m Z.3. /'V '* PRINCETON, N.J. */•. 4r BV 2100 .K5 Kingsmill, Joseph, d. 186S Missions and missionaries 786 Kingsmill (Rev. J.)- Jklissionaries historically cloth, 2S. Missions and viewed, 8vo, 1853 FEB 3 1914 M~ ^ MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES: HISTORICALLY VIEWED FROM THEIR COMMENCEMENT. By JOSEPH KINGSMILL, M.A., CHAPLAIN OF PENTONVILLE PRISON. " Missionary enterprise is tbe very chivalry of Christianity." Commerce alone will not make a nation great and happy. England has become great and happy by the knowledge of the true God and Jesus Christ." Letter qf Queen Victoria to African Chiefs. LONDON: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS, PATEKNOSTER ROW. 1853. LONDON : iEEO AND PARDON, PRINTERS, PATERNOSTER ROW. TO THE KIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF CHICHESTER, PRESIDENT OF THE CHURCn MISSIONARY SOCIETY, AS A SMALL TRIBUTE OF ESTEEM AND DUTIFUL ATTACHMENT, AFTER SEVERAL YEARS OF SERVICE UNDER HIS LORDSHIP, AS ONE OF HER MAJESTY'S COMMISSIONERS FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF PENTONVILLE PRISON, AND OF HUMBLE CO-OPERATION IN WORKS OF FAITH AND CHARITY, ffl^ljfe Folume, THE RESULT OF OCCASIONAL EFFORTS TO RELIEVE HIS MIND FROM THE UNDUE PRESSURE OF CONTINUOUS THOUGHT ON THE ONE PAINFUL SUBJECT OF HIS OWlS! PECULIAR MISSION, AND AT THE SAME TIME, WITH GOD'S BLESSING, TO SUBSERVE, IN SOME HUMBLE MEASURE, THE PROGRESS OF PURE CHRISTIANITY IN THE WORLD, MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. Missions of the first Chiircli in Judeea, Galilee, and Samaria — St. James — St. John — St. Peter — The question of Peter's ever having been at Rome, how settled by Romanists — Labours of the great Apostle of the Gentiles, &(l ..... 1 CHAPTER II. MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. Early introduction of the Gospel — Subjugation of the British Churches to Rome by Austin and his successors — Fii'st Mis- sionaries to Ireland — Religion of St. Patrick and the ancient Irish — Later submission of the Irish Church to the Papacy, &c. 38 CHAPTER IIL MEDIEVAL MISSIONS Gothic Architecture, the glory of the Middle Ages, of Pagan origin — Methods adopted by the Church of those Ages for the ^ Propagation of the Gospel — The Church's treatment of the heathen, Mahommedans, Jews, and heretics — The Crusades against the Infidels — Crusades against the Waldenses, &c. . 86 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. Christianity gradually Paganized — The work of the Reformers to restore it to its purity — Morals of the Papacy as described by Roman Catholic writers, preachers, and saints — Paganism of its worship as demonstrated by Bishop Middleton — Its public sale of pardons for sin — Tetzel — Pagan cruelty of the Papacy — A Te Deum sung in Rome, and medals struck in commemo- ration of the cold-blooded and unprovoked massacre of the Protestants of France, &c 114 CHAPTER V. MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA, Ancient Missionaries in the East — The Inquisition at Goa set up to coerce the ancient Syrian Church — Description of that horrid tribunal at Goa by a Frenchman who had been confined there, and by Dr. Buchanan — Jesuit Missionaries in the East — Francis Xavier — The artifices practised by his successor, Robert de Nobili, and his colleagues — Capuchin Missionaries and others — Their Sinbad stories about diflPerent countries — Letters fiom modern Roman Catholic Missionaries — Present state of finances of the Association for the Propagation of the Faith, &c 167 CHAPTER VI. CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. Propagation Society — Interesting ancient Protestant endowments — John Wesley one of its Missionaries — Perils and joys of a true Missionary — Tragic occurrence— Colonial Church and School Society — Ojibwah Indians — Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge — Schwartz — Borneo Church Mission — Letter of Bishop of Calcutta — The London Jews' Society — Jerusalem — CONTENTS. vii Church Missionary Society — Its monthly meeting-s and charac- t^'^.stic form of prayer — Gradual extension — Sketch of success- f' labours in places where, for years, failures only occurred — Beautiful letter of the Queen of England to African chiefs — Rev. Mr. Crowther and Rev. Mr. King, both liberated Africans, discover their mothers in the Yoruba country — Heavy blow to the slave-trade — New Zealand — Progress of religion and civilization — Tamehana Te Rauparaha — East Indian Missions — North- West American Missions — Church Missionary College — Missionary Children's Home, &rc. 245 CHAPTER VII. PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN GENERAL. Preliminary Remarks — London Missionary Society — Madagascar ISIartyrs — The first Tahitian Prayer — Wesleyan Missionary Society — Dr. Coke — Baptist Missionary Society — Dr. Carey — Other Societies — Society for Promoting Female Education in the East, and Calcutta Training School — Thrilling account of Patagonian Mission, by Captain ]\Iorshead — British and . Foreign Bible Society — Religious Tract Society — Christian Missions of Scotland — Rutherford and Usher's introduction to each other — Inspiriting address of the Free Church on Missions — Presbyterian Missions at Old Calabar — Deeply- affecting case of two youthful Converts — Dr. Wardlaw's address to his children on their going forth as Missionaries — John Elliott — American Missions — Continental European Missions — Moravian Missions — Preservation of their store-ship for eighty-two years — Bishop Porteus and Wilberforce's testi- mony in their favour — Extracts fi-om the Liturgy of the Brethren 398 CHAPTER VIII. MISSIONS TO THE NATIVE IRISH. Ireland enslaved to Rome in 1172 — The Celts the aboriginal race — Anglo-Saxon invaders — Scotch colonists of Ulster — Rebellion of 1641 — Number of English massacred — Bedell translates the Scriptures into Irish — Honoured by the natives to the last — The Honourable Mr. Boyle— The Irish Society — Number of Vm CONTENTS. Irish converts in America as reported by a Roman Catholic priest — Beautiful lines on Ireland — The Irish Church Missions — Progress of Reformation attested by the Times and Irish Roman Catholic papers — Scenes illustrative of Irish character and the Irish Missions — Duhalla Schools — Dingle — A Comment- ary on the Bible printed by Irish boys — The Earl of Roden's account — A priest's curse — Homage paid to this priest by Mr. Wilberforce, the convert to Rome — St. Patrick's Purgatory, description of, by Inglis — Irish logic — Missionaries between Bedell and Irish Church Missions — Brown — Dr. Madden and Dr. Berkeley's opinions — Walsh — Graham — Campbell — Ouseley — Prayer for Ireland, &c. . 473 APPENDIX. Unconnected Papers : — Ojibwah Indians — Sketch of the History of the Moravian Church, by James Montgomery, Esq., &c. &c. . 537 MISSIONS AND MISSIONARIES CHAPTEE I. THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. " And I saw, and behold a white horse : and he that sat on him had a bow ; and a crown was given unto him : and he went forth conquering, and to conquer." — Rev. vi. 3. The Lord's command to his disciples : ^^ Go ye mto all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature^'' and his promise, '' Lo, I am with you alioay, even unto the end of the world, ^^ are the foundation of all Christian missions, and must supply every true missionary with his highest en- couragement to the end of time. Nohly did the first Church carry out that command, and fully did they realize the presence of the Saviour in their arduous work. Never was spectacle exhibited in the world so august or so wonderful as the onward march and victory of Christianity, on its first ap- pearance, over the powers of darkness. The lead- ers in a movement which aimed at the conquest B 2 THE FIRST CHUISTIAN MISSIONS. of a world, were a few individuals of the humblest class, and from a despised and subjugated race; having no sort of influence or power such as ordi- narily affects mankind; and as regards human wisdom they were profoundly ignorant. The doc- trines which they promulgated were to their own countrymen "a stumbling-block, and to the Gen- tiles foolishness;" and yet, by these, the immemorial usages of the nations were overthrown ; the fascin- ations of a religion, which adapted itself to every sensual appetite, were broken; the philosophy of Greece and E;ome were met and vanquished. Those who were engaged in the promulgation of these doctrines, endured, in every place, the utmost vio- lence and wrong from the ruling powers, goaded on by an artful and numerous priesthood, whose craft was felt to be in danger. Over every obstacle this little band of warriors marched on, and tri- umphed marvellously. The Lord was with them of a truth : " The weapons of their warfare were not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." The rapid progress of the Gospel is not only recorded in Holy Scripture, but by profane writers. Tacitus, an historian of great reputation, and an enemy of Christianity, in giving an account of the fire which happened at Rome about thirty years after our Lord's commission to his Apostles, asserts that Nero, in order to suppress the rumours of having been himself the author of the mischief, had the Christians accused of the crime: "At first," he writes, ''they only were / THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 6 apprehended who confessed themselves of that sect, afterwards a vast multitude were discovered by them." Tl is was about six years after St. Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans, and something more than two after his arrival in Rome himself. Pliny the younger (also a heathen, and an enemy of Christians), is another witness. He was the Governor of Pontus and Bithynia, two considerable districts in the northern part of Asia Minor ; and the situation in which he found his province led him to apply to the emperor, his master, for direc- tion as to the conduct he was to hold towards the Christians. The letter in which this application is contained, was written not quite eighty years after Christ's ascension. In it he states the measures he had already pursued, and then adds, as his reason for resorting to the emperor's counsel and authority, the following words : — " Suspending all judicial proceedings, I have recourse to you for advice ; for it has appeared to me a matter highly deserving consideration, especially on account of the great number of persons who are in danger of suffering : for, many of all ages, and of every rank, of both sexes likewise, are accused, and will be accused. Nor has the contagion of this superstition seized cities only, but the lesser towns also, and the open country. Nevertheless it seemed to me that it may be restrained and corrected. It is certain that the temples , which were almost forsaken, begin to be more frequented ; and the sacred solemnities, after a long intermission, are revived. Victims, likeicise, b2 4 THE PIRST CHUISTIAN MISSIONS. are everywhere bought up ; ivhereas^ for some time, there icere feio to purchase them. Whence it is easy to imagine, that numhers of men might be reclaimed, if pardon were granted to those that shall repent." Nothing can be more satisfactory as evi- dence of the progress of the Christian religion, than this. Bithynia and Pontus were at a great distance from Judaea, the centre from which the religion spread ; yet in these provinces Christianity had long subsisted, and Christians were now in such numbers as to lead the E^oman governor to report to the emperor that they were found not only in cities, but in villages, and in open countries ; of all ages, ot every rank and condition ; that they abounded so much, as to have produced a visible desertion of the temples; that beasts brought to market for victims had few purchasers ; and that the sacred solemnities were much neglected. There is no evidence to show that the Christians were more numerous in Pontus and Bithynia than in. other parts of the Boman empire. Christianity did not begin in these countries, nor near them. This letter, therefore, may fairly be applied in confirmation of the representations given of the general state of Christianity in the world, by Christian writers of that and the next succeed- ing age. Justin Martyr, who wrote about thirty years after Pliny, and one hundred and six after the ascen- sion, has these remarkable words : — " There is not a nation, either of Greek or barbarian, or of any other THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 5 name, even of those! vlio wander in tribes, and live in tents, amongst wLom prayers and thanksgivings are not offered to the Pather and Creator of the universe, by the name of the crucified Jesus." TertuUian, who comes about fifty years after Justin, appeals to the governors of the Eoman empire in these terms : — '' We were but of yester- day, and we have filled your cities, islands, towns, and boroughs ; the camp, the senate, and the forum. They (the heathen adversaries of Christianity) la- ment that every sex, age, and condition, and per- sons of every rank also, are converts to that name." The virulence of the opposition arrayed against the first promoters of this new religion in the world, and the treatment they actually received, may be conceived from a passage in the same letter of Pliny, with the answer of Trajan, as well as from the conduct of the emperor himself. C. Pliny to Trajan, Emperor. — " Health. It is my usual custom, sir, to refer all things of which I harbour any doubts to you. Por who can better direct my judgment in its hesitation, or instruct my understanding in its ignorance ? I never had the fortune to be present at any examination of Chris- tians, before I came into this province. I am, therefore, at a loss to determine what is the usual object either of inquiry or of punishment, and to what length either of them is to be carried. It has also been with me a question very problem- atical, whether any distinction should be made between the young and the old, the tender and 6 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. the robust; whether any room should be given for repentance, or the guilt of Christianity once incurred is not to be expiated by the most un- equivocal retraction ; whether the name itself, ab- stracted from any flagitiousness of conduct, or the crimes connected with the name, be the object of punishment. In the mean time this has been my method with respect to those who were brought before me as Christians : If they pleaded guilty, I interrogated them twice afresh, with a menace of capital punishment. In case of obstinate perse- verance I ordered them to be executed, for of this I had no doubt, whatever was the nature of their religion, that a sullen and obstinate inflexibility called for the vengeance of the magistrate. Some were infected with the same madness, whom, on account of their privilege of citizenship, I reserved to be sent to Home to be referred to your tri- bunal." Trajan to Pliny. — " You have done perfectly right, my dear Pliny, in th^ inquiry which you have made concerning Christians. Por truly no one general rule can be laid down which will apply itself to all cases. These people must not be sought after : if they are brought before you and convicted, let them be capitally punished; yet with this re- striction, that if any one renounce Christianity, and evidence his sincerity by supplicating our gods, however suspected he may be for the past, he shall obtain pardon for the future on his repentance." This same emperor having come to Antioch, about THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 7 the year 107, in his way to the Parthian war, Ignatius, fearing for the Christians, and hoping to avert the storm hy offering himself to suffer in their stead, came voluntarily into his presence. But Trajan pronounced this sentence upon him: " Since Ignatius confesses that he ca^Ties within himself him that was crucified, we command that he be carried hound by soldiers to great Home, there TO BE THROWN TO THE WILD BEASTS, EOR THE EN- TERTAINMENT OF THE people!" If such men as Pliny and Trajan, illustrious amongst heathens for their virtues, acted thus towards the Christians, we need not wonder at the cruelties practised upon them by such monsters as Domitian and Nero, and their thousand imitators in inferior office through- out the empire. Yet the religion of Jesus so spread and prevailed, that philosophy found it convenient after a while to clothe herself in the guise of Christianity, and the emperor of the Homan world to assume its sacred name ; little in either case to the advantage of the truth. The prophecy was fulfilled : ''To him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the Lord that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee." The first achievements of Christianity were in the land of its birth. The people that put to death the Lord of life and glory were the first trophies of the truth, and the power of his resurrection. This is important to notice in connexion with the 8 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. evidences of our religion^ but no less so as exhibit- ing the exceeding riches of his grace to the worst of sinners. The Apostles were to begin their mis- sion at Jerusalem, the wicked and blood-stained city of Jerusalem. Prom the capital they were to traverse the whole land of Judaea, then Samaria, and then to go into all the world. The words of the risen Saviour to his Apostles are remarkable and precise as to this order : " Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and to Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Profane history bears this out. Tacitus particularly notes Judaea as the birth-place of Chris- tianity : " This pernicious superstition, though checked for a while, brake out again and spread not only over Judaea, but reached the city (Rome) also." It is deeply interesting to notice the progress of the faith as related by the sacred historian. The first assembly of Christ's disciples, a few days after his removal from the world, consisted of one hundred and twenty, then three thousand were added, and the number of Christians was soon increased to five thousand. Then multitudes both of men and women continued to be added; disciples multiplied greatly, and even many of the pinests became obedient to the faith ; and all this within two years from the commencement of the Apostles' labour. By reason of a persecution raised against the Church, the converts were driven from Jeru- salem and dispersed throughout the regions of THE FIUST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 9 Judaea and Samaria. Wherever they came they brought their religion with them; for the sacred historian informs us that tJiey that were scattered abroad^ loent everywhere preaching the tvord. About three years after this we read. Then had the churches rest throughout all Judcea and Galilee and Samaria^ and were edified ; and loalMng in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Soly Ghost, loere multiplied. The preaching of the Gospel had been so far con- fined to Jews, Jewish proselytes, and Samaritans. It was not yet known to the Apostles that they were at liberty to propose the religion to mankind at large. This was revealed to Peter by an especial miracle, about seven years after Christ's ascension ; and the Gospel was preached to Gentiles of Cesarea, assembled in the house of Cornelius. A year after this, of the Gentiles at Antioch, a great number be- lieved and turned to the Lord, Upon Herod's death, in the following year, we read that the icord of God grew and multiplied; and three years after, upon the preaching of Paul at Iconium, the capital of Lycaonia, a great multitude, both ofJeios and Greeks, believed ; and subsequently, in the course of this same journey, he is represented as making many dis- ciples at Derbe, a chief city in the same country. About sixteen years after the ascension, the Apostles wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the Gentile con- verts in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, with which Paul travelled through these countries, and found the churches established in the faith, and increasing in 10 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. number daily. Prom Asia the Apostle proceeded into Greece, where, soon after his arrival, we find him at Thessalonica, where we read that some of the Jews believed^ and of the devout Greeks a great multitude. We have, too, a hint of the general progress of the Christian mission, in the complaint of the tumultuous Jews of Thessalonica, that they i^ho had turned the world upside down, were come thither also. At Berea, the historian who was pre- sent informs us that many of the Jews believed. St. Paul spent next some considerable time at Corinth. Of his success in that city, we read that many of the Corinthians believed and were baptized. It was also revealed to the Apostle by Christ that he had much people in that city. In about twenty- five years after the ascension, we find St. Paul re- siding at Ephesus for the space of two years and up- wards, and there so mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed, that we read of Demetrius, at the head of a party, alarmed by the progress of the religion, complaining that not only at Ephesus, but also throughout all Asia, this Paul had per- suaded and turned away much people. Besides these accounts, there occurs mention of converts at Home, Alexandria, Athens, Cyprus, Cyrene, Macedonia, Philippi. To believe that all this was accomplished by the first preachers of the Gospel without the special gift of God, which is alleged in the Acts of the Apostles to have been the case, is to imitate the credulousness of infidelity, which always chooses for its adoption THE PIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 11 ihe greatest difficulty. Too much, however, may be attributed to the miracles of the first age, to the discouragement of ordinary missionaries. No man was savingly converted by the exhibition of mi- racles alone. It was the word of the Gospel, preached by Peter, which brought the three thou- sand souls to Christ on the day of Pentecost. Saul of Tarsus, perhaps, will be considered an exception ; yet even he was sent to a disciple of Christ, to be told what he should do. The gaoler at Philippi, too, convinced by the miracles which he witnessed that Paul and Silas were the servants of the Most High God, was led thereby to them for instruction ; and they spake unto him the word of the Lord. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. The effusion of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, gave the first disciples the power of preaching the Gospel in languages which they never could have acquired; and their other miraculous gifts obtained for them a hearing; showed the benevolence of their religion, and coun- terbalanced their extraordinary natural disadvan- tages; but it was through the ordinary operation of the Holy Ghost upon the hearts of their hearers through belief of the truth, sinners were then turned from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God, as they are now. As many as re- ceived the Lord, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. 12 THE FIEST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. The age of miracles has passed. God works no miracle where ordinary means are sufficient for the purpose. The manna ceased when the Israelites arrived in a country where there was a, supply of natural food ; for so we read : And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land ; neither had the children of Israel manna any more. In propagating Christ's religion in the world, the Apostles were not the only Missionaries. They were the chief, and, with the elders and whole Church at Jerusalem, directors of the movement. Every true disciple, in whose heart burned the love of God, and zeal for the salvation of souls, was a missionary. They that were scattered abroad^ went every ivhere preaching the loord. Concerning the labours of the greater part of the Apostles, nothing is recorded in authentic history. It is probable that the whole Eoman empire was divided for Missionary purposes amongst them, as into so many provinces. There was more method observed, under their miraculous dispensation, than is generally thought. We have seen, for instance, that the Apostles were expressly directed by the Lord as to the order of their proceedings : Ye shall he witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judcea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth ; and hence fully seven years were de- voted to Some Missions before they stepped out of Palestine. James, the brother of John, was the first of the THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 13 twelve who gained the crown of martyrdom, cheer- fully taking that cup, of which he had long since told his Lord that he was willing to drink, ahout ten years after the Lord's death. We are not told what the peculiar sphere of his lahours was. Herod the king, who put him to death, grandson of Herod the Great, was made king, hy CaKgula, of Iturea and Trachonitis ; and it may he inferred, perhaps, from hence, that it was in those provinces he exer- cised his ministry. James, the Lord'^s brother, surnamed by his countr}Tn.en the Just, presided for many years over the first Church in Jerusalem, evidently hy express appointment, and with the concurrent consent of the Apostles, and elders, and whole body of the faithful. Hence when Peter was delivered by the angel out of the prison, his first words to the brethren to whom he showed himself were, Go, show these things to James and the brethren. This was about a.d. 44. In 55, we find him pre- siding over the Apostles and elders assembled to consider the question of enforcement of circum,- cision upon the Gentiles who believed, the necessity of which some Judaizing teachers had been incul- cating; and in that capacity, in the presence of Paul, and Barnabas, and Feter, he pronounced the judgment of the Church : Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God. He was put to death in the year 62 in a tumult raised by unbe- lieving Jews. He was the author of the general 14 THE PIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. Epistle, which he wrote about a year before his death. Concerning John, the beloved disciple, some par- ticulars are recorded in history, calculated to throw a little additional light upon his character and labours. Tertullian tell us that, by order of Domi- tian, he was cast into a caldron of boiling oil, and came out again without being hurt. This, if true, happened, most probably, during the latter part of the reign of that emperor. Tertullian was cer- tainly competent to relate such a fact as this. The miracle softened not the heart of Domitian, who might probably suppose the Apostle to have been fortified by magical incantations. He banished him into the solitary isle of Patmos, where he was favoured with the visions of the Apocalypse. After Domitian' s death, he returned from Patmos and governed the Asiatic Churches. There he remained till the time of Trajan. At the request of the bishops he went to the neighbouring Churches, partly to ordain pastors, and partly to regulate the congregations. At one place in his tour, ob- serving a youth of a remarkably interesting coun- tenance, he warmly recommended him to the care of a particular pastor. The young man was bap- tized; and, for a time, lived as a Christian, but, being gradually corrupted by bad company, he be- came idle and intemperate ; and at length dishonest, and a captain of a band of robbers. Some time after this, John had occasion to inquire concern- ing the young man of the pastor, who told him. THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 15 that he was now dead to God, and that he inhabited a mountain over against his church. John in the vehemence of his charity went to the place, and ex- posed himself to be taken by the robbers. ''Bring me,'* says he, "to your captain." The young robber beheld him coming; and as soon as he knew the aged Apostle, he was struck with shame and fled. St. John followed him and cried ; " My son, tohy fliest thou from thy father, unarmed and old ? Fear not ; as yet there remaineth hope of sal- vation,— believe me, Christ hath sent m^." Hearing this, the young man stood still, trembled, and wept bitterly. John prayed, exhorted, and brought him back to the society of Christians ; nor did he leave him, till he judged him fully restored to Divine grace. John lived three or fom^ years after his return to Asia, having been preserved to the age of almost a hundred years, for the benefit of the Church of Christ, and as an inestimable pattern of charity and goodness. St. Peter and St. Paul were the great missionary Apostles; the former by express appointment to the Jews, the latter to the Gentiles. To Peter, indeed, was given the special honom* of opening the kingdom of heaven to both, — to the Jews on the day of Pentecost, and to the Gentiles eight years after, in the case of Cornelius and his friends. Thus he may be said to have laid the foundation of the universal Church of Christ; and this I think was the meaning of the Lord's notable words to him, "I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven." 16 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. No mention is made of St. Peter in the inspired history after the council at Jerusalem, nor is any subsequent circumstance recorded of him in the epistles except that he was at Antioch not long afterwards. He is supposed to have preached to the Jews of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia, and at length coming to E^ome, about the year 63, or 64, to have been crucified with his head downwards, having himself desired thai it might be in that manner. That St. Peter should die by crucifixion was foretold by Christ, and St. Peter himself alludes to the pre- diction in his second Epistle. That Peter was ever in Home, however, may well be doubted, but still more that he was bishop of the imperial city. One passage in his first Epistle is urged by Romanists as proving the fact : " The Clittrch that is at Babylon, elected together with you, saluteth you ; and so doth Marcus my son ;" upon which the Uheimist's note is : " The ancient fathers, namely, St. Hierome, Eusebius, (Ecume- nius, upon this place, and many more, agree that Rome is meant by the loord Babylon, here also as in the sixteenth and seventeenth of the Apocalypse, saying plainly that St. Peter wrote this Epistle at E^ome which is called Babylon, that great citie in Chaldsea (where the Jews were captives), for mag- nificence, monarchic, resort, and confusion of all people and tongues, and for that it was before Christ and long after the seat of all Ethnick super- stition and idolatrie, and the slaughterhouse of the THE FIllST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 17 Apostles and other Christian men, the heathen emperors keeping their chief residence there. Tliis being most plain and consonant to that which followeth of St. Mark, whom all the ecclesiastical histories relate to have been Peter's scholar at Rome, and that he there wrote his Gospel ; yet our adversaries, fearing hereby the sequel of Peter's or the Pope's supremacie at Rome, denie that ever he was there, or that this epistle was written there, or that Babylon doth here signifie Rome." Pro- testants may well accept this exposition and waive all dispute on the question ; for, after all, Peter having lived and suflPered there, makes no more for the Bishop of Rome's supremacy, than for the Bishops of Antioch, where he undoubtedly did exercise his apostolical mission. To accept the otlier proofs of Peter's presence in Rome which are shown there to travellers would be too hard, it is to be hoped, for even Roman Catholics in this age. As when they refer the visitor to the imjoression of the Apostle's face on the wall of the dungeon in which he was confined ; or the fountain in the bottom of it raised miraculously by him out of the rock, in order to baptize his fellow-prisoners ; or the mark of our Saviour's feet in a stone on which he appeared to him, and stopped him as he was flying out of the city from a persecution then raging (in memory of which there was a church built on the spot called St. Mary delle Piante— in English, St. Mary of the Pootmarks), which, falling into decay, was supplied by a chapel at the expense 18 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. of the Englishman, Cardinal Pool. As to the stone itself, more valuable, as their writers say, than any of the precious ones, being a perpetual monument and proof of the Christian religion, it is preserred with all due reverence in St. Sebastian's Church, (where, says Middleton, in his ' Letters from E^ome,' ' I purchased a print of it with several others of the same kind') ; or when they appeal, perhaps, to some miracle wrought at his execution, as they do in the case of St. Paul, in a Church of his, called At the Three Pountains, at the place where he was beheaded ; on which occasion, it seems, instead of blood there issued only milk from his veins ; and his head, when separated from his body, having made three jumps on the ground, raised at each place a spring of living water which retains still, as they would persuade us, the taste of milk. Of all which facts we have an account in Baronius, Mabillon, and all their gravest authors, and one may see printed figures of them in the description of modern Rome." The Missionary labours of St. Paul, the great Apostle of the Gentiles, are more fully recorded by the sacred historian than those of all the rest. More also concerning them may be gathered from his various epistles — God so ordering it, that the Church, to the end of time, should know most concerning him who was best fitted to be the model of the true Mission- ary and minister of Christ. The natural gifts of Saul of Tarsus were such as to mark him out for great things : his extraordinary THE riRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 19 grasp of mind, his indomitable courage and perse- verance, his singleness of purpose and high moral rectitude, would have advanced him to the highest place in any age or country. No contemporary of his, either amongst his own countrymen or in the philosophical and classic regions of Greece and Rome, can be compared with him for a moment in these particulars. With the sterner qualities of his heroic character were blended, in uncommon com- bination, others of the most gentle and amiable. He possessed the courage and zeal of a Luther, with the gentle persuasiveness of a Melancthon, without the faults of either. He was fired with the warmth of a Peter, without his heat of temper ; and had all the loving spirit of a John, with a loftier order of mind. His attainments in philosophy and polite literature have, I think, been unduly extolled, upon the very slender foundation of a few common-place quotations from profane authors in his own writings. Neither his reasoning nor his eloquence partakes, in the slightest degree, of the Greek or Roman models. Under the renewing influences of the Holy Ghost, the natural parts of this wonderful man are seen elevated to their proper object in the very highest degree, sanctified for the Master's use, and devoted to the noblest purposes of humanity and truth. His intellectual powers are expanded; his conceptions become more sublime ; his ardour of zeal is turned from the destruction of opponents to the spreading abroad the truth, with a meekness, gentleness, and c2 20 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. humbleness of mind, in marvellous harmony and beauty diffused over his whole character. It is a blessed thing when God takes a man of ordinary gifts and acquirements, and qualifies him, by the unction of the Holy Ghost, for the work of the ministry ; but it is a more glorious sight, and a greater blessing to the Church and to the world, when, by the same grace, he calls those whom he has naturally gifted, to dedicate, in deep humility, their all to his service. Paul was listened to, when a Christian of inferior note could not have obtained a hearing, by haughty governors, by kings, by the fawning sycophants in the palace of the Csesars, and by the emperor himself. As he reasoned of righteousness, and temperance, and judgment to come, and fearlessly exposed the vices of the judge before whom he stood a prisoner, Felix trembled ; as he opened the Scriptures before King Agrippa and his queen, the king was almost persuaded to be a Christian ; and as he stood before Nero, a witness for Jesus, in bonds, accused by enemies and deserted by friends, he was able to preach and deliver his mes- sage, and not without visible effect : "At my first answer" (before the emperor, he writes) "no man stood with me, but all men forsook me. I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. Notwith- standing, the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me : that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear ; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion J' There are some points in the Apostle's character THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 21 especially worthy of notice. Paul was eminently a praying, as well as preaching Apostle, excelling his brethren in the former respect (if one may judge by comparison of the writings of the Apostles) as much as in the latter. He that was most occupied, was also the most prayerful. He prayed continually for the Churches which he and his brother Apostles had planted in the world. He entered into all their difficulties, and dangers, and triumphs with the highest degree and warmth of sympathy ; yea, even as regarded the sorrows or the joys of families and individuals. When he speaks of the grace bestowed on the Churches, he overflows with thankfulness. '' I thank my God always on your behalf " (he writes to the Corinthians), '' for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ, that in everything ye are enriched by him in all utterance and in all know- ledge." '* I thank my God, through Jesus Christ, for you all" (he writes to the Eoman Christians), "that your faith is spoken of throughoutthe whole world." To the Thessalonians, "We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers." And to his beloved son in the faith, " I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remem- brance of thee in my prayers, night and day." There is nothing more touching or sublime even in St. Paul's writings, than his prayers for the Churches : " Making mention of you in my prayers" (he writes to the Ephesians), "that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Patlier of 22 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him." '' Eor this cause I bow my knees unto the Eather of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith ; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height ; and to know the love of Clmst, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the Church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Eut St. Paul showed the value of intercessory prayer, even more by his own repeated requests to the different Christians to whom he wrote, to remember him in their prayers. He speaks of his being helped by their prayers : "ye also helping together by prayer for us." And again: "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me. That I may be delivered from them that do not beKeve ; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; that I THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 23 may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed." Another striking feature of St. Paul is his tolerant spirit in the exercise of his apostolical authority. This stands out in strange contrast to the conduct of ecclesiastics when they became absolute in the world, and indeed to the lordly and arrogant bearing of some even in reformed Churches. It was no less opposed, however, to his own natural spirit, which was essentially intolerant, as doubtless it is in every unconverted person who has any zeal for his religion. " Some preach Christ," he ^vrites to the Philip- pians, " even of envy and strife ; and some also of good will : the one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affiction to my bonds : but the other of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the Gospel. TThat then ? nohoitli- standing^ every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is preached ; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice J^ It is scarcely possible to conceive a worse sort of dissent than this, or baser motives in its promoters, yet the Apostle rejoices — whatever injuries or wrongs they might put upon himself, or however base their motives were — that by their instrumentality in preaching Christ to poor ignorant and perishing sinners, souls might be saved. In the same spirit he prays in his Epistle to the Galatians : "As many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." And when he writes to the Ephe- 2.4 THE FIHST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. sians : " Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity." Paul had taken for his model plainly the matured wisdom and piety of a Moses rather than the hasty zeal of the youthful Joshua. " And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men, answered and said, My Lord Moses, forbid them. And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake ? Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them!" The example of his Lord was before his eyes, for when " John answered, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he foUoweth not us ; and we forbad him, because he foUoweth not us." Jesus said, " Porbid him not ; for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me." The tenderness of the Apostle's own charity, and his delicacy of sympathy towards those who were weak in the faith, but really in Christ, is beautifully set forth in his directions as to the treatment of such in the Church in matters on which Chris- tians then differed : " Let us not therefore judge one another any more" (he writes) : " but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brother ' s way.' ' ' ' Let us follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another." Would to God there was more of this spirit in professing Christians. The observations of Scott, the Church com- THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 25 mentator, on this chapter, embodying also those of Doddridge, the no less honoured and pious Dissenter, are so much here to the purpose, that I gladly avail myself of a selection from them. " Notwithstanding the authority vested by Christ in his Apostles, and their infallibility in delivering his doctrine to mankind ; yet differences of opinion prevailed even among real Christians : nor did St. Paul by an express decision and command put a final termination to them. A proposition indeed may be certain and important truth ; yet the heart cannot profitably receive it till suitably disposed, and a man must himself perceive the nature, evidence, and excellency of the doctrine, and the grounds on which it rests, before he can make any profitable use of it : so that to profess assent, or conform, would, without conviction, in general be hypocrisy, and always unavailing. So essential are the rights and exercise of private judgment, in all possible cases, to the existence of true religion ! And so useless an encumbrance would an infallible judge be, for deciding controversies, and producing unanimity among Christians ! The Apostle had suffi- ciently declared his mind respecting the Mosaic law, and where attention to it was likely to interfere with the simplicity of men's dependence on Christ, he zealously contended against it; yet many sincere believers could not be convinced, that they were under no obligations to observe it. If the method of subsequent ages had then been in use, these per- sons would have been excluded from the Church, 26 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. and anathematized as obstinate heretics ; or driven, for relief to their consciences, to separate from those who imposed on them what they counted sinful, and afterwards they would have been shunned as schismatics. But St. Paul, in all the plenitude of his Apostolical authority, could endure his fel- low Christians to differ from him in opinion, as to matters of inferior consequence : and instead of peremptory injunctions, he gave a general rule of vast importance for our conduct in all such cases. He exhorted the pastors and members of the Church at Rome to receive among them, as a brother, the weak believer; and not to perplex him with disputations about such things as might appear doubtful to conscientious persons; but to leave him, under the general use of means and loving instructions, to grow stronger in faith and riper in judgment, by the inward teaching of the Holy Spirit. This general rule applies to many particulars, both respecting doctrine, worship and practice. If a man do not profess repentance and a believing dependence, as a lost sinner, on the merits and atonement of Christ, 'God manifest in the flesh,' and a reliance on the Holy Spirit for teaching and sanctification ; it does not appear, that he can be properly regarded as a believer, or admitted into the communion of the saints (2 John 9, 10.) But when these things are pro- fessed in words, and not denied in works, a man ought at least to be received as one that is 'weak in the faith,' and meekly helped forward, though THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 27 he may yet be under the power of many prejudices and mistakes. — ' The force of the Apostle's admir- able reasoning in favour of candour and mutual condescension, cannot be enervated by saying, that there was no separation between Jewish and Gentile Christians. Had the things judged in- different by the latter, and apprehended sinful by the former, been imposed, a separation of com- munion would have ensued, and the schism on the Apostle's principles would have been chargeable on the imposers. When it shall please God to awaken in the governors of Established Protestant Churches such a spirit of moderation and good- ness, joined with a true zeal for religion, as to leave such things in that natural state of indifference, in which almost all sensible men confess it is best they should be left, many separations will cease of course.'" — Doddridge. Thus the guilt of schism is reciprocally charged by all parties on their opponents ; and indeed truly, when not done exclusively; for the same state of mind and heart generally prevails, in those who impose unscriptural terms of communion, and in those who separate themselves from their brethren, without sufficient reason; and then endeavour to make the cause of their separation appear as great as they can, to justify themselves. So that not only the governors of Protestant Established Churches, but the leading men among Dissenters and seceders also, need to be brought by the illumination and grace of the Holy Spirit to a fuller knowledge of 28 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. the Scriptures, and more entire conformity to the temper there inculcated. Li proportion as men approach nearer in judgment and disposition to the word of God, they will be brought nearer to each other ; as the lines from the circumference of a circle approximate to each other, and to the centre, proportionably. Then each person concerned (instead of decidedly justifying every particular, among those with whom he is connected; and disputing against everything in use among such as he differs from) will seriously compare all parti- culars on every side with the sacred oracles; and in consequence will discover, that neither party is entirely right, and neither entirely wrong ; and this conviction avowed and reduced to practice by the leadixLg men would gradually be communicated to the rest of the body ; and would make way for such amendments, retrenchments and concessions, on all sides : and such fairness, gentleness, and candour, in debating on the controverted subjects, as would in process of time effectually terminate these un- happy divisions. But " until the Spirit be poured upon us from on high " it cannot be expected that these events will generally take place. There is another point not to be overlooked, even in this brief glance at Paul's ministerial and per- sonal character. He .was uniformly courteous, re- spectful to all that were in authority, even when they wrongfully exercised it, yet without any approach to flattery or adulation, and no less polite and conside- rate towards his inferiors. St. FanVs Epistle to THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 29 'Philemon may he read as a lesson on Christian courtesy . This is a grace too little looked for by Christians, and too little cultivated by some of the best. The world's politeness may be a very hollow thing, and, in my judgment, it is so, and conformity to its rules and principles is, in many respects, totally abhorrent to Christianity ; but it is equally certain that rudeness of manner, want of consideration of the feelings of others, and inattention to the recog- nized usages of society in things lawful and pure, are discreditable to the Christian, and injurious to the spread of truth. The vast extent of the Missionary labours of St. Paul may be collected from the Acts of the Apostles, and his own Epistles to the Churches planted by him in Europe and Asia. He traversed in his Mission no small part of the whole Roman world, journeying even, as it is thought on good grounds, to these our own remote Islands of the West, and encountering hardships and sufferings, such probably as no other preacher of the Gospel ever endured. His travels for the most part were doubtless on foot, with his cloak, his books, his parchments on his back. There is no mention anywhere of horse or camel convey- ance, or, indeed, any other. In one place, indeed, in the Acts of the Apostles we read of " carriages." These, however, were not to carry the traveller, but the things to be carried— ihQiv impedimenta, or bag- gage. The change which has passed over the Church since apostolic days, might in that passage lead the unlettered astray. 