniilc, well knoVh"/?^^^ cniiite-| which will never die;   and   that   our   bodies, of«ome of tlie farmers.   Th ¦ r'' Prejudices   though dead and buried, will rise and live again,
converbation bv savii)'-- with n'^"?*^'^^"'*^'^ ^'"^ ¦ f*^" vour ears to-dav; did you ever hear litla- ." Well, if what'vou asrc'rl be true ''^'"'''^"^^•^' ; '^lane (fables,) like these !" This was followed ' Q, I have oiily one wish and ^tl'^r'-^'"" ^'^^^ ' ^^ ^ '^"^''^^ "^ deafening laughter ; and on its par- before I die ; and when'you r t ""' ^° "^'^^ ' ^'^"^ subsiding, the chief man begged me to say khe sun is over our heads 'l will I!'"'""! ''"'''' i "" "^'^''^ "" ^"^^ ^'''^"^^ ^'-^^ ^^^^ P^°P^^ ^^""^'^ e him, though he killed my owauS'T'^" I ^^^'"'^ '^f -^-^\ , / ., . \, ,* ,. * not before aware of this fact, and nmv f I' ^'''^ '^^^' ''''"''' describing the day of judg- e hesitation whether to discover to him i! '"'"^' ''^^'''^^ "^ ""^ ''^^'^'¦' ^'•^P';^'^^^^ ^''f* ct nf his wonder; but knowing the sin "i v 1',""''? ^^ "'^ '^^^ °^ ^^^ "'"' ''^"''' ^^'""^u"" he tanner, and the goodness of his di.'nus 1'^'""y^'^' ^"S^thcr with their ornaments. They ^aid,  "ThLs, the'n, is African .!'''He 1 Si ''' onen,oni,ent allow their thoughts to
nLjaweii on death, which is, according to their views, nothing less than annihilation. Their st-ipreme happiness consists in having abundance or meat. Asking a man who was more grave and thoughtful than his companions,-what was the finest sight he could desire, he instantly re- plied,^^"A great fire covered with pots full of meat;" adding, "how ugly the fire looks with¬ out a pot!"
't''l back, looking intensely at the man, as if ad i.Kt dropped Irom the clouds.   "Are you
dllM-l"    h(
[^ Jua, ami making a polite bow, answered, '"¦       J-ht: farmer
»»^«' 1' ."f ih. tact, that the fonnei-bugbear of ' >-' ^^'Jud befure him, now  meek and
exclaimed.    He  arose, doffed jw, ans seamed thunder-struck; 'y;i few questions, he had assured
[From the Missionary Herald for January.] FINANCIAIi CONDITION OF THE A. B. C. F. M.
The donations and legacies received during the month of November amount to 1^17,000.— Last year, during the same month, they amount¬ ed to more than $40,000; and the average for that month, for five years preceding the present, has been $28,500 showing that the receipts for that month, this year, are about $32,000 less than they were last year, and $11,000 less than the average for the last five years.
With November closed the first third of the current financial year. The receipts for these four months fall below $64,000 ; while last year they exceeded in those months $114,000; and, for the last five years, have, on an average, ex¬ ceeded $79,000;—less this year than last by more than $50,000, and less than the average for five years by about $46,000.
The necessary expenditures during the last four months have exceeded the receipts by more than $26,000,
The average receipts for the first four months, ofthe last five years, have varied little from one third of the average total receipts for those years. If the receipts during the first third ofthe current year should prove to be one third of those for the whole year, the amount for the year ending July 31st, 1843, will be less than $192,000.
If this should be so, the expenditures of the year must exceed the receipts by not less than $80,000. It is scarcely possible to arrest the pro¬ gress of things so as to prevent it.
Nor is this owing to enlargement of the ope¬ rations of the Board, The number of mission¬ ary laborers at the missions is about twenty less than it was last year, and no greater than in 1837. Nor is it owing to the Committee pre¬ suming on the receiptsfor the current year being equal to those ofthe last. Aware that they might not be, they calculated accordingly; and, appre¬ hensive that the missionaries might feel encour¬ aged, by the large monthly receipts which they saw acknowledged last year, to increase the ex¬ penditures at their several missions, the Commit¬ tee, on the 10th of May last, addressed to them all a circular on the necessity of keeping within the limitations prescribed for their respective mis¬ sions. The limitations last year were graduated on the estimate that the total expenditures ofthe Board, aside from payment of the debt, would be about $2,55,000. In a system so extended, unforeseen emergencies will unavoidably occur, requiring considerable extra appropriations,— The limitations for the current year were gradu¬ ated on.the estimate that the receipts would amount to about $275,000, which is $43,000 less than they were last year. The sum urgently needed is not less than $800,000
REIilGIOUS DISCIPLINE OF THE THOUGHTS.
This is the subject of an able sermon in the last National Preacher by Dr. Anderson. We copy an ex¬ tract showing the AVANT of discipline.
"Suppose a pious man, but wanting in con¬ trol over his thoughhts, to be reading in the Scriptures. He is really desirous of understand¬ ing what he reads, and, of course, makes an ef¬ fort to read with attention, and for a short time his attention is fixed. But this is for a short time only, for soon his mind is invaded and his thoughts are diverted by another train of ideas foreign from the chapter before him, until, at length, he is startled at perceiving how much he has read that has failed to awaken in his mind so much as a single idea.
The same man enters his closet for prayer. He assumes a reverent posture, and commences his petitions in an audible voice, as helping the attention. Meanwhile he discovers another train of ideas, or, more probably, successive, broken trains. His endeavors to expel them do but in¬ crease their number, and distract his attention the more. Were his prayer written out, and the intrusive thoughts interlined as they actually rise in his mind, we should have a painful illus¬ tration how his attention is divided while he is addressing the Must High.
So in public prayer, in the house of God. One person leads in the prayer, and all in the con¬ gregation profess to offer up the same petitions. But suppose the heart-searching God were to put forth his finger, and write the prayer upon the wall, and that he were to write, also, in pa¬ rallel columns to it, the actual thoughts, mean¬ while, of each professed worshipper. What a fearful exhibition there would be of thoughts fo¬ reign to the occasion—about business! about dress! about worldly pleasures ! past, present, or anticipated! And were it possible for these thoughts all to speak out at the same time, what aconfusion ofsoundsshould we hear! Yetsome- thing like this, too often, must our public pray, ers be, as God hears them. For the ear of God, every thought has a voice.
And so entirely wanting in religious disci¬ pline are the thoughts of many persons, that even the mere allusions in the prayer of him who leads the devotions, are enough to keep their thoughts wandering. Thus: the minister prays for those who "go down to the sea in ships, and do business on the great waters," This sends off their thoughts to their own ships, or their foreign investments, or the state of the markets, and their prospects of loss or gain. The minister prays for rain in the time of a drought, or for fruitful seasons, or he gives thanks for an abun¬ dant harvest. This sets them thinking of their crops, and ofthe influence the drought, or rain, or harvest will have on the price of some one or more ofthe products ofthe earth. The minister prays for our rulers, and in how many minds does this excite thoughts of the latest intelli¬ gence, or else of political schemes, prospects, or results.
Similar remarks might be made concerning other exercises of the house of God, Indeed, who of us would be willing to have the mere in¬ tellectual history of the hour he spends in this holy place, (i, e, of his thoughts merely,) writ¬ ten by the otTiniscient God, for the perusal of his most intimate friend 1 I believe not one.
IMPORTANCE OF THIS DISCIPLINE.