30 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. In the vindication of his apostolical character from the calumnies of some detractors in the Church of Corinth, St. Paul gives the following summary of his sufferings and dangers in the pursuit of his mis- sion : — " Of the Jews five times received I forty- stripes, save one. Thrice was I heaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have heen in the deep ; in jour- neyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of rob- bers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren ; in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fast- ings often, in cold and nakedness. Eeside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the Churches." In another also he writes : — '' I think that God hath set forth us the Apostles last, as it were appointed to death : for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ ; w^e are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place; and labour, working with our own hands ; being reviled, we bless ; being per- cuted, we suffer it : being defamed, we entreat : we are made as the filth of the world, and are the off- scouring of all things unto this day." Concerning the preaching of this great Apostle, THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 31 it is very important to note what subjects he wholly rejected, as totally unworthy and unsuitable ; what he had no confidence in ; and what was the chief and constant matter of his discourses. What he wholly rejected as incongruous or mis- chievous, may be gathered from his Epistles, espe- cially from those to Timothy, viz. all matters " which minister questions, rather than godly edifying, which is in faith;'' "fables and endless genealogies;" "questions and strifes of words;" "perverse dis- putings;" " profane and empty babblings ; " "fool- ish and unlearned questions ; " " the commandments and traditions of men," with all seeking " to please men, and to gratify itching ears," especially for " filthy lucre's ' ' sake. Then he had no confidence in that which, alas ! too many in the Church of England make now their chief business, viz. preachmg the sacraments, in which these follow close upon the corrupt practice of the Roman apostasy, which, as we shall see, counts up its converts by the number of its bap- tized, and measures their piety by their adhesions to the external rites of religion. " I thank God," he writes, " that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gains ; lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the house- hold of Stephanas ; besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. Eor Christ sent me not to bap- tize, but to preach the Gospel." If administering the sacraments be a higher and more honourable duty than preaching the Gospel, and teaching sin- 32 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. ners first how tliey may be justified and saved, the language and conduct of St. Paul are wholly unac- countable. What St. Paul did preach and consider the high- est part, even of an Apostle's office, there is no difficulty in ascertaining. Christ crucified was his grand and exhaustless theme, though to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness. " I, brethren," he says, '' when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. Por I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified." He preached Christ as a sufferer and atonement for sin ; Christ as the wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption of his people ; Christ as the example of holiness ; Christ as the glorified Redeemer ; Christ as the appointed Judge of the living and the dead ; Christ as the King, subduing all things to himself, and at his appearance and his kingdom destroying all who know not God, and obey not his Gospel. Beautiful and instructive to all ministers, as to the matter and manner of their sermons and the spirit which they should feel towards the people com- mitted to their charge, is his address to the elders of Ephesus : "Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia., after what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears, and temp- tations, which befel me by the lying in wait of the Jews : and how I kept back nothing that was THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 33 profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publickly, and from house to house, testifymg both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not know- ing the things that shall befall me there : save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afilictions abide me. Eut none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. Por I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. Por I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able D 34 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel. Yea, ye yourselves knovr, that these hands have minis- tered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said. It is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more." In connection with the progress of the Gospel in the first age, the illustrious Jew of Alexandria is not to be forgotten. Concerning this eminent man, we read in the inspired history : " And a certain Jew, named ApoUos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephe- sus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord ; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue : whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren v^Tote, exhorting the disciples to receive him ; who when he was come, helped them much THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 85 which had believed through grace : for he mightily convinced the Jews, and that pnblickly, shewing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ." The commencement of Apollos' ministry was suf- ficiently irregular to have exposed him, had his lot been cast in later ages of the Church, to the impu- tation of fanaticism, if not the penalty awarded so often and so terribly to schismatics and heretics. It is to be observed, that as Saul of Tarsus was sent to Ananias, so Apollos was willing to go to Aquila and Priscilla to be more fully instructed in the things of Christ. This childlike teachableness is the crowning point in the character of this great man. How eminent as a minister of Christ he subsequently was may be gathered from the man- ner in which the great Apostle of the Gentiles speaks of him to the Corinthians : " Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man ? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." There remains one more of the first missionary band to be noticed, although neither an Apostle nor a preacher — the faithful companion and inspired historian of St. Paul's travels. St. Luke's excel- lence as a scholar is evident from his writings, which contain the purest Greek of the New Testa- ment. His uncommon grace as a Christian is most eloquently told by his silence respecting himself, who, relating a series of dangers and sufferings for Christ in common with the greatest man of that or any age, d2 36 THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. the memory of whose acts were to he handed down to remotest posterity, and the effect of them to influence for good a whole world, not once mentions his own name, nor gives the reader the slightest idea of anything good or praiseworthy in himself. A rare and wondrous example truly of Christian modesty and humbleness of mind, and amongst even Christian authors a prodigy. Por what purpose par- ticularly St. Luke was led to attach himself to the Apostle we are left to conjecture. Probably his own wish was to minister to the comforts of the beloved and revered Apostle by his skill as a physician (for the Apostles wrought no miracles for their own relief). The Lord, however, so ordered it that the Church should have the history of Paul related by an eye-wit- ness. This lesson may have been also intended for after ages, that in laying the foundation of Christianity in the world the lay element of the Church should not be overlooked, and especially that honourable profession which stands next in the benevolence of its character, and the extent of its usefulness, to the ministry, and on which the humble Christian of Antioch has shed its brightest lustre. THE OLDEST CHRISTIAN HYMN. In the works of Clement of Alexandria, is given the most ancient hymn of the primitive Church. It is then (a.d. 150) asserted to be of much earlier origin. The following version will give some idea of its spirit. Shepherd of tender youth ! Guiding, in love and truth. Through devious ways ; THE FIRST CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 37 Christ, our triumphant King, We come thy name to sing ; And here our children bring To shout thy praise. Thou art our holy Lord ! The all-subduing Word ! Healer of strife ! Thou didst thyself abase, That from sin's deep disgrace Thou mightest save our race. And give us life. Thou art Wisdom's High Priest ! Thou hast prepared the feast Of holy love ; And in our mortal pain None calls on thee in vain. Help thou dost not disdain, — Help from above. Ever be thus our guide ; Our shepherd and our pride,— Our staff and song ! Jesus ! thou Christ of God ! By thy perennial word. Lead us where thou hast trod. Make our faith strong. So now, and till we die, Sound we thy praises high, And joyful sing; Infants, and the glad throng Who to thy church belong, Unite and swell the song. To Christ our King. CHAPTEE II. MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. "Wo be to that shepheard (I say) That will not watch his fold alway, As to his office doth belong : Wo be to him that doth not keepe From Komish wolves his sheepe, With staffe and weapon strong." British Monk's Song. Christianity was introduced into Great Britain at a very early period. Justin Martyr, writing about A.D. 140, places Christianity in every region known to the Romans. Irenseus, at a later period in the same century, declares that the Gospel had then spread, by means of the Apostles and their disciples, to earth's remotest bounds, and especially mentions the Celts, who were then seated in the British isles, as enlightened by its rays. Tertullian, writing between a.d. 198 and 208, more explicitly speaks of the regions of the Britons, inaccessible to the Bomans, but subdued unto Christ. {Britan- novum inaccessa Romanis loca^ Cliristo vero sub" dita.) Eusebius, also about a century after, attri- butes the acquaintance of the Britons with the MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 39 Gospel to some of the Apostles. Of the labours of the first missionaries in our island there is no record. They left behind them, however, doctrines and usages not only at variance with what Eome now teaches, but with those which Austin and his monks introduced in the sixth century. In the year 596, a.d., this remarkable man received his commission from K-ome to visit our shores as a missionary, and in the following year landed for the purpose in Kent. The circumstances which led to this memorable event, and those attendant upon the opening of his commission, with the subsequent subjugation of the British Church to E-ome, are curious and characteristic of the Christianity of that age. The Anglo-Saxon people sprang from three pira- tical tribes, of Gothic origin. Two of these were seated in what is now called Jutland, and in three adjacent islands. The emigration of the Jutes does not seem to have been extensive, its British settle- ments being confined to Kent, the Isle of Wight, and the southern part of Hampshire. The Angles, whose home lay in Sleswick, and Holstein, as now called, emigrated entirely, and spreading over the north-eastern, midland, and northern counties of South Britain, eventually gave name to the whole country. The Saxons, nearest neighbours of these, found new abodes in Essex, Middlesex, and in those counties west of Kent, which lie between the Thames and the Channel. The earlier years of their settlement in Britain were little favourable to 40 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. their reception of the Christian religion. The people, indeed, whose fair possessions had Inred them from their Scandinavian abodes, had risen into importance and wealth, under an abandonment of paganism. The Britons, aroused into a long course of sanguinary conflict with their treacherous in- vaders, were little likely to think of their conver- sion. It is therefore probable, that the native clergy made no attempt to humanise these ferocious pagans, by communicating to them a knowledge of the Gospel. The pagan warriors, moreover, were likely to derive new prejudices against Christianity, from the success which usually waited upon their own arms. Britain's trust in the cross had not secured her fortunes from constant declension. Beliance upon Woden had been encouraged unceas- ingly by victory. A people unacquainted with true religion, would hence naturally infer, that its own deities were more powerful than those of its opponents. Vainly would Christianity solicit notice from such minds thus prepossessed. A considerable change must be wrought in the whole frame of a society like this, before it could be gained over to calm reflection upon the religion of a people prostrate under its assaults. Providence effected such a change. England's principal monarch then was Ethelbert, King of Kent. He appears to have ascended his father's throne about the year 560, and probably ten years afterwards, he married Bertha, daughter of Cherebert, King of Paris. This prin- cess, coming of a Christian family, was not allowed MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 41 to pass over into Kent until ample stipulations liad been made for the free profession of her holy faith. She came accordingly, attended by Luidhard, a Frankish bishop, and for her accommodation a British church was erected, in honour of St. Martin, on the eastern side of Canterbury. A Christian congregation was formed in the principal seat of Anglo-Saxon power. As its leading member was the most illustrious female in the island, we may reasonably suppose that it did not long fail of making converts. Hence it became understood at Kome, that among Englishmen an anxious desire prevailed for admission within the Church of Christ. How far any such anxiety had affected Ethelbert there are no direct means of ascertaining. But Gregory the Great, as he is termed, Bishop of Bome, inthnated to Bertha, by letter, that she ought early to have inclined him favourably towards her own religion. Ethelbert' s politic temper, and habitual prudence, would restrain him from a hasty avowal of an important change in his reli- gion. Had not Ethelbert, however, long looked upon Christianity with an approving eye, it is un- likely that when publicly called upon to embrace it, he should so readily have obeyed the summons. Erom Gregory, honourably distinguished among popes, (he was said to be the last of the good ones and the first of the bad,) the summons came. Gregory's remarks on the character and motives of John, Bishop of Constantinople, when he took upon him to rebuke that prelate for arrogance, show how 42 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. little he himself possessed the grace of meekness or charity. John, a bishop almost adored in that capital from his extreme rigour in ascetic mortifica- tions, had assumed under imperial sanction the title of Universal Bishop. Highly offended, Gregory styled himself, Servant of the servants of God, an ostentation of humility yet retained by the princely pontiffs. He reminded also the Emperor Maurice of St. Peter's high prerogatives, and yet, he added, that pillar of our faith is never called Universal Apostle. John the Paster's assumption he paints as an insult to the priesthood and a scandal to the Church, and charges his rival with downright hypo- crisy. His words are, — " Ossa jejuniis atterunt, et mente turgemus. Corpus despectis vestibus tegitur, et elatione cordis purpuram superamus. Doctores humilium duces superbise, ovina facie lupines dentes abscondimus." He seems never to have forgiven Maurice for lacerating his own pride as Bishop of Rome. When that Emperor fell under the mur- derous hand of Phocas, the infamous usurper not only met with a ready recognition, but also with fulsome compliments from Gregory. As a counter- poise to the encroaching spirit of his Eastern rivals, Gregory naturally thought of extending the in- fluence of his own authority in an opposite direc- tion. Britain presented an inviting field. Her ancient Church, which in better days would pro- bably have spurned any Boman attempt at inter- ference, had been miserably shattered by the Saxon conquest. MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 43 An auspicious opening was now offered, by means of Ethelbert and his Christian wife, for raising on its ruins a new ecclesiastical establishment. Gre- gory, well aware of these advantages, judiciously determined upon improving them. His determi- nation is referred by the earliest of our Church historians to an impulse from on high. Political motives for Gregory's generous enterprise were not likely to be assigned at any time by those who deeply venerated the see of E-ome. Nor would a wonder-loving age refer it even to heavenly mo- tives, without making these dependent upon some striking incident. In Bede, after Gregory's history is finished, and his epitaph recorded, appears the following tale. While yet a private clergyman, Gregory, passing through a slave-market in his native city, found his eyes forcibly arrested by some light-haired, fair-complexioned youths, who stood exposed for sale. " Whence come these lads ? " he asked. *'Prom Britain," was the answer. "Are the people Christians there ? " he then inquired. "No, pagans," he was told. "Alas!" he said, " how grievous it is, that faces fair as these should own subjection to the swarthy devil." His next question was, "What do you call the tribe from which these young people spring." ^^ Angles ^^ said the dealer. " Ah ! that is well," Gregory rejoined. " Angels they are in countenance, and coheirs of angels they ought to be. Where in Britain do their kindred live ?" " In Deiira," was the reply. " Well again," Gregory said: "it is our duty to deliver 44 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. them from God's ire (in Latin, Dei ii^d). Pray, who is king of the land so significantly named?" ''Mia,'' replied the slave merchant. ''Ah!" the pious inquirer added, " Allelujah must he sung in that man's country." Gregory resolved upon un- dertaking personally a mission into Anglia. Nor did the pope discourage his intention, but the Roman people would not allow their highly valued fellow- citizen to enter upon a labour so remote and perilous. After his elevation to the see of Rome, a priest named Candidus, manager of the papal patri- mony in Gaul, undertook to buy some Miglish lads of seventeen or eighteen, for education as mission- aries among their countrymen. The prospect, how- ever, of evangelizing Britain by means of young people to be educated expressly for the purpose, being distant and uncertain, Gregory's zeal impelled him to think of a more expeditious course. He selected Austin, prior of the monastery of St. Martin, in Rome, to lead a devoted band upon the mission. Austin, having engaged several monks as partners in his toils, left Rome, but halting among the monastic recluses of Lerins, these devotees, to whom the difficulties of his undertaking were neces- sarily better known than they could have been at Rome, utterly discouraged him from the attempt. He applied for Gregory's leave to withdraw from the enterprise. But the pontiff would hear nothing of despondence, he rebuked the missionary's pusilla- nimity, refused to cancel his obligations, and com- manded him to lose no time in reaching Britain. MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 45 Austin now rallied his spirits, proceeded north- wards, and providing himself with interpreters in Gaul, set sail for the chalky cliffs of Kent. He landed in the isle of Thanet, and thence despatched a messenger to Ethelhert, informing him of his arrival, and declaring that he had come thus far in hope of showing him the way to heaven. By the Kentish prince, however well the message might have pleased him, it was cautiously received. He gave no permission to his E/Oman guests for a farther advance into the country until he had gone himself to make ohservations. Austin's arrange- ments for this royal visit did honour to his know- ledge of human nature. Porming a procession of his monks, one of whom bore a silver cross, another a picture of the Saviour, while the remainder chanted litanies, he came forward into the king's presence. The prior disclaimed any other object than to guide the king and all his people to ever- lasting joys above. These it was the privilege of his ministry to promise on conversion. "Pair words and promises," Ethelhert replied, "but still new and uncertain. I cannot relinquish for them what my countrymen have long and universally professed. Your distant pilgrimage, however, and charitable purpose of offering us a boon so highly valued by yourselves, justly claim our hospitality. I shall therefore provide you with a residence, and means of living. Nor do I restrain you from endeavours to spread your opinions among my people." The residence provided was at Canter- 46 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. bury, and the missionaries entered that city to take possession of it, with all those imposing solemnities of the cross, the picture, and the chanted litanies which had dignified their introduction to the king. Ethelbert, probably long a concealed Christian, openly professed himself a convert soon after their arrival. Such an example could not fail of oper- ating extensively upon the people. When suffi- ciently established, and attended by a considerable congregation, in the ancient Church of St. Martin, Austin felt his time come for venturing upon a more extensive field. He sent to Rome Lawrence, a priest, and Peter, a monk, mth news of his success. These messengers were, it seems, to give accounts of miracles wrought by him, as Austin alleged, in confirmation and furtherance of his mission. At the close of the sixth century, when the leaden age had pretty thoroughly set in, even in the chief seats of intellectual cultivation, an ignorant country, more than semi-barbarous like Jutish Kent must necessarily have presented a most inviting field to such pretensions. Austin appears to have been sufficiently forward in thus practising upon his adopted countrymen. Gregory's disposition for scrutiny was dormant. He seems to have heard of Austin's miracles with implicit credulity. His own mind, indeed, was enamoured with the marvellous. At all events, his politic habits readily made him patronise a wonderful tale, whenever it seemed likely to raise the dignity of Rome. He merely, therefore, contented himself in gravely admonishing MISSIONS TO THE BBITISH ISLES. 47 Austin against the danger of being puffed up under such extraordinary privileges. Gregory provided, besides, the seeds of future debasement to the Church of England, by consigning to her new prelate various relics, the false and disgusting in- centives to a grovelling superstition. He likewise transmitted vestments for celebrating the divine offices. "With commendable care, however, for the rising community of Christians, he added — A Bible, in two volumes. A Psalter. A Book of the Gospels. Another Psalter. Another Book of the Gospels, with Apocryphal Lives of the Apostles. Lives of Martyrs. Expositions of certain Epistles and Gospels. The Canterbury Book in the library of Trinity Hall, Cambridge, which supplies this interesting information, closes the brief catalogue with these expressive words : Hae sunt Frimitiae Idbrorum totius Ecclesiae Anglicanae, Austin received about the same time, from Gregory, the compliment of a pall. He was charged also to establish twelve suffragan bishops, and to select an Archbishop for the see of York. Over this prelate, who was like- wise to have under his jurisdiction twelve suffragan sees, he had a personal grant of precedence. After his death, the two Archbishops were to rank accord- ing to priority of consecration. Austin's views were now directed to the consoli- 48 MISSIONS TO THE BKITISH ISLES. dation and extension of his authority, and he re- paired to the confines of Wales, and sought an in- terview with the native prelacy of Britain. The place rendered memorable by this meeting seems to have been under the shade of some noble tree, afterwards known as Augustine^ s Oak^ situated pro- bably within the modern county of Worcester. The influence of Ethelbert was used in bringing the par- ties together, and Austin declared his principal ob- ject to be no other than to secure British co-opera- tion in the great work of converting the Saxons ; but then he qualified his application for native aid by insisting upon a complete uniformity in religious usages. The Britons adhered to a very ancient mode of fixing the festival of Easter, and varied in many other particulars from Boman practice. In doctrine, the two Churches appear to have been identical. This would not, however, content Austin. The na- tive Christians were equally intractable, clinging, with fond affection, to those peculiarities of their national Church, which bespoke its high antiquity, and which seem, in fact, to connect it immediately with Asia, the cradle of our holy faith. Einding ordinary argument evidently hopeless, Austin pro- posed a recourse to miracle. The pretensions, he said, favoured by this attestation, were undeniably those that ought to prevail. This was admitted, but with difficulty — suspicion probably arising, that, in seeking assent to an abstract proposition, nothing else was intended than to cover them by stratagem, suited for misleading the multitude. At MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 49 all events, no time was lost in using the admission. A man was introduced, by birth an Angle, exhibit- ing marks of blindness. The Britons were invited to pray for his release from that calamity. British ecclesiastics accepted the treacherous invitation. Of course, their prayers proved ineffectual. The Roman bishop then stepped forward, bent his knees, and offered an earnest supplication. This ended, the man was found in full possession of his visual fa- culties. Austin's principles were approved by ac- clamation. The leading Britons, however, profess- ing incompetence to receive them without the ge- neral consent of their countrymen, requested a second conference, in which they might appear more nu- merously supported. To this repaired seven bishops, and various native divines of distinguished learning. In their way, they consulted a hermit, highly es- teemed for prudence and holiness. " If Augustine,'* said the recluse, " be a man of God, take his advice," They then urged the difficulty of ascertaining whe- ther he might be such a man or no. "This is not so difficult," they were told. " Our Lord enjoined, * Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek, and lowly in heart.' Now, manage to be at the place of meeting after the foreigner, and, if he shall rise at your approach, then you may think him to have learnt of Christ ; if he should receive you sitting, and show haughtiness, then maintain your ancient usages." When Austin saw the Britons, though so nume- rous and respectable, he did not deign to lift him-- 50 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. self from his chair. " I ask only three things of you," he said : " one, that you should keep Easter as we do ; another, that you should haptize accord- ing to the Roman ritual ; a third, that you should join us in preaching to the Angles. With your other peculiarities we shall patiently bear." But the Britons, disgusted alike by his discourtesy, and by his pretensions to ecclesiastical jurisdiction oyer them, replied, '' We shall agree to no one of your propositions, much less can we admit as our arch- bishop him who will not even rise to salute us." The arrogant E^oman, seeing himself completely foiled, became enraged, and hastily said, '^ If you loill not have peace with brethren, you shall have war with enemies ; if you will not show your neigh- hours the way of Ufe, their swords shall avenge the wrong y After no long interval, about twelve hun- dred British monks, from the great monastery of Bangor, were savagely slaughtered on the field of battle by Ethelfred, an Anglian chief. " Who are all these unarmed men ? " the warrior asked . ' ' Monks, ' ' was the reply, '^ brought hither, after a three-days' fast, to pray for success upon their country's arms." Ethelfred rejoined, " These are active enemies, then, no less than others ; for they come to fight against us with their prayers. Put them to the sword." Of this cruelty, sometimes attributed to Austin's in- trigues, he was, perhaps, guiltless ; bat his unbe- coming pride and unwarrantable claims to juris- diction, naturally engendered a violent antipathy in the British Christians, who refused communion MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 61 with the Roman party, no less than with the Pagan Saxons. Austin was called away soon after the fail- ure of his ambitious hopes. After his death, Lau- rentius, his successor, imitated his example in seek- ing to undermine native partiality for ancient usages. He wrote letters, in conjunction with Mellitus and Justus, two of Austin's missionary band — the former then Bishop of London, the latter of Rochester — to the principal Scottish ecclesiastics, complimenting them, at the expense of their brethren in other Bri- tish regions, and exhorting them to a conformity with Bome. A similar letter was addressed to the inferior clergy of South Britain — their superiors, probably, being considered proof against any such attempt. A complete failure, however, again waited upon Boman ambition. Gregory's mission seemed, indeed, now on the very eve of a final miscar- riage. After various reverses, however, the cause pro- gressed. Paulinus, one of the second missionary band sent over by Gregory, having been conse- crated to the episcopate, found means to convert Edwin, the Prince of Xorthumbria, who only de- sired baptism to be delayed until he could receive it in company with his leading men. These duly met, and Paulinus, having pleaded in favour of Christianity, history relates that Coifi, a Druidic pontiff apparently, thus addressed the royal pre- sident : — '' It seems to me, O king, that our pa- ternal gods are worthless; for no man's worship of them has been more devout than mine, yet my E 2 52 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. lot has been far less prosperous than that of many- others not half so pious." A chief then said, " The life of man, O king, reminds me of a winter feast around your blazing fire. While the storm howls, or the snow drives abroad, a distressed sparrow darts within the doorway, for a moment is cheered by warmth and shelter from the blast, then, shooting through the other entrance, it is lost again. Such is man. He comes we know not whence, hastily snatches a scanty share of worldly pleasure, then goes we know not whither. If this new doctrine, therefore, will give us any clear insight into things of so much interest, my feeling is to follow it." Before such arguments, Northumbrian Paganism fell. Coifi was foremost in making war upon the superstition which had so severely baulked his hopes. His priestly character obliged him to ride a mare, and forbade him to bear a weapon. The people, therefore, thought him mad when he ap- peared upon Edwin's charger, with a lance in his hand. He rode, however, to a famous temple at Godmundham, in Yorkshire, pierced the idol through, and ordered the building to be burnt. Paulinus was now established in York as his epis- copal see ; and this being known at Kome, procured for him the customary compliment of a pall. His mission, however, eventually failed. His patron, Edwin, being attacked by Cadwalda, a British prince, and Penda, King of the Mercians, fell in battle. Erightful destruction followed, and Nor- thumbria completely relapsed into Paganism. Ed- MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 53 win's conversion, however, paved the way for a permanent reception of Christianity, though not by Itoman instrumentality. When Edwin had pre- vailed over his rival, Ethelfred, the sons of that prince took refuge in Scotland, where they became Christians. Oswald, one of them, having even- tually established himself on the Northumbrian throne, soon determined upon Christianizing his people. Happily his exile had shown him how to accomplish this without E^oman intervention — probably odious to him from its connexion with Edwin. He sent accordingly for missionaries to his friends in Scotland, and Aidan, a bishop of un- common merit, answered his summons. In find- ing a see for this exemplary prelate, no regard was paid to papal arrangements. Aidan fixed him- self at Lindisfarne, or Holy Island, as did also his successors, Einan and Colman, like him, Scots, un- connected with Home, repudiating her usages and despising her assumptions. It was under these prelates of British origin — under, therefore, a re- ligious system of native growth, that the North of England was evangelized. More completely still was the whole centre of South Britain indebted for this inestimable benefit to the native clergy. There no Uoman preacher first took possession of a field, which labourers, more happily circumstanced, after- wards cultivated with lasting success. Peada, King of the Mercians, offering marriage to a Northum- brian princess, was accepted on condition of em*- 54 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. bracing Christianity. He received, as the bishop of his people, Diuma, a Scot by birth, who was consecrated by Pinan, the Prelate of Northumbria. Diuma's three immediate successors were also members of the National Church ; and under these four prelates all our midland counties were con- verted. Equal zeal was displayed by the National Church, and with equal success, in the kingdom of Essex. That region had been sunk in unheeded heathenism since the failure of Mellitus. One of its princes, however, named Sigbert, had become a frequent guest at the Northumbrian court, and he w^as there converted. At his desire, Chad, a member of the National Church, repaired into Essex. He received, eventually, episcopal conse- cration from Einan, Prelate of Northumbria; and it was chiefly by his exertions that the modern diocese of London was reclaimed from Gentile superstition. Nor was East Anglian Christianity without extensive obligations to the ancient Church of Britain. The prelates of East Anglia seem indeed constantly to have been in communion with Rome ; but the people's conversion was greatly owing to the labours of Eursey, an Irish monk. Only two counties, therefore, north of the Thames, — those of Norfolk and Suffolk, — were even under Roman superintendence during their transition from paganism to Christianity, and these two were largely indebted to domestic zeal for their conversion. Every other county, from London to MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 55 Edinburgh, has the full gratification of pointing to the ancient Church of Britain as its nursing mother in Christ's holy faith. In this patriotic gratification the southern counties cannot so largely share. The complete and final prevalence of Rome over the National Church flowed from female influence and the dexterity of her agents. Eanfleda, who had been driven from her native Northumbria in in- fancy, with Paulinus, returned thither, after an education among her maternal relatives in Kent, as the wife of Oswy, then king of the country, and Bretwalda. Inheriting all the religious constancy of her mother, Ethelgurba, and of her grandmother, Bertha, she would not abandon Kentish usages for those of Northumbria. Her son also was intrusted to the tuition of Wilfrid, an able Englishman of the Boman party, whose attainments had he&n. matured in Southern Europe. Oswy, however, continued firm to the religious profession of his youth : Easter was accordingly celebrated at his court on different days ; one party enjoying its festivities, while another placed in strong contrast with them the austerities of Lent. At length Oswy consented to purchase domestic peace by hearing a solemn argument in the monastery which he had recently founded at Whitby. Colman, then Bishop of Northumbria, assisted by Chad, Bishop of Essex, conducted the British cause. Wilfrid pleaded for that of Bome. The national divines insisted chiefly upon a tradition originating, as alleged, in St. John, our Lord's beloved disciple. The foreign party traced Boman 56 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. tradition to St. Peter, who was entrusted by Christ with the keys of heaven. "Were they really in- trusted to him ?" asked Oswy. *' Undoubtedly so,'* he was answered. " And can you allege the grant of any such privilege to an authority of yours?" Oswy then demanded. "We cannot," Colman replied. "I must leave your party, then," said Oswy, "for I should not choose to disoblige him who keeps the key of heaven. It might be found impossible to get the door open when I seek ad- mittance." This language would seem like jest, rather than earnest, but it was generally applauded, and the ancient usages of Britain were formally renounced., Colman, however, with many of his adherents, were disgusted, and retired to their brethren in Scotland. Probably this triumph of the Romafe. party involved little or no change in articles of belief. If we except prayers and offer- ings for the dead, we have indeed no sufficient evidence that papal peculiarities of doctrine were then established. Gregory is known, from his epistles, to have repudiated the authority since claimed for his see, and to have disapproved the adoration of images. His Sacramentary shows him to have earnestly desired of God that departed saints should pray for the faithful, but to have lived before Christians had fallen into a habit of praying to them. Of ceremonies he was a zealous patron ; and upon the whole, undoubtedly, he bore no important part, in laying the foundation of Homanism in England. MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 57 Nearly two whole centuries before Austin and his missionary monks landed in England, Ireland had received the light of the Gospel from British Christians, whose purer faith, and independence of Rome, were retained longer in that island than in Britain itself. It is not, however, pretended that in either case, from the first, a certain degree of respect for the see of Bome, and its judgment, was not held. Bome was the capital of the empire of which Britain had long become a part, and its Church and Bishop would naturally be looked up to just as the Church of England, and the Bishop of its naetropolis, in ordaining and sending out mission- aries, are at this day in our colonies, and remote dependencies. When Bome claimed absolute lord- ship over the Churches of Britain and Ireland, she was long and stoutly resisted by both. The first Christian missionaries to Ireland were Kieran, Ailbe, Declan, and Ibar, all from the British Churches in Scotland and Wales, men entitled to the name of Saints, as faithful and self-denying miissionaries of the Christian faith, then but little sullied from its original lustre. These were followed by Palladius; and Palladius, who met with but little success, by St. Patrick, who landed on the shores of Wicklow, A.D. 441. aS'^. Patrick teas a Scotchman^ born of a good family at Kirk Patrick, near Dumbarton. At an early age he was taken prisoner by the Irish, on the occasion of one of their inroads upon the shores of Britain, and carried captive into their country, 58 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. and there sold as a slave. During his servitude he made himself master of the Irish language, and at last made his escape and returned home on hoard a ship. Ahout two years after, he formed the design of converting the Irish, either in consequence of a dream, as it is alleged, or of reflection on what he had observed, during his acquaintance with them. The better to qualify himself for this undertaking he travelled to the continent, where he is said to have continued thirty-five years pursuing his studies under the direction of his mother's uncle, St. Martin, Bishop of Tours, who had ordained him deacon, and after his death with St. German, Bishop of Auxerre, who ordained him priest, and gave him his third name, Mawn or Maginim. An ancient author, Henricus Antisioderensis, who wrote a book concerning the miracles of St. German, considers it as the highest honour of that prelate to have been the instructor of St. Patrick. "As the glory of a father shines in the government of his sons, out of the many disciples in religion who are reported to have been his sons in Christ, suffice it briefly to mention one by far the most famous, as the series of his actions shows — Patrick, the particular Apostle of Ireland, who, being under his holy dis- cipline eighteen years, derived no little knowledge in the inspired writings from such a source. The Bishop of Auxerre recommended him to Celestine, Pope of Bome, who consecrated him bishop and gave him his most familiar name, Patricius, expressive of his honourable descent, and to give lustre and weight MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 59 to the commission which he now charged him with, to convert the Irish. His first convert was Sinell, eighth in descent from Cormac, King of Leinster; hut not meeting with encouragement he proceeded to Dublin, and thence to Ulster, where he founded a church (afterwards the famous Abbey of Saul, in the county of Down). After labouring seven years indefatigably, he returned to Britain, which he is said to have delivered from the heresies of Pelagius and Arius; engaged several eminent persons to assist him ; visited the Isle of Man, which he is said to have converted in 440, when the bishopric was founded ; and a.d. 448, returned to the see of Ar- magh, which he had founded three years before, and in thirteen years more is said to have completed the conversion of the whole island. After giving an account of his commission at Home, he once more returned hither, and spent the remainder of his life, between the monasteries of Armagh and Saul, super- intending and enforcing the plans of doctrine and discipline, which he had established. After having established schools or an academy here, he closed his life and ministry at Saul Abbey in the one hundred and twentieth year of his age, March 17, a.d. 493, and was buried at Down, in the same grave with St. Briget and St. Columb. Bespecting his burial- place, however, there have been great disputes, and it has been as great a subject of debate with the religious, as Homer's birthplace was formerly among the cities of Greece. Those of Down lay claim to it on the authority of the following verses : — 60 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. "These three in Down he in Tomb one : Briget, Patricius, and Columba pious." Those of Glastonbury in England, from the old monuments of their church ; and some Scots affirm him to have been both born and buried among them at Glasgow. It is one of the characteristics laid down by St. John, in Holy Scripture, of the apostasy, that it should "blaspheme God and the Saints." The Church of Rome fulfilling this, has misrepresented and degraded the character of this