Under another head he illustrates its import¬ ance in ihe daily reading ofthe Scriptures as fol¬ lows: ' Evidently we cannot expect the enlight¬ ening influences of the Holy Spirit on the thoughtless reading of the Scriptures. How vain to expect it! That infinitely intelligent Being always knows where our thoughts are while we read his word, and cannot be deceived by mere words on a thoughtless tongue. Therefore, if you would enjoy those aids, without which even the thoughtful reading of the Scriptures will be of little use, you must read them with a fixed and serious attention. You must be successful in confining your thoughts to the portion you are reading and must be in earnest to under¬
stand It, In the sight of God, the mind is the man. In his sight, moreover, thought and feeling constitute our actions. He needeth not to lookal the outward appearance, to know what the mind IS about. Men may be deceived by mere voice and appearances. But with respectto the all-see¬ ing God, in vain is the eye directed to the sa¬ cred page, or the inspired word upon the lips, if the thoughts, the mind, in short, the man him¬ self, be occupied about other things.
But let the man who has subjected his thoughts to a thorough religious control, take the inspir- ed volume. He opens it, and is at once prepar¬ ed for an audience with the Mo.st High. All the powers of his mind are at rest, save what are needed for the present duty. In solemn silence It iLstens to the voice of the Lord God, having neither eye, ear, nor perception for any thing else. His mind is not'impatient of delay; it dwells with searching, prayerful curiosity upon the important sentences and the emphatic words.
With a mind thus under subjection, and eveti with no more than an ordinary share of intelli¬ gence, it is not necessary to read long portions of Scripture at one time. For instance, if the reading be in the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, the first four verses might furnish full employment for an hour, or even a much longer period. Observe what a number of sub¬ jects are suggested by the first verse. It is as fol¬ lows: "There is, therefore, now, no condemna¬ tion to Ihetr. which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Half the words in this verse are emphatic, 1. A "condem¬ nation" isspoken of, and we mightinquire into its nature, and how it is merited. 2. There is said to be "710 condemdation"—of course, none in this world, none in the next, no falling from grace, and an absolute certainty of life. 3, It is said there is no condemnation "now," implying that there once was, and delightfully contrasting the present time with some former period. 4, The word " therefore" is used ; there is said to be "therefore, now, no condemnation to;" thus pointing to some previous conclusive reasoning on this point, to which we might refer. 5. The pet-son.8 Sre next described, who are no longer under condemnation, namely, such as are " in Christ Jesus;" and the question arises. What is it to be in Christ Jesus'! To this, (Gthly,) there is an answer, viz, " Walking not afler the flesh, but after the Spirit," Here, you perceive, vvith the easiest possible analysis, at least six subjects of importance, and it would not be difficult toin- crease the number. Indeed, such is the richness of God's word, that, as the mind with searching interest dwells upon the sacred page, new ideas continually break forth—light gathers upon it— the objects multiply and magnify, until, as when we survey the heavens through a telescope, where, to the unassisted eye, seemed only a few stars, we behold innumerable worlds and suns filling the immensity ofthe universe. So it is with the word of God, when contemplated through the medium of faith. It is itself a universe, full of glorious objects, among which the soul might expatiate for ever.
''^v/VA^ 9^^^^VV^
For the Christian Observer. StR. WEBSTER ON WAR.
Influence of apprehended war on bitsiness AND property.—"I did not," says Mr. W, in his speech at Boston, " think it necessary to state the fact then ; but, if everything had been known here, that we knew in Washington, the shipping interest, and everything that depends on com¬ merce, would have been depressed one halfin six hours." The shipping interest, and all kinds of business dependent on commerce, must em¬ brace through the whole land an amountof pro¬ perty exceedingly large, hundreds of millions; yet half of it all, Mr. Webster tells his hearers, and every business man in the audience assented to its truth, would have been sacrificed for the time, simply by telling the people what our ru¬ lers knew about the danger of war. Will none of the thousands now rich, who would have been ruined by war, give to the cause of peace a gen¬ erous fraction of what that cause has saved theml
The Morality of War, — "I allude," says Mr, Webster, "to occurrences on the frontier in 1841. A year or two before, the British Govern¬ ment had seen fit to authorize a military incur¬ sion into our territory against the steamer Caro¬ line, alleged to be engaged in hostilities against her provincial subjects. The act was avowed by England as a public act. Now, sujp'pose any citizen ofthe United States, who, as a military man, should obey an order which he must obey or be hanged, should be found years after in a foreign country, tried for an ignominious cittne, and threatened with an ignominious punishment —is there a man in the whole country who would not instantly cry out for redress and vellgeaHcel Every elevated government claims for its sub¬ jects personal immunity when acting in obedi¬ ence to its commands."