truly great man, to the level of its own grovelling superstitions ; giving the following account of him, in her Bre- viary on 17th March: '' They say that he was wont to repeat daily the whole Psalter, together mth the Canticles, and two hundred hymns and prayers; three hundred times in each day to worship God upon his knees, and in each canonical hour of the day, to sign himself one hundred times with the sign of the cross. Dividing the night into three portions, he spent the first in running through one hundred psalms, and in two hundred genu- flexions; the second in running through the other fifty psalms, immersed in cold water, and with his heart, eyes, and hands raised to heaven ; he yielded the third part to a short sleep upon a hard stone." Of the real character of St. Patrick, and of the Church founded by him in Ireland, for some cen- turies after his decease — that is, during its strug- gles, and that of the Churches of Britain, against the rising spirit of Tloman domination, it will not MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 61 be here, it is thought, either useless or uninter- esting, especially at the present time, to give the reader some information, from the pen of Usher, the illustrious Primate of Ireland, whose learning, candour, and research so eminently enabled him to separate, in the accounts of the ancient Irish, the truth from that which was false and spurious. The following extracts are in the archbishop's own words, without the references, and the Latin and Greek : — ^^ Of the Holy Scriptures. "Two excellent rules doth St. Paul prescribe unto Christians for their direction in the ways of God — the one, that they be not unwise, but understanding what the will of God is ; the other, that they be not more wise than behoveth to be wise, but be wise unto sobriety, and that we might know the limits within which this wisdom and sobriety should be bounded. He elsewhere declareth, that not to be more wise than is fitting is, not to be wise above that which is written. Hereupon Sedulius (one of the most ancient writers that remaineth of this country birth) delivereth this for the meaning of the former rule : search the law in which the will of God is contained ; and this for the latter : he would be more wise than is meet, who searcheth those things that the law doth not speak of, unto whom we will adjoin Claudius, another famous divine (counted one of the founders of the University of Paris), who, for the illustration of the former, affirmeth that men therefore erre, because they know not the Scriptures, and, because 62 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. they are ignorant of the Scriptures, they conse- quently know not Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God ; and, for the clearing of the latter, bringeth in that known canon of St. Hierome. This, because it hath not authority from the Scriptures, is with the same facility contemned wherewith it is avowed." Sedulius flourished a.d. 490 ; Claudius Scotus, in 815. " Neither was the practice of our ancestors herein different from their judgment ; for as Bede, touch- ing the latter, recordeth of the successors of Colum- kille, the great saint of our country, that they ob- served only those works of piety and chastity which they could learn in the prophetical, evangelical, and apostolical writings, so, for the former, he specially noteth of one of the principal of them, to wit. Bishop Aidan, that all such as went in his company, whe- ther they were of the clergy or of the laity, were tied to exercise themselves, either in the reading of Scriptures or in the learning of psalms ; and, long before their time, it was the observation which St. Chrysostome made of both these islands, that, al- though thou didst go unto the ocean and those Bri- tish isles, although thou didst sail to the Euxine Sea, although thou didst go unto the southern quarters, thou shouldst hear all men everywhere discoursing matters out of the Scripture, with another voice indeed, but not with another faith, and with a dif- ferent tongue, but with an according judgment, which is, in effect, the same with that which vene- rable Bede pronounceth of the island of Britain in MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 63 his own days, that, in the language of five nations, it did search and confess one and the same know- ledge of the highest truth, and of the true suhlimity, to wit, of the English, the Britons, the Scots, the Picts, and the Latins, which last, although he af- firmeth by the meditation of the Scriptures to have become common with all the rest, yet the commu- nity of that one among the learned, did not take away the property of the other four among the vul- gar, but that such as understood not the Latin, might yet, in their own mother tongue, have those Scriptures, wherein they might search the know- ledge of the higliest truth, and of the true sublimity, even as at this day in the reformed Churches, the same Latin tongue is common to all the learned in the meditation and exposition of the Scriptures ; and yet the common people, for all that, do, in their own vulgar tongues, search the Scriptures, because in them they think to have eternal life ; for as by us now, so by our forefathers then, the continual medi- tation of the Scriptures w^as held to give special vigour and vegetation to the soul (as we read in the book, attributed unto St. Patrick, of the abuses of the world), and the holy documents delivered therein were esteemed by Christians as their chief riches, according to that of Columbanus, Sint tibi diviticB, divince dogmata legis. In which heavenly riches our ancient Scottish and Irish did thrive so well, that many worthy person- ages in foreign parts were content to undergo a 64 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. voluntary exile from their own country, that they might more freely traffick here for so excellent a commodity; and hy this means Alfred, King of Northumberland, purchased the reputation of a man most learned in the Scriptures, Scottorum qui turn versatus incola terris, Cceleste^n intento sjnrahat corde sophiam. Nam patriae fines et dulcia liquerat arva, Sedidus ut Domini mysteria disceret exul. as Bede writeth of him in his poem of the life of our countryman, St. Cuthbert." " Of Justification. " They taught that the law was not given that it might take away sin, but that it might shut up all under sin, to the end that men, being by this means humbled, might understand that their salvation was not in their own hands, but in the hand of a Me- diator ; that by the law cometh, neither the remis- sion nor the removal, but the knowledge of sins ; that it taketh not away diseases, but discovereth them; forgiveth not sins, but condemneth them; that the Lord God did impose it, not upon them that served righteousness, but sin, namely, by giving a just law to unjust men, to manifest their sins, and not to take them away, forasmuch as nothing taketh away sins but the grace of faith, which worketh by love ; that our sins are freely forgiven us, without the merit of our works ; that through grace we are saved by faith, and not by works ; and that there- fore we are to rejoice, not in our own righteousness MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 65 or learning, but in the faith of the cross, by which all our sins are forgiven us. That grace is abject and vain, if it alone do not suffice us ; and that we esteem basely of Christ when we think that he is not sufficient for us to salvation. '' That God has so ordered it, that he will be gra- cious to mankind if they do believe that they shall be freed by the blood of Christ ; that as the soul is the life of the body, so faith is the life of the soul ; and that we live by faith only as owing nothing to the law ; that he who believeth in Christ, hath the perfection of the law ; for whereas none might be justified by the law, because none did fulfil the law, but only he which did trust in the promise of Christ; faith was appointed which should be accepted for the perfection of the law, that in all things which were omitted, faith might satisfy for the whole law ; that this righteousness, therefore, is not ours, nor in us, but in Christ, in whom we are considered as mem- bers in the head ; that faith, procuring the remis- sion of sins by grace, maketh all believers the child- ren of Abraham ; and that it was just, as Abraham was justified by faith only, so also the rest that fol- lowed his faith should be saved after the same manner. That through adoption we are made the sons of God, by believing in the Son of God ; and that this is a testimony of our adoption, that we have the spirit by which we pray and cry, Abba, Pather ; forasmuch as none can receive so great a pledge as this, but such as be sons only. That Moses himself made a distinction betwixt both the justices — to 66 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. wit, of faith and of deeds ; that the one did by works justify him that came, the other by believing only ; that the patriarchs and the prophets were not jus- tified by the works of the law, but by faith; that the custom of sin hath so prevailed, that none now can fulfil the law, as the Apostle Peter says (Acts XV. 10), 'Which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear.' But if there were any righteous men which did escape the curse, it was not by the works of the law, but for their faith's sake that they were saved. "Thus did Sedulius and Claudius, two of our most famous divines, deliver the doctrine of free will and grace, faith and works, the law and the Gospel, justification and adoption, no less agreeably to the faith which is at this day professed in the reformed Churches, than to that which they them- selves received from the more ancient doctors, whom they did follow therein." " Of Purgatory, " St. Patrick was careful to plant in men's minds the belief of heaven and hell, but of purgatory taught them never a word ; and sure I am that in the book ascribed unto him, De Tribus Sabitaculis, (which is to be seen in his majesty's Library,) there is no mention of any other place after this life, but of these two only. I will lay down here the beginning of that treatise, and leave it to the judgment of any indifferent man whether it can well stand with that which the Romanists teach concerning purgatory MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 67 at this day. There be three habitations under the power of Almighty God — the first, the lower- most, and the middle. The highest whereof is called the kingdom of God, or the kingdom of heaven; the lowermost is termed hell; the middle is named the present world, or the circuit of the earth ; the extremes whereof are altogether contrary one to another, (for what fellowsliip can there be betwixt light and darkness, betwixt Christ and Belial ?) but the middle hath some similitude with the extremes, for in this world there is a mixture of the bad and the good together, whereas in the kingdom of God there are none bad, but all good ; but in hell there are none good, but all bad. And both those places are supplied out of the middle ; for of the men of this world some are lifted up to heaven, others are drawn down into hell, namely, like are joined unto like, that is to say, good to good, bad to bad, just men to just angels, wicked men to wicked angels, the servants of God to God, and the servants of the devil to the devil ; the blessed are called to the kingdom prepared for them from the beginning of the world, the cursed are driven into the ever- lasting fire that is prepared for the devil and his angels. " Hitherto also may be referred that ancient canon of one of our Irish Synods, wherein it is afl&rmed that the soul being separated from the body is presented before the judgment-seat of Christ, who rendereth its own unto it, according as it hath done, and that neither the archangels can lead it F 2 68 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. unto life, until the Lord hath judged it, nor the devil transport it unto pain, unless the Lord do damn it ; as the sayings of Sedulius likewise, that after the end of this life, either death or life suc- ceedeth, and that death is the gate hy which we enter into our kingdom ; together with that of Claudius, that Christ did take our punishment without our guilt, that thereby he might loose our guilt and finish also our punishment. Cardinal Bellarmine indeed allegeth here against us the vision of Purseus, who, rising from the dead, told many things which he saw concerning the pains of purgatory, as Bede, he saith, doth write. But by his good leave we will be better advised, before we will build articles of faith upon such visions and dreams as these, many whereof deserve to have a place among the strange narrations of souls appear- ing after death, collected by Damascius, the heathen idolator, rather than among the histories and dis- courses of sober Christians." " Of the 'Public Liturgy in use in Ireland, " In the life of Malachias read as followeth : The Apostolical constitutions, and the decrees of the holy Pathers, but especially the customs of the holy Church of Bome, did he establish in all churches ; and hence it is, that at this day the canonical hours are chanted and sung therein ac- cording to the manner of the whole earth, where- as before that, this was not done, no not in the city itself (the poor city of Armagh he meaneth). MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 69 But Malachias had learned song in his youth, and shortly after caused singing to be used in his own monastery, when as yet, as well in the city as in the whole bishopric, they either would not or could not sing. Lastly, the work (continues Usher) was brought to perfection, when Christianus, Bishop of Lismore, as legate to the Pope, was president in the Council of Cashell, wherein a special order was taken for the right singing of the ecclesiastical office, and a general act established that all divine offices of holy Church should from thenceforth be handled in all parts of Ireland according as the Church of England did observe them : the statutes of which council were confirmed by the legal au- thority of King Henry the Second, by whose man- date the bishops that met therein were assembled in the year of our Lord 1171, as Giraldus Cam- brensis witnesseth, in his History of the Conquest of Ireland, and thus late was it before the Roman use was fully settled in this kingdom." " On Absolution. "But for the right use of the keys, we fully accord with Claudius, that, the office of remitting and retaining sins which was given unto the Apostles, is now in the bishops and priests com- mitted unto every Church, namely, that having taken knowledge of the causes of such as have sinned, as many as they shall behold humble and truly penitent, those they may now with compassion absolve from the fear of everlasting death, but such 70 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. as they shall discern to persist in the sins which they have committed, those they may declare to be bound over unto never-ending punishments ; and in such absolving such as be truly penitent, we willingly yield that the pastors of God's Church do remit sins after their manner, that is to say, ministerially and improperly, so that the privilege of forgiving sins properly and absolutely be still reserved unto God alone ; which is at large set out by the same Claudius, where he expoundeth the history of the man sick of the palsy, that was cured by our Saviour in the 9th of St. Matthew. Eor following Bede upon that place he writeth thus. The Scribes say true that none can forgive sins but God alone, who also forgiveth by them to whom he hath given the power of forgiving. And there- fore is Christ proved to be truly God, because he forgiveth sins as God. They render a true testi- mony unto God, but in denying the person of Christ they are deceived; and again, if it be God that, accord- ing to the psalmist, removeth our sins as far from us as the east is distant from the west, and the Son of man upon earth hath power to forgive sins, therefore he himself is both God and the Son of man, that both the man Christ might by power of his divinity forgive sins, and the same Christ being God might by the frailty of his humanity die for sinners." " On the Marriage of the Clergy. " Concerning single life I do not find in any of our records, that it was generally imposed upon MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 71 the clergy, but the contrary rather ; for in the synod held by St. Patrick, Auxilius and Issernius, there is a special order taken, that their wives shall not walk abroad with their heads uncovered. And St. Patrick himself confesseth (at leastwise the confession which goeth under his name saith so, and Probus Joceli- nus, and others that write his life agree therewith) that he had to his father Calphurnius, a deacon, and to his grandfather Potitus, a priest; for that was no new thing then among the Britons, whose bishops therefore Gildas doth reprehend (as for the same cause he did the chief of the laity) that they were not content to be the husbands of one, but of many wives, and that they corrupted their children by their evil example, whereas the chastity of the fathers was to be esteemed imperfect, if the chastity of their sons were not added thereunto. ''Nennius, the eldest historiographer of the Britons which we have after him (who in many copies also beareth his own name), wrote that book which we have extant of his, to Samuel, the child of Benlanus the priest, his master, counting it a grace, rather than any kind of disparagement unto him, to be esteemed the son of a learned priest, which maketh him in the verses prefixed before the work to say — Christe, tribuisti patri Samuelem, Icetd matre. " But about sixty or seventy years after I find some partial eclipse (and the first, I think, of this kind that can be showed among the Britons), in the laws of Howel Dha, where it is ordered that if a clerk of a lower degree should match with a woman and have a 72 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. son by her, and that clerk afterward, having received the order of priesthood, should have another son by the same woman, the former son should enjoy his father's whole estate, without being bound to divide the same with his other brother. Yet these mar- riages, for all that, were so held out that the fathers, not content that their sons should succeed them in their temporal estate alone, prevailed so far that they continued them in the succession of their spiritual promotions also. Which abuse Giraldus Cambrensis (1185) complaineth to have been con- linued in Wales unto his time. Whereunto for Ireland also we may add the letters written by Pope Innocent the Third unto Johannes Salerni- tanus, the cardinal, his legate, for abolishing the custom there, whereby sons and grandchildren did use to succeed their fathers and grandfathers in their ecclesiastical benefices. ^^ " On the Discipline of Ancient Monks, " Our monks were religious indeed, and not in name only; far from the hypocrite pride, idleness and uncleanness, of those evil beasts and slothful bellies, that afterward succeeded in their room. Under colour of forsaking all, they did not hook all unto themselves, nor under semblance of devotion did they devour widows' houses ; they held begging to be no point of perfection, but remembered the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said. It is a more blessed thing to give rather than to take. When King Sigebert made large oflPers unto Co- MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 73 lumbanus and his companions to keep them within his dominions in Prance, he received such another answer from them, as Thaddens in the Ecclesiastical History is said to have given unto Abgarus, the Governor of Edessa : We who have forsaken our own that according to the commandment of the Gospel we might follow the Lord, ought not to embrace other men's riches, less peradventure we should prove transgressors of the Divine command- ment. How then did these men live ? will you say. Walafridus Strabus telleth us, that some of them wrought in the garden, others dressed the orchard ; Gallus made nets and took fish, wherewith he not only relieved his own company, but was helpful also unto strangers. So Bede reporteth of Cuthbert, that when he retired himself unto an anchoretical life, he first indeed received a little bread from his brethren to feed upon, and drank out of his own well, but afterwards he thought it more fit to live by the work of his own hands, after the example of the Eathers, and therefore intreated that instruments might be brought him wherewith he might till the earth, and corn that he might sow. Quique siiis cupiens victum conquirere palmis, Incultam pertentat liumum j^roscindere ferro, Et sator edomitis anni spem credere glebis. The like dotli he relate of Eurseus, and Bonifacius, of Livinus and Theodorus Campidonensis (or whoso- ever else wrote that book), of Gallus Magnoaldus, and the rest of the followers of Columbanus, that they got their living by the labour of their own 74 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. hands. And the Apostle's rule is generally laid down for all monks in the life of Eur sens, — They which live in monasteries should work with silence, and eat their own bread. " But now there is start up a new generation of m.en, that refuse to eat their own bread, and count it a high point of sanctity to live by begging of other men's bread, if yet the course they take may rightly be termed begging. Por, as Richard Pitz- ralphe, that famous Archbishop of Armagh, objected to their faces, before the Pope himself and his car- dinals, in his time (and the matter is little amended in ours), scarce could any great or mean man of the clergy or laity eat his meat, but such kind of beggars would be at his elbow, not, like other poor folks, humbly craving alms at the gate or the door (as Prancis did command and teach them in his Testa- ment), by begging, but without shame intruding themselves into courts or houses, and lodging there without any inviting at all, they eat and drink what they do find among them ; and not with that con- tent, carry away with them either wheat or meal, or bread, or flesh, or cheeses (although there were but two in a house), in a kind of an extorting man- ner, there being none that can deny them, unless he would cast away natural shame." " Touching the Head and Foundation of the Church, "And now are we come at last to the great point that toucheth the head and the foundation of the Church. Concerning which Sedulius observeth that MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 75 the title of foundation is attributed both to Christ and to the Apostles and prophets ; that where it is said. Behold I lay in Sion a stone, &c., it is certain that by the rock or stone Christ is signified ; that in Ephes. ii. 20, the Apostles are the foundation, or Christ rather the foundation of the Apostles. Por Christ (saith he) is the foundation, who is also called the Corner Stone, joining and holding to- gether the two walls. Therefore is he the found- ation and chief stone, because in him the Church is both founded and finished; and we are to account the Apostles as ministers of Christ, and not as the foundation. The famous place, Matthew xvi. 18 (whereupon our E/omanists lay the main foundation of the papacy), Claudius expoundeth in this sort : Upon this rock will I build my Church ; that is to say, upon the Lord and Saviour, who granted unto his faithful knower, lover, and confessor the parti- cipation of his own name, that from Petra (the rock), he should be called Peter. The Church is builded upon him because only by the faith and love of Christ, by the receiving of the sacraments of Christ, by the observations of the commandments of Christ, we come to the inheritance of the elect and eternal life, as witnesseth the Apostle, who saith: Other foundation can no man lay beside that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. "Yet doth the same Claudius acknowledge, that St. Peter received a kind of primacy for the founding of the Church (in respect whereof he termeth him Ecclesise principem and Apostolorum 76 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. principem, the prince of the Church, and the prince or chief of the Apostles), hut he adcleth withal, that St. Paul also was chosen in the same manner, to have the primacy in founding the Church of the Gentiles, and that he received this gift from God, that he should he worthy to have the primacy in preaching to the Gentiles, as Peter had it in the preaching of the circumcision, and therefore that St. Paul challengeth this grace as granted hy God to him alone, as it was granted to Peter alone among the Apostles, and that he esteemed himself not to he inferior unto St. Peter, because both of them were hy one ordained, unto one and the same ministry, and that writing to the Galatians, he did in the title name himself an Apostle of Christ, to the end that hy the very authority of that name he might terrify his readers, judging that all such as did believe in Christ ought to be subject unto him. "It is furthermore also observed by Claudius, that as when our Saviour propounded the question generally unto all the Apostles, Peter did answer as one for all; so what our Lord answered unto Peter, in Peter he did answer unto all, and therefore howsoever the power of loosing and binding might seem to be given by the Lord unto Peter alone, yet, without all manner of doubt, it is to be known, that it was given unto the rest of the Apostles also, as himself doth witness, who appearing unto them after the triumph of his passion and resurrection, breathed on them and said unto them all, Receive the Holy Ghost; whose sins ye remit, they are MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 77 remitted unto them, and whose sins ye retain, they are retained." " Concerning Bishops. " We read in Nennius, that, at the beginning, St. Patrick founded here 365 churches, and ordained 365 bishops, beside 3000 presbyters. In process of time the number of bishops was daily multiplied, according to the pleasure of the metropolitan (whereof Bernard doth much complain), and that not only so far that every church almost had a several bishop, but also that in some towns or cities, there were ordained more than one, yea, and often- times bishops were made without any certain place at all assigned unto them. And as for the erecting of new archbishoprics, if we believe our legends, King Engus and St. Patrick, with all the people, did ordain, that in the city and see of Albeus (which is Emelye, now annexed to Cashell) should be the archbishopric of the whole province of Mounster ; in like manner also, Brandubh, King of the Lagenians, with the consent as well of the laity as of the clergy, did appoint that in the city of Pernes (which was the see of Moedog, otherwise called Edanus) should be the archbishopric of all the province of Leinster. But Bernard's testimony we have no reason not to believe, relating what was known to be done in his own time, that Celsus, the Archbishop of Armagh, had of the new constituted another metropolitical see, but subject to the first see and to the arch- bishop thereof: by which we may see that in the 78 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. erection of new archbishoprics and bishoprics all things were here done at home, without consulting with the see of E^ome for the matter. " As for the nomination and confirmation of the archbishops and bishops themselves, we find the manner of advancing St. Livinius to his arch- bishopric thus laid down by Boniface in the descrip- tion of his life. When Menalchus, the archbishop, was dead, Calomagnus, the King of Scots, and the troop of his officers, with the under- courtiers, and the concourse of all that country, with the same affection of heart cried out, that the holy priest Livinius was most worthy to be advanced unto the honour of this order. The king (more devout than all of them) consenting thereunto, three or four times placed the blessed man in the chair of the arch- bishopric with due honour, according to the will of the Lord. In like manner also, did King Ecgfrid cause our Cuthbert to be ordained bishop of the Church of Landisfarne, and King Pipin granted the bishopric of Salzburgh to our Virgilius, and Duke Gunzo would have conferred the bishopric of Con- stance upon our Gallus, but that he refused it, and caused another upon his recommendation to be pre- ferred thereunto. " As the kings and people of this land in those elder times kept the nomination of their archbishops and bishops in their own hands, and depended not upon the Pope's provision that way, so do we not find by any approved record of antiquity that any visitations of the clergy were held here in the Pope's MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 79 name, much less that any indulgences were sought for by our people at his hands. Por, as for the Charter of St. Patrick (by some intituled, De An- tiquitate Avalonica) wherein Phaganus and Deru- vianus are said to have j)^i'cliased ten or thirty years of indulgences from Pope Eleutherius, and St. Patrick himself to have procured twelve years in his time from Pope Celestinus ; it might easily be demonstrated (if this were a place for it,) that it is a mere figment, devised by the monks of Glaston- bury. Neither do I well know what credit is to be given unto that straggling sentence, which I find ascribed unto the same author : If any questions do arise in this island let them be referred to the see Apostolic; or that other decree attributed to Auxilius, Patricius, Secundinus, and Benignus : Whensoever any cause that is very difficult, and unknown to all the judges of the Scottish nations shall arise, it is rightly to be referred to the see of the Archbishop of the Irish (to wit, Patrick), and to the examination of the prelate thereof. But if there, by him and his wise men, a cause of this nature cannot easily be made up, we have decreed, it shall be sent to the see Apostolic, that is to say, to the chair of the Apostle Peter, which hath the authority of the city of Bome. Only this I wdll say, that, as it is most likely St. Patrick had a special regard unto the Church of Bome, from whence he was sent for the conversion of this island, so, if I myself had lived in his days, for the resolution of a doubtful question, I should as 80 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. willingly have listened to the judgment of the Church of Rome, as to the determination of any Church in the whole world, so reverend an estima- tion have I of the integrity of that Church as it stood in those good days. But that St, Patrick was of opinion that the Church of Rome was sure ever afterward to continue in that good estate, and that there was a perpetual privilege annexed unto that see, that it should never err in judgment, or that the Pope's sentences were always to be held as infallible oracles, that will I never believe." " Of the Opposition betioixt the Homan JParty and that of the Bintish and Scottish. " In Colman's room Wilfrid was chosen Arch- bishop of York; who had learned at Rome, from Archdeacon Boniface, the course of Easter, which the schismatics of Britain and Ireland did not know (so go the words of Stephen, the ancient writer of his life), and afterward did brag, that he was the first that did teach the true Easter in Northumberland (having cast out the Scots) which did ordain the Ecclesiastical Songs to be parted on sides, and which did command St. Benet's rule to be observed by monks. But when he was named to the arch- bishopric, he refused it at the first (as William of Malmesbury relateth), lest he should receive his consecration from the Scottish bishops, or from such as the Scots had ordained, whose communion the Apostolic see had rejected. The speech which he used to this purpose, unto the kings that had MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 81 chosen him, is thus laid down hy Stephen, the writer of his life — 'O my honourahle lords the kings, it is necessary for us by all means provi- dently to consider, how with your election I may (by the help of God) come to the degree of a bishop, without the accusation of Catholic men, for there be many bishops here in Britain, none of whom it is my part to accuse, ordained within these fourteen years by the Britons and Scots, whom neither the see Apostolic hath received into her communion, nor yet such as consent with the schismatics. And, therefore, in my humility, I request of you, that you would send me mth your warrant beyond the sea, into the country of France, where many Catholic bishops are to be had, that without any controversy of the Apostolic see, I may be counted meet, though unworthy, to receive the degree of a bishop.' " "While Wilfrid protracted time beyond the seas, King Oswy, led by the advice of the Quart adeci- mans (so they injuriously nicknamed the British and Irish, that did celebrate Easter from the four- teenth to the twentieth day of the moon), appointed a most religious servant of God, and an admirable doctor that came from Ireland, named Ceadda, to be ordained Bishop of York in his room. Constituunt etenim perverso canone Caddam, Moribus AccUnem, doctrmce robore fortem, PrcBSulis eximii servare cubilia : sicque Audacter vivo sponsam rapuere marito ! saith Tridegodus. This Ceadda, being the scholar 82 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. of Bishop Aiclan, was far otherwise affected to the British and Irish than "Wilfrid was, and therefore was content to receive his ordination from Wini, Bishop of the West Saxons, and two other British Bishops that were of the Quartadeciman party ; for at that time (as Bede noteth) there was not in all Britain any bishop canonically ordained (that is to say, by such as were of the communion of the Church of Bome) except that Wini only. " But shortly after, the opposition betwixt these two sides grew to be so great, that our Cuthbert (Bishop of Landisfarne) upon his death-bed required his followers, that they should hold no communion with them which did swerve from the unity of the Catholic peace, either by not celebrating Easter in his due time, or by living perversely, and that they should rather take up his bones and remove their place of habitation, than any way condescend to submit thek necks unto the yoke of schismatics. For the further maintaining of which breach also, there were certain decrees, made both by the Bomans, and by the Saxons that were guided by their institution. One of the instructions the Bomans gave them was this : You must beware that causes be not referred to other provinces or churches, which use another manner and another religion; whether to the Jews which do serve the shadow of the law, rather than the truth ; or to the Britons, who are contrary unto all men, and have cut themselves off from the Boman manner and the unity of the Church ; or to heretics, although they MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 83 should be learned in ecclesiastical causes, and well studied. And among the decrees made by some of the Saxon bishops (which were to be seen in the library of Sir Thomas Knevet, in Norfolk, and are still, I suppose, preserved there by his heir) this is laid down for one : — " ' Such as have received ordination from the bishops of the Scots or Britons, who in the matter of Easter and Tonsure are not united unto the Catholic Church, let them be again, by imposition of hands, confirmed by a Catholic bishop. In like manner also, let the Churches that have been ordered by those bishops, be sprinkled with exor- cised water, and confirmed with some service. We have no license also to give unto them Chrism or Eucharist, when they do require it, unless they profess first, that they will remain with us in the unity of the Church. And such likewise as, either of their nation or of any other, shall doubt of their baptism, let them be baptized.' Thus did they. " On the other side, how averse were the British and Irish from having any communion with the Boman party, the complaint of Laurentius Mellitus, and Justus before specified, doth sufficiently mani- fest. And the answer is well known, which the seven British bishops and many other of the most learned men of the same nation, did return unto the propositions made unto them by Austin the monk, that they would perform none of them, nor at all admit him for their archbishop. The Welsh Chro- niclers do further relate, that Dinot, the Abbot of g2 84 MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. Bangor, produced diverse arguments at that time, to show that they did owe him no suhjection, and this among others : "We are under the government of the Bishop of Kaer-leon upon Uske, who under God is to oversee us, and cause us to keep the way spiritual ; and Gotcelinus Betinianus, in the Life of Austin, that for the authority of their ceremonies they did allege, that they were not only delivered unto them by St. Eleutherius the Pope, their first instructor, at the first infancy almost of the Church, but also hitherto observed by their holy Pathers, who were the friends of God and the followers of the Apostles, and therefore they ought not to change them for any new dogmatists ; above all measure as Aldhelme, Abbot of Malmesbury, de- clareth at large in his Epistle sent to Gerantius, King of Cornwall, where, among many other parti- culars, he showeth, that if any of the Catholics (for so he calleth them of his own side) did go to dwell among them, they would not vouchsafe to admit them unto their company and society, before they first put them to forty days' penance. Yea, even to this day, (saith Bede, who wrote his history in the year 751,) it is the manner of the Tritons, to hold the faith and religion of the English in no account at all, nor to communicate with them in anything more than loith pagans. '* Whereunto those verses of Taliessyn (honoured by the Britons with the title of Ben Beirdh, that is, the Chief of the Bardes or Wisemen) may be added, which show that he wrote after the coming of MISSIONS TO THE BRITISH ISLES. 85 Austin into England, and not fifty or sixty years before, as others liaye imagined : — " Gwae'r offeiriad byd Nys engriefftia gwyd Ac ny phregetha : Gwae ny cheidw cy gail Ac ef yn vigail Ac nys arcilia : Gwae ny Cheidw cy dhenaid Rhac bleidhie Rhufeniaid A'iffon gnwppa. '* Wo be to that priest ybome, That will not cleanly weed his come, And preach his charge among : Wo be to that Shepheard (I say) That will not watch his fold alway As to his office doth belong : Wo be to him that doth not keepe From Romish wolves his sheepe, With staffe and weapon strong." British Monk's Song. CHAPTER III. MEDIiEVAL MISSIONS. ** Against the Waldenses, a war of no less weight than what our people had before waged against the Saracens, was decreed." Thuanus. There are those in the nineteenth century who look upon the middle ages of the Church as its most glorious. It was triumphant over its enemies ; its authority was paramount. Eew dared to think for themselves, much less openly to dissent from its tenets or practice. The pontiffs of Rome had taken the place of the emperors, and had trodden on the necks of kings. The middle ages were times of ex- traordmary acts of devotion, costly offerings at the shrines of saints, and toilsome pilgrimages to holy places in Europe and Asia. It was in them, more- over, that the magnificent churches and cathedrals of Christendom rose into wondrous being, surpass- ing (at least for their purpose) the most perfect models of Athens and Rome. The superfluous wealth of Europe was spent in building or gar- MEDIAEVAL MISSIONS. 87 nishing Christian temples, or in similar works of merit. The rivalry of countries and kingdoms, which at other times took the direction of com- merce, or philosophy, or literature, then was dis- played in the foundation of churches, cathedrals, and monastic establishments. "With all the glorious monuments of the genius and piety of that age before us, however, we must, when we look into the internal history of the Church, come to the conclusion that it was the night of the Church , lohen men slept, and the enemy sowed the tares in greatest security and abundance. With respect to its highest glory — architecture and church embellishment — even it may well be questioned whether it does not owe its origin to a refined Paganism introduced into the Church, rather than to the genius of Christianity. Let us hear one competent to speak on the subject : — " Our Gothic ancestors" (says Bishop Warburton, in his " Notes on Pope's Epistles") " had juster and manlier notions of magnificence, on Greek and Homan ideas, than these mimics of taste, who pro- fess to study only classic elegance ; and because the thing does honour to the genius of those barbarians, I shall endeavour to explain it. All our ancient churches are called, without distinction, Gothic; but erroneously. They are of two sorts : the one built in the Saxon times ; the other in the Norman. Several cathedral and collegiate churches of the first sort are yet remaining, either in whole or in part, of which this was the original. When the 88 MEDIiEVAL MISSIONS. Saxon kings became Christians, their piety (which was the piety of the times) consisted chiefly in build- ing churches at home, and performing pilgrimages abroad, especially to the Holy Land; and these spiritual exercises assisted and supported one an- other ; for the most venerable, as well as most ele- gant models of religious edifices, were then in Palestine. Prom these the Saxon builders took the whole of their ideas, as may be seen by com- paring the drawings, which travellers have given us of the churches yet standing in that country, with the Saxon remains of what we find at home ; and particularly in that sameness of style in the latter religious edifices of the Knights Templars (professedly built upon the model of the church of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem) with the earlier remains of our Saxon edifices. Now, the architec- ture of the Holy Land was Grecian, but greatly fallen from its ancient elegance. Our Saxon per- formance was indeed a bad copy of it, and as much inferior to the works of St. Helene and Justinian, as theirs were to the Grecian models they had fol- lowed; yet still the footsteps of ancient art ap- peared in the circular arches, the entire columns, the division of the entablature into a sort of archi- trave, frize, and corniche, and a solidity equally diffused over the whole mass. This, by way of distinction, I would call the Saxon architecture. But our Norman works had a very different ori- ginal. When the Goths had conquered Spain, and the genial warmth of the climate, and the religion MEDIJEVAX MISSIONS. 89 of the old inhabitants had ripened their wits and inflamed their mistaken piety, both kept in exercise by the neighbourhood of the Saracens, through emu- lation of their service, and aversion to their super- stition, they struck out a new species of architec- ture, unknown to Greece and E^ome, upon original principles, and ideas much nobler than what had given birth even to classical magnificence ; for this northern people i having been accustomed^ during the gloom of Faganism^ to worship the Deity in groves (a practice common to all nations)^ when their new religion required covered edifices^ they ingeniously projected to make them resemble groves^ as nearly as the distance of architecture would permit, at once indulging their old prejudices, and providing for their present conveniences, by a cool receptacle in a sultry climate ; and with what skill and success they exe- cuted the project, by the assistance of Saracen ar- chitects, whose exotic style of building very luckily suited their purpose, appears from hence, that no attentive observer ever viewed a regular avenue of well-grown trees, intermixing their branches over- head, but it presently put him in mind of the long vista through the Gothic cathedral ; or even entered one of the large and more elegant edifices of this kind, but it presented to his imagination an avenue of trees ; and this alone is what can be truly called the Gothic style of building. Under this idea of so extraordinary a species of architecture, all the irre- gular transgressions against art, all the monstrous offences against nature, disappear ; everything has 90 MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. its reason, everything is in order, and an liarmo- nions whole arises from the studious application of means proper and proportionate to the end; for could the arches be otherwise than pointed, when the workmen were to imitate that curve, which branches of two opposite trees make by their inser- tion with one another ? Or could the columns be otherwise than split into distinct shafts, when they were to represent the stems of a clump of trees growing close together ? On the same principles they formed the spreading ramification of the stone- work in the windows, and the stained glass in the interstices ; the one to represent the branches, and the other the leaves of an opening grove, and both concurred to preserve that gloomy light which in- spires religious reverence and dread. Lastly, we see the reason of their studied aversion to apparent solidity in these stupendous masses, deemed so ab- surd by men accustomed to the apparent, as well as real strength of Grecian architecture. Had it been only a wanton exercise of the artist's skill, to show he could give real strength, without the ap- pearance of any, we might indeed admire his supe- rior science, but we must needs condemn his ill judgment ; but when one considers that this sur- prising lightness was necessary to complete the exe- cution of his idea of a sylvan place of worship, one cannot sufficiently admire the ingenuity of the con- trivance. This, too, will account for the contrary qualities in what I call the Saxon architecture. These artists copied, as has been said, from the MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. 91 churches in the Holy Land, which were huilt on the models of Grecian architecture, hut corrupted by prevailing barbarism, and still farther depraved by a religious idea. The first places of Christian worship were sepulchres and subterraneous caverns, low and heavy, from necessity. When Christianity became the religion of the state, and sumptuous temples began to be erected, they yet, in regard to the first pious ages, preserved the massive style, made still more venerable by the church of the Holy Sepulchre, where this style was, on a double account, followed and aggravated." Thus far the learned bishop and enthusiastic admirer of Gothic architecture. The means used by the Church in those times to advance Christianity in the world, show that those gorgeous edifices were nothing better than wJiited sepulchres^ hiding from general view the utmost corruption in doctrine and morals. The missions which then prevailed, for the cause of religion, present indeed a complete contrast to those of the Apostolic times. The picture is, in fact, reversed : instead of being the subject of per- secution, the Church had become the persecutor and most cruel oppressor of the consciences of man- kind. The cross was turned into the sword of the warrior, and its triumphs, no longer counted by the number of sinners converted, and of souls renewed by the Holy Ghost, but by the number of its slaughtered victims, and the extent of external homage paid to its hated tyranny. 