Look at this doctrine of war. "Military or¬ ders, no inatter what they are, the soldier must obey OT be hanged." If confimanded to rob and burn houses, and butcher unreSlaitng men, wo¬ men, and childreii, he must do these deeds of fire and blood, or be hanged! Such deeds every community, whether Christian or pagan, civil¬ ized or savage, regards as crimes fit for the pri¬ son or the gallows; but, when the perpetrator is arraigned like any other culprit for trial by due course of law, his government interferes, and claims exemption from the penalty due to such crimes. Should he be punished, "is there," asks Mr, Webster, " a man in the whole country who would not instantly cry out for redress and vengeance 1" Strange morality! Yet this is the acknowledged, the avowed morality of war. And what must be the effect of such doctrines on the morals of a community] The burgler, the incendiary, the assa.ssin, for whose punishment on the gallows public opinion in one country is fiercely clamorous, may in another be regarded as a hero a worthy patriot, a candidate for the highest honors his government can bestow ! In New York McLeod is a villain, in England a favorite ; and the very deed that gave the neck of Andre to the halter, inscribed his name on the walls of Westminster Abbey! Such is war, a custom still retained by nations pluming them¬ selves on their intelligence, their morality, and their piety. Erasmus.
THE AnOIiATED VOW^.
I shall never forget an instance of disappoint¬ ed hope which appeared in the early part of my career, A young man who had been instructed in a Sabbath School as to the elements of reli¬ gion, bui had never made any pretension to pie¬ ty, was stricken with an alarming disease. His concern for his soul was immediate and over¬ whelming, "What must I do to be saved 1" seemed the one question that absorbed all his thoughts. Those around him did not fail to ex¬ pound the reply of Paul and Silas,—"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," He listenad most in¬ tently; hope sprung up in his soul, and passa¬ ges of Scripture which he had learned at school, but which had till ihen escaped his memory, came pouring into his mind with a richness, pro¬ priety, and consecutiveness truly wonderful.— Disease now gained upon him, and all hope of recovery fled. The surgeon plainly told him that nothing could be done, and that a few hours would terminate his life.   He received the an¬
nouncement vvith perfect composure, and said that he had no wish to live; his only desire was to depart and be with Christ. Inexperienced as I was, had he died, I should not have entertain¬ ed a doubt of his safety. But the surgeon was mistaken; to the surprise of every one, his re¬ covery was soon completed! He went to the house of God the first Sabbath he was able to walk, and returned thanks for his restoration.— For the next few Sabbaths following he was there ; afterwards I missed him. For some time I was unable to learn what had become of him ; at last I learned that an act of gross immorality had rendered it expedient for him to leave the neighborhood.
After a lapse of twenty years, I unexpectedly met with him once again. During the interval, he had become a hardened sot. At the time of this interview, however, he was perfectly sober, biit he appeared to have forgotten me. I re¬ minded him of his vows in affliction. He then mentioned my name, I endeavored to recall his former impressions, but the attempt was hopeless: his conscience was seared as wilh a hot iron ; all I could get him to say of the afflic¬ tion which once seemed so hopeful, was, "I have no wish to remember it."—DecapoUs.
BIOGRAPHICAli SKETCH OF KAPIOLANI.
Who was Kapiolanil Her name was little known among the great and noble on earth ; but " her record is on h"gh.*'
Kapiolani was born upon the island of Hawaii, very near lo the spot where Capt. Cook was murdered. She was a descendant of one of the leading families under the ancient kings ofthe island, and subsequently became the wife of a chief.
Her Heathen Character.—The first missionaries found her intemperate, dissolute, and degraded. There was scarcely a more degraded person on the islands, than Kapiolani. She gave herself up to every species of vice. She possessed, how¬ ever, a very inquisitive and remarkably well balanced mind.
Her First Knoioledge of the Gospel, and its Re¬ sults.—She wasthrown, in the providence of God, near to the missionaries, while on a visit to the island of Maui. With wonderful facility her mind perceived the truth and superiority of the new religion. And from that time to the hour of her death, a period of more than twenty years, she was the unwavering friend and patron of the missionaries. Through her influence, a station was soon established upon Hawaii. And although the post occupied was at least sixteen miles from her residence, yet she, her husband, and their train, repeatedly went that distance to hear the preaching of the Gospel. And what has been the result 1 The church collected in this district now numbers more than 1,000 members in regu¬ lar standing. And these are the church mem¬ bers whose labours and sacrifices to build a house of God, were described in the May number of the "Dayspring." The average attendance on the Sabbath is now 1,400.
Change in three years.—Go back now and look at Kapiolani, in less than three years after she had for the first time heard the Gospel. "She is in every respect perfectly moral; she appears in a neat dress j has in many respects adopted the customs of refined society; and is in her own character, raised so far above the generality of the nation, that one can hardly avoid the belief that she was educated among an enlightened people." But the change was not outward merely.
Her Spirituality.—"I love to go to the house of God," she said to her pastor, " for there I for¬ get all about this world. When among the chiefs, I hear so much said about money, and cloth, and land, and ships, and bargains, that it makes me sick, and I wish to go where I can hear about God, and Christ, and heaven ; this cures all my sickness, and I never get tired of it." In the same conversation, she asked her pastor with great earnestness, whether he did not think she had two souls. She said, " It seems to me that I have one good soul and one bad one. This says God is very good, and it loves God and prays to him, and loves Jesus Christ, and loves preaching, and loves to talk about good things. The other one says, it does no good to pray to God and go to meeting, and keep the Sabbath."
Her Descent into the Volcano.—Not far from this time an event occurred, peculiarly illustrative of her character. Kapiolani descended into the great volcano of Hawaii. In order to appreciate this act, let the reader remember, she, in com¬ mon with all her countrymen, had entertained the most superstitious fears of this volcano ; that it was firmly believed to be the residence of Pele, a most vindictive and cruel goddess, who des¬ troyed every one that offended her; that this volcano, which is indeed one of the most fright¬ ful in the world, was never approached without a peace-offering to the terrible goddess who re¬ sided there; that no native was ever known to venture down into the crater; and that the mind of Kapiolani had but just awakened to the dark¬ ness of her nation. Let all these things be con¬ sidered, and what demonstration does it afford of the power of the Gospel, that a heathen woman should determine to show her utter disbelief of the existence of Bele, and her freedom from all superstitious fear, hy boldly descending into the crater, and lhat too in spite of all the entreaties and resistance of her friends.
The issue on which she placed the attempt.—"7/" I am destroyed," she exclaimed to the multitudes who entreated her to forbear, "then you must all believe in Pele; but if I am not, then you must all turn to the palapala," (Gospel.) Placing the matter on this ground,she boldly approached the crater. As she drew near, the man whose busi¬ ness it was to feed Pele, by throwing berries in¬ to the crater, begged her to proceed no farther. " What," said she, " will be the harm 1" " You will die by Pele." She answered, " I shall not die by your God ; that fire was kindled by my God."   Onward she went.