92 MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. Mezeray, in his Life of Charles the Great, relates that such was the zeal of that prince to defend and increase the kingdom of Jesus Christ, rather than to enlarge his own empire, that peace could never be obtained of him upon other terms, than that those who were conquered by him, having left their idol worship, should embrace the true, sincere, and eternal religion of Christ ; and to engage them to continue stedfast he sometimes took hostages of them, and finding them begin to apostatize, which they uni- formly did when they thought they could maintain their ground, he felt compelled to set up a sort of inquisition to keep them in awe. In his campaigns, bishops, from zeal for the propagation of religion by this ready method, fre- quently served him as fighting men. Winofrid also, otherwise called Boniface, to whom Bellarmine ascribes the conversion of a great part of Germany, admits that, without the common aid and awe of the prince of the Pranks, he could not be able to hinder the pagan rites, and idol sacrileges. So of the conver- sion of the Vandals, which he ascribes to the monks of Corbie, Alhestus Krautzius writes, ''The Vandals were a nation singularly given to the superstitious worship of their idols, till by the arms of the King of Denmark by sea, by those of the Pomeranian on the East, and those of the Christian Prince on the West, tliey were forced to become Christians.''^ The manner of converting the Jews was the same. Thus Hesadius the Emperor wrote to Dagobert, King of Prance, '' that he should command all the MEDIAEVAL MISSIONS. 93 Jews in his dominions to turn Christians, and either slay or banish those who would not, who accordingly did so, banishing as many as would not be baptized." In Dr. Geddes' History of the JExpulsion of the Moriscoes out of Spam, (a book now rarely to be met with,) is much curious information respecting the proceedings of the ecclesiastics of that country in their efforts to convert the infidels and Jews. The following are a few extracts from Dr. Geddes' work : — "The Spanish princes being sensible how dan- gerous a thing it was, by reason of their near neighbourhood to Earbary, to have so many Moors in their dominions, and especially on the coast of the Mediterranean, where most of 'em lived, were at a loss what to do with them : to have murthered them all in cold blood, was a thing that would have filled the world with horror; and to banish them all into Barbary, would be to depopulate their own countries, and to strengthen their enemies by an accession of so many thousands of families ; the thing therefore that they did most earnestly de- sire and pursue, was to make them all Christians. Por which reason the kings and nobles were continu- ally calling upon the ecclesiastics, to convert their Moorish subjects, and vassals to Christianity. " The friars, who went only by starts, and preached a few sermons to these infidels, being very angry with them, because they would not be converted by them, did represent them as a most obstinate and obdurate sort of people, who 94 MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. were not to be overcome with arguments, nor by any other than violent methods : they did therefore all along advise their princes either to banish the Moors, or to make them all slaves, if they would not turn Christians ; . or at least, to take all their children from them, and baptize them; by which means the next generation would be all Christians. " But these methods being reckoned by all that were not piqued by the Moors, having affronted them by their not having turned Christians, upon their preaching to them, to be very hard, if not unlawful ways of converting infidels to the faith ; the Council of Toledo having expressly forbid the forcing of infidels to be baptized ; and Thomas Aquinas, and most of their other divines having declared it not to be lawful to baptize the children of infidels without their parents' consent ; these methods were not used at this time. But besides that, it was extraordinary scandalous to use such violent methods with the Moors, who, when they were regnant, had never forced any of their Chris- tian subjects to change their religion, but had always allowed them the public exercise of their worship : and further, King ^Ferdinand, when the city of Granada was surrendred to him, had en- gaged himself by an oath, if the Moors had a mind to remain in Spain, not to give them any disturb- ance on the account of their religion, but to let them enjoy it with the same freedom as they had done under their own princes. "Por the first seven years after the taking of MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. 95 Granada, we do not find that the Moors were much persecuted by the Spaniards to oblige them to change their religion, their conversion having been left by Perdinand, according to his oath, to the arguments, and persuasions of the archbishop, and other ecclesiastics he had settled among them in great numbers. " But Perdinand being under no such engage- ment to the Jews, who were likewise very numerous in Spain at that time, he did within three months after the taking of the city of Granada, by a public edict command all the Jews, if they would not be baptized, to depart with their families within four months, out of all his dominions, upon pain of death : which most of them did ; some going into Italy, others to Turkey, and Barbary; but the main body of them went into Portugal; where, for a great sum of money, they obtained leave of King John II. to continue for some months, until they could be provided with ships to carry them off. But notwithstanding, the reason why they did not leave Portugal within the time pre- fixed was, that the king would not suffer any ships to take them aboard ; and by land they durst not go, the Spaniard having made it death for any of them to return into his dominions ; they were all, so soon as that term was expired, stripped by the king of all their goods, and sold to his subjects for slaves. " King Emanuel, who succeeded John, reckoning it to have been both an unjust and dishonourable 96 MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. thing that his predecessor had done to the Jews, he set them all at liberty again ; but at the same time, commanded them all, upon pain of perpetual servitude, either to be baptized within a certain term of months, or to leave Portugal; promising that ships should be provided for all that would depart, at the three chief ports of his kingdom. The Jews who had all left Spain, where they and their ancestors had lived for a great many genera- tions, because they would not turn Christians, did intend to have left Portugal for the same reason ; and did accordingly repair with their families to the ports appointed for their embarkation ; where, in- stead of ships to carry them off, they met with a proclamation, prohibiting them, upon pain of death, to embark any where but at Lisbon : to which city, when they were all come with their families, the king commanded all their children, that were under fourteen years of age, to be taken from them, and to be baptized by force : with which unexpected violence, several parents were so enraged, that they threw their children that were under that age into the river, and into wells, and themselves after them. Eut the time appointed for their embarkation being expired, and no ships being permitted to take any ofthem aboard, they did, rather than be made slaves again, consent to be baptized. "The Jews who were at this time baptized in this manner, are reckoned to have been above three hundred thousand men, women, and children : and whereas few, if any of them, were in their hearts MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. 97 Christians, when they were thus forced to receive baptism ; so great numbers of their descendants do to this day, in Portugal, continue to breed up their children in the Jewish religion, notwithstand- ing the unintermitting cruelties which have ever since been exercised by the Inquisition, upon all of them that have been convicted of having returned to that faith. " This dispersion of the Spanish Jews is reckoned by all of that nation and religion to have been, both as to hardships, and as to their numbers, nothing inferior to that which followed upon the destruction of Jerusalem; above eight hundred thousand men, women, and children having been driven out of Spain at this time. But to return to the Moors. " In the year 1499, Eerdinand and Isabel having returned to visit their new conquests, did find, that in the seven years the Granada Moors had been under their government, few or none of them had been converted to Christianity ; whereupon they sent to the Archbishop of Toledo, who, at that time, was the famous Ximines, to come to them at Granada ; who being arrived, they charged him, as he had any regard for the honour of the Christian religion, the salvation of thousands of souls, and the security of Spain, to take some course or other to convert their Moorish subjects to the Christian faith ; who, as they were informed, were no less Mahometans, than they were when they lived under kings of their own religion. Ximines, who was a 98 MEDIiEVAL MISSIONS. man that would not be easily bafled in any thing that he undertook, begun that great work with courting and caressing the chief men among the Moors ; and having by rich presents, and greater promises, persuaded some of the first quality among them to turn Christians, their examples were fol- lowed by a considerable number of the inferior sort. The Moors both in the city and country being much alarmed and displeased with those conversions, se- veral of their principal men, with whom the arch- bishop had not been able to prevail, did go about to persuade their kindred and others, neither to be flattered nor bribed out of the religion of their forefathers. The archbishop, so soon as he heard of tliose counterworkings, laying all humanity^ saitli the writer of his Life, almost aside, com- manded all those zealots to be apprehended; and having loaded them with irons, he ordered them to be thrown into dungeons, and to be treated in them as the greatest of malefactors " The Moorish prisoners' being unable to with- stand such arguments, did yield, and were bap- tized likewise by the archbishop; who after this commanded all the Moors to deliver their Al- chorans, and all their other Arabick books to him : which having been done, he ordered all the books that treated of philosophy and medicine to be preserved, burning all the rest in the market- place of the city, to the great mortification of the Moors who had not changed their religion: and being resolved to make his harvest as great as it MEDL^VAL MISSIONS. 99 was possible, he commanded the children of all the Moors, who were called Elkes, to be taken from them, and baptized ; upon pretence, that their ancestors were anciently Christian, who had apos- tatized to the Mahometan sect. "While the archbishop was going on thus tri- umphantly with his conversions, the Moors, who were enraged thereby almost to madness, took up arms; and having first barricadoed the streets of the city, they marched in a great body to the house where the archbishop lodged ; who having sent one of his servants to them to know what it was they de- sired; they sent him word, that they desired that the articles whereon they had surrendered the city to the king might be observed ; and particularly, that of their having no trouble given them on the account of their religion, which they would sooner die than part with: the archbishop returned a very mild and favourable answer to this message, and con- tinued to give them good words, and large promises of what he would do for them, until the governor of the citadel came to his relief; who having, with very little bloodshed, dispersed the Moors, the arch- bishop would not treat with them any longer, but as with rebels, who had forfeited, not only all the benefits of their capitulation, but their lives also, by the late uproar. " Advice coming to the court soon after, that the insurrection was quelled, the king despatched judges to Granada, to condemn all the Moors, who had been any ways concerned in the tumult, as tray- 100 MEDIAEVAL MISSIONS. tors; and haying first condemned them, to offer them their lives, if they would turn Christians: which order, having been executed by the judges, fifty thousand Moors, inhabitants of the city of Granada, purchased their lives by consenting to be baptized : by which means the archbishop, when he went from Granada, did not leave one professed Mahometan in that city : though it was reasonably believed that he had not made one true convert all the time that he was there. " The Bishop of Granada, to whom the instruc- tions of Ximines's converts in the Christian faith was left, ordered the Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles to be translated into Arabick for their use, for which method of instruction that bishop was much blamed by Ximines, who thereupon de- clared. That whenever the Bible should come to be translated into vulgar tongues, it would be of per- nicious consequence to Christianity. "The Inquisition, which had not at that time been erected into such a court as it is now, above twenty years, looking upon all these forced baptisms as good and valid, did exercise all its usual cruelties on such of the Moors as were convicted of having returned to Mahometism, which few, or none of them, had ever left with their hearts. " No fewer than an hundred thousand, livins: and dead, present and absent, having been condemned for apostacy by the Inquisition of Sevil in the space of forty years : of which number, four thousand were burnt, and thirty thousand were reconciled, the MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. 101 rest having made their escape into Barbary, upon their fears that they were in danger of being taken up by that court, " Through this great Inquisition desolation, Garibai saith three, Ilescas saith five thousand houses were left void, and without inhabitants, within the dis- tricts of the Inquisition of Sevil." The Crusades to the Holy Land illustrate in too remarkable a manner the missionary zeal of the middle ages, to escape notice in this chapter. Peter, commonly called the Hermit, a native of Amiens in Picardy, had made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem ; and being deeply affected with the dangers to which that act of piety then exposed the pilgrims, as well as with the oppression under which the Eastern Christians laboured, formed the bold, and, in all appearance, impracticable design of leading into Asia, from the farthest extremities of the West, armies suihcient to subdue those potent and warlike nations that then held the Holy Land in slavery. He proposed his scheme to Martin II., who then filled the papal chair ; but he, though sensible enough of the advantages Avhich must accrue to himself from such an undertaking, resolved not to interpose his authority till he saw a greater probability of success. Se summoned, at I'lacentia, a council consisting of 4000 ecclesiastics and 30,000 seculars. As no hall could be found large enough to contain such a multitude, the as- sembly icas held in a plain. Here the pope himself, a^ well as Feter, harangued the people, representing 102 MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. the dismal situation of their brethren in the East, and the indignity offered to the Christian name in allowing the holy city to remain in the hands of the infidels. These speeches were so agreeable to those who heard them, that the whole multitude suddenly and violently declared for the war, and solemnly devoted themselves to perform this service, which they believed to be so meritorious in the sight of God. But though Italy seemed to have embraced the design with ardour, Martin yet thought it necessary, in order to ensure perfect success, to engage the greater and more warlike nations in the same enterprize. Having therefore exhorted Peter to visit the chief cities and sove- reigns of Christendom, he summoned another council at Clermont in Auvergne. The fame of this great and pious design being now universally diffused, procured the attendance of the greatest prelates, nobles, and princes; and when the pope and the hermit renewed their pathetic exhortations, the whole assembly, as if impelled by an immediate inspiration, exclaimed with one voice, "It is the will of God ! it is the will of God ! " These words were deemed so memorable, and so much the effect of a divine impulse, that they were employed as the signal of rendezvous and battle in all future exploits of these adventurers. Men of all ranks now flew to arms with the utmost ardour, and a cross was affixed to their right shoulder by all who enlisted in this holy enterprise. At this time Europe was sunk in the most pro- MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. 103 found ignorance and superstition. The ecclesiastics had gained the greatest ascendant over the human mind; and the people, who committed the most horrid crimes and disorders, knew of no other expiation than the observances imposed on them by their spiritual pastors. All orders of men now deeming the crusades the only road to heaven, were impatient to open the way with their swords to the holy city. Nobles, artizans, peasants, even priests, enrolled their names, and to decline this service was branded with the reproach of impiety or cowardice. The nobles who enlisted themselves were moved, by the romantic spirit of the age, to hope for opulent establishments in the East, the chief seat of arts and commerce at that time. In pursuit of these chimerical projects they sold, at the lowest prffee, their ancient castles and inheritances, which had now lost all value in their eyes. The infirm and aged contributed to the expedition by presents and money ; and many of them, not satisfied with this, attended it in person, being determined, if possible, to breathe their last in sight of that city where their Saviour had died for them. Women themselves, concealing their sex under the disguise of armour, attended the camp. The greatest criminals were forward in a service which they considered as an expiation for all crimes ; and the most enormous disorders were, during the course of these expeditions, committed by men inured to wickedness, encouraged by example, and impelled by necessity. The multitude of adventurers 104 MEDIAEVAL MISSIONS. soon became so great, that their more sagacious leaders became apprehensive lest the greatness of the armament would be the cause of its own disap- pointment. Por this reason they permitted an un- disciplined multitude, computed at 300,000 men, to go before them under the command of Peter the Hermit, and Gautier or Walter, surnamed the Mo- neyless, from his being a soldier of fortune. These took the road towards Constantinople, through Hungary and Bulgaria ; and trusting that Heaven, by supernatural assistance, would supply all their necessities, they made no provision for subsistence in their march. They soon found themselves obliged to obtain by plunder what they vainly expected from miracles ; and the enraged inhabitants of the coun- tries through which they passed, attacked the dis- orderly multitude, and slaughtered them without resistance. The more disciplined armies followed after; and passing the straits at Constantinople, they were mustered in the plains of Asia, and amounted in the whole to 700,000 men. This rage for conquering the Holy Land did not cease with this expedition. It continued for very nearly two centuries, and eight different crusades were set on foot, one after another. The horrid cruelties they committed were such as must have inspired the Turks with the most invincible hatred against them, and made them resist with the greatest obstinacy. They were such as could have been com- mitted only by barbarians inflamed with religious enthusiasm. When Jerusalem was taken, not only MEDliEVAL MISSIONS. 105 the numerous garrison were put to the sword, but the inhabitants were massacred without mercy and without distinction. No age nor sex was spared, — not even sucking children. Christians, who had been suffered by the Turks to live in that city, led, it is stated, the conquerors into the most private caves, where women had concealed themselves with their children, and not one of them was suffered to escape. What eminently shows the fanaticism by which these conquerors were animated, is their be- haviour after this terrible slaughter. They marched over heaps of dead towards the holy sepulchre ; and while their hands were yet polluted with the hlood of so many innocent persons, sung anthems to the common Saviour of mankind. Nay, so far did their religious enthusiasm overcome their fury, that these ferocious conquerors now burst into tears. If the absurdity and ivickedness of this conduct can he exceeded hy anything, it must he hy what follows. In the year 1204, the frenzy of crusading seized the children, ivho are ever ready to imitate lohat they see their parents engage themselves in. Their childish folly was encouraged hy the monks and schoolmasters ; and thousands of those innocents loere conducted from the hotises of their parents on the faith of these words, — ■" Out of the mouth of hahes and sucklings hast thou perfected praise.'^ Their hase conductors sold a part of them to the Turks, and the rest mise?^- ahly perished. The manner in which the Church dealt with those whom she called heretics, was the same. Eead the 106 MEDIJSVAL MISSIONS. following extracts from Bishop Newton's Disserta- tions, discoursing of the Waldenses : — " Their first and proper name seems to have been Vallenses, or inhabitants of the valleys ; and so saith one of the oldest writers, Ebrard of Bethune, who wrote in the year 1212 : ' They call themselves VaU lenses, because they abide in the valley of tears,' alluding to then' situation in the valleys of Piedmont. They were called Albigen^es from Alby, a city in the southern parts of Prance, where also great numbers of them were situated. They were afterwards deno- minated Valdenses or Waldenses, from Peter Yaldo or Waldo, a rich citizen of Lyons, and a considera- ble leader of the sect. Prom Lyons, too, they were called Leonists, and CatJtari from the professed purity of their life and doctrine, as others since have had the name of 'Puritans'^ Much hath been written in censure and com- mendation of this sect both by enemies and friends — by Papists and Protestants. If they have been grossly misrepresented and vilified on one side, they have been amply vindicated and justified on the other; but I will only produce the testimonies of three witnesses concerning them, whom both sides must allow to be unexceptionable — Beinerius, Thu- anus, and Mezeray. Beinerius flourished about the year 1254^ ; and his testimony is the more remark- able, as he was a Dominican and inquisitor-general. " Among all the sects, which still are or have been, there is not any more pernicious to the Church than that of the Leonists. And this for three reasons. MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. 107 The first is because it is older, for some say that it hath endured from the time of Pope Sylvester; others from the time of the Apostles. The second, because it is more general ; for there is scarce any country wherein this sect is not. The third, because when all other sects beget horror in the hearers by the outrageousness of their blasphemies against God, this of the Leonists hath a great show of piety ; because tliey live justly before men, and believe all tilings rightly conce^ming God, and all the articles tohich are contained in the creed, only they blas^ pheme the Church of Rome and the clergy, whom the multitude of the laity is easy to believe J' The credit of Thuanus as an historian is too well established to need any recommendation ; and he is so candid and impartial, as to distinguish between their real' opinions and those heresies which were falsely imputed to them by their enemies. " Peter Valdo, a wealthy citizen of Lyons, about the year of Christ 1170, gave name to the Waldenses. He (as Guy De Perpignan, Bishop of Elna, in Eou- sillon, who exercised the office of inquisitor against the Yaldenses, hath left testified in writing), leaving his house and goods, devoted himself wholly to the profession of the Gospel, and took care to have the writings of the prophets and Apostles translated into the vulgar tongue. When now in a little time he had many followers about him, he sent them forth as his disciples into all parts to propagate the Gos- pel. Their fixed opinions were said to be these : that the Church of Rome, because she hath re- 108 MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. nounced the true faith of Christ, is the woman de- scribed in Rev. xvii. ; and that barren tree, which Christ himself hath cursed, and commanded to be rooted up ; therefore we must by no means obey the pope, and the bishops who cherish his errors ; that the monastic life is the sink of the Church, and an hellish institution ; its vows are vain, and sub- servient only to ; the orders of the Presbytery are the marks of the great beast which is mentioned in the Apocalypse ; the fire of purgatory, the sacrifice of the mass ; the feast of the dedication of churches, the worship of saints, and propitiations for the dead, are inventions of Satan. To these, the principal and certain heads of their doctrine, others were feigned and added concerning marriage, the resurrection, the state of the soul after death, and concerning meats, ^^ Mezeray, the celebrated historiographer of Prance, is short, but full to our purpose ; for he saith, that " they had almost the same opinions as those who are now called Calvinists.'^ It cannot be objected that this is Protestant evi- dence ; for they were all three members of the Church of E^ome. In the thirteenth century, the Waldenses and the Albigenses (continues Bishop Newton) had spread and prevailed so far, and were prevailing still farther, that the pope thought it necessary to exert his utmost efi'orts to suppress them. Por this purpose, thefrst crusade was pro- claimed of Christians against Christians, and the office of Inquisition teas first erected — the one to MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. 109 subdue their bodies, the other to enslave their souls. It is enough to make the blood run cold to read of the horrid murders and devastations of this time — how many of these poor innocent creatures were sacrificed to the blind fury and malice of their ene- mies. It is computed that in Prance alone were slain a million. And what was the consequence of these shocking barbarities ? No writer can better inform us than the wise and moderate historian, Thuanus : — '' Against the Waldenses," saith he, " when exquisite punishments availed little, and the evil was exasperated by the remedy which had been unseasonably applied, and their number in- creased daily, at length complete armies were raised, and a war of no less weight than ivhat our people had hefora waged against the Saracens, loas dec^^eed against them ; the event of which was, that they were either slain, put to flight, spoiled everywhere of their goods and dignities, and dispersed here and there, than that, con\dnced of their error, they repented. So that they who had at first defended themselves by arms, at last, overcome by arms, fled into Pro- vence and the neighbouring Alps of the Prench territory, and found a shelter for their life and doc- trine in those places. Part withdrew into Calabria, and continued there a long while, even to the pon- tificate of Pius IV. Part passed into Germany, and fixed their abode among the Bohemians, and in Poland and Livonia. Others, turning to the loest, obtained refuge in Britain ^ Some readers may wish here to know precisely 110 MEDIiEVAL MISSIONS. what were the doctrines of these Waldensians. They are thus given by the Centuriators of Magde- burgh : — '' In articles of faith, the authority of the Holy Scripture is the highest ; and for that reason it is the rule of judging ; so that whatsoever agreeth not with the word of God, is deservedly to be rejected and avoided. " The decrees of fathers and councils are so far to be approved, as they agree with the word of God. " The reading and knowledge of the Holy Scrip- tures is free and necessary for all men, the laity as well as the clergy; yea, and the writings of the prophets and Apostles are to be read rather than the comments of men. *' The sacraments of the Church of Christ are two, baptism and the supper of the Lord. " The receiving in both kinds for priests and people was instituted by Christ. " Masses are impious ; and it is madness to say masses for the dead. " Purgatory is an invention of men ; for they who believe go into eternal life; they who believe not, into eternal damnation. "The invocating and worshipping dead saints is idolatry. " The Church of Rome is the woman described in the Apocalypse, 'drunken with the blood of the saints,' &c. "We must not obey the pope and his bishops; MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. Ill because they are the wolves of the Church of Christ. "The pope hath not the primacy over all the Churches of Christ, neither hath he the power of both swords. *' That is the Church of Christ which heareth the sincere word of Christ, and useth the sacraments instituted by him, in what place soever it exist. "Vows of celibacy are inventions of men, and occasions of the most abominable wickedness. " So many orders are so many characters of the beast. " Monkery is a stinking carcase. " So many superstitious dedications of churches, commemoration^ of the dead, benedictions of crea- tures, pilgrimages; so many forced fastings, so many superfluous festivals, these perpetual bellow- ings (meaning the singing and chanting) of un- learned men, and the observations of the other ceremonies, manifestly hindering the teaching and learning of the word, are diabolical inventions. " The marriage of priests is lawful and necessary." Concerning those Protestant Cliristians of the middle ages, Bzovius, in his Ecclesiastical Annals, relates : — "Whilst these things were transacting, the sacred militia, which is commonly called a crusade, was everywhere collected against the obstinate and wicked Bohemians. Pope Martin Y. had ordered it. "And now from all the Christian kingdoms, on every side, in which the crusade was proposed. 112 MEDIEVAL MISSIONS. forces were collected, whose number is said to have amounted to 150,000 men in arms." Oh ! what a state for Christianity to have come to ! Can the religion of the God of love and Prince of peace be degraded to a lower depth of infamy ? Yes. Popery has accomplished even this, by enroll- ing amongst her saints the chief actor in this wholesale butchery, and founder of incomparably the most cruel engine of tyranny ever established in the world, the Inquisition, to be statedly wor- shipped by her people ! Rome may disavow all persecution and intoler- ance when convenient, and search out isolated acts of cruelty perpetrated by Protestants, just escaping perhaps from her own teaching, and breathing her spirit, and place them as a sort of set-off to her own acts ; but so long as Dominick holds his place amongst her saints and intercessors, she only adds, by denial of his principles, hypocrisy to impiety. I speak of the Church of Rome in the hands of its teachers and advocates. Within her external com- munion there are individuals who abhor such deeds as much as any, and who must shrink from using, therefore, the prayer which their Church puts into their lips on the day devoted to the solemnities of this saint. Such Catholics, whatever they may think, are dissenters in the bosom of their Church ; a thorough Romanist must be a persecutor. Summa est religionis imitari quern colimus. Indeed Dominick is no ordinary saint in the MEDIiEVAL MISSIONS. 113 Roman Calendar, as will appear by reference to the "Acta Sanctorum/' the most authentic lives of the saints which Roman Catholics possess. The following is from the " Romanum Breviarium," and every priest, — Newman, Oakely, and the rest — must repeat it on every 4th of August. ^^ Collect f 07^ St. Dominick^s Day. " O God, who didst vouchsafe to illuminate thy Church with the merits and doctrine of blessed Dominick thy confessor; grant that by his inter- cession it may not be deprived of temporal help, and may profit in spiritual increase. Through the Lord." ^^ Tills man^^ adds the Church, in the same ser- vice, ^^ accomplislied all which the Lord spoke to him, and the Lord said. Enter into my rest. This is he who despised the life of the loorld and reached the heavenly kingdom'^ "Avenge, O Lord, thy slaughter'd saints, whose bones Lie scatter'd on the Alpine mountains cold ; Ev'n them who kept thy truth so pure of old, When all our fathers worshipped stocks and stones. Forget not ; in thy book record their groans Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold. Slain by the bloody Piedmontese, that roll'd Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans The vales redoubled to the hills, and they To heaven. Their martyr'd blood and ashes sow O'er all th' Italian fields, where still doth sway The Triple tyrant : that from these may grow A hundredfold, who having learn'd thy way, Early may fly the Babylonian woe." Milton. CHAPTER IV. THE MISSION OP THE EEFOEMATION. " At the very instant that the money rattles at the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies liberated to heaven." — Tetzel. It has been sometimes asked : What did the Re- formers do towards promoting the evangelization of the world ? The answer is, They did much under God, indirectly, in this great work. Paganism had long usurped the place of Christianity in Europe. Against this heathenism they laboured, and preached, and wrote, and where they prevailed they unpagan- ized the Church, and set her free. The state of papal Christianity, for centuries be- fore the E^eformation, was almost beyond belief deplorable : as related by B^oman Catholic authors, preachers, &c., of the times. "Behold, the nine hundredth year of the Bedeemer begins," (writes Baronius, in his Annals,) " in which a new age commences, which, by reason of its asperity and barrenness of good, has been wont to be called the iron age, and by the deformity of its THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 115 exuberant evil, the leaden age, and by its poverty of writers, the dark age." Again : — "What was then the face of the holy Iloman Church ? How exceedingly foul was it, when most powerful, and sordid, and abandoned women ruled at Rome; at whose will the sees were changed, bishops were presented, and, what is horrid to hear and un- utterable, false pontiffs, their lovers, were intruded into the chair of Peter, who are only written in the catalogue of E/oman pontiffs for the sake of mark- ing the times ! Eor who can affirm that men ille- gally intruded .by wicked women of this sort were Roman pontiffs ? " Of the conclusion of the grand papal schism, when two and then three rival Popes appeared in the world, he gives the following account : — " Let us see what remedy they had first recourse to in order to extinguish this three-headed beast who had issued from the gates of hell. A remedy was devised, precisely similar to that which the poets feigned in destroying the fabulous Cerberus, namely, the filling of his jaws with a pitchy mouth- ful, by giving them something to eat, so that they should altogether leave off barking. But let us see who it was that prepared that remedy which the unhappiness of the times demanded. Otho faith- fully relates it as follows : ' A certain pious priest, named Gratian, seeing this most wretched state of the Church, and his zealous piety filling him with compassion for his mother, he approached the above- i2 116 THE MISSION OF THE REFOHMATIOK. mentioned men, and prevailed upon them by money to depart from the holy see, the revenues of England being made over to Benedict, because he appeared to be chief authority. Upon this account, the citi- zens elected the aforesaid priest for their Pope, as being the liberator of the Church, and called him Gregory VI.' " Concerning the Popes generally, for nearly 150 years, Genebrard, in his Chronicles, relates that " about fifty popes, namely, from John YIII., who succeeded the holy Popes Nicolas and Adrian II., to Leo IX., deserted wholly the virtue of their prede- cessors, being apostate, rather than apostolical." Of so many popes, five only are even slightly praised. The following is related by Matthew Paris, in 1246, concerning the grievances of the kingdom of England in 1246, as stated by the nation at that period. It is historically of great interest, parti- cularly in days of revived papal aggression : — " The kingdom of England is aggrieved, foras- much as our lord the pope is not content with the subsidy which is called Peter's pence, but extorts from all the clergy a heavy contribution, and still strives to extort many more still more oppressive ; and he does this without the agreement or consent of our lord the king, against the ancient customs, liberties, and rights of the kingdom, and against the appeal and remonstrances of the king's commission- ers, and of the kingdom made in council. Also the Church and kingdom are aggrieved, forasmuch as THE MISSION OF THE REFOHMATION. 11 / the patrons of the Church cannot present fit clergy- men to those which are vacant, as our lord the pope has conceded to them by his letters ; but the churches are granted to Romans, who are wholly ignorant of the language of the country, to the peril of souls, and they carry the money out of the kingdom, impoverishing it beyond measure. " Also the kingdom is aggrieved by the purvey- ances made by our lord the pope, and by the exac- tion of pensions against the tenor of his letters, in which it is contained, that all the retainings made in England, he only intended to confer twelve livings after the finishino^ of the said letters ; but we believe that many more benefices were disposed of, rncl pur- veyances made by him afterwards. " Also the kingdom is aggrieved, forasmuch as Italian succeeds to Italian, and the English are drawn out of the kingdom by apostolical authority in their suits contrary to the customs and written laws of the kingdom, and contrary to the indulgences granted by the predecessors of our lord the pope to the king and to the kingdom of England. Also, it is aggrieved by the frequent arrivals of that infamous declaration the ' nou obstante,^ hy loliicli the sanctity of oaths ^ the ancient customs, the force of Scriptu^^e, the authority of grants, the statutes, rights, and 'pri- vileges are loeaJcened and vanish, so that an infinite number of persons in England are grievously op- pressed and afflicted'' The following extracts from a sermon, delivered by Grossetete, Bishop of Lincoln, before Innocent 118 THE MISSION OF THE REFOHMATION. lY. in council, a.d. 1250, are graphically descrip- tive of the times : — " Bad shepherds, the dearth of good ones, and the multiplication of the had, are the cause of corruption of the Christian faith and reli- gion ; they are the cause of infidelity, schism, here- tical wickedness, and vicious manners, throughout the whole world." He speaks of such, again, as " making the house of prayer a den of thieves .... as men stained with every species of crime, wickedness, and abo- mination .... But what is the primary and ori- ginal cause, fountain, and origin of this so-great evil ? I tremble and fear exceedingly to speak it, and yet I dare not be silent. The cause, fountain, and origin of this evil is this court, not only because it does not disperse these evils, and does not purge these abominations, when she alone can best do this, and is particularly called upon to do it, but also because she only, by her dispensations, pro- visions, and collations of the pastoral cure, ap- points, in the light of day, such shepherds as are above mentioned, the destroyers of the world; and, in order that she may provide a livelihood for some one, delivers many souls, for whose eternal life the Son of God was willing to be condemned to a most vile death, to be devoured by all the beasts of the field, and to eternal death." The following are some curious extracts from the Bevelations of St. Bridget, who died a.d. 1373, and was canonized by Pope Boniface IX., a.d. 1391 [Cologne edition, 1629]. These revelations were THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 119 recognised by the Councils of Constance and Basil, and by Popes Urban YI., Martin V., and PaulY. : — " Tlie Son of God speaks to the Church. "I am the Creator of all. I was begotten of the Pather before Lucifer Now, therefore, I complain of the head of my Church, who sitteth in my seat, which I delivered to Peter and his suc- cessors to sit in with a threefold dignity and au- thority— first, that they should have the power of binding and loosing souls from sin ; secondly, that they should open heaven to the penitent; thirdly, that they should shut heaven against the accursed and the mockers. But thou, who ought est to loosen souls and present them to me, truly thou art the slayer of souls. Por I have appointed Peter the pastor and preserver of my sheep ; but you are their disperser and lacerator. You are worse than Lu- cifer ; for he envied me, and desired to slay me only in order that he might rule in my place. But you are worse than he; forasmuch you not only slay me, by removing me from thee by thy evil works, but you also slay souls by your bad example. I redeemed souls with my blood, and committed them to thee as to a faithful friend ; but thou betrayest them to the inveterate enemy from whom I re- deemed them. You are more unjust than Pilate, who sentenced no one to death besides me ; but you not only condemn me, as if I were the Lord of no one, and as if I were worthy of no good thing, but you also condemn innocent souls, and dismiss the 120 THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. guilty. You are more merciless than Judas, who sold me only ; but you not only sell me, but also the souls of my elect, for thy vile gain, and for an empty name. You are more abominable than the Jews; they crucified my body only, but you cru- cify and punish the souls of my elect, to whom your malice and wrong are more bitter than my sword. Therefore, because thou art like unto Lucifer, more unjust than Pilate, more cruel than Judas, and more abominable than the Jews, I justly complain of thee. But truly the words which I spake, and the works which I wrought in the world, are altogether, as it were, forgotten and neglected, which is owing to none so much as the prelates of the Church, who are filled with pride and covetousness, and with the putridity of corporeal enjoyments. These bad pre- lates of the Church, filled with the malignity of the evil spirit, have left men examples injurious to their souls ; and therefore it behoves me to exact from them plenary justice, by inflicting judgments upon them, and by blotting them out of the book of life, and by placing them in hell, near my enemy, Lu- cifer, to be everlastingly tortured in the infernal regions." The remaining part cited of the revelations to this female saint, are left in their original, for obvious reasons: — " Orta est abusio gravis, in hoc, quodlaicis bona ecclesiie donantur, qui uxores non ducunt x^rop- ter nomen canonicale, sed impudenter habent con- cubinas in domibus suis per dies, et in lectis per- noctes, dicentes audacter, nos non licet esse in con- THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 121 nubio. quia canonici sumus. Presbyteri, etiam diaconi et subdiaconi, dim in infamiam immundse vitae maxime abhorrebant. Nunc autem quidam iUoruni nianifeste Isetantur in eo quod meretrices eorum intuniescente ventre veniunt inter alias am- bulare. Nee etiam pudet eos si ab amicis eorum dicitur eis, Ecce, domine, cito natus erit vobis filius vel filia. Portse monasteriorum indifferenter cle- ricis et laicis, quibus placet sororibus introitum dare etiam in ipsis noctibus sunt apertse. JEt ideo talia loca similiora lupanaribiis, quam Sanctis claustris.^' Proofs of the total corruption of the Papal Church, in its head and members, crowd upon us. " Two persons, assuming for themselves" (writes Bzovius, in his Annals) ''the Roman pontificate — one with the best possible title, and the other with the great- est injustice, the Church was divided. There was a great excitement among the clergy at that time for obtaining benefices and dignities. Some applied to Boniface, others to Peter de Luna, and, what is worse, those who had gained anything from Boni- face without obtaining a diploma, or had extorted anything from Peter which they did not think they could safely retain, the former ran to Peter, and the latter from Peter to Boniface, and, by a vile sort of mercantile reciprocity, without any just title, occu- pied benefices and dignities, content with a mere verbal collation, and some of them not even sup- ported by this. Hence a great confusion arose in the hierarchy — some without any mission, and many 122 THE MISSION OF THE REEORMATION. commissioned indeed, but supported by no testi- monials. The following is from Labbseus, relating to the deposition of Pope Eugenius, a.d. 1439. "The General Council of Basil .... pronounces, decrees and declares, the above-mentioned Pope Eugenius to have been, and to be notoriously and manifestly contumacious, disobedient to the mandates and pre- cepts of the universal Church, and persevering in open rebellion, a constant violator and despiser of the sacred canons of councils, a notorious disturber of the peace and unity of the Church, a notorious scandaliser of the universal Church, a simoniac, a perjured man, incorrigible, schismatical, wandering from the faith, an obstinate heretic, &c. Him therefore for these reasons the same holy council declares, and pronounces, to be justly deprived of the papacy, and Roman high priesthood." To this decree of the council the Pope responds : — " Eugenius, bishop, servant of the servants of God, &c. After the fasliion of Dioscorus, and the con- demned Council of Ephesus, they have proceeded, with inexpiable depravity, to a certain venomous and execrable sentence of deprivation of the dignity and office of the chief apostleship .... and now they prosecute the same enterprise so vehemently, as far as lies in their power, that tJie evil spirits of the whole loorld seem to have collected in that den of robbers at Basil We decree and declare, that all and each of the above were and are schis- matics and heretics ; and, in addition to the punish- THE MISSION OF THE BErORMATION. 