The Volcano a place of Prai/er,—Descending several hundred feet into the crater, she united with her attendants in prayer to the true God, What a scene! Below them rolled the fiery bil¬ lows of the volcano—above and around them were the blackened and rugged sides ofthe cra¬ ter, echoing to the voice of prayer! Having ended her devotions, she ate the berries conse¬ crated to Pele, and threw stones into the crater. The result was as might be expected. The peo¬ ple proclaimed Pele destitute of power.
Her progress in Piety.—In 1825, she was ad¬ mitted to the church, and the same year esta¬ blished among the people a mLssionary society, which contributed the past year fifty dollars in aid of the mission. In 1826, the missionaries bear the following testimony to her worth :
»• No woman in the islands has so wholly given herself up to the influence and obedience ofthe Gospel. She has a steady, firm, decided attach¬ ment to the Gospel. Her house is fitted up in a very decent style, and is kept neat and comfort¬ able, and her hands are daily employed in some useful work."
Kapiolani died May 5th, 1841, and at this date, more than fifteen years after the preceding tes¬ timony was given, the missionaries write, "Her end was one of peace, and a decided evidence that your raissionarieshave not laboured in vain. Her life was a continual evidence ofthe elevat¬ ing and purifying effects ofthe Gospel."
To this Christian life, closed by so triumphant a death, let the opposer of missions come, for an answer to his obstacles, and the faint hearted in the cause, for motives to encouragement.
[Dayspring.
LETTER FROM MISSISSIPPI.
[The New Basis Measures.—Progress of Constitutional Presbyterianism—Accessions lo the Churches of Cliit- ton Presbtteiit,—New Church in Vicksbuig.-Mis- sissippi College.
Mississippi College, at Clinton, Miss. Rev, a. Converse:
Dear Brother,—We are gratified in seeing your paper, the advocate of Presbyterianism as it was, and as it ought now to be, raising its banner triumphantly amid all assailants, small and great, who, in hostile array, surround our camp ofthe Lord's sacramental host, and who, if they could, would dismay us, and drive us from the field. Our brethren ofthe middle and north¬ ern Slates, can but very imperfectly imagine the difficulties thrown in our way in the South West by the Presbyterian Deformers, (I use the term deformers in a full conviction of its appropriate¬ ness,) who, In 1837 and 1838, in a fit of mania which might be denominated.pseudo-heresie-phobia, com¬ mitted ecclesiastical suicide in abandoning the standardsof the Presbyterian Church, and adopt¬ ing, as a new basis, the notable acts of concision and e.xcision, which will ever render those years memorable in the annals of American Presbyte¬ rianism. These brethren left the Presbyterian Church, not only with the treasury of the church in their hands, but also in the occupancy of all the important churches and cities in the south west. Nashville, Vicksburg, Natchez, Mobile, and New Orleans, were Presbyterially subject lo their undisturbed domination. This occurred by a course of exclusive policy so well known aa here lo need no explanation. Atthetirne of their separation, and more or less ever since, the adherents to original Presbyterianism were denounced publicly and privately as heretics and abolitionists, in league with the abolition¬ ists of the north, and unworthy alike of the re¬ spect and the confidence of Southern men.
This sort of management had its day, but it will have its night too. By directing the eyes of the South towards us, it has rendered our little Presbytery more conspicuous than it might otherwise have been. The public now have be¬ come satisfied that we have done no harm, and some of them believe that we are doing some good, and seem disposed to give us a candid hearing, and the consequence is, the Lord's work is in some degree prospering through our hum¬ ble instrumentality. Within the bounds of Clin¬ ton Presbytery, the following churches have, within the present year, received tokens of tho Lord's presence; Grenada, Middleton, Carrolton, Coila, Tchula, Lexington, Clinton, De Kalb, Wa¬ halock, Cooksville, and Victeburg. In all, above two hundred and sixty members have been add¬ ed to our churches during the present year, and two churches organized within the same time, the one at Tchula, and thatat Vicksburg, the lat¬ ter within a few days.