123 ments declared in the aforesaid Council of Perrara, with all their aiders and defenders of every con- dition, that they may receive a deserved portion with the aforesaid Corah, Dathan, and Ahiram, they shall be punished with suitable punishments." The Abbe Pleuri, in his Ecclesiastical History, gives the following account of Pope Paul II. " The laws which the cardinals had passed in the conclave, and which they made the new pope swear to observe, were, that he should continue the war against the Turks : that he should restore the ancient discipline of the E^oman court : that within three years he should assemble a general council : that he should not increase the number of cardinals beyond twenty- four, &c. It was necessary to reduce these laws to practice, and herein was the difficulty. The pope, who when he was cardinal had sworn to do this, and who had confirmed his oath as soon as he teas elected pope, thought little of violating it. The pope, however, to obtain the goodwill of the cardinals, raised their dignity by some striking privileges. He caused them to wear silk mitres, similar to those which the sovereign pontifiPs alone had previously carried. He permitted their horses and mules to have scarlet cloths, and he desired that the cardinals' caps should be of red silk." The next extract is from Andre du Chesne, the King of Prance's historiographer, concerning Pope Alexander VI. : — " But this not yet sufficing for the daily expenses of himself and Caesar, he resolved to poison all the 124 THE MISSION OP THE REPOKMATION. richest prelates and cardinals of his court, in order that, by applying their fortunes to the revenue, he might have the means of more plentifully assuaging the ardent and insatiable thirst of his son, the duke. Guicciardini, Arnaud, and several other writers, say that he would have executed this, if the admirable providence of God had not otherwise arranged it ; for^ through the mistake of his butler, the poisoned wine was offered to himself, Ccesar, and Cardinal Adrian, who had great credit and influence vnth them; so that those, whose deaths they had planned, escaped, and they icere themselves poiso7ted, "Valentine, invited to the same supper" (writes Guicciardini, in his " History of Italy,") " had deter- mined to poison Adrian, Cardinal of Corneto, in whose garden they were to sup, since it is a noto- rious fact, that it was both his and his father's con- stant custom, not only to make use of poison to rid themselves of their enemies, and to secure tliem- selves against their suspicions, but also, from their wicked covetousness, to deprive rich persons of their property. The lohole of Ro^ne assembled round the dead body of Alexander, in St, Feter's, loith incre- dible joy — not being able to satisfy themselves with beholding dead a serpent, loho, by his immoderate ambition and pestiferous perfidy, ivith every in- stance of horrible cruelty, and monstrous lust, and unheard-of avai^ice, selling things sacred and pro- fane, ivithout distinction, had p>oisoned the lohole world, ^'' To come down to the memorable period of the THE MISSION OF THE REFOKMATION. 125 Council of Trent, Cornelius, Bishop of Bitonto, thus addresses the fathers : — ^^ Has not that fervent love towards each 'other and the state perished, upon account of which for- merly all Christians were called hrothers — a sweet and precious name, so that the prediction of St. Paul is fulfilled, ' Men shall he lovers of them- selves ?' Unless truly this had perished, there would not have heen a general degeneracy from those holy morals, and from those honourahle ordi- nances, which, when they were observed, always enlarged our commonwealth; for loith ichat mon- sters of baseness, loith lahat a heap of filth, with what a pestilence are not both the priests and the people corrupted in the holy Church of God ! I place my case in your hands, O fathers. Begin loith the sanc- tuary of God, and see if any modesty, any shame, any hope, or reasonable expectations remain of good living. If there be not unrestrained and un- conquerable lust, a singular audacity and incredible wichedness, " I say nothing" (speaks out another in the same council, Eather Prancis Anthony Paganus) " of pub- lic adulteries, rapes, and robberies. I pass over the great effusion of Christian blood, unlawful exactions, impositions gratuitously accumulated, and, for what- ever cause they were introduced, persevered in with- out cause, and innumerable oppressions of this kind. I pass over the proud pomp of clothing, extraor- dinary expenses beyond the requirements of life, drunkenness, surfeits, and the inordinate filthiness 126 THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. of luxury^ such as never took 'place before ; woman- kind was never less modest and bashful, young men were never more unbridled and undisciplined; the old were never more irreligious and foolish. In fine, never was there in all persons less fear of God, honour, virtue, and modesty, and never more carnal licentiousness, abuse, and irregularity .^"^ Such, were the morals of Christendom when God raised up the B^eformers. Let now the religious practices of the Church be viewed : — "This similitude of the Popish and Pagan reli- gion" (writes Bishop Middleton, in his celebrated " Letters from Bome") '^seemed so evident and clear, and struck my imagination so forcibly, that I soon resolved to give myself the trouble of search- ing into the bottom of the notion, and to explain and demonstrate the certainty of it, by exhibiting and comparing together the principal and most ob- vious parts of each worship." The first thing noticed by the bishop was "the use of incense or perfume in the religious offices of the Bomish Church, as plainly of heathen origin. In the old bas-reliefs or pieces of sculpture, where any heathen sacrifice is represented, we never fail to observe a boy in sacred habit, which is always white, attending on the priest, with a little chest or box in his hands, in which this incense was kept for the use of the altar ; and in the same manner still, in the Church of Bome, there is always a boy in surplice, waiting on the priest at the altar with sacred utensils, and, among the rest, the thuribulum. THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 127 or vessel of incense, which, being set on fire, the priest, with many motions and crossings, waves several times, as it is smoking, around and over the altar, in different parts of the service." The next thing which attracted his notice, was their use of holy water : — '' This ceremony is so notoriously and directly transmitted to them from Paganism, that their own writers make not the least scruple to own it. The Jesuit, La Cerdue, in his ' Notes on a Passage of Yirgil,' where this prac- tice is mentioned, says, 'That hence was derived the custom of holy Church to provide purifying or holy water at the entrance of their churches.' ' Aqua- minarium, or amula,' says the learned Montfaucon, ' was a vase of holy water, placed by the heathens at the entrance of their temples, to sprinkle themselves with.' " And the custom of sprinkling themselves was so necessary a part of all their religious offices, that the method of excommunication seems to have been by prohibiting to offenders the approach and use of the holy- water pot. The very composition of this holy water was the same also among the heathens as it is now among the Papists, being nothing more than a mixture of salt with common water ; and the form of the sprinkling-brush, called by the ancients aspersorium, or aspergillum, which is much the same with what the priests now make use of, may be seen in bas-reliefs, or ancient coins, wherever the insignia or emblems of the Pagan priesthood are described, of which it is generally one. I do not 128 THE MISSION OF THE RE FORMATION. at present recollect whether the ancients went so far as to apply the use of this holy water to the purifying or hlessing their horses, asses, and other cattle ; or whether this he an improvement of mo- dern Rome, which has dedicated a yearly festival peculiarly to this service, called, in their vulgar language, the henediction of horses, which is always celebrated with much solemnity in the month of January, when all the inhabitants of the city and neighbourhood send up their horses, asses, &c. to the convent of St. Anthony, near St. Mary-the- Great, where a priest in surplice, at the church door, sprinkles with his brush all the animals singly, as they are presented to him, and receives from each owner a gratuity, proportionable to his zeal and ability. Amongst the rest, I had my own horse blest at the expense of about eighteen-pence of our money, as well to satisfy my own curiosity, as to humour the coachman, who was persuaded, as the common people generally are, that some mischance would befal them within the year if they wanted the benefit of this benediction." The bishop next remarks on the lamp, or small light, burning before the altar in the church : — '' This piece of superstition had been found of old so beneficial to the priesthood, that it could not fail of being taken into the scheme of the Romish wor- ship, where it reigns at this day in as full height and vigour as in the ages of Pagan idolatry, and in so gross a manner, as to give scandal and offence even to some of their own communion. Polydore THE MISSION OF THE REFOHMATION. 129 Virgil, after having described this practice of the ancients, " In the same manner," says he, " do we now ofPer up in our churches little images of wax ; and as oft as any part of the body is hurt, as the hand or foot, &c., we presently make a vow to God, or one of his saints, to whom, upon our recovery, we make an offering of that hand or foot in wax ; which custom is now come to that extravagance, that we do the same thing for our cattle as we do for ourselves, and make offerings on account of our oxen, horses, sheep, where a scrupulous man will question whether in this we imitate the religion or superstition of our ancestors." Upon the churches themselves and the images set up in them, Middleton remarks : — " When a man is once engaged in reflections of this kind, imagining himself in some heathen temple, and expecting as it were some sacrifice, or other piece of paganism to ensue, he will not be long in suspencc before he sees the finishing act and last scene of genuine idolatry, in crowds of bigot votaries prostrating themselves before some image of wood or stone, and paying divine honours to an idol of their own erecting. Should they squabble with us here about the mean- ing of the word idol, St. Jerome has determined it to the very case in question, telling us, that by idols are to be understood the images of the dead: and the worshippers of such images are used always in the style of the fathers, as terms synonymous and equivalent to Heathens or Pagans. " But our notion of the idolatry of modern Rome K 130 THE MISSION OF THE REPOUMATION. will be much heiglitened still and confirmed, as oft as we follow them in those temples, and to those very altars which were built originally and dedi- cated by their heathen ancestors, the old Romans, to the honour of their pagan deities : where we shall hardly see any other alteration than the shrine of some old hero filled now with the meaner statue of some modern saint : nay, they have not always, as I am well informed, given themselves the trouble of making even this change, but have been content, sometimes, to take up with the image just as they found it ; only baptized, as it were, and consecrated anew by the imposition of a Christian name : this their antiquaries will not scruple to put stangers in mind of, in showing their churches ; and it was, I think, in that of St. Agnes, where they showed me an antique statue of a Young Bacchus, which, with a new name and some little change of drapery, stands now worshipped under the title of a female saint. And as it is in the Pantheon, 'tis just the same in all the other heathen temples that still remain in Home ; they have only pulled down one idol to set up another in its place, and changed rather the name than the object of their worship. Thus the little temple of Yesta, near the Tiber, mentioned by Horace, is now possessed by the Madonna of the Sun; that of Portuna Yirilis, by Mary the Egyptian; that of Satm^n (where the public trea- sure was anciently kept) by St. Adrian; that of Romulus and Remus, in the Yia Sacra, by two other brothers, Cosmas and Damianus ; that of THE MISSION OF THE REEORMATION. 131 Antonia the Godly, by Laurence the Saint. At the foot of Mount Palatin, in the way between the Torum and Circus Maximus, on the very spot where E/omulus was believed to have been suckled by the wolf, there stands another little round temple, dedicated to him in the early times of the republic, into which, from the elevation of the soil without, we now descend by a great number of steps. It is mentioned by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, who says, that in his time there stood in it a brazen statue, of antique work, of the wolf giving suck to the infant brothers; because of the wonderful escape which E^omulus had in this very place, when exposed in his infancy to perish in the Tiber. As soon as he came to be a god, he was looked upon as singularly propitious to the health and safety of young children; from which notion it became a practice for nurses and mothers to present their sickly infants before his shrine in this little temple, in confidence of a cure or relief by his favour. Now when this temple was con- verted afterwards into a church ; lest any piece of superstition should be lost, or the people think themselves sufferers in the change, by losing the benefit of such a protection for their children ; care was taken to find out in the place of the heathen god, a Christian saint, who had been exposed too, it seems, in his infancy, and found by chance like Romulus; and for the same reason is believed to be just as fond of and indulgent to children as their old deity had been : and thus the worship k2 132 THE MISSION OF THE REEORM ATION . paid before to Eomulus, being now transferred to one Theodorus, the old superstition still subsists, and the custom of presenting children at this shrine continues to this day without intermission; of which I myself have been a witness, having seen, as oft as I looked into this church, ten or a dozen women, decently dressed, each with a child in her lap, sitting with silent reverence before the altar of the saint, in expectation of his miraculous in- fluence on the health of the infant. In recon- secrating these heathen temples to the Popish wor- ship, that the change might be the less offensive, and the old superstition as little shocked as possible, they generally observed some resemblance of quality and character in the saint they substituted to the old deity. If in converting the profane worship of the Gentiles, says the describer of modern Rome, to the pure and sacred of the Church, the faithful use to follow some rule and proportion, they have certainly hit upon it here, in dedicating to Madonna, or Holy Virgin, the temple formerly sacred to the Bona Dea, or Good Goddess. Eut they have more frequently on these occasions had regard rather to a similitude of name between the old and new idol : thus in a place formerly sacred to Apollo, there now stands the church of ApoUinaris; built there, as they tell us, that the profane name of that deity might be converted into the glorious one of this martyr : and where there anciently stood a temple of Mars, they THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 133 have erected a cliureli to Martina with this in- scription : — " Martirii gestans virgo Martina coronam, Ejecto June Martis numine, templa tenet. " Mars hence expell'd ; Martina, niartyr'd maid, Claims now the worship which to him was paid. " In another place I have taken notice of an altar erected to one St. Baccho. The old Komans, we know, had their gods, who presided peculiarly over the roads, streets, and highways, called Yiales, Se- mitales, Capitales ; whose little temples or altars, decked with flowers, or whose statues at least, coarsely carved of wood or stone, were placed at convenient distances in the public ways, for the benefit of travel- lers, who used to step aside to pay their devotions to these rural shrines, and beg a prosperous journey and safety in their travels. Xow this custom pre- vails still so generally in all Popish countries, but especially in Italy, that one can see no other differ- ence between the old and present superstition, than that of changing only the name of the deity, and Christening as it were the old Hecate in TrlvHs, by the 7ieio name of Maria in Trivio, under which title I have observed one of the churches dedicated in this city. But what gave me still the greater notion of the superstition of these countries was to see those little oratories, or rural shrines, sometimes placed under the cover of a tree or grove, agreeably to the descriptions of the old idolatry, in the sacred as well as the profane writers, or more generally raised on 134 THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. some eminence, or, in tlie phrase of Scripture, on high places ; the constant scene of idolatrous worship in all ages — it being an universal opinion among the heathens, that the gods, in a peculiar manner, loved to reside on eminences, or tops of mountains, which Pagan notions prevail still so generally with the Pa]3ists, that there is hardly a rock or precipice, however dreadful or difficult of access, that has not an oratory, or altar, or crucifix, at least, planted on the top of it. When we enter their towns, the case is still the same as it was in the country. We find everywhere the same marks of idolatry, and the same reasons to make us fancy that we are still treading Pagan ground ; whilst at every corner we see images and altars, with lamps or candles burn- ing before them, exactly answering to the decrip- tions of the ancient writers, and to what Tertullian reproaches the heathens with — that their streets, their markets, their baths were not without an idol. "Eut, above all, in the pomp and solemnity of their holidays, and especially their religious pro- cessions, we see the genuine remains of heathenism, and proof enough to convince us, that this is still the same Rome which old Numa first tamed and civilized by the arts of religion, loho, as Plutarch says, by the institution of supplications and proces- sions to the gods, tohich inspire reverence, lohilst they give pleasure to the spectators, and, by pre- tended miracles and divine apparitions, reduced the fierce spirits of his subjects under the power of super- stition. The descriptions of the religious pomps THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 185 and processions of the heathens came so near to what we see on every festival of the Virgin or otlier Romish saint, that one can hardly help thinking the Popish ones to be still regulated by the old ceremonial of Pagan Pome. At these solemnities, the chief magistrate used frequently to assist in robes of ceremony, attended by the priests in sur- plices, with wax candles in their hands, carrying, upon a pageant or tliensa, the images of their gods, dressed out in their best clothes. These were usually followed by the principal youth of the place, in white linen vestments or surplices, singing hymns in honour of the god whose festival they were celebrating, ac- companied by crowds of all sorts that were initiated in the same religion, all with flambeaux or wax candles in their hands. This is the account which Apuleius and other authors give us of a Pagan pro- cession ; and I may appeal to all who have been abroad, whether it might not pass quite as well for the description of a Popish one. " If we examine the pretended miracles and pious frauds of the Church of Pome, we shall be able to trace them all from the same source of Paganism, and find that the priests of new Pome are not in the least degenerated from their predecessors, in the art of imposing on their fellow- citizens by the for- gery of these holy impostures, which, as Livy ob- serves of old Pome, were always multiplied in proportion to the credulity and disposition of the poor people to swallow them. In the early times of the Pepublic, in the war with the Latins, the 136 THE MISSION OF THE REEOBMATION. gods. Castor and Pollux, are said to have appeared on white horses in the Eoman army, which, by their assistance, gained a complete victory. In memory of which, the General Posthumius vowed and built a temple publicly to these deities ; and for the proof of the fact, there was shown, we find in Cicero's time, the marks of the horses' hoofs on a rock at Pegillum, where they first appeared. Now this miracle, with many others I could mention of the same kind, has, I dare say, as authentic an attesta- tion as any which the Papists can produce ; the de- cree of a senate to confirm it ; a temple erected in consequence of it ; visible marks of the fact on the spot where it was transacted, and all this supported by the concurrent testimony of the best authors of antiquity, amongst whom Dionysius of Halicarnassus says, that there were subsisting in his time at Rome many evident proofs of its reality, besides a yearly festival, with a solemn sacrifice and procession in memory of it ; yet for all this, these stories were but the jest of men of sense in the time of heathenism, and seem so extravagant to us now, that we wonder there could ever be any so simple as to believe them. What better opinion, then, can we have of all those of the same stamp in the Popish legends, which seem plainly to be built on this foundation, and copied after this very original ? Por they show us, in many parts of Italy, the marks of hands and feet on rocks and stones, said to have been effected miraculously by the apparition of some saint or angel on the spot, just as the impression of Hercules' feet was shown THE MISSION OP THE BEEORMATION. 137 of old on a stone in Scytbia, exactly resembling tbe footsteps of a man. Tbey have many stories like- wise of saints and angels fighting visibly for them in their battles against the infidels, with churches and public monuments erected in testimony of such mi- racles, which, though full as ridiculous as that above- mentioned, are not yet supported by half so good evidence of their reality. Their miraculous images, which we see in all their great towns, said to be made by angels, and sent to them from heaven, are but the old fables revived of the image of Diana, dropt from the clouds, or the palladium of Troy, which, accord- ing to old authors, was a wooden statue, three cubits long, which fell from heaven. ISTothing is more com- mon among the miracles of Popery, than to hear of images that, on certain occasions, had spoken, or shed tears, or sweat, or bled ; and do not we find the very same stories in all the heathen writers ? Of which I could bring numberless examples from old as well as new E;ome, from Pagan as well as Popish legends. E;ome, as the describer of it says, abounds with these treasures, or speaking images ; but he laments the negligence of their ancestors, in not recording, so particularly as they ought, the very words and other circumstances of such conversations. They show us here an image of the Virgin, which reprimanded Gregory the Great for passing by her too carelessly ; and in St. Paul's Church, a crucifix which spoke to St. Bridgith. *' Duranthus mentions another Madonna, which spoke to the sexton in commendation of the piety of 188 THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. one of her votaries. And did not the image of for- tune do the same, or more, in old Home, which, as authors say, spoke twice in praise of those matrons, who had dedicated a temple to her? They have a church here dedicated to St. Mary the Weeper, or to a Madonna famous for shedding tears. They show us an image too of our Saviour, which for some time before the sacking of E^ome wept so heartily, that the good fathers of the monastery were all employed in wiping its face with cotton. And was not the case just the same among their ancestors when, on the approach of some public calamity, the statue of Apollo, as Livy tells us, wept for three days and three nights successively ? They have another church built in honour of an image which bled very plentifully from a blow given it by a blasphemer. And were not the old idols, too, as full of blood, when, as Livy relates, all the images in the temple of Juno were seen to sweat with drops of it ? The Popish writers themselves are forced to allow that many, both of their reliques and miracles, have been forged by the craft of priests, for the sake of money and lucre. Duranthus, a zealous defender of all their ceremonies, gives several instances of the former, particularly of the bones of a common thief, which had for some time been honoured with an altar, and worshipped under the title of a saint. And for the latter ; Lyra, in his comment on Bell and the Dragon, observes, that sometimes also in the church very great cheats are put upon the people, by false miracles, contrived or THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 139 countenanced at least by their priests for some gain and temporal advantage. And what their own authors confess of some of their miracles, we may venture, without any breach of charity, to believe of all the rest. Aringhus, in his account of subter- raneous Rome, acknowledges this conformity be- tween the Pagan and Popish rites, and defends the admission of the ceremonies of heathenism into the service of the Church, by the authority of their wisest popes and governors, who, he says, found it necessary in the conversion of the Gentiles, to dissemble and wink at many- things, and yield to the times, and not to use force against customs, which the people were so obstinately fond of, nor think of extirpatmg at once every thing that had the appearance of profane ; but to supersede, in some measure, the obligations of the sacred laws, till these converts, convinced of themselves by degrees, and informed of the whole truth by the suggestions of the Holy Spirit, were content to submit in earnest to the yoke of Christ. 'Tis by the same reasonings that the Jesuits defend the concessions they make to their proselytes in China, who, where pure Christianity will not go down, never scruple to compound the matter be- tween Jesus and Confucius; and prudently allow, what the stiff old prophet so impoliticly condemned, a partnership between God and Baal. Of which, though they have often been accused at the court of Rome, yet I have never heard that their conduct has been censured."* * How little changed Rome is since Middleton's time, the 140 THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. In sketching thus from undoubted historical facts the picture of Christianity in the workl in the age of the Reformation, (and, it is still unhappily the same wherever Popery is dominant,) we proceed from the morals of the Church and her devotions to notice her method for the pardon of sin by indulgences, as the grossness of this traffic, under God, led to the E/cformation. " The Roman school teaches" (I quote from one of the learned treatises in Eishop Gibson's collection) " that the satisfactions performed by a third person m.ay be imputed to another, and it is the very foundation of indulgences, whose treasury contains all the superfluous satisfactions of the saints, who suffered more than they were obliged to do. This cannot be denied, if we consider what Bellarmine hath written on this point ; and what other divines of the same school do maintain with one accord, since the time of Luther, in defence of indulgences. 2. We are to observe, that the pope not only lays up in this treasury the satisfactions of those who are dead, but also of the living, who perform more penitential works than they are obliged to do. 3. There is nothing more common than to undergo penances, for relieving of souls in purgatory. 4. It is also very common in that communion, to charge a friend, male or female, with the penance one hath accepted of. Thomas Aquinas maintains on this principle, that they did not publish the sin of per- reader will find by referring to Facts from Borne, a most season- able and valuable work, lately published by Nisbet. THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 141 sons submitted to public penance; and the reason he allegeth is, because a person may submit himself thereto for another which makes that the penance any one undergoes cannot serve to make his sin publick, forasmuch as it may not be undertaken for his own sin. The gloss of the canon law pretends, that a son may fast instead of his father, a brother for a sister, and so of the rest. In effect, that accord- ding to this commodious maxim, persons of quality, and such as are nice and deKcate, being willing to be quit of the trouble of fasting, send a daughter of their family to a convent, who is charged with a commission of fasting and praying for them, and undergoing the penances imposed on them. Pamous universities have authorized the like substitutions. " The eldest indulgences we meet with are those which are made by the popes to such who under- took their quarrels against their enemies; and the first of this kind I can meet with is that of Anselm, Bishop of Luca, Legate of Gregory YII., which he gave to those of his party who would fight against the Emperor Henry IV., which Baronius relates from his Penitentiary, in which was promised re- mission of all their sins to such who would venture their lives in that holy war. And Gregorius VII. himself, in an Epistle to the Monks of Marseilles, who stuck close to him, promised an indulgence of all their sins. The same was granted to those who would fight against the Saracens in Africa by Victor, who succeeded Gregorius VII. After having fol- lowed Urban II., who granted an indulgence to all 142 THE MISSION OP THE HEFORMATION. who would go in the war to the Holy Land, of all their sins ; and as Gul. Tyrius saith, expressly men- tioned those which the Scripture saith do exclude from the kingdom of God, as murder, theft, &c. ; and not only absolved them from all the penances they deserved by their sins : bat bid them not doubt of an eternal reward after death, as Malmesbury saith. The like is attested by Ordericus Yitalis, in whose younger days this expedition began : upon which, he saith, all the thieves, pyrates, and other rogues, came in great numbers, and listed themselves, having made confession of their sins; and if we believe St. Bernard, there were very few but such among them, which he rejoiceth very much in; and saith there was a double cause of joy in it, both that they left the countries where they were before, and now went upon such an enterprize, which would carry them to heaven. JBut he doth not at all ques- tion the indulgence granted by the same pope, to those who would take up arms against the Albigenses, ivhich to those that die in that cause is not only pardon of all their sins, hut an eternal reward. And Honorius III., in the same cause, granted an indulgence in the same terms, as to those who went to the Holy Land : and Gregorius IX., to all who should take his part against the Emperor Prederick II., which Bzovius confesseth to be usual with the popes to give to those who would fight against Saracens, hereticks, or any other enemies of theirs. This practice of indulgences being once taken up, was found too beneficial to be ever let fall again; THE MISSION OP THE REFORMATION. 143 and private bishops began to make use of it, not in such manner as the popes, but they were unwilling not to have as great a share as they could get in it; thence they began to publish indulgences to those who would give money towards the building or re- pairing churches, or other public works : for this they promised them a pardon of the seventh, or fourth, or third part of their sins, according as their bounty deserved. This was first begun by Gelasius II., for the building of the church of Saragoza, A.D. 1118, and was followed by other bishops ; inso- much that Morinus is of opinion, that Marcius, Bishop of Paris, built the great church of Notre- Dame there, in that manner ; and he saith, he can find no ground for this practice of indulgences, before the twelfth century, and answers Bellar- mine's arguments, for a greater antiquity of them, and proves all his testimonies, from Gregorius' Stations, Ludgerus his Epistle, and Sergius his Indulgence in the Church of St. Martin at Home, produced by Baronius, to be mere impostures. But the Bishops of E^ome, finding how beneficial these indulgences were, soon resolved to keep the keys of the treasury of the Church in their own hands; and therefore quickly abridged other bishops of this power. Some have confessed that they have no foun- dation in Scripture, or antiquity. Durandus saith that very little can be affirmed with any certainty concerning indulgences, because neither the Scrip- ture speaks expressly of them, and the fathers, Ambrose, Hilary, Augustine, Hierom, speak not 144 THE MISSION OP THE REFORMATION* at all of them : and therefore he had no more to say, but that the common opinion is to be followed therein. The same is said by another Schoolman, who adds this, that though it be a negative argu- ment, yet it is of force, because in the time of those fathers, they were very much skilled in the Scrip- tures ; and it were very strange, if indulgences were to be found there, that they did not find them. This is likewise affirmed by Cajetan, Dominicus, Soto, and all those who assert that the use of indulgences came into the Church upon the relaxing the severity of the primitive discipline, which they say continued in use for a thousand years after Christ. But the most express testimonies in the case, are of Bishop Pisher, who saith that the use of indulgences came very late into the Church ; and of Polydore Yirgil, following his words ; and of Alphonsus a Castro, who ingenu- ously confesseth that among all the controversies he writes of, there is none which the Scripture or fathers speak less of than this; but however, he saith, though the use of them seems to have come very late into the Church, they ought not to be contemned ; because many other things are knoT^m to latter ages, which the antient writers were wholly ignorant of, for which he instanceth in Transubstan- tiation. " Some in the Church of Bome have called them pious frauds. This appears by the controversies which arose upon indulgences, at the same time when they began to grow common. Eor Aquinas and Bonaventure tell us, that there were some in THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 145 the Church who said, that the intention of the Church in indulgences, was only by a pious fraud to draio men to charitable acts, which otherwise they woukl not have done ; as a mother which promiseth her child an apple to run abroad, which she never gives him when she hath brought him to it. Which is the very instance they used, as Gregory de Valencia confesseth. But this Aquinas rejects, as a very dangerous opinion ; because this is, in plain terms, to make the Church guilty of a notorious cheat ; and, as he saith from St. Augustine — if any falsehood be found in Scripture, it takes away the authority of the M^hole ; so, if the Church be guilty of a cheat in one thing, she will be suspected in all the rest. This, saith Bonaventiu'e, is to make the Church to lie and deceive, and indulgences to be vain and childish toys. But for all these hard words, they had a great deal of reason on their side. Por the indulgences were expressly for the remission of the sins of those who did such and such things, as the giving a small sum of money towards the building of a church or an hospital ; they therefore asked whether the indulgences were to be taken as they were given, or not. If they were, then all those had full remission of sins on very easy terms ; if not, then what is this else but fraud and cheating ; and can be only called pious, because the work vvas good which they did ? This put the defenders of indulgences very hard to it. Preepositivus, one of the eldest of the schoolmen, confesseth that it looks a little oddlv for a man to be absolved from all his 146 THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. sins for three pence, given in three several places ; and that the rich, by this means, have a mighty- advantage over the poor. But he resolves it all into the power of the Church. Petrus Cantor confesseth the difficulties great, but only for the Church's au- thority, and especially in those general indulgences which are pronounced without any distinctions. But because the form of indulgences ran in such large and general terms, it grew to be a great question among the schoolmen, "Whether the validity of in- dulgences was as great as the words of them. Which, in other terms, is. Whether the Church did cheat or not, in giving them. Por if they were not to understand them according to the plain words of them, what is this but a gross imposture to abuse the credulous people, and laugh in their sleeves at them for their simplicity? Por while the people have so good an opinion of their Church, as to believe the truth of what she declares, and so take indulgences according to the sense of the words ; if their meaning who gave them be otherwise than is expressed, it is one of the most abominable cheats that ever was invented by men. For picMng purses, forging deeds, or betraying men, are toler- able tilings in comparison ; hut to abuse and ruin their souls, under a pretence of pardoning their sins, is the utmost degree of fraud and imposture. But there is another shrewd objection, mentioned by Bonaventure ; which is, that a man gets by sin- ning, as suppose two men receive the remission of a third part of their sins by an indulgence, one owes THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 147 but it may be ninety years' penance for his sins, and another hath run upon the score so that he owes nine hundred years, but to receive a third part indulgence ; in which case, we see plainly, the greater sinner hath mightily the advantage of the other, and where one gets but thirty, the other gets three hundred. And therefore Bonaventure is fain to run back again, and to say, that indulgences are not to be understood as they are expressed, and that they are not equal to all, but it was not fit to express it so, because this would hinder the people's esteem of the indulgence. Which, in plainer terms, is, that it is necessary to cheat the people, or else there is no good to be done by indulgences. Thence Petrarch called them nets, wherein the credulous multitude were caught ; and in the time of Boniface IX. the people observing what vast sums of money were gathered by them, cried out that they were mere cheats and tricks to get money with; upon which Paulus Langius (a monk) exclaims : ' O God ! to what are these things come ? Thou boldest thy peace, but thou wilt not always ; for the day of the Lord will bring the hidden things to light ! Conrad Urspergensis saith, that Bome might well rejoice in the sins of the people, because she grew rich by the compensation which was made for them. ' Thou hast ' (saith he to her) ' that which thou hast always thirsted after ; sing and rejoice. Eor thou hast conquered the world ; not by religion, but by the wickedness of men. Which is that which draws them to thee, not their devotion and piety. Platina 148 THE MISSION OF THE RErOEMATIOK. saith. The selling indulgences brought the eccle- siastical authority into contempt, and gave encour- agement to many sins. Urspergensis complains, that plenary indulgences brought more wickedness into the world; for he saith, 'Men did then say, " Let me do what wickedness I will, by them I shall be free from punishment, and deliver the souls of others from purgatory." ' Gerson saith, 'None can give a pardon for so many years as are contained in the Pope*s indulgences, but Christ alone. There- fore what are they but cheats and impostures ? ' In Spain, indulgences were condemned by Petrus de Osma, a di^dne of Salamanca, and his followers, as appears by the Pope's bull against tliem, a.d. 1478. In Germany, by Johannes de Vasalia, a famous preacher of Mentz : for Serrarius reckons this among the chief of his opinions, that indul- gences were only pious frauds, and ways to deceive the people, and that they were fools who went to E>ome for them. About the same time flourished Wesselus Groningensis, incomparably the best scho- lar of his age, and therefore called Jjiix mtmdi ; he was not only skilled in school divinity, (almost the only learning of that time), but in the Greek, Hebrew, Chaldee, and Arabic, liaving travelled into Greece, Egypt, and been in most universities Of Europe, and read the most ancient authors, in all kinds of learning : on the account of his learning, he was much in favour with Sixtus IV., and was present and admired at the Council of Basil; but he was so far from being a friend to indulgences, that THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 149 in his epistle, he saith, that no popes could grant an indulgence for an hour, and that it is a ridiculous thing to imagine that, for the same thing done sometimes an indulgence should be granted for seven years, sometimes for seven hundred, and sometimes for seven thousand, and sometimes for ever, by a plenary remission ; and that there is not the least foundation in Scripture for the distinction of remitting the fault and the punishment, upon which the docti^ine of indulgences is founded. That the giving the^i was a design of covetousness ; and although the Pope once sware to the King of Erance's ambassador, that he did not know the corruptions of the sellers of indulgences, yet Avhen he did know them, he let them alone, and they spread farther." This monstrous doctrine of indul- gences was the culminating point of papal iniquity, and, under God, one of the moving causes of the Reformation. " A great agitation prevailed at that time among the German people" (writes Merle D'Aubigne, the fascinating historian of the Reformation). " The Church had opened a vast market upon earth. Prom the crowds of purchasers, and the shouts and jokes of the sellers, it might have been called a fair, but a fair conducted by monks. The merchandise that they were extolling, and which they offered at reduced prices, was, said they, 'the salvation of souls ! ' These traversed the country in a handsome carriage, accompanied by three horsemen, living in great state and spending freely. One might have 150 THE MISSION or the reformation. thoiiglit it some archbishop on a progress through his diocese, with his retinue and officers, and not a common chapman or a begging monk. Wlien the procession approached a town, a deputy waited on the magistrate, and said, ' The grace of God and of the Holy Pather is at your gates.' Instantly every- thing was in motion in the place. The clergy, the priests and nuns, the council, the schoolmasters and their pupils, the trades with their banners, men and women, young and old, went out to meet these merchants, bearing lighted tapers in their hands, and advancing to the sound of music and of all the bells. The salutations being exchanged, the proces- sion moved towards the Church. The pontiff's bull of grace was carried in front on a velvet cushion, or on cloth of gold. The chief of the indulgence- merchants came next, holding a large red wooden cross in his hand. All the procession thus moved along amidst singing, prayers, and the smoke of incense. The sound of the organ, and loud music, welcomed the merchant-monk and his attendants into the temple. The cross that he had carried was placed in front of the altar, on it were suspended the arms of the Pope, and so long as it remained there, the clergy of the place, the penitentiaries, and the under commissaries, with white wands, came daily after vespers, or before the salutation, to render it homage. This great aflPair excited a lively sensation in the quiet cities of Germany. One person in particular attracted the attention of the spectators at these sales. It was he who carried the THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 151 red cross, and who played the chief part. He was robed in the Dominican dress, and moved with an air of arrogance. His voice was sonorous, and seemed in its full strength, although he had already attained his sixty-third year. This man, the son of a Leipsic goldsmith named Diez, was known as John Diezel, or Tetzel. He had studied in his native citv, had taken the deorree of bachelor in 1487, and two years after, had entered the Domi- nican order. Numerous honours had been heaped upon his head.' Bachelor of divinity, prior of the Dominicans, apostolic commissary, inquisitor {jKBre- ticcB pravitatis inquisitor,) he had from the year 1502, uninterruptedly filled the office of dealer in indulgences. The skill that he had acquu^ed as subordinate had soon procured hun the nomination as chief commissary. He received eighty florins a month, all his expenses were paid, a carriage and three horses were at his disposal ; but his subsidiary profits, as may be easily imagined, far exceeded his stipend. In 1507, he gained at Priburgh two thousand florins in two days. If he had the office of a mountebank, he possessed the manners also. Convicted at Inspruck of adultery and infamous conduct, his vices had nearly caused his death. The Emperor Maximilian had ordered him to be put into a sack, and thrown into the river. The Elector Erederick of Saxony interfered and obtained his pardon. But the lesson that he had received had not taught him modesty. He led two of his chil- dren about with him. Millitz, the pope's legate, 152 THE MISSION OF THE REFOllMATION. mentions this fact in one of his letters ^ It would have been clifiicnlt to find in all the convents of Germany a man better qualified than Tetzel for the business with which he was charged. To the theo- logy of a monk, to the zeal and spirit of an inqui- sitor, he united the greatest effrontery; and the circumstance that most especially facilitated his task was his skill in inventing those extravagant stories by which the people's minds are captivated. To him all means were good that filled his chest. Raising his voice and displaying the eloquence of a mountebank, he offered his indulgences to all comers, and knew better than any tradesman how to extol his wares. When the cross had been erected, and the arms of the pope suspended from it, Tetzel went into the pulpit, and with a tone of assurance began to extol the value of indulgences, in the presence of a crowd whom the ceremony had attracted to the holy place. The people listened and stared as they heard of the admirable virtues that he announced. A Jesuit historian, speaking of the Dominican monks whom Tetzel had taken with him, says : ' Some of these preachers failed not, as usual, to go beyond the matter they were treating of, and so far to exaggerate the worth of indul- gences, that they gave the people cause to believe that they were assured of their salvation, and of the deliverance of souls from purgatory, so soon as they had given their money.' If such were the disciples, we may easily imagine what the master must have been. Let us listen to one of the harangues he THE MISSION OE THE HEFORMATION. 153 delivered after the elevation of the cross : — ' Indul- gences,' said he, ' are the most precious and the most nohle of God's gifts.' * This cross,' pointing to the red cross, ' has as much efficacy as the very cross of Jesus Christ. Come, and I will give you letters, all properly sealed, by which even the sins that you intend to commit may be pardoned. I would not change my privileges for those of St. Peter in heaven; for I have saved more souls by my indulgences than the Apostle by his sermons. Heflect then, that for every mortal sin you must, after confession and contrition, do penance for seven years, either in this life or in purgatory ; now, how many mortal sins are there not committed in a day, how many in a week, how many in a month, how many in a year, how many in a whole life ? Alas ! these sins are almost infinite, and they entail an infinite penalty in the fires of purgatory. And now, by means of these letters of indulgence, you can once in your life, in every case, except four, which are reserved for the Apostolic see, obtain a plenary remission of all your penalties, and all your sins ! ' Tetzel even entered into financial calculations. ' Do you not know,' said he, ' that if any one desires to visit Rome, or any country where travellers incur danger, he sends his money to the bank, and for every hundred florins that he wdshes to have, he gives five, or six, or ten more ; that, by means of the letters of this bank, he may be safely repaid his money at E^ome or elsewhere ? . . . . And you, for a quarter of a florin, will not receive these 151 THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. letters of indulgence, by means of which you may introduce into paradise, not a vile metal, but a divine and immortal soul, without its running any risk.' Tetzel then passed to another subject. ' But more than this,' said he ; ^ indulgences avail not only for the living but for the dead. Eor that repentance is not even necessary. Priest, noble, merchant, wife, youth, maiden, do you not hear your parents, and yom- other friends who are dead, and who cry from the bottom of the abyss, — We are suffering horrible torments, a trifling alms would deliver us ; you can give it, and you will not ! ' All shuddered at these words uttered by the thundering voice of the impostor monk. 'At the very instant,' continued Tetzel, ' that the money rattles at the bottom of the chest, the soul escapes from purgatory, and flies liberated to heaven. O stupid and brutish people, who do not understand the grace so richly offered ! Now heaven is everywhere opened! Do you re- fuse to enter now ? When, then, will you enter ? Now you can ransom so many souls ! Stiffnecked and thoughtless man ! with twelve groats you can deliver your father from purgatory, and you are ungrateful enough not to save him! I shall be justified in the day of judgment ; but you, — you will be punished so much the more severely for having neglected so great salvation. Do you know why our most holy lord distributes so rich a grace ? It is to restore the ruined church of St. Peter and St. Paul, so that it may not have its equal in the world. This church contains the bodies of the holy Apostles, THE MISSION or THE llEFOKMATION. 155 Peter and Paul, and those of a multitude of martyrs. These saintly bodies, through the present state of the building, are now, alas ! beaten upon, inundated, polluted, dishonoured, reduced to rottenness by the rain and hail. Alas! shall these sacred ashes remain longer in the mire and in degradation?' " This description failed not to produce an impres- sion on many who burned with a desire to come to the aid of poor Leo X., who had not the means of sheltering the bodies of St. Peter and St. Paul from the weather. 'The orator next turned against the cayillers and traitors who opposed his work : "I declare them excommunicated ! " exclaimed he. Then addressing the docile souls, and making an impious application of Scripture, he exclaimed: " Blessed are the eyes that see the things ye see ; for I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them !" And, in conclu- sion, pointing to the strong box in which the money was received, he generally finished his pathetic dis- course by three appeals to his auditory ; " Bring — bring — bring ! " When his speech was ended, he left the pulpit, ran towards the money-box, and in sight of all the people, flung into it a piece of money, taking care that it should rattle loudly. Such were the discourses that Germany listened to with astonish- ment in the days when God was preparing Luther. The Christianity of Bome, then, in the 16th cen- tury, was Paganism, luider a false name, and the great 156 THE MISSION or TKE REFORMATION. work of the Reformers was to bring back the world to the knowledge of the word of God, and the Gospel, as preached by the Lord and his Apostles ; and this they accomplished to a marvellous extent, amidst trials and sufiPerings not inferior to those of the first age. Of the wars fomented against the princes and countries which separated from the communion of Rome, and the cold-blood massacres and frightful cruelties perpetrated by princes who continued to adhere to it, upon their subjects, under the express direction and guidance of Rome, impartial history gives abundant accounts. I shall content myself with giving the reader a specimen in our neighbouring country of Prance, which to this day is suffering, as one cannot but be- lieve, for its cruel slaughter of her Protestant subjects upon the instigation of Rome. " The public joy of this city," writes Pope Pius the Pifth, to the King of Prance, '' has very much augmented our pleasure, which, at the first certain intelligence of so great a victory, rejoiced and does rejoice as if some domestic slaughter and intestine war were removed. It now only remains that your majesty in such prosperous circumstances should re- mit nothing of your usual diligence, application and perseverance, nor afford our common enemies an opportuniiy of confirming theu^ courage, and collect- ing again their forces ; but that you should make good use of the victory, and at length put an end to this most grievous war, to which we exhort your majesty with all possible and conceivable earnest- THE MISSION OE THE KEEORMATION. 157 ness. Por we know that there will not be wanting? those, who, either in the name of friendship, relation- ship, or piety, will intercede with your majesty for many of your enemies, and of the enemies of the Almighty; moved, therefore, by Qur paternal care for your welfare, and by our office, we admonish you not to be moved by their prayers, so as not to inflict just punishment in those things which are ordained by law; lest if thus influenced by private reasons you should yield more to flesh and blood, than a just vengeance, the 'anger of God should burn against you, as it did against Saul, in proportion as he has imparted to you of his goodness. Por what would this be, but to make the blessings of God, that is to say, the victory obtained, of no effect : the fruit of which victory consists in this, that by a just animadversion, the wicked heretics, the common enemies being removed out of the way, its former peace and tranquillity may be restored to that kingdom Por the sake however of obtaining so wholesome a result, your majesty ought to punish those who have taken up wicked arms against the Almighty God and your majesty, and to appoint inquisitors of heresy in every town, and to do all things, by which the so much troubled affairs of that kingdom, by the aid of God, may at length be improved and restored to their former state." Dated St. Peter's, Kome, under the fisher- man's Seal, the 20th day of October, 1559. To this massacre of St. Bartholomew, Mezerai in his History of France, thus refers : — 158 THE MISSION OF THE HEEORMATION. " The daylight, which discovered so many crimes, which the darkness of an eternal night ought for ever to have concealed, did not soften their ardour by these objects of pity, but exasperated them still more. The populace and the most dastardly beings, warmed by the smell of blood, sixty thousand men transported with this fury, and armed in different ways, ran about wherever example, vengeance, rage, and the desire of plunder, carried them. The air resounded with a horrible tempest of hisses, blas- phemies, and oaths of the murderers, of the break- ing open of doors and windows, of the firing of pistols and guns, of the pitiable cries of the dying, of the lamentations of the women whom they dragged by the hair, of the noise of carts, some loaded with the booty of the houses pillaged, others with the dead bodies which they cast into the Seine, so that in this confusion they could not hear each other speak in the streets, or if they distinguished certain words, they were these furious expressions, ' Kill ! stab ! throw them out of the window ! ' A dreadful and inevitable death presented itself in every shape. Some were shot on the roofs of houses, others were cast out of the windows, some were cast into the water, and knocked on the head with blows of iron bars or clubs, some were killed in their beds, some in garrets, others in cellars : wives in the arms of their husbands, husbands on the bosoms of their wives, sons at the feet of their fathers. They neither spared the aged nor women great with child, nor even infants. It is related that THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 159 a man was seen to stab one of them who played with the beard of its murderer, and that a troop of little boys dragged another in its cradle into the river. The streets were paved with the bodies of the dead or the dying, the gateways were blocked up with them. There were heaps of them in the squares, the small streams were filled with, blood, which flowed in great torrents into the river. Einally, to sum up in a few words what took place in these three days, six hundred houses were repeatedly pillaged, and four thousand persons massacred, with all the confusion and barbarity that can be imagined." Similar massacres with this one at Paris, took place throughout France, at Meaux, at Troyes, at Orleans, Never s and La Charite, at Toulouse, Bordeaux and Lyons. In Lyons "they began with the prison of the Cordeliers ; thence they ran to the archbishop's prison ; after that to the royal prison, which is called E;Ouan, and to other places in which the governor had shut up from seven to eight hundred persons, all of whom they knocked on the head, cut in pieces, strangled or drowned; afterwards they spread through the town to despatch the rest in the houses, and to collect the spoil after the victory. All these unhappy people, with the ex- ception of some of the fattest, from whom the apothecaries took some grease, were dragged into the Rhone. It was a truly pitiable sight to behold this river entirely tinged with blood, and infected 160 THE MISSION OF THE EEFORMATION. with corruption, carrying upon its waters six or seven hundred bodies, many of them tied together to long poles, some with their heads, some with their arms and legs cut off, everywhere gashed with great and deep wounds, and so disfigiu'ed as not to retain the human form. Hence these horrible proofs of Lyonese cruelty passing before the towns of Dauphine and Provence, raised rather their compassion than their fury, and made them detest the barbarity of the massacre." '^During tico months this horrible and cruel tempest overspread France, in some places more, and in some less, and destroyed not less than tioenty-five thousand persons ^ " The holy Father and all his court displayed a great rejoicing and went in solemn procession to the church of St. Louis, to render thanks to God for so happy a success. In Sp)ain there was no less joy than at Rome, and they preached up this action before Fhilip in the name of the Triumph of the church militant.''^ So Thuanus, in his History: — "An account of the Parisian tumult having arrived, it was received with astonishing joy at K-ome. Por the letters of the Pope's legate having been read in the senate of the cardinals, in which he certified to the pope that it was done with the king's consent and by his command, it was instantly resolved, that the pope with the cardinals should straightway go to the Church of St. Mark, and should solemnly return thanks to the Lord for so great a blessing THE MISSION or THE REFORMATION. 161 conferred upon the Roman see and the Christian world : also that on the Monday following a solemn service should he performed in the temple of Mi- nerva, and that the pope and cardinals should assist at it ; that thence a jubilee should be published in the whole Christian world. Its causes were declared to be, that they should return thanks to God for the destruction of the enemies of the truth and of the church in Trance, &c. In the evening fireworks were discharged at Adrian's mole, in token of the pubKc rejoicing,^' &c. Eleuri, also, in his Ecclesiastical History, relates that, " Gregory XIII,, only regarding the good which he thought likely to result from this to the Catholic religion in Prance, ordered a proces- sion, in which he himself joined, from the church of St. Peter's to the church of St. Louis, to return thanks to God for so happy a result ; and to p^r- petuate the memory of this event, he caused several medals to he struck, wherein he himself is repre- sented on the one side, and on the other side an angel, currying a cross in one hand and a sword in the other, exterminating the heretics,^ In Spain, this same deed was panegyrized in the presence of King Philip II., and they dared to call it the triumph of the church militant." The famous Bishop of Meaux, the most expert of Homan advocates, and the most bland, had no * These medals were until lately by no means rare. Some years back a friend brought one to me, which he had purchased at Rome. H 162 THE MISSION OP THE REFORMATION. small difficulty to free himself from participation in this most horrid wholesale murder, but his defence of himself is as little to be trusted as his exposition of Roman doctrine. All tt^at is true, in his defence, is that he did not command the drao^oons of Prance in their inhuman massacre of unoffending men, women, and children. This is always the hypocritical and hollow defence of Popery ; the church never persecutes, she only hands over offenders to the arm of secular justice. In this instance, however, the papal Te dewms^ and rejoicings, and medals struck for the occasion at E/ome, make such apologies appear in their true light, as the subterfuges of cowardice, cruelty, and falsehood. The revival and spread in Europe, of learning, (always justly dreaded by Popery,) favoured in no small measure the B.eformation. Romanism was assailed not only by the zealous preacher of the truth in the pulpit, and the dissemination of the Word of God in the language of the people, but by the wit and learning of men of genius who were not under the influence of the Gospel. The monstrous cupidity of Rome, in her traffic of souls, had made her as ridiculous in the eyes of thinking men, as her tyranny had proved odious and intolerable. Erasmus of Rotterdam, who lived and died a Romanist, was one of the assailants of the corruption of Rome of this kind.* * A copy of his works, in folio, I perused some twenty-one years ago, in the library of the University of Dublin, with no smallinterest. THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 16 His Fraise of Folly produced a great sensation in Europe, and Holbein, the Cruikshank of his day, adding his most grotesque illustrations, passed through twenty-seven editions in the author's life- time. It was translated into almost every language of Europe, and contributed largely to confirm the anti- sacerdotal tendency of the age. Other men of inferior note employed similar weapons. Thus at Berne, we read in D'Aubigne : — " On the Shrove Tuesday ' of the lords ' (the lords were then the clergy, and began their Lent eight days before the people), nothing was talked of in Berne but a drama or mystery, entitled. The Eaters oj the Fead, which some young persons were to act in the Bue de la Croix. The citizens crowded to the show. As a matter of art, these dramatic sketches at the commencement of the sixteenth century possess some interest : but it is with a very different view that we quote them in this place. We should py^efer, doubtless, not to he obliged to quote i on the part of the Reformation, attacks of this nature : it is by other arms that truth prevails. But history does not create, she can only adduce what she finds. At last the show begins, to the great delight of the impatient crowd assembled. Eirst appears the Pope, covered with glittering It bore upon its title page, and throughout in many places, the inquisitorial censures and erasures in reference to future editions; but the ink of the holy expurgator's pen being less potent than the good old printer's, the passages condemned may be all read through with ease. M 2 164 THE MISSION or THE REFORMATION. robes, and sitting on a throne. Around him stand his eourtiersj his guards, and a motley crowd of priests of every degree ; behind him. are nobles, lay- men, and mendicants. Soon a funeral procession appears : it is a wealthy farmer they are carrying to his last home. Two of his relatives walk slowly in front of the coifi.n, with handkerchiefs in their hands. When the procession came before the Pope, the bier was placed at his feet, and the acting began : — First Relation, in a sorrowful tone. Noble army of the saints ! Hear, oh hear our sad complaints : Our cousin's dead. The yawning tomb Has swallow'd him in life's first bloom. Second Relation. No cost to monk or priest we 11 spare ; We Ve a hundred crowns for mass and prayer, If thus from purgatorial fire We can but save our parted sire. (The Sextoti coming out of the crowd around the Pope, and running hastily to the Parish Priest.) Robert More-anb-More. A trifle to drink, sir priest, I crave, A farmer stout now goes to his gi-ave. The Priest. But one ! .... I only thirst the more ; One dead ! . . . . would it were half a score ! The more the merrier then live we, Death is the best of games for me ! The Sexton. Would it were so ! 'twould then be well, I'd rather toll a dead man's knell. Than from morn to night a field be tilling ; He never complains, and to pay is willing. THE MISSION OF THE REFORMATION. 165 The Priest. If the death-knell ope the gate of heaven I know not ; but what 's that to me ? With salmon and pike, with barbel and trout, It fills my house right merrily. The Priest's Niece. 'Tis well ; but, look ye, I claim my share ; To-day this soul must for me prepare A gown of white, black, green, or red, And a pretty kerchief to deck my head. Cardinal High-pride, wearing a red hat, and standing near the Pope. Did we not love the heritage of death, Could we sweep off, in life's young prime, On corpse-encumbered field such countless bands, Lured by intrigue, or else by envy urged ? On Christian blood Home fattens. Hence my hat And robe acquire their sanguinary hue. My honours and my wealth are gained from death. Bishop Wolf's-belly. In the Pope's laws firm will I live and die. My robes are silken and my purse is full ; The tournament and chase are my delight. In former times, when yet the church was young, Clothed as simple villagers we went. We priests were shepherds, now the peers of kings, And yet at times a shepherd's life I love. A Voice. A shepherd's life ? Bishop Wolf's-belly. Ay ! at shearing time — shepherds and wolves are we ; They the poor sheep ; and if they feed us not, They fall unpitiecj, by our ruthless fangs. Connubial sweets we are forbid to taste : 166 THE MISSION OF THE REFOUMATION. 'Tis well — beneath this heavy yoke The purest falter, — this is better still. Scandals !— I heed them not ; they fill my purse. And serve but to augment my princely train. The smallest profit never comes amiss ; A priest with money only has to choose Among the fair — pays florins four — I'm blind. Has he a child ? again his purse must bleed. 'Tis thus a good round sum I net each year, — Two thousand florins ; but not e'en two pence Would fall to me, were they discreet and wise. All honour to the Pope ! With bended knee I '11 bow before him, in his faith I '11 live, Defend his church, and own him as my God. The Pope. Now doth the faithless world at last believe That an ambitious priest can ope or shut At will the gates of heaven. Preach faithfully The ordinances of the conclave's choice ; Now are we kings, the layman a dull thrall. Wave but the gospel standard in the air, And we are lost. To offer sacrifice. Or fee the priest, the gospel teachetb not. Did we obey its precepts, we should live, Alas ! in poverty, and meanly die. Ah ! then farewell to richly harnessed steeds, To sumptuous chariots ; then a sullen ass Would bear the portly majesty of Kome. No ! firmly Saint Peter's rights I '11 guard, And rash intruders with my thunders blast. Let us but will ; the universe is ours, And prostrate nations worship us as God. I walk upon their bodies to my throne. Avaunt, ye unclean layman, from our treasure, Three drops of holy water fill your measure. " CHAPTER V. MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. " I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge." — Rom. x. 2. The power of the Papal Church in Europe having been shattered and curtailed by the Reformation, she was roused to look for extension and influence in other parts of the globe. The decayed churches of the east might be brought into subjection, trophies might be won in Africa's benighted land, the newly-discovered world might be planted with churches and monasteries before Protestants were alive to their duty ; every foreign country in which her faithful daughters, Spain and Portugal (then the great commercial nations of the world), had influ- ence, was to be assailed, and if possible, brought to acknowledge the supremacy of Rome. Eor this purpose the College de propaganda fide was founded at Rome, in 1622, by Gregory XV., and enriched with ample revenues. It consisted of thirteen cardinals, two priests, and a secretary. It was designed for the propagation and mainte- 168 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. nance of the Roman Catholic religion in all parts of the world. The funds of this college were very considerably augmented by Urban YIII., and many private donations. Missionaries were supplied with a variety of books suited to their several appoint- ments ; seminaries for their instruction were also supported, and a number of charitable establish- ments connected with, and conducive to, the main object of its institution. Another college of the same denomination was established by Urban VIII., in 1627, in conse- quence of the liberality of John Baptist Viles, a Spanish nobleman. This was set apart for the instruction of those who are designed for the foreign missions. It was at first committed to the care of the canons of the patriarchal Churches, but ever since the year 1641 it has been under the same government with the former institution. These ancient corporations have been aided since by the zealous and the rich in the Homan Church in various ways ; and about thirty years back a society with the same object was originated in Lyons. It is impossible to ascertain the exact extent of the papal resources for this or any other purpose. The Church of Home, mysterious in everything, is not likely to be very candid in matters of finance. The dead, happily for her, tell no tales. The souls, which, quitting their mortal tabernacles, and part- ing with all earthly treasures, bartered their wealth for redemption from purgatorial tortures, cannot return to enlighten the world on the means used MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 169 by the confessor to effect the exchange. There is reason, however, to know that E^ome's trea- sury for Church extension in heathen lands, as replenished by voluntary contributions, is in a condition the reverse of flourishing. Indeed, the sum raised by such means in Catholic Europe is, as we shall see, absolutely paltry compared with the annual income of our Protestant Societies. The wealthy, the pious, and the fanatical, in her communion, are too heavily taxed for their missions at home, in our own land especially, (these partes infidelimn,) to have much to spare for the more remote objects of her ambition. With regard to per- manent missionary income, the revolution of 1848 shook her endowments at E;Ome to their founda- tions ; another will probably totally destroy them, and the waning superstition of her subjects will never make up the loss. If England indeed could be won back, and Peter's pence again freely paid by her reclaimed children; if our nobles, our merchants, and our bankers could be brought to think that to build and endow churches and monasteries for the propagation of the faith would serve as their pass- port to heaven ; and if the rich, in their own right, amongst the weaker sex, could in large numbers be inveigled into convents, Kome would want for nothing towards her desired aggrandizement and extension. And this appears to be the desperate game which she is now plajdng ; so that, whilst torn by factions from within, trembling in the very centre of her power and unity, and scarcely pro- 170 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. tected by a foreign soldiery from the ill-disguised disaffection of her own immediate subjects (who, as they know her best, hate her most), she is aiming at the recovery of power and supremacy over even this country of England, a land blessed with every blessing, since its emancipation from her hated tyranny ! We trust, however, in our God, that it will be with the Papacy as with the subtle Hannibal of old, who, when he seemed to be winning such glory and extension of empire for his country, by long possession of its rival Italy, and frequent victories over her armies, was shaking it to its foundation, and eventually had to return by the way in which he came, to defend weakened and distracted Carthage, and to perish in its ruins. The missionaries selected by the propaganda at various periods, have been taken from the various orders of monks, according to the predilection of the pope and cardinals of the time, for this or that fra- ternity. The Dominican and Franciscan seem at first to have been most in favour. Then the Jesuits, who, upon their suppression by Pope Clement XI Y., in 1773, were succeeded by the Capuchins and others. Now the Jesuits, the forlorn hope of the papacy, re- stored to power, direct and work everything in the Homish Church at home and abroad. One good consequence of these different changes of administra- tion is, that notwithstanding all the care of the car- dinals of the College de 'Propaganda^ one is able to adduce such testimonies as the following from Roman MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 171 Catholic authors of no mean note, respecting the missions and missionaries of Rome. Thus Acosta, a Jesuit, declares, with respect to the prodigious number of heathens, said to have been converted by particular priests, " that many of them were driven to baptism as beasts to the water." And Oviedo relates of Cuba, '' That there was scarcely any one, or but extremely few, that willingly became Christians ;" and both he and Benzo, who were long conversant in those parts, say of Cuba and new Spain, '' that they had scarcely anything belonging to Chris- tianity besides the bare name of Christians." " That they only minded the name they received in baptism, and not long after forgot that too." And the former of these writers makes this no matter of wonder, since he declares their converters to be no better Christians than these converts, and excellently expostulates with them about the horrible wickedness of their lives, telling them that, would they give the poor Indians good example, this method would signify much more towards making them good Christians than the course they took." It is almost impossible to believe that any men under the name of Christianity, should have been guilty of such inhuman barbarities, as Bartolomseus Casas, who was a bishop, and lived among them, relates the Spaniards to have committed ; in abhor- rence whereof Acosta has a discourse on purpose to show ''The unreasonableness of making war against the barbarians upon the account of religion ;" and discoursing of the capacity of the Indians, he 172 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. asserts that " during forty years of the missionaries' abode among them, there was hardly one Indian to be found that understood any two articles of the creed, knew anything, of Christ, or of eternal life ; that the missionaries were careless and did not take any right course for their conversion, and that among so many thousands of Indians who were said to be Christians, it was a rare thing to meet with any who owned Christ, but all, like those Ephesians whom St. Paul mentions, not to have heard whether there be any Holy Ghost, might answer. We have not heard whether there be a Christ." And this small progress he imputes to the " carelessness and evil examples of those who were sent thither, who took no pains to that end ; so that, though the ancient priests were suitable to their calling, yet the missionaries were so unworthy, that they destroyed more souls than they gained or converted." So speaks this Jesuit censor of the missionary of other orders, and, very likely, Ms witness is true. To do justice, however, to the Jesuits' o^vn plans of proceeding, by intrigues, and political cabals, in the various kingdoms which they entered as professed missionaries of the Gospel, would require an abler pen and a greater amount of leisure than fall to my lot. Monsieur Arnaud, the celebrated Jansenist, in an assembly at Paris, calls their conversion of the Indians a brave and loarlihe conversion, remarking that they had changed gladiiim oris in os gladiL Ludolf, esteemed the best writer of his times on MISSIONS OP THE PROPAGANDA. 173 Ethiopia, informs us, that some Portuguese mission- aries, after the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope, had almost made Roman Catholics of the Ethiopians, and prevailed upon the monarch to acknowledge the pope's supremacy, and to admit a patriarch from Rome. The government also consented to abolish their own rites, and to set up those of the Church of E/ome, but many of their great men and most part of the people opposing this, took up arms against the emperor, which gave rise to civil wars, of above a hundred years^ continuance, wherein multitudes of people were killed. During this, many provinces revolted from the emperor, notwithstanding which the monarchs persisted obstinately in their profes- sion of the E/omish religion. At last the Jesuits, upon pretence of maintaining the Papal supre- macy, undertook* the management of temporal af- fairs, in an arbitrary manner, and almost exclusive of the emperor. They even ventured to go so far as to erect forts, which they manned, and were going to send for European troops; but the emperor at last, and the nobility, awoke from their lethargy, and immediately agreed to abolish the Romish reKgion, and to^massacre the priests, who accordingly fell the victims of the people's rage, the patriarch him- self very narrowly escaping out of the country with his life. Pestus Lobo, one of the Portuguese Jesuits driven out of Abyssinia, gives the following ac- count of the measures which he took to repair the influence which his society had lost. Having fled 174 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. to the Portuguese viceroy of Goa, '' I described," he relates, '* in the most pathetic manner I could, the miserable state to which the Catholic religion was reduced in a country where it had lately flourished so much by the labours of the Portu- guese. I gave him in the strongest terms a repre- sentation of all that we had suffered since the death of Sultan Segued ; how we had been driven out of Abyssinia; how many times they had attempted to take away our lives ; in what manner we had been betrayed and given up to the Turks ; the menaces we had been terrified with ; the insults we had endured. I laid before him the danger the patriarch was in of being either impaled or flayed alive ; the cruelty, insolence, and avarice of the Bassa of Suaquem, and the persecution that the Catholics (^Ethiopians) sufi"ered. I exhorted, I im- plored him by everything I thought might move him to make some attempt for the preservation of those who had voluntarily sacrificed their lives for the sake of God. I made it appear with how much ease the Turks might be driven out of the Red Sea, a/nd the Portuguese enjoy alt the trade of those countries. I informed him of the navigation of that sea, and the situation of its ports, told him what it would be necessary to make ourselves masters of first, that we might upon any unfortunate encounter retreat to them. I cannot deny that some degree of resentment might appear in my discourses, for though revenge be prohibited to Christians, I should not have been displeased to have had the MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 175 Bassa of Suaqiiem and his brother in my hands, that I might have reproached them with the ill- treatment we had met with from them. The viceroy listened with great attention to all I had to say, gave me a long audience, and asked me many questions. He was well pleased with the design of sending a fleet into that sea, and to give a greater reputation to the enterprise, proposed making his son commander-in-chief, hut could by no means be brought to think of fixing garrisons and building fortresses there ; all he intended was to plunder all they could, and lay the towns in ashes. These measures I could not approve. At length, when it appeared that the viceroy had neither forces nor authority sufficient for this undertaking, it was agreed, that I should go immediately into Europe, and represent at Eome and Madrid the miserable condition of the missions of Abyssinia, The viceroy promised any assistance ; he would command in person the fleet and forces raised for the expedition, assuring me, that he thought he could not employ his life better than in a war so holy and of so great an importance to the propagation of the Catholic faith '^ In Paraguay, the Jesuit missionaries met with extraordinary success. There they became masters of a whole extensive country, which they guarded with much vigilance, and by a most stringent anti- commercial policy kept it isolated, as far as was possi- ble, from the influence of their Catholic neighbours, the Spaniards, and their priests. They even had a 176 MISSIONS OF THE PKOPAGANDA. large regularly disciplined army under their com- mand. This Jesuit settlement (since broken up upon the suppression of their order), was really a company of able and adventurous men, obtaining possession of and ruling over a land of uncivilized pagans, for their own purposes ; nevertheless it is freely admitted, not without infusing some of the common precepts of Christianity into the minds of the people. Amongst the disciples of St. Thomas (as they are called) on the coast of Malabar, the missionaries of E;ome had also great success. Here the super- stitious Portuguese were masters of the country, and the church had therefore the secular power to back all its measures for the propagation of Boman doctrine and practice, and to coerce the minds and consciences of men. The inquisition founded by the Church of Rome at Goa, is proof enough that there were other influences beside the vaunted sanctity and miracles of a Xavier, employed on that coast to bring the ancient Christian Church under the dominion of Rome. Some particulars about this awful tribunal, in connexion with the propagation of Christianity by the Church of Rome, in India, will here not be out of place : "During the months of November and December, I heard," writes Mr. Dellon, who had been a prisoner for two years himself in the inquisition at Goa, " every morning, the shrieks of the unfortunate victims who were undergoing the Question. I remembered to have heard, before I was cast into prison, that the Auto da Fe was generally celebrated on the first MISSIONS or THE PROPAGANDA, 177 Sunday in Advent, because on that day is read in the churches that part of the gospel in which mention is made of the last judgment; and the inquisitors pretend, by this ceremony, to exhibit a lively emblem of that awful event. I was likewise convinced that there were a great number of prisoners, besides myself; the pi'ofound silence, which reigned within the walls of the building, having enabled me to count the number of doors which were opened at the hours of meals.— However, the first and second Sundays of Advent passed by, without my hearing of anything, and I prepared to undergo another year of melancholy captivity, when I was aroused from my despair on the 11th of January, by the noise of the guards removing the bars from the door of my prison. The Alcaide presented me with a habit, which he ordered me to put on, and to make myself ready to attend him, when he should come again. Thus saying, he left a lighted lamp in my dungeon. — The guards returned about two o'clock in the moi-ning, and led me out into a long gallery, where I found a number of the companions of my fate, drawn up in a rank against a wall. I placed myself among the rest, and several more soon joined the melancholy band. The profound silence and stillness caused them to resemble statues more than the animated bodies of human creatures. The women, who were clothed in a similar man- ner, were placed in a neighbouring gallery, where we could not see them ; but I remarked that a number of persons stood by themselves at some distance, attended by others who wore long black dresses, and who walked backwards and forwards occasionally. I did not then know who these were ; but I was afterwards informed, that the former were the victims who were condemned to be bui'ned, and the others were their confessors. " After we were all ranged against the wall of this gallery, we received each a large wax taper. They then brought us a number of dresses made of yellow cloth, with the cross of St. Andrew painted before and behind. This is called the San Benito. The relapsed heretics wear another species of robe, called the Samarra, the ground of which is grey. The portrait of the sufferer is painted upon it, placed upon burning torches with flames and demons all round.' — Caps were then produced called Carrochas; made of pasteboard, pointed 178 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. like sugar-loaves, all covered over with devils, and flames of fire. " The great bell of the Cathedral began to ring a little before sunrise, which served as a signal to warn the people of Goa to come and behold the august ceremony of the Auto da Fe, and then they made us proceed from the gallery one by one. I remarked, as we passed into the great hall, that the inquisitor was sitting at the door with his secretary by him, and that he delivered every prisoner into the hands of a particular person, who is to be his guard to the place of burning. These persons are called Parrains, or Godfathers. My godfather was the commander of a ship. I went forth with him ; and as soon as we were in the street, I saw that the procession was commenced by the Dominican friars ; who have this honour, because St. Dominic founded the Inquisition. These are followed by the prisoners, who, walk one after the other, each having his godfather by his side, and a lighted taper in his hand. The least guilty go foremost; and as I did not pass for one of them, there were many who took precedence of me. The women were mixed promiscuously with the men. We all walked barefoot, and the sharp stones of the streets of Goa wounded my tender feet, and caused the blood to stream ; for they made us march through the chief streets of the city; and we were regarded every where by an innumerable crowd of people, who had assembled from all parts of India to behold this spectacle ; for the Inquisition takes care to announce it long before, in the most remote parishes. At length we arrived at the church of St. Francis, which was for this time destined for the celebration of the Act of Faith. On one side of the altar, was the grand in- quisitor and his counsellors ; and on the other, the viceroy of Goa, and his court. All the prisoners are seated to hear a sermon. I observed that those prisoners who wore the horrible Carrochas came in last in the procession.. One of the Augustin monks ascended the pulpit, and preached for a quarter of an hour. The sermon being concluded, two readers went up to the pulpit, one after the other, and read the sentences of the prisoners. My joy was extreme when I heard that my sentence was not to be burnt, but to be a galley-slave for five years. — After the sentences were read, they MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 179 summoned forth those miserable victims who were destined to be immolated by the holy Inquisition. The images of the heretics who had died in prison were brought up at the same time, their bones being contained in small chests, covered with flames and demons. — An officer of the secular tribunal now came forward, and seized these unhappy people, after they had each received a slight blow upon the breast from the Alcaide, to intimate that they were abandoned. They were then led away to the bank of the river, where the viceroy and his court were assembled, and where the fagots had been prepared the preceding day. As soon as they arrive at this place, the condemned persons are asked in what religion they choose to die ; and the moment they have replied to this question, tlie executioner seizes them, and binds them to a stake in the midst of the fagots. The day after the execution, the portraits of the dead are carried to the church of the Do- minicans. The heads only are represented, (which are gener- ally very accurately drawn : for the Inquisition keeps excellent limners for the purpose,) surrounded by flames and demons ; and underneath is the name and crime of the person who has been burned." — Relation de I'Inquisition de Goa, chap. xxiv. To this account of Monsieur Dellon may be added the deeply interesting letter of our countryman Dr. Buchanan, giving an account of his visit to the In- quisition, in 1808. No one but an Englishman, I suppose, would have thought of such an act of daring curiosity, or have escaped the penalty of his teme- rity :— " Goa, Convent of the Augustinians, ''Jan. 23, 1808. "On my arrival at Goa, I was received into the house of Captain Schuyler, the British Resident. The British force here is commanded by Colonel Adams, of his Majesty's 78th regiment. Next day I was introduced by these gentlemen to the Viceroy of Goa, the Count de Cabral. I intimated to his excellency my wish to sail up the river to Old Goa, N 2 180 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. (where the Inquisition is,) to which he politely acceded. Major Pareira, of the Portuguese establishment, who was present, and to whom I had letters of introduction from Bengal, offered to accompany me to the city, and to introduce me to the Arch- bishop of Goa, the Primate of the Orient. " I had communicated to Colonel Adams, and to the British Resident, my purpose of inquiring into the state of the Inqui- sition. These gentlemen informed me, that I should not be able to accomplish my design without difficulty ; since every thing relating to the Inquisition was conducted in a very secret manner, the most respectable of the lay Portuguese themselves being ignorant of its proceedings " On receiving this intelligence, I perceived that it would be necessary to proceed with caution. I was, in fact, about to visit a republic of priests ; v^^hose dominion had existed for nearly three centuries ; whose province it was to prosecute heretics, and particularly the teachers of heresy ; and from whose au- thority and sentence there was no appeal in India. " It happened that Lieutenant Kempthorne, Commander of his Majesty's brig Diana, a distant connection of my own, was at this time in the harbour. On his learning that I meant to visit Old Goa, he offered to accompany me ; as did Captain Stirling of his Majesty's 84th regiment, which is now stationed at the forts. '* We proceeded up the river in the British Resident's barge accompanied by Major Pareira, who was well qualified, by a thirty years' residence, to give information concerning local circumstances. From him I learned that there were upwards of two hundred churches and chapels in the province of Goa, and upwards of two thousand priests. " I mentioned to Major Pareira, that I intended to stay at Old Goa some days ; and that I should be obliged to him to find me a place to sleep in. He seemed surprised at this intimation, and observed that it Avould be difficult for me to obtain reception in any of the churches or convents, and that there were no private houses into which I could be admitted. I said I could sleep anywhere. When he perceived that I was serious in my purpose, he gave directions to a civil officer to clear out a room in a building which had been long uninhabited, and which wa^ then used as a warehouse for MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 181 goods. Matters at this time presented a very gloomy appear- ance ; and I had thoughts of returning with my companions from this inhospitable place. In the mean time we sat down in the room I have just mentioned, to take some refreshment, while Major Pareira went to call on some of his friends. During this interval, I communicated to Lieutenant Kempthorne the ob- ject of my visit. I had in my pocket 'Delloii's Account of the In- quisition at Goa;' and I mentioned some particulars. While we were conversing on the subject, the great bell began to toll ; the same which Dellon observes always tolls, before day-light, on the morning of the Auto da Fe. I did not myself ask any questions of the people conceraing the Inquisition ; but Mr. Kempthorne made inquiries for me : and he soon found out that the Santa Casa, or Holy Office, was close to the house where we were then sitting. The gentlemen went to the window to view the horrid mansion ; and I could see the indignation of free and enlightened men arise in the counte- nance of the two British officers, while they contemplated a place where formerly their own countrymen were condemned to the flames "At two o'clock we went out to view the churches, which were now open for the afternoon service : for there are regular daily masses ; and the bells began to assail the ear in every quarter. " Goa is properly a city of churches ; and the wealth of provinces seems to have been expended in their erection. The ancient specimens of architecture at this place far excel anything that has been attempted in modern times, in any other part of the East, both in grandeur and in taste. The chapel of the palace is built after the plan of St. Peter's at Kome. The Church of St. Dominic, the founder of the Inquisi- tion, is decorated with paintings by Italian masters : St. Francis Xavier lies enshrined in a monument of exquisite art, and his coffin is enchased with silver and precious stones. The Cathedral of Goa is worthy of one of the principal cities of Europe " But what a contrast to all this grandeur of the churches is the worship offered within ! I have been present at the service in one or other of the chapels every day since I arrived ; and I seldom see a single worshipper, but the ecclesiastics. Two rows of native priests, kneeling in' order before the altar, 182 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. clothed in coarse black garments, of sickly appearance, and vacant countenance, perform here, from day to day, their la- borious masses, seemingly unconscious of any other duty or obligation of life. " The day was now far spent, and my companions were about to leave me. While I was considering whether I should return with them. Major Pareira said he would first introduce me to a priest, high in office, and one of the most learned men in the place. We accordingly walked to the Convent of the Augustinians, where I was presented to Joseph a Doloribus, a man well advanced in life, of pale visage and penetrating eye, rather of a reverend appearance, and possessing great fluency of speech, and urbanity of manners. At first sight he presented the aspect of one of those acute and prudent men of the world, the learned and respectable Italian Jesuits, some of whom are yet found, since the demolition of their order, reposing, in tranquil obscurity, in different parts of the East. After half an hour's conversation in the Latin language, during which he adverted rapidly to a variety of subjects, and inquired concerning some learned men of his own church, whom I had visited in my tour, he politely invited me to take up my residence with him, during my stay at Old Goa. I was highly gratified by this unexpected invitation ; but Lieutenant Kempthorne did not approve of leaving me in the hands of the Inquisitor. For judge of our surprise, when we discovered that my learned host was one of the inquisitors of the Holy Office, the second member of that august tribunal in rank, but the first and most active agent in the business of the department. Apartments were assigned to me in the college adjoining the convent, next to the rooms of the inquisi- tor himself; and here I have been now four days at the very fountain-head of information, in regard to those subjects which I wished to investigate. I breakfast and dine with the inquisi- tor almost every day, and he generally passes his evenings in my apartment. As he considers my inquiries to be chiefly of a literary nature, he is perfectly candid, and communicative on all subjects. " Next day after my arrival, I was introduced by my learned conductor to the Archbishop of Goa. We found him reading the Latin Letters of St. Francis Xavier. On my adverting MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 183 to the long duration of the city of Goa, while other cities of Europeans in India had suffered from war or revolution, the archbishop observed, that the preservation of Goa was owing to the prayers of St. Francis Xavier. The inquisitor looked at me to see what I thought of this sentiment. I acknowledged that Xavier was considered by the learned among the English to have been a great man ; what he wrote himself, bespeaks him a man of learning, of original genius, and great fortitude of mind ; but what others have written for him, and of him, tarnished his fame, by making him the inventor of fables. The archbishop signified his assent. He afterwards conducted me to his private chapel, which is de- corated with images of silver, and then into the Archiepiscopal Library, which ffossesses a valuable collection of books. — As I passed through our convent, in returning from the arch- bishop's, I observed, among the paintings in the cloisters, a portrait of the famous Alexis de Menezes, Archbishop of Goa, who held the Synod of Diamper, near Cochin, in 1599, and burned the books of the Syrian Christians " On the same day I received an invitation to dine with the chief inquisitor at his house in the country. The second inquisitor accompanied me, and we found a respectable company of priests, and a sumptuous entertainment. In the library of the chief inquisitor I saw a register, containing the present establishment of the Inquisition at Goa, and the names of all the officers. On my asking the chief inquisitor whether the establishment was as extensive as formerly, he said it was nearly the same. I had hitherto said little to any person concerning the Inquisition, but I had indirectly gleaned much information concerning it, not only from the inquisitors them- selves, but from certain priests, whom I visited at their re- spective convents ; particularly from a father in the Franciscan Convent, who had himself repeatedly witnessed an Auto da Fe. " Goa, Augustinian Convent, Q,Qth Jan. 1 808. " On Sunday after divine service, which I attended, we looked over together the prayers and portions of Scripture for the day, which led to a discussion concerning some of the doctrines of Christianity. We then read the third chapter of St. John's 184 MISSIONS OF THE PKOPAGANDA. Gospel, in the Latin Vulgate. I asked the inquisitor whether he believed in the influence of the Spirit there spoken of. He distinctly admitted it ; conjointly however he thought in some obscure sense, with water. I observed that water was merely an emblem of the purifying effects of the Spirit, and could be hut an emblem. We next adverted to the expression of St. John in his first Epistle ; ' This is he that came by water and hlood : even Jesus Christ ; not by ^vater only, but by water and blood : ' — blood to atone for sin, and water to purify the heart; justifica- tion and sanctification : both of which were expressed at the same moment on the cross. The inquisitor was pleased with the subject. By an easy transition we passed to the import- ance of the Bible itself, to illuminate the priests and people. I noticed to him that, after looking through the colleges and schools, there appeared to me to be a total eclipse of Scriptural light. He acknowleged that religion and learning were truly in a degraded state. I had visited the theological schools, and at every place I expressed my surprise to the tutors, in presence of the pupils, at the absence of the Bible, and almost total want of reference to it. They pleaded the custom of the place, and the scarcity of copies of the book itself. Some of the younger priests came to me afterwards, desiring to know by what means they might procure copies. This inquiry for Bibles was like a ray of hope beaming on tlie walls of the Inquisition. " Goa, Aurjiistinian Convent, ^Itli Jan. i808. " On the second morning after my arrival, I was surprised by my host, the inquisitor, coming into my apartment clothed in hlack robes from head to foot : for the usual dress of his order is white. He said he was going to sit on the tribunal of the Holy Office. ' I presume, father, your august office does not occupy much of your time?' *Yes,' answered he, *much. I sit on the Tribunal three or four days every week." "I had thought, for some days, of putting Dellon's book into the inquisitor's hands ; for if 1 could get him to advert to the facts stated in that book, I should be able to leam, by comparison, the exact state of the Inquisition at the present time. In the evening he came in, as usual, to pass an hour in my apartment. After some conversation, I took the pen MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 185 in my hand to write a few notes in my journal ; and, as if to amuse him while I was writing, I took up Dellon's book, which was lying with some others on the table, and handing it across to him, asked him whether he had ever seen it. It was in the French language, which he understood well. * Relation de I'ln- quisition de Goa ! ' pronounced he, with a slow articulate voice. He had never seen it before, and began to read with eagerness. He had not proceeded far, before he betrayed evident symptoms of uneasiness. He turned hastily to the middle of the book, and then to the end, and then ran over the table of contents at the beginning, as if to ascertain the full extent of the evil. He then composed himself to read, while I continued to write. He turned over the pages with rapidity, and when he came to a certain platie, he exclaimed, in the broad Italian accent, • Mendacium, mendacium ! ' I requested he would mark those passages which were untrue, and we should discuss them after- wards, for that I had other books on the subject. 'Other books ! ' said he, and he looked with an inquiring eye on those on the table. He continued reading till it was time to retire to rest, and then begged to take the book with him. ** After breakfast, next morning, we resumed the subject of the Inquisition. The inquisitor admitted that Dellon's descrip- tions of the dungeons, of the torture, of the mode of trial, and of the Auto da Fe, were in general just ; but he said the writer judged untruly of the motives of the inquisitors, and very un- charitably of the character of the Holy Church The inquisitor was now anxious to know to what extent Dellon's book had been circulated in Europe. I told him that Picart had published to the world extracts from it, in his celebrated work called 'Religious Ceremonies,' together with plates of the system of torture and burnings at the Auto de Fe. I added, that it was now generally believed in Europe that these enormities no longer existed, and that the Inquisition itself had been totally suppressed ; but that I was concerned to find that this was not the case "I had already discovered, from written or printed documents, that the Inquisition of Goa was suppressed by royal edict in the year 1775, and established again in 1779. The Fran- ciscan father before mentioned witnessed the annual Auto da Fe, from 1770 to 1775. 'It was the humanity and tender 186 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. mercy of a good king,' said the old father, ' which abolished the Inquisition.' But immediately on his death, the power 'of the priests acquired the ascendant, under the queen dowager, and the tribunal was re-established, after a bloodless interval of five years. It has continued in operation ever since. It was restored in 1779, subject to certain restrictions, the chief of which are the two following : ' That a greater number of witnesses should be required to convict a criminal than were before necessary ; ' and, ' That the Auto da Fe should not be held publicly as before; but that the sentences of the tribunal should be executed privately, within the walls of the Inquisition.' " In this particular, the constitution of the new Inquisition is more reprehensible than that of the old one; for, as the old father expresses it, 'Nunc sigillum non revelat Inquisitio.' The policy of this new code of concealment appears to be this, to preserve the power of the Inquisition, and at the same time to lessen the public odium of its proceedings in the presence of British dominion and civilization. I asked the father his opinion concerning the nature and frequency of the punishments within the walls. He said he possessed no certain means of giving a satisfactory answer; that every thing transacted there w^as declared to be ' sacrum et secretum.' But this he knew to be true, that there were constantly cap- tives in the dungeons ; that some of them are liberated after long confinement, but that they never speak afterw^ards of what passed within the place. He added, that, of all the persons he had known, who had been liberated, he never knew one who did not carry about with him what might be called, ' the mark of the Inquisition ; ' that is to say, who did not show, in the solemnity of his countenance, or in his peculiar demeanour, or his terror of the priests, that he had been in that dreadful place. " The chief argument of the inquisitor to prove the meliora- tion of the Inquisition was the superior humanity of the inquisi- tors. I remarked that I did not doubt the humanity of the existing officers; but what availed humanity in an inquisitor? He must pronounce sentence according to the laws of the tri- bunal, which are notorious enough ; and a relapsed heretic must be burned in flames, or confined for life in a dungeon, whether the inquisitor be humane or not. 'But if,' said I, 'you would MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 187 satisfy my mind completely on this subject, show me the Inqui- sition.' He said it was not permitted to any person to see the Inquisition. I observed that mine might be considered as a pecuHar case; that the character of the Inquisition, and the expediency of its longer continuance, had been called in ques- tion ; that I had myself written on the civilization of India, and might possibly publish something more upon that subject, and that it could not be expected that I should pass over the Inqui- sition without notice, knowing what I did of its proceedings ; at the same time I should not wish to state a single fact without his authority, or at least his admission of its truth The countenance of the inquisitor evidently altered on receiving this intimation, nor did it ever after wholly regain its wonted frank- ness and placidity. After some hesitation, however, he said he would take me with him to the Inquisition the next clay '' Goa, Augustinian Convent, Jan. 28, 1808. " When I left the forts to come up to the Inquisition, Colonel Adams desired me to write to him ; and he added, half-way between jest and earnest, ' If I do not hear from you in three days, I shall march down the 78th, and storm the Inquisition.' This I promised to do. But having been so well entertained by the inquisitor, I forgot my promise. Accordingly, on the day before yesterday, I was surprised by a visit from Major Braamcamp, aid du camp to his Excellency the Viceroy, bear- ing a letter from Colonel Adams, and a message from the Viceroy, proposing that I should return every evening and sleep at the forts, on account of the unhealthiness of Goa. " This morning, after breakfast, my host went to dress for the Holy Office, and soon returned in his inquisitorial robes. He said he would go half an hour before the usual time, for the purpose of showing me the Inquisition On our arrival at the place, the inquisitor said to me, as we were ascending the steps of the outer stair, that he hoped I should be satisfied with a transient view of the Inquisition, and that I would retire whenever he should desire it. I took this as a good omen, and followed my conductor with tolerable confidence. " He led me first to the great hall of the Inquisition. We 188 MISSIONS OF THE mOPAGANDA. were met at the door by a number of well-dressed persons, who, I afterwards understood, were the familiars and attend- ants of the Holy Office. They bowed very low to the inquisitor, and looked with surprise at me. The great hall is the place in which the prisoners are marshalled for the procession of the Auto da Fe. At the procession described by Dellon, in which he himself walked barefoot, clothed with the painted garment, there were upwards of one hundred and fifty prisoners. I traversed this hall for some time, with a slow step, reflecting on its former scenes; the inquisitor walked by my side, in silence. I thought of the fate of the multitude of my fellow- creatures who had passed through this place, condemned by a tribunal of their fellow-sinners, their bodies devoted to the flames, and their souls to perdition. And I could not help saying to him, ' Would not the holy church wish, in her mercy, to have those souls back again, that she might allow them still further probation ?' The inquisitor answered nothing, but beckoned to me to go with him to a door at one end of the hall. By this door he conducted me to some small rooms, and thence to the spacious apartments of the chief inquisitor. Having surveyed these, he brought me back to the great hall ; and I thought he seemed now desirous that I should depart. ' Now, father,' said I, 'lead me to the dungeons below; I want to see the captives.' — 'No,' said he, 'that cannot be.' — I now began to suspect that it had been in the mind of the inquisi- tor, from the beginning, to show me only a certain part of the Inquisition, in the hope of satisfying my inquiries in a general way. I urged him with earnestness, but he steadily resisted, and seemed to be offended, or rather agitated, by my importunity. I intimated to him plainly, that the only way to do justice to his own assertions and arguments, regard- ing the present state of the Inquisition, was to show me the prisons and the captives. I should then describe only what I saw; but now the subject was left in awful obscurity. — ' Lead me down,' said I, ' to the inner building, and let me pass through the two hundred dungeons, ten feet square, described by your former captives. Let me count the number of your present captives, and converse with them. I want to see if there be any subjects of the British government, to whom we owe protection. I want to ask how long they MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 189 have been here, how long it is since they beheld the light of the sun, and whether they ever expect to see it again. Show me the chamber of torture; and declare what modes of execution, or of punishment, are now practised within the walls of the Inquisition, in lieu of the public Auto da Fe. If, after all that has passed, father, you resist this reasonable request, I shall be justified in believing, that you are afraid of exposing the real state of the Inquisition in India.' To these observations the inquisitor made no reply; but seemed impatient that I should withdraw. 'My good father,' said I, ' I am about to take my leave of you, and to thank you for your hospitable attentions, and I wish always to pre- serve in my mind a favourable sentiment of your kindness and candour. You cannot, you say, show me the captives and the dungeons ; be pleased then merely to answer this question ; for I shall believe your word : — How many prisoners are there now below, in the cells of the Inquisition?' The inquisitor replied, ' That is a question which I cannot an- swer.' On his pronouncing these words, I retired hastily towards the door, and wished him farewell " From the Inquisition I went to the place of burning in the Camp Santo Lazaro, on the river side, where the victims were brought to the stake at the Auto da Fe. It is close to the palace, that the viceroy and his court may witness the execution ; for it has ever been the policy of the Inqui- sition to make these spiritual executions appear to be the executions of the state. An old priest accompanied me, who pointed out the place, and described the scene. As I passed over this melancholy plain, I thought on the difference between the pure and benign doctrine which was first preached to India in the Apostolic age, and that bloody code which, after a long night of darkness, was announced to it under the same name! And I pondered on the 77iysterious dispensation, which permitted the ministers of the Inquisition, with their racks and flames, to visit these lands, before the heralds of the gospel of peace. But the most painful reflection was, that this tribunal should yet exist, unawed by the vicinity of British humanity and dominion. I was not satisfied with what I had seen or said at the Inquisition, and I determined to go back again. The inquisitors were now sitting on the tri- bunal, and I had some excuse for returning; for I was to 190 MISSIONS or THE PROPAGANDA. receive from the chief inquisitor a letter which he said he would give me, before I left the place, for the British resident in Travancore, being an answer to a letter from that officer. "When I arrived at the Inquisition, and had ascended the outer stairs, the door-keepers surveyed me doubtingly, but suffered me to pass, supposing that I had returned by per- mission and appointment of the inquisitor. I entered the great hall, and went up directly towards the tribunal of the Inquisition, described by Dellon, in which is the lofty crucifix. I sat down on a form at the end of the great hall, and wrote some notes ; and then desired one of the attendants to carry in my name to the inquisitor. As I walked up the hall, I saw a poor woman sitting by herself, on a bench by the wall, apparently in a disconsolate state of mind. She clasped her hands as I passed, and gave me a look expressive of her distress. The sight chilled my spirits. The familiars told me she was waiting there to be called up before the tribunal of the Inquisition. While I was asking questions concerning her crime, the second inquisitor came out in evident trepidation, and was about to complain of the intrusion ; when I informed him I had come back for the letter from the chief inquisitor. He said it should be sent after me to Goa ; and he conducted me with a quick stej) towards the door. As we passed the poor woman I pointed to her, and said to him with some emphasis, ' Behold, father, another victim of the holy Inquisition ! ' He answered nothing. When we arrived at the head of the great stair, he bowed, and I took my last leave of Joseph a Doloribus, without uttering a word." " We may now be prepared (writes Hough, in liis History of Christianity in India) to appreciate the wisdom of Divine Providence, in closing the conti- nent of India against the inhabitants of Europe, during the rise and progress of the Papal domina- tion. Had the Church of Rome gained access to that country during the plenitude of her power, we cannot doubt, judging from her consequent proceed- ings, that she would have left no means untried to MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 191 destroy the identity of the church in Malahar ; for the existence of that church in a state of indepen- dence, shook the foundation of her claims to univer- sal dominion. The protection afforded to this establishment by heathen and Mahomedan rulers, presented a perfect contrast to the intolerance of E/ome towards all persons and churches whose creed differed from her own. This is the admission of a Romanist, whose candour does him honour. Allud- ing to the violent measures adopted by his church to reduce all others to her sway, the Abbe Pleury has remarked — ' What great loss Christianity suf- fered in Asia is very manifest. If the Saracens had held the same principles which were received among the Latin Christians of these times, they would not have suffered one Christian to live in their dominions. But this nation, though guilty of various crimes and oppressions, yet judged it to be an act of too much iniquity and cruelty to destroy by fire and sword all who were of a different religion from themselves, and refused to be converted.' " With respect to Xavier, Mr. Hough supplies the following information : — " He visited no less than thirty villages along the coast, the half of which only were baptized ; and he thus describes his c^wn mode of proceeding. I went about, with my bell in my hand, and gathering together all I met, both men and children, I instructed them in the Christian doctrine. The children learnt it easily by heart, in the compass of a month ; and when they understood it, I charged them to teach it to their fathers and 192 MISSIONS or the propaganda. mothers, then to all their own family, and even to their neighbours. '' On Sundays, I assembled the men and women, little boys and girls in the chapel ; all came to my appointment, with an incredible joy and most ardent desire to hear the Word of God. I began with the confessing God to be one in nature, and triune in persons. I afterwards repeated, distinctly, and with an audible voice. The Lord's JPrayer, The Angelical Salutation, and The Apostles' Creed, All of them together repeated after me; and it is hardly to be imagined what pleasure they took in it. This being done, I repeated the Creed distinctly, and insisting on every particular article, asked if they really be- lieved it ? They all protested to me, with loud cries, and their hands across their breasts, that they firmly believed it. My practice is, to make them repeat the Creed oftener than the other prayers ; and I declare to them, at the same time, that they who believe the contents of it are true Christians. *' From the Creed, I pass to the Ten Command^ ments, and give them to understand, that the Chris- tian law is comprised in these precepts ; that he who keeps them all according to his duty, is a good Chris- tian ; and that eternal life is decreed to him : that on the contrary, whoever violates one of these Com- mandments, is a bad Christian, and that he shall be damned eternally, in case he repent not of his sin. Both the new Christians and the Pagans admire our law, as holy, and reasonable, and consistent with itself. MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 193 ** Having done as I told you, my custom is to repeat with them the Lord's Frayer and the AngeVs Salutation. Once again we recite the Creed , and at every Aj^ticle, besides the Fater Noster and the Ave Maria, we intermingle some short prayer ; for, having pronounced aloud the first Article, I begin thus, and they say after me, — ' Jesus, tJiou Son of the limng God, give me grace to believe firmly this first Article of thy faith, and with this intention we offer unto thee that prayer of lohich thou thyself art the author.'' Then we add, * Holy Mary, Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, obtain for us, from thy he- loved Son, to believe this Article without feeling any doubt concerning it.' The same method is observed in all the other Articles, and almost in the same manner we run over the Ten Commandments. When we have jointly repeated the first precept, which is, ' To love God,' we pray thus : * O Jesus Christ, thou Son of the living God, grant us thy grace to love thee above all things I ' and immediately after we say the Lord's Prayer; then immediately we subjoin 'O holy Mary! Mother of Jesus I obtain for us from thy Son, that we may have the grace to keep this first commandment.' After which, we say the Ave Maria. We observe the same method through the other nine commandments, with such little variations as the matter may require." This is a fair specimen of Xavier's usual mode of proceeding with the natives, whether heathen or nominal Christians. How he can have expected them to comprehend this confusion of doctrine and o 194 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. precept, is unaccountable. Perhaps he did not ex- pect it, and sought only to obtain that explicit ac- quiescence in all that he told them to believe and do which the Roman Church inculcates as the first duty of her children. This she calls Christian hu- mility, and these poor people were, in this respect, as humble as could be desired. In fact, they were too much obliged to the Portuguese, and too de- pendent upon their power to keep them from being again reduced under the Mahomedan yoke, to think of withholding their assent from whatever their pre- ceptx)r told them to believe. We are not surprised, then, at his numerical success, nor that he himself at last became ashamed of the converts whom he had used such means to instruct. He spent fifteen months among these thirty vil- lages, giving, upon an average, about a fortnight to each ; and he placed over the congregations formed in this perfunctory manner the most intelligent persons he could find among them. These he taught to repeat what he had translated, which appears to have been their principal, if not their only quali- fication for the important task assigned them. Though unable to instruct the people in the doc- trines and precepts of Christianity, they might, at least, serve to keep them together, and prevent their relapsing into paganism while Xavier was away. For these catechists he was enabled to pro- vide salaries out of the public treasury, and he built churches in most of the villages where congrega- tions were formed. MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 195 He made some attempts to gain the attention of the Brahmins also, bnt with so little success that he soon desisted from the effort, and devoted him- self almost exclusively to the poor Paravars ; and when he left them for Goa, he took with him some of their most promising youths, to be educated for the ministry in the college of St. Paul. He arrived at Goa about the end of January, 1544, where he did not remain long ; for, after depositing his young converts in the college, and obtaining three companions for his journey, he was impatient to return to the south. Having assigned to each of his colleagues a district on the coast, he pene- trated alone further into the country. His mode of proceeding among a people who had never before heard of the Christian religion, cannot be better described than in his own words. He thus wrote to Mansilla, one of his colleagues : — " You may judge what manner of life I lead here by what I shall relate to you. I am wholly igno- rant of the language of the people, and they under- stand as little of mine, and I have no interpreter. All I can perform is to baptize children and serve the sick, an employment easily understood without the help of an interpreter, by only minding what they want." Converts so made were 7iot of a very permanent character. This fact we learn, not from a member of a hostile church, nor from one of a rival order in his own church, but from a Jesuit missionary of thirty years^ experience in the very scene of Xavier^s o 2 196 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA, labours, vjIio thus writes of him and his disciples : — " One of the first missionaries [to India] was St, Prancis Xavier, a Spanish Jesuit of the greatest merit, and animated with a truly apostolical zeal, and still known under the appellation of the Apostle of India. He traversed several provinces of India^ and is said to have made many thousand converts, at a period when the prejudices of the natives ag'ainst the Christian religion were far from reach- ing the height they have since attained. " Xavier soon discovered in the manners and pre- judices of the natives an insurmountable bar to the progress of Christianity among them, as appears from the printed letters, still extant, which he wrote to St. Ignatius Loyola, his superior. " At last Prancis Xavier, entirely disheartened by the invincible obstacles he everywhere met in his apostolic career, and by the apparent impossibility of making real converts, left the country in disgust, after a stay in it of only two or three years." This account of Xavier's reason for quitting India speaks more favourably for his character than all. the idle and puerile stories invented to exalt his reputation. But it does not speak so well for his church, which was, probably, his biographer's rea- son for suppressing the fact. Considering the very superficial instruction which, as we have seen, he gave his proselytes, it is hard to imagine how he could have expected them to become better Chris- tians than are here described. What an appall- ing instance does he present of the thraldom of MISSIONS OF TEE PROPAGANDA. 197 a noble spirit under a system of darkness ! Moving among the natives of India with all his energy of mind, his kind condescension and earnest intreaties, he must have commended almost any system to a people so unaccustomed to think for themselves as the low castes of Hindoos. Bat they had no found- ation of Scriptural instruction laid in their minds ; they wanted to be taught to build up themselves in the faith they had embraced, in dependence on Di- vine grace to illumine and strengthen them, instead of being left to the opus operatwn of the E^omish ordinances. No wonder, then, that they had little more of Christianity than the name. But Xavier could not be satisfied with this, although he knew not how to remedy the evil. He had formed a hiffher estimate of the Christian character than these proselytes had attained, or could attain, under such tuition, and hence the "disgust" with which he turned away from them. While ■ his church has exulted in their numbers, and lauded them in most extravagant terms, they fell too far below Xavier' s standard ; and his honest mind was grieved to see them so unworthy of the name they bore. We honour him for the feeling, and verily believe that the integrity of purpose which it manifested would have caused him to revolt at the attempt to impose on the world a spurious account of his miraculous powers. We have no wish to depreciate his me- mory ; quite the contrary. As a minister of Chris- tianity, he had great faults; but they were the faults of the system which enthralled his mind. 198 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGxiNDA. His personal character appears to have been unexcep- tionable ; and this, as ^yell as his standard of Chris- tian morals for his disciples, may be fairly attributed to the instructions and impressions he had received in early life through his Protestant associates at Paris. His missionary character, also, in many respects, is worthy of admiration. Por grandeur of design and diligence in the execution ; for disinter- ested love to man; for bold fidelity to persons of the highest, and engaging condescension to men of tlie loAvest estate ; for unwearied devotion, self- denial, renunciation of the world, intrepidity in dangers, and many other estimable qualities, he has left behind him an example which few have sur- passed since the apostles' days. Could all this pure metal have been detached from the dross with which it was mixed, and cast into the mould of God's Word, he would have formed one of the brightest and best instruments ever used to deliver mankind from the bondage of Satan, and restore them to their rightful Lord. With respect to Abbe Dubois himself, he makes the following candid acknowledgment : " Por my part, I cannot boast of my successes in this holy career during a period of twenty-five years that I have laboured to promote the interests of the Chris- tian religion. The restraints and privations under which I have lived, by conforming myseK to the usages of the country ; embracing, in many respects, the prejudices of the natives ; living like them, and becoming almost a Hindoo myself; in short, by MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 199 ' being made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some ;' all this has proved of no avail to me to make proselytes. " During the long period I have lived in India in the capacity of a missionary, I have made, with the assistance of a native missionary, in all between two and three hundred converts of both sexes. Of this number two-thirds were pariahs or beggars, and the rest were composed of sudras, vagrants, and outcasts of several tribes, who, being without resource,, turned Christians in order to form con- nexions, chiefly for the purpose of marriage, or with some other interested views. Among them ^re to be found some also who believed themselves to be possessed by the devil, and who turned Chris- tians, after having been assured that on their re- ceiving baptism the unclean spirits would leave them, never to return ; and I will declare it, with shame and confusion, that I do not remember any one who may be said to have embraced Christianity from conviction, and through quite disinterested motives. Among these new converts many apos- tatized, and relapsed into paganism, finding that the Christian religion did not afford them the temporal advantages they had looked for in em- bracing it ; and I am verily ashamed that the resolution I have taken to declare the whole truth on this subject forces me to make the humiliating avowal, that those who continued Christians are the very worst among my flock. " I know that my brother missionaries in other 200 MISSIONS or the propaganda. parts of the country, although more active and more zealous perhaps, than myself, have not been more fortunate, either in the number or the quality of their proselytes/' Testimony like this, adds Hough, to tlie prejudice of a cause which the witness himself had so much at heart, must be deemed unquestionable. It is due, however, to many native Christians in India to declare that the degrading terms in which he describes them are too unqualified. We may be expected to believe what he gives as the result of his own and his brethren's experience of the Jesuit missions : but in the missions of other orders are to be found honourable exceptions to this sweeping* condemnation. "The successors of this missionary," writes Hough, " Hobert de Nobili and his colleagues, who at the beginning of the seventeenth century founded the Madura Mission, determined to avoid Xavier's mistaken policy, as they deemed it. They confined their attention to the Brahmins and other Hindoos of the highest castes ; and, in order to obviate the prejudices of those haughty and self- sufficient men against the natives of Europe, these Christian missionaries denied that they were Eu- ropeans, and affirmed that they were Brahmins from the West, of a higher order than any in India. ' To stop the mouths of his opposers, and particularly of those who treated his character of Brachman as an imposture,' Robert de Nobili ' produced an old, dirty parchment, in which he MISSIONS OF THE PllOPAGANDA. 201 had forged, in the ancient Indian characters, a deed showing that the Brachmins of Eome were of much older date than those of India, and that the Jesuits of Rome descended, in a direct line, from the god Brama. Nay^. Pather Jovence, a learned Jesuit ^ tells us, in the history of his order, something yet more remarkable ; even that Robert de Nobili, when the authenticity of his smoky parchment was called in question by some Indian unbelievers, declared upon oath, before the assembly of the JBraclimans of Iladura, that he, Bobert de Nobili, derived really and truly his origin from the god Brama.' Upon this the historian, Norbert, exclaims — ' Is it not astonishing that this reverend father should acknoAvledge, is it not monstrous that he should applaud as a piece of pious ingenuity, this detest- able instance of perjury and fraud ! ' " To carry on this wicked deception, it was neces- sary to adopt the Brahmins' mode of living, their costume, and even their idolatrous ceremonies. It also required them, in opposition to the example of" Jesus Christ, his apostles, and every faithful preacher of Christianity, to have respect of persons ; and, instead of preaching the gospel as freely to the poor as to the rich, they found it essential to their design to keep the lower caste at a distance ; and even the proselytes from those grades which are not permitted to enter the Hindoo temples, these Christian missionaries actually excluded from their churches, when Brahmins were present or expected. In a word, they were accused of ^ the most culpable 202 MISSIONS or the propaganda. indulgence, in tolerating and winking at all kinds of idolatrous superstitions among their proselytes ; and with having themselves rather become converts to the idolatrous worship of the Hindoos, by con- forming to many of their practices and superstitions, than making Indians converts to the Christian re- ligion.' Even the Abbe Dubois concedes that these ' charges had some degree of foundation.' "The writings of Robert de Nobili, Beschi, and others, for the edification of their disciples, were composed in the same flowery, hyperbolical, and unintelligible style as the Hindoo Vedas, poems, and other performances inculcating their super- stitions The Brahmins have four Vedas, which are their sacred books, believed to be revealed by God, and called immortal. They are considered as the fountain of all knowledge, human and divine. The Jesuits at Madura actually forged a fifth Yeda, pretending that it was revealed to the chief Brahmin of the Pagoda of Cherengham, by the same authority as the other four : and so artfully did they imitate the style of the genuine Yedas, that their forgery imposed even on some Brahmins, and for many years it was received as an authentic work. Under this impression, M. Voltaire published a Erench translation of it : but the imposture was detected, about twenty years ago, by the late Mr. Ellis, a gentleman of the civil service at Madras, who, after a careful comparison of this JEzour- Vedam with the Hindoo Vedas, pronounced it ' a literary forgery ; or rather, as the object of the author or authors was MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 203 not literary distinction, of religious imposition with- out parallel.' " The object of the authors of this work was to make it appear that the Gospel received confirm- ation from the Brahminical Vedas. There is a sufficient sprinkling of the Bible on its leaves to enable them, when it should be once received as authentic, to argue for the truth of Christianity from the accordance of this Veda with the lessons of Holy Scripture. In the Christian mind there can be but one opinion of this infamous transaction : but the Jesuits justify it, like Eather Jouvenci, as a pious fraud — a name given to the grossest false- hoods that are deemed conducive to the interests of the Church '' Such was the character of the Jesuits' proceed- ings in India. Their compromise of all that de- served to be called religion, occasioned the other orders of friars to complain of them to the pope. At first the pontiff was unwilling to interfere with an order of men who were so useful to him in maintaining his pretensions against the growing light and liberty of the Reformation in Europe. At length, however, the accusations became so loud and so frequent, that he felt obliged to call them to account. They defended their conduct by plead- ing the expediency of making the compromise com- plained of, which, they argued, was only temporary ; and asserted, that it had the sanction of apostolic example " When brief after brief, accompanied with pressing 204 MISSIONS or the propaganda. remonstrances, had been totally disregarded by the Jesuits, the pope determined, as a last resort, to send out a legate to India and China, with full powers to act as his representative. The Cardinal de Tournon was the person selected for this import- ant mission. On his arrival at Pondicherry, he was received by the Jesuits, with whom at first he took up his abode ; and from their representations, he was induced to think that the complaints against them were groundless. On further investigation, however, he discovered that they had imposed upon him ; and immediately issued a manifesto, strictly prohibiting the disguises they had thrown over the services of the Church, and their close conformity to the heathen superstitions. But they now treated him and his manifesto with scorn ; defied his au- thority and that of the pope himself ; and asserted that their own bishop's power in India was inde- pendent of the Roman pontiff. " After enduring this vexatious opposition, or, as the Abbe Dubois himself calls it, ' this disgusting contest' (p. 9), for several months, the apostolic legate, finding he could make nothing of the Jesuits in India, sailed for China, where he found them car- rying on precisely the same system of accommo- dation to the worst features of the idolatry of the country. Here, also, he met with similar resist- ance, in all his endeavours to reform these scandal- ous abuses. The Emperor of China gave him a courteous reception ; but the Jesuits about his court were too numerous, and their influence with the MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 205 mandarins was too great, to enable him to assist the cardinal as far as he seemed inclined. One had the effrontery to tell M. de Tournon, that he could have prevented his introduction to the emperor, if he had chosen. "Einding that they could not frighten the car- dinal away, or induce him to refrain from inter- fering with their proceedings, the Jesuits deter- mined to get rid of him in a summary manner. Three of them undertook to poison him; and they succeeded in administering the deleterious drug in his food. He was preserved, indeed, from the fatal effects of their first attempt, by the promptitude of the physician and apothecary on his establishment : but on his recovery, and attempting to resume his measures of reform, they persecuted him with such unrelenting violence, that he was glad to make his escape from Pekin. He proceeded thence to Macao, there intending to embark for Europe ; but the Je- suits, resolving to prevent his appearing against them at the court of Rome, obtained his arrest at Macao, and he died in a dungeon." (Memoires Historiques sur les Missions de Malab. du P. Norbert, tom. i. liv. 2 — 7.) '' The circumstances of his empoison- ment, imprisonment, and death, are taken," says Hough, "from the deposition of M. Angelita, the cardinal's secretary, in whose arms he expired. The deposition was made at Rome, and is published in the Memoires Historiques, in the original Italian, with a Prench translation, tom. iii. ** After the cardinal's decease, the pope appointed 206 MISSIONS OP THE PROPAaANDA. M. de Visdelou his vicar apostolic in India. This ecclesiastic was a- Jesuit ; but he was too faithful to the Roman pontiff to connive at his brethren's pro- ceedings. Accordingly, they regarded him as a re- negade, and treated him with such rancorous hos- tility, that he renounced their society, and associated with the Capuchins. With their aid, he carried into effect the papal briefs in all the churches, except those of the Jesuits, who still refused to admit them. The Capuchins had long been treated by the Jesuits with such arrogance and injustice, that they were at last provoked to withdraw altogether from commu- nion with them. A step so decisive they little ex- pected ; and they used their influence with the Prench council at Pondicherry, to endeavour to prevail on the Capuchins to recal their resolution. They con- sented immediately, on condition that the Jesuits would implicitly conform to the papal requisitions ; but these men rejected the alternative with scorn, and now set all orders of men at defiance '' About this time a new bishop arrived at Melia- pore (St. Thome). Being a Jesuit, lie hoped to in- duce his brethren to be more moderate, and to con- duct the services of the Church in a manner more accordant with the rubric ; but all his endeavours were equally unavailing. The new pope also, Cle- ment XII., thinking that his predecessors might have provoked them to resistance by the severity of their censures, endeavoured to conciliate them by the use of milder terms ; but finding them too artful to be so diverted from their purpose, he also assumed a MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 207 more commanding tone. This, however, had no better effect. It was not till Benedict XIY. filled the papal chair, that they could be induced to bow in any measure to the authority of the sovereign pontiff. This pope was of too determined a spirit to allow his authority to be questioned by any order of men ; and he compelled even the Jesuits in India to yield, for a time, a reluctant submission. " What was the consequence ? — the immediate decline of their Indian missions " 'What the Jesuits had foreseen, happened,' writes the Abbe Dubois, (that is, from their submission to the pope)—' a great number of proselytes preferred renouncing the new religion, to al3andoning their practices. A stop was put to conversions ; and the Christian religion began to become odious to the Hindoos, on account of its intolerance.* "Por this the same writer assigns other causes besides the suspension of the idolatrous practices of the Jesuits ; but he attributes it chiefly to the natives* detection of the imposition that had been practised upon them : — '' ' The Hindoos soon found that those mission- aries whom their colour, their talents, and other qualities had induced them to regard as such extra- ordinary beings, as men coming from another world, were, in fact, nothing else but disguised Fringy (Eu- ropeans) ; and that their country, their religion, and original education, were the same with those of the vile, the contemptible Pringy who had of late in- vaded their country. This event proved the last 208 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. blow to the interests of the Christian religion. No more conversions were made ; apostasy became al- most general in several quarters ; and Christianity- became more and more an object of contempt and aversion, in proportion as the European manners became better known to the Hindoos.' " Not in India only, but in China and Japan, they were, about the same time, overwhelmed with similar confusion. Sowing the wind, they reaped the whirlwind ; and their missions in those countries were swept away, as with * the besom of destruction.' T)r. Wiseman and other Jesuits are naturallv careful to disguise the circumstances that led to these dis- asters, and anxious to make the world believe that they were the result of a general persecution of Chris- tianity, similar to that which was endured by the primitive Church. But this is very far from, the fact. The Christian religion was more than toler- ated— it was fostered by the heathen governments of both those countries. The Jesuits boast, that at one time they could number nearly half the popu- lation of Japan as their proselytes, and that in China they had millions. Nor is there any reason to ques- tion this ; and had they conducted themselves in a manner becoming Christian missionaries, there can be little doubt that they would have continued to this day, and been allowed to carry forward their work without restriction. But their pride and in- solence, their extortions and political intrigues, grew to such a height, that they became intolerable, and called down upon them the vengeance of the veiy MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 209 governments which had hitherto afforded them all the latitude and facilities that they could reasonahly desire. It was natural for the heathen to identify the Christian religion with its teachers, whose mis- conduct caused the very name of Christianity to be execrated. In Japan, the religion was exterminated ; and the country has continued hermetically sealed against it to the present day. In China, where the Eoman Church had once a very prosperous mission, very few vestiges have survived the desolating edicts of the emperor. These are historic facts that chal- lenge the strictest scrutiny." We would now direct the reader to another part of the world. The following are some curious particulars from An Account of Cochin China, by R. JEJ. C. Bari^i, a Jesuit, one of the first Ilissionaries in that kingdom: — " Before the fathers of the Society of Jesus went into Cochin China, it was the custom of the Por- tuguese trading thither to carry with them, from Malacca and Macao, and the Spaniards from Manilla, some cliaplains, to say mass, and administer the sacraments to them during their stay there, which generally was three or four months in the year. These chaplains, having no other obligation, but only to serve the Portuguese, never thought of pro- moting the spiritual welfare of the natives of that country, not applying themselves to learn their lan- guage, nor using any other means to communicate the light of the Gospel to them ; and yet there was one of those who had the face to publish in Spain, P 210 MISSIONS or THE PROPAGANDA. in a book called * The Voyages of the World/ that he had catechized and baptized the Infanta, or Prin- cess of Cochin China, and a great many of her ladies ; whereas never infanta, nor any other person of all that royal family till this time, has shown any in- clination to become Christians ; and it may be well discerned how falsely he talks in this point, by the other fables he adds, in the same book, concerning that infanta, as that she would have married the same chaplain, and the like. We know of none, but some fathers of the order of St. Prancis, that went from Manilla, and one of St. Augustine, from Macao to Cochin China, merely for the conversion of those souls ; but they, meeting with no success, returned to their countries. Providence so ordering it, which had designed that land to be cultivated by the sons of the holy patriarch Ignatius, which was done as follows." Pather Barri then proceeds with his account of the triumphs of his order at great length. Their first achievement was the sudden conver- sion of some of the leading men, by their prediction of an eclipse of the moon. Next he records their triumph over the omaiis, or pagan priests, with this pleasant description of their likeness to those of his own religion : — *' There is such a variety of omaiis in that country, that it looks as if the devil had en- deavoured, among these Gentiles, to represent the beauty and variety of religious orders, instituted by holy men in the Catholic Church, their several habits answering their several professions, for some are clad MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 211 in white, others in black, some in blue, and other colours ; some living in community, some like cu- rates, chaplains, canons, and prebends ; others pro- fess poverty, living upon alms ; others exercise the vrorks of mercy, ministering to the sick, either na- tural physic or magical charms, without receiving any reward ; others undertaking some pious work, as building bridges, or such other things for the public good, or erecting temples, and going about the kingdom begging alms for this purpose ; others teach the doctrines of their religion. There are also some omaiis who profess the farriers' trade, and com- passionately cure elephants, oxen, and horses, with- out asking any reward, being satisfied with anything that is freely given them. Lastly, others look to the monasteries of women who live in community, and admit of no man among them but the omaii, who look after them, and they are all his wives. There are vast temples, with beautiful towers and steeples, nor is there any town, though never so little, with- out a temple to worship its idols, which are gene- rally very large statues, with abundance of gold and silver shut up in their breasts and bellies, where no- body dares to touch it, till extreme necessity obliges some thief to gut the idol, without regard to so great a sacrilege as that is accounted among them ; and, what is very remarkable, they have chaplets and strings of beads about their necks, and make so many processions, that they out-do the Christians in pray- ing to their false gods. There are also among them some persons resembling abbots, bishops, and arch- r2 212 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. bishops, and they use gilt staves, not unlike our cro- ziers, inasmuch, that if any man came newly into that country, he might easily be persuaded there had been Christians there in former times, so near has the devil endeavoured to imitate us." Which were the imitators in these religious ob- servances, the original Pagans or the modern Ro- manists, I do not stop to inquire, nor how much of this account may be true. '' With respect to the vulgar people, God was pleased," relates Father Barri, "to show some mi- racles, to the end, that, clinging to their opinion of diabolical prodigies, they might own the only Lord and singular worker of all true wonders. The devils appear so frequently among those heathens, that not to speak of the oracles they deliver by the mouth of idols, they walk about the cities so familiarly in human shapes, that they are not at all afeared, but admitted into company, and this is carried so far, that there are abundance of Incubi and Seccubi." " Though these devils appearing in human sliapes do no harm to the body, yet sometimes there are others that appear in horrid and frightful shapes ; and the Cochin-Chinese, who have often seen, de- scribe them after the same manner as we paint them ; for example, vrith a cock's face, a long tail, a bat's wings, a hideous look, and bloody flaming red eyes, and when they appear in such shapes, they are much feared, being then generally hurtful to men, some- times carrying them to the tops of houses to cast them down headlong. We once heard a wonderful MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 213 noise of people in our street, crying out very loud, ' Magui Maco,' — that is, the devil in a monstrous shape ; whereupon some Gentiles came running to beseech, that as we had weapons against those evil spirits, we would go and relieve those distressed people who were infested by them. Having recom- mended ourselves to God, and provided ourselves with crosses, Agnus Deis, and relics, two of us went to the place where the devil was, and came so near, that we only wanted turning round a corner to be upon him, when he suddenly vanished, leaving three prints of his feet upon the pavement, which I saw, and they were above two spans long, with the marks of a cock's talons and spurs. Some attributed the devil's flying to the virtue of the holy cross and relics we carried with us. " These frightful apparitions God made use of to attract many to his holy faith, yet not denying them good visions. The first was, as we were one day in our own house, we saw a procession of a vast mul- titude of people in a field, making towards us, and when they came, being asked what they would have, they answered, that a most beautiful lady came to them through the air, on a throne of bright clouds, who bid them go to that city, where they should find the fathers, who would show them the sure way to bliss, and the knowledge of the true God of heaven. This made us give thanks to the * blessed Virgin,' whose great benefit this was acknowledged to be ; and having catechized and baptized the peo- ple, sent them home well pleased." 214 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. Eather Barri, having returned home and written his book, concludes it with the following remarks: — " Afterwards by the annual letters sent me by those fathers, my companions, left there cultivating that vineyard, I understood that there was still about a thousand converted and baptized in a year ; and that Christianity flourished more than ever it had done, at Chaccaim particularly. But now of late they wTite, that the king forbade any more be- coming Christians, and threatened to expel the fathers out of the kingdom, because the Portuguese trade failed ; yet it pleased God this persecution went no further, the king being satisfied provided one of the fathers w^ent away to Macao, to endeavour to persuade the Portuguese to continue the trade, as it seems was afterwards done. "These people may very easily be taught the principal mysteries of our holy faith. They, as we have shown, in a manner adoring but only one God, accounting the idols as inferior saints, allowing the immortality of the soul, eternal punishments for the wicked, and bliss for the just ; using temples, sacri- fices, processions, so that, changing the objects, it would be easy to introduce the neio loorship. That there will be no diflB.culty in making out the mys- tery of the holy eucharist, may appear by the dis- tinction they make between the accidents and sub- stance of the meat they provide for the dead as before-mentioned in this second book. All these things inflame the minds of the children of the society, who, though recluse and shut up in the MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 215 colleges and provinces of Europe, have an ardent desire to convert the world." The following extracts from "A Voyage to Congo, and several other Countries in Southern Africk," by Eather Jeroni Merolla da Sorrento, a Capuchin and Apostolic Missioner, in the year 1682, will supply the reader with another view of the ancient propa- gandist missions : — '' The first discovery of this part of the world by the Portuguese, happened in the year (so fortunate for them) 1485. The first religious persons that set footing there were three Dominican friars, as is testified by Father Maffeus, a Jesuit, in the first book of his history of the Indies. One of these was killed by the Giaghi, at the time when they overran the kingdom of Congo, and routed the Congolan army under the conduct of their general. Limbo. This barbarian of a conqueror, amongst other spoils, seized upon the sacred vestments and utensils of this unhappy friar, and not contented with the bare possession of them, would needs ridicule and profane them, by putting them on, as likewise by appear- ing at the head of his followers with the chalice in his hand. As for the other two missioners, they died in a short time after their arrival, through the excessive heat of the climate. To these succeeded twelve Franciscans of the order of Observants, who were carried hither by the same Don Diego Cano, in his third voyage into these parts. Some attribute the whole conversion of this country to these fathers — not allowing that the three that were there before, 216 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. through the shortness of their continuance, could have time to do anything towards it. Several other evangelical labourers had been sent out from time to time in this vineyard, and at length, at the re- quest of Don Alvaro, sixth King of Congo, made to Pope Urban YIII., that his holiness would be pleased to send some more Capuchin missioners into his kingdom, there were others sent with letters patent from the said pope in the year 1640. These fathers entering the river Laire, the first place they landed at was the country of Sogno, where they were received with extraordinary demonstrations of love and joy by tlie people, and especially by the count, who went out to meet them many miles from the place of his residence, and assisted them at mass with great devotion in the church of Pinda, a town near the mouth of the Laire ; adorning their altars, moreover, with the richest furniture in his ward- robe. Hitherto flocked an infinite number of people upon this occasion, as well out of curiosity to see these new apostles (whose awful deportment filled them with wonder and amazement), as to vie with each other, which should show most obedience to the Gospel. But this is no wonder, since the first converts made by the aforesaid Pranciscan friars w^ere the Sognese, and who still seemed to have lively impressions left upon them of their former instructions. The first that were baptized among these negroes were the count and one of his sons, whereof the former had the name given him of Don Emanuel, and the other of Don Antonio. After the MISSIONS or THE PROPAGANDA. 217 Count of Sogno, the King and Queen of Cogno, to- gether with then' eldest son, were prevailed upon to be baptized; the two former taking the names of Don John and Donna Eleanora, the King and Queen of Portugal, and the latter that of the Infanta. Thus began the Christian faith to be first established in these parts, and which has been all along since maintained through the grace of God, and by the labours of several poor missioners successively sent in the service of the gospeL" *' In this vast lake before mentioned, before it divides itself into the aforesaid rivers, are to be found several water-monsters, amongst which there is one sort which difi'ers from human kind only in want of reason and speech. Eather Prancis de Pava, one of our missioners, living in this country, would by no means believe that there were any such mon- sters in this lake, affirming they were only illusions devised by the negroes ; whereupon, the Queen of Singa being informed of his infidelity, invited him one day to go a-fishing for them. Scarce had the fishermen thrown in their nets, but they discovered thirteen upon the surface of the water, whereof they could nevertheless take but one female, which was big with young. The colour of this fish was black; it had long black hair, and large nails upon very long fingers, which, perhaps, were given it by nature to help its swimming. It lived not above twenty- four hours out of the water, and during all that 218 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. time would not taste any the least food that was offered it. " Throughout all the river Laire there is to be found this mermaid, which, from the middle up- wards, has some resemblance of a woman; but downwards it is altogether a fish, ending in a long tail, forked. Its head is round, and face like to that of a calf; it has a large, ugly mouth, little ears, and round, full eyes. Upon its back it has a large hide tacked, perforated in several places. This hide or skin seems to have been designed by nature for a sort of mantle to cover it, being contrived either to open or shut." Merolla relates other pleasant stories : — " These are good things for travellers to eat free- cost at other people's tables," the father writes, "but sometimes it happens that many are eaten and de- voured themselves by a sort of serpent, as big as a beam, which they meet in the road, in their way to Singa, which, by looking on them only, kills and consumes them. A person that was assaulted by one of these prodigious serpents, happened, by a lusty stroke of a scimitar, to cut it in two. The monster having been thus cruelly used, and yet not killed, being, you may imagine, not a little enraged, lay upon the catch among the thick bushes, to revenge itself on its enemies ; and soon after, two travellers happening to come by, it immediately crawled out, wounded as it was, and seized upon them, devouring them almost whole. The neighbours thereabout, hearing what had happened to those two men, re- MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 219 solved to sally out in a numerous body upon this maimed monster, which they not long afterwards did, but could never meet with it. At last a Por- tuguese captain, taking a considerable number of men also with him, armed with musquets, set forth in search of the serpent, but not discovering it, pre- sently he let all the company march on before, and stayed himself behind a little. The serpent perceiv- ing him alone, confiding in his remaining force, crept out of his hole to leap upon him. The affrighted Portuguese cried out at the sight of it, and most of the people that were gone before, returning in great haste, sent so many bullets into the monster's body, that they soon despatched it, after it had been the death of so many unfortunate passengers." This "Apostolic Missioner" favours his readers with a sketch of one of his sermons : — " On the Feast of the Purification of the Virgin Mary, I had a mind to preach a sermon against these practices ; and the better to move the people, I had before me placed the image in relievo of this blessed saint, covered, on the altar, with a dagger struck through her breast, and which the blood followed. This done, I began to discourse against those women that observed the hellish delusions before mentioned, proving that they thereby not only offended their loving Saviour, but likewise did great injury to his immaculate mother. At the same instant I drew aside the curtain, and disco- vered the image, which the people perceiving so wounded and bloody, began immediately to relent, 220 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. and broke out into the extremest grief. Among the many present, there was one father of a family, that had a daughter then shut up upon the foregoing account ; who, returning home in a great passion, fell upon both wife and daughter, and banged them both to that degree that they were glad to come immediately to our church, to be confessed." In his '' History of Loango, and other Kingdoms of Africa,*' in 1776, the Abbe Proyart refers to the missions of these same Capuchins as follows : — " Although the kingdom of Congo borders upon those of which we are now speaking, we have no right to judge of its inhabitants by comparison, and attribute to the one what we know of the other. There may have been a time when these people re- sembled each other, but that time is no more. No one can deny, that the stay which the Portuguese have made in Congo must have altered in a great degree the innocence and simplicity of the manners of its inhabitants. I shall, however, take great care not to impute to a holy and divine religion abuses which it condemns, and evils which call forth its groans. We must shut our eyes to the light of the sun, and be, in fact, as ill-informed in history, as certain modern philosophers appear to be in this point, to be ignorant from what an abyss of cor- ruption the Christian religion has snatched mankind. All that can reasonably be concluded from this de- cline of manners which has followed the preaching of the gospel in Congo and elsewhere, is, that if it be worthy the zeal of a Christian prince to favour MISSIONS OF THE PKOPAGANDA. 221 the propagation of the faith among infidel nations, it is also worthy of his prudence and his duty not to destroy with one hand what he huilds up with the other, by sending on the track of the mission- aries a set of men who have nothing of the Christian but the name, which they dishonour, and whose worse than heathenish conduct makes the idolaters doubt whether the gods whom they worship be not prefer- able even to that of the Christian religion. Such is the might of the empire of grace, that it never ceased to make some progress in Congo ; and among all the licentiousness to which the Portuguese aban- doned themselves, barbarians, who had become Christians, recalled them to a sense of their duty, and condemned their excesses by the practice of contrary virtues. But since the natives of the country have driven out the Portuguese, and they no longer receive any but missionaries among them, the latter find it a much more easy task to persuade them to the practice of evangelical morality. Car- dinal Castelli, president of the congregation of the Propaganda, writes from Rome to the prefect of the mission of Loango, that there are actually more than one hundred thousand Christians in the single king- dom of Congo. But the Capuchins, who, since the dissolution of the Jesuits, have succeeded to the charge of this vast and laborious mission, beginning themselves to be in want of subjects, this flourishing branch of Christianity, if the hand which first formed it do not still support it, runs the risk of seeing itself destitute in a short time of the most needful helps." 222 MISSIONS or the propaganda. The Abbe, too, has his pleasant tales : — "The people of these countries, men and women," he writes, '' are very fond of talking and singing ; whence it would appear that nature is not consistent with herself: for all the other miimals are silent night and day. No song of birds is heard in the forests ; the cock never awakes his master ; even the dogs cannot hark. But amid this general silence, the toomen as they till the field make it echo with their rustic songs : and the men pass their time in telling stories, and in discoursing on the most trifling topics. The afternoon is their particular time for holding their assemblies, under the shade of a spreading tufted tree. They sit on the ground in circles, cross-legged ; most of them have a pipe in their mouths. Those who have palm wine bring some with them, and now and then they interrupt the speaking to drink a draught, passing the cala- bash round. He who begins the conversation some- times speaks a quarter of an hour at a time. Every one listens in deep silence ; another takes up the talk, and they listen in the same manner ; no one who speaks is ever interrupted. But when he has ceased to utter his tattle, the person whose turn it is to speak has a right to oppose him, and utter his own. To see the fury which they throw into their declamations, one would think they were discussing the most thorny subjects, and it is a matter of great surprise when, on lending an ear, one finds that the argument is about a wretched earthen pot, or a bird^s feather, or some 7'idiculous and superstitious observance.'' MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 223 There is a good moral here, by the way, especially in disputatious times, and places. The "History of Eastern Ethiopia," originally written in the Portuguese language by the Reverend Eather Joano dos Santos, of the order of Saint Do- mingo, and published in Paris in the year 1684, may be read at the present time with great interest, as he enters at large into the wars of the Portu- guese against the Caffres, notices reports of gotcl diggings in that country^ and relates many a curious tale. The following is a specimen : — " Paolo Marco, the Venetian, relates in his third book, chap, iv.," the Eather writes, " that in the island of St. Lawrence, Madagascar, are certain birds of immense size, and such prodigious strength, as to be able to bear away even elephants in their claws, and fly off with them with incredible speed ; but, being unable to support for any length of time so great a weight, they let their burthen drop from as high a point as they can reach, in order to kill them with the fall, when they pounce upon and devour their prey. A Portuguese one day travelling inland to purchase ivory, and feeling tired with leading a large monkey, which weighed more than fifteen pounds, he fastened it with an iron chain to the trunk of a tree ; after taking rest for a time, he perceived the air darkened as if by a cloud about to burst over him; when, raising his eyes, he distin- guished the obscurity to be occasioned by the body and wings of a bird of prey, which had borne away his monkey, together with the tree which it was fastened to, and which he let drop from a consider- 224 MISSIONS OP THE PROPAGANDA. able height, to prey upon after thus killmg it. In consequence of accidents of this nature, the inhabit- ants of these parts are accustomed to keep constant watch ; and in order to be secure from depredations, are constantly armed." The accounts supplied by modern Homan Catholic missionaries do not abound in such marvels. They are more carefully put forth. They serve, however, but little to raise one's notions of theu' intellectual power, or the success of their mission, notwithstand- ing the inveterate habit of boasting which belongs to Popery. I have before me three numbers of the' "Annals of the Propagation of the Paith," from which some extracts here will throw light upon our subject. They are not selected numbers ; one was sent to me by a friend, because it referred to a j)art of the world in which a dear missionary brother is labouring. Another I purchased, as the last num- ber published, and the remaining one as contaming the annual financial statement of the association. They may, therefore, be taken as a fair sample, I presume, of the whole. The number for July, 1850, begins with four letters from " the Rev. Pather De Smet, Missioner- Apostolic of the Society of Jesus, to the Members of the Central Councils of Lyons and Paris." Like almost all the other Prench missionaries he is very lively and agreeable in his descriptions. The second of these letters the reader shall have in its integrity. It will serve as a relief from the gravity of our subject, and interest the lovers of natural history : — MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 225 *' Letter from the same Father to the Members of the Central Councils of Lyons and Paris. "University of St. Louis, 2nd of June, 1849. •' Gentlemen, " I spoke to you in my last letter of the continual war and buzzing of mosquitoes and fire-flies. I will now add to this very unpleasant music the more disagreeable and very much more dreadful sounds emitted by rattle-snakes, which we often met in the regions called Mauvaises-Terres, consisting of a remarkable table-land, of which I will give a description by- and-by, and where the Little Missouri, the Mankizita-Watpa, the Terre-Blanch River, and the Niobrarah spring. " Here the cameleon with its changing colours abounds, the ugly lizard, the horned frog, which is called by some persons, no doubt more classically, the salamander, and, besides, there are many kinds of little tortoises. In this place I witnessed a most singular occurrence, which was worthy of being recorded as illustrative of the instinct of the rattle- snake. One of the reptiles was basking in the sun surrounded by eight or ten young ones. As soon as it perceived my approach, it made a loud rattling noise, then opened its mouth, and all the little snakes took refuge in it. I drew back for a few moments, but presently returned. I then found that the young things had once more emerged from the living tomb into which my presence had caused them to make so precipitous a retreat. " The arid and sterile land of Mauvaises-Terres, where the most indefatigable industry and the most untiring labour have ever failed to render the soil productive, can boast, nevertheless, its thousands of villages stirring with life and occupation. I speak of the numerous villages inhabited by the dogs of the prairie, where every farm or settlement occupies an extent of ground spreading over several miles of country on a flat, level space, where the grass is short and unfrequent. The instinct of these odd villagers, which bears some analogy to that of[ the squirrel, has something in it truly singular and amusing. They take up from the very roots almost every species of vegetation ; this extraordinary vandalism has some exceptions, Q 226 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. however, for they appear to respect and spare certain flowers which generally grow round their diminutive dwellings, and render their appearance more agreeable : such are the hedeoma hirta, the solanum trifiormn, the liqnnus pusillus, the erigeron divaricatum, the dysodia chrysanthemoides, the ellisia nyctagenea, and the panicum virgatum. "Around their dwellings they raise the earth about one or two feet above the surface of the ground, sufficiently high to protect them from the inundations, which, during the rainy season and the melting of the snows, would otherwise swamp them up, together with their little prospects. Guided by an instinctive foresight, they collect carefully the straw which they find scattered over the plain, and store it up in their subterranean abodes, as a defence against the rigorous colds of the winter months. As soon as any of them perceive the approach of a man on horseback, the alarm is rapidly spread amongst the denizens of this singular republic. They imme- diately leave their houses, lift up their heads, listen attentively for the least sound, and look eagerly around in every direction. Each and all of them stand erect at the entrance of their cabins, or in the openings between their cone-shaped mounds, and a brief silence ensues ; they then burst out into a general chorus of shrill and oft-repeated yells. For some seconds there is a scene of bustle, confusion, and agitation throughout the vast plain which they inhabit. But after the first shot has been fired, all is tranquil — every one has disappeared with the rapidity of lightning. A peculiar kind of small owl, and the rattle-snake, would appear to be on friendly terms with the dogs of the prairie — these are seen crowding together round the doors of the huts ; and in the general alarm at the approach of the enemy, they all take refuge in the same asylum — a most singular intimacy, the motives and nature of which are as yet unknown. The wolf and the fox are their greatest enemies. " The Indian word, Mankizita Watpa, commonly translated white-earth river, signifies more literally the smoking -earth river. The Mauvaises Terres through which they flow, are incontro- vertibly the most singular regions I have ever come across in all my wanderings through the desert. The action of the rain, snow, and wind on this argillaceous territory is almost MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 227 incredible, and the combined influence of these elements has made this the theatre of the most extraordinary scenes. When beheld from a distance, these lands present the appearance of large villages and antiquated castles, but in so extra- ordinaiy a style and ornamented with such capricious archi- tecture, that they appear to belong either to some other world, or to have been fashioned in the by-gone days of some remote and long-forgotten age. Here you behold a gothic tower rear- ing itself majestically, and surrounded by an infinity of small columns ; great pillars apparently placed there to support the mighty dome of the firmament. Further on you may descry some gigantic fort on which the angry tempest has wasted its energy in vain, surrounded as it is with its impregnable machicolated walls. Its weatlierbeaten parapets seem to have withstood for centm-ies successive assaults of drifting snow, of pelting rain, the earthquake's shock, and the dread thunderbolt itself. There may be seen immense cupolas, colossal in their awful proportions, and pyramids which recall to mind the cloud- capped towers of ancient Egypt. The continued action of the elements works upon them to such a degree and so abrades them, that in all probability two years do not pass over the heads of these wonderful constructions without completely changing them or destroying them altogether. The earth of which these are composed, which hardens so easily in the sun, is either of a greyish colour, or of a dazzling white. It is easily softened and washed away by water. The Mankizita-Watpa is the great receptacle of the waters of this desert, and bears out well the name given to it by the savages. " The industiy of the husbandman would in vain attempt to turn up and sow this marshy, barren land, for no harvest would ever crown his useless labours. But if it offers no interest to the agriculturist or the lover of botany, the geolo- gist and the naturalist will find ample materials for study and observation ; they will discover in it a world of petrifactions of every size and variety ; they will obtain in it the fossil remains of the mastodon and the mammoth, the largest of known quadrupeds, together with those of the small mountain hare. I have seen entire heads in a good state of preservation, horses, tortoises of an enormous size, so large that the united efforts of two men were hardly able to raise them, and all Q2 228 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. these bearing the distinctive characters of their nature visibly and accurately defined upon tliem, " I have the honour to be, with gi-eat respect, " Gentlemen, your obedient humble servant, " P. J. DE Smet, S.J." In the third we have the following reference to his work : — •'On my part, I distributed among them a little tobacco — a present they seemed to value above every other. We smoked the calumet, which passes from mouth to mouth paternally. Shortly after they lavished on me and my companions the most affectionate marks of kindness and respect. Such w^as the happy issue of an interview which had at first inspired us with such just fear. But the merciful views of Providence extended far beyond this. They begged of me to accompany them to their village, four miles from thence, to pass the nic'ht there in the midst of them. I acceded much the more willingly to their invitation, as it would afi'ord me a favour- able opportunity of declaring to them the truths of the Faith. I therefore lost no time, and shortly after my arrival the whole tribe, to the number of more than a thousand persons, were ranged around the Black Gown. This was the first time the Ponkahs had ever heard Jesus Christ preached by the mouth of His minister. Their holy eagerness, and the attention which they paid to my words, made me prolong my instructions till it was far advanced in the night. " The following day I baptized a great number of their little children, and when the time arrived for us to part, they begged of me with the most urgent entreaties, to renew my visit and fix my residence amongst them." In the fourth, Pather De Smet writes respecting a poor idiot Indian : — ** I determined on regenerating him on the following day in the saving waters of baptism. I then made the whole of the tribe reassemble, and after having given them a clear explanation MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 229 of the benefits of the sacrament I was going to confer, made them comprehend what happiness was reserved through all eternity for a being in appearance so vile, and who had been hitherto only the object of their contempt, or, at least, their pity. These few words made a deep impression on my new audience, and were followed by numerous applications to obtain the grace to belong to the Great Spirit, like my poor Paschal, (this is the name of this little idiot,) who is now surrounded with the respect, I would say almost the veneration, of his tribe. But as I could stop with them only a few days, I con- tented myself with baptizing a great number of their children ; as to the others, I gave them hopes that at some future time we would revisit them, and that we could then instruct them, and also accord to them more advantageously the favour which they solicited. " In the different camps which I visited, I presented to each of the great chiefs a medal, with the likeness of our Veiy Holy Father, Pope Pius IX. On this subject I explained to them the high position of the great chief of all the black gowns ; the respect, the veneration, and the love which all the nations that were faithful to the Great Spirit bore to his representative on earth, &c. Immediately the pipe was brought, and after having offered it first to the Master of life, imploring his bless- ing, the savages in their native simplicity offered it to his visible chief, and begged me to make known to him the esteem and love which they bore him, and the ardent desire they had to hearken to tlie black robes that were sent in his name." The following is a letter in full, with the note of the directors of the association : — *' MISSIONS OF INDIA. " Extract of a Letter of M. VAhhS Dodot, Missioner Apostolic and Catholic Chaplain of the Military Station of Lahore, to the Members of the Central Councils of the Propagation of the Faith at Lyons and at Paris. " Lahore, capital of the Punjaub, East India, 16th February, 1850. " Gentlemen, "After having laboured in many important districts- of the 230 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. immense mission of Agra, I have been directed by our new bishop, the Right Rev. Dr. Carli, to Lahore ; and since five months I have been in this capital of the Seikhs, which large town has been of late years much spoken of in Europe, and which, since the great and decisive battle of Goozerat, the 21st Feb- ruary, 1849, has become the centre of the English operations in the north of India. In reality, the European army, in advance at this moment almost to the gates of Caboul, are stationed around Lahore, and in the centre of the Punjaub, in large mili- tary posts, comprising a great many Catholics. There is ac- tually in this vast new country, congregated together, about eight thousand Christians, either Europeans or natives ; and this num- ber is doubly increasing every day by the arrival of our poor bre- thren from Ireland, who come to seek here bread not quite so bitter as that of their own country. I will endeavour to present to you briefly an abstract of what has been done by the Right Rev. Dr. Borghi, now raised to the see of Cortona, in Italy, and all that which remains to be done by the pious prelate who suc- ceeded him in India. I can certify that the information which I am going to give you is true in every respect, and I venture to hope, that, in consideration of our pitiable condition, you will succour our excellent bishop. " As in the centre of India the conversions of the Mussulmans and the Hindoos is very difficult, and as the native Christians are exposed to every vice by living in the midst of idolaters, the Right Rev. Dr. Borghi is endeavouring to rescue the young, and has opened schools for the indigent. Also at Sirdanah, where the Princess Sombre left some funds for the mission, a college has been erected to receive Catholic children, and those who might be purchased from the idolaters. Not long ago two ec- clesiastics brought up about forty little boys in this establish- ment. The want of priests for these stations causes at present this institution, destined to form Indian clergymen, to fall into decay. *• Convinced by experience that education alone affords to our poor children the means of preventing heresy ravaging their young hearts, the Right Rev. Dr. Borghi sets everything in mo- tion in order to oppose the Catholic schools to the Protestant schools. The nuns of Jesus-Mary, under the direction of the vicar-apostolic, built two convents, one at Agra, and the other in MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 231 the Himalaya mountains. In the first there are about a hun- dred and twenty little girls, and about forty in the other esta- blishment. Without these excellent ladies, whose lives, full of sacrifice, are beyond all praise, the greater part of these children would be lost for heaven. Numbers have been snatched from heresy or from idolatry. Moreover, a college dedicated to the prince of the apostles, has been established at Agra, for the young boys of our poor Catholics who come from Europe, as likewise for the reception of all forlorn orphans. There, two priests, under the direction of his lordship. Dr. Carli himself, give their most assiduous care to about sixty children, and they present a noble resistance to the encroaching Protestants. All the re- sources of the mission are almost entirely absorbed by the nu- merous schools erected by the Catholic Church of Agra. In order to maintain the establishments which I have just spoken of, and meet the expenses which all these poor children occa- sion, our holy and zealous pastor resigns himself to a great many sacrifices and numerous privations, the recital of which would deeply move your pious and Christian hearts. Oh ! if you saw his poverty, if you were witnesses of his beautiful sen- timents, if, like me, you had seen this holy prelate weeping, some months since, over the misfortune of his flocks, deprived of pas- tors, deprived of churches, and of instruction for want of means, I am convinced you would decide unanimously that it was neces- sary to impose on yourselves fresh sacrifices in favour of our mission. "You know that, excepting some military chaplains who, like myself, receive from the East India Company that which barely enables us to live, all the members of the mission (the vicar- apostolic included) does not receive any stipend. Thus the bishop (Dr. Carli), obliged to relieve the urgent wants of many priests, to give bread to the orphan children, has no resources but the small, voluntary alms of unfortunate native Christians, and some good Irish soldiers, and certain Protestants not so hostile to our mission as others, and the allowances which your holy work gives him. It is the same with our poor nuns. They have truly no resources but from the generosity of some good souls, and the moderate pensions which they receive from some pupils. " Behold, gentlemen, in what state the ancient part of the 232 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. vicariate of Agra is at present. Destitute of priests for the im- portant stations, of subjects to give instructions in the Catholic schools, money to uphold these same establishments. Oh, how woful ! But all this is a bright prospect in comparison with that Avhich exists in the Punjaub under the eyes of the nuns. The idolaters amount there to about fifteen or eighteen millions. Lahore alone, which is at present but a shadow of what it was under the Mogul empire, and under Eunjeet-Sing, comprises as many as two hundred thousand. But in order to plant the cross in these beautiful countries, where, in his time, Alexander the Great wept to see himself compelled to retrace his steps, in consequence of the mutiny of his proud Macedonians ; to op- pose a barrier against Anglicanism, which strives already to esta- blish itself in ascendency there ; how many representatives has the Catholic Church ? In the eastern part of its immense vicar- age, the Eight Kev. Dr. Carli at this moment has scarcely six priests capable of assisting the labours of his apostleship, and of sustaining the unsteady faith of from nine to ten thousand Catholics. In the vast provinces of Lahore, three former French parish priests and an Irish priest are his only clergy ; and in order to conserve about eight thousand Christians, Europeans, or natives, and convert people who never yet have rightly heard the word of God, behold the only instruments set in motion. " The gates of Caboul — that is to say, the fii'st advance post of the English army, Peshawer, situated about one hundred and fifteen leagues to the north of Lahore — is the first place where you meet with a French priest, Piev. Dr. Bertrand, who, in the last battle of the Seikhs with the Europeans, showed himself worthy of the highest praise, and truly followed in the path of