The Rev. Messrs, Newton and McLane, assist¬ ed by  Rev, William Holly, and, in turn, by others, have held protracted meetings in all the above named congregations, and the Lord has crowned their labors wilh success.    Our breth¬ ren, (as in duty bound, of course,) use their best endeavors to thwart us, by proclaiming us no Presbyterians!   abolitionists!   Semi-Campbell- ites! Demi-Semi-Pelagians! and all theef oe/eras which might be expected from them; but their labors in this line are less injurious to truth and righteousness than  might at first be supposed. They serve to excite curiosity to  hear us, and when the men of Mississippi do hear, as good re¬ publicans, they judge for themselves, and let the accusations and the accusers pass for just what they are worth. Until within a month we had no church in Vicksburg. In the autumn of 1838, tha Mississippi Synod held theil" sessions in that city. The members of Clinton Presbytery who con¬ stituted the  majority of that body as it original¬ ly existed, because they had voted in Presbyte¬ ry for sustaining our commissioner in forming the Constitutional Assembly of 18,38, were in Vicksburg excluded from the floor of that holy convocation as making no part or parcel of tho orthodox fraternity.   Of course we were barred by all the anathemas of ecclesiastical interdic¬ tion from preaching in that cily within  conse¬ crated walls.    If our brethren should  hereafter contradict this our statement, we can cite them at least one case in point.   It is here due to our Methodist brethren  of Vicksburg, to say, that when our Presbytery was barred from the floor of the Synod, they kindly opened lo them their church, and invited them to preach.    Since that period, with only a single exception, so far as we know, up to within a month, no constitution¬ al, regular Presbyterian, known to be such, has found opportunity to lift up up his voice as a preacher in Vicksburg. Very recently, however, it being understood lhat the brother who swayed the Presbyterial sceptre in that city, although an attractive preacher, and attended generally wilh a considerable audience, had never been known, during a ministry here of some four or five years, to be instrumental in the conversion of one sin¬ ner, it was concluded to be the duty of brother.^ Newton and McLane, assisted by some other brethren,   to go there and hold   a  protracted meeting, and, if possible, to organize a church. Before the time appointed for the contemplated meeting had arrived, the brother who so long held in his hands the Presbyterial destinies of Vicksburg, had relinquished his charge, and re¬ moved to   another situation.   When the  time of our meeting drew nigh, as the church was destitute of a pastor, we applied to the pro¬ per   authorities   for   the   use   of the   building for the protracted meeting.   But the house wat denied us.   The Rev, George Moore then rent¬ ed   the  Vicksburg hotel, at that time vacant, with one  room sufficiently  largo   to seat  300 or 400 persons.   The house affording abundance of room, brother Moore, and two of his friends, Messrs, Hughs  and   Cox,  brought their  fami¬ lies, and, by their own liberality, aided by that of several gentlemen ofthe city, whose names we  know  not, made  provision for free table, lodging, and   horse keeping,   for   such minis¬ ters ami strangers as might attend, and for fur¬ nishing the preaching room with comfortable seats. BroiherMoore had themeeling announced in the public prints of the city, and also on the Sabbath previous to the commencement of it he had it published from the pulpit in the Methodist Church, and intended to have had it proclaimed from the pulpit of our Presbyterian brethren, but at the close of the service, before he could find time to request the favor, the quondam editor of the New Orleans Observer arose, and, in the pre¬ sence of brother Moore, notified the congregation to the following effect: "I learn from the news¬ papers ofthe city, that in some old tavern here, a Presbyterian protracted meeting is to commence on Thursday next, I give notice, that, as Presby¬ terians, the people who are to hold that meeting are unknown to us. We are, however,pleased to know, that they are Presbyterians even so far as to prefer the name,
. This fraternal notice circulated rapidly through the city, and excited the curiosity of the good people so as to secure our brethren a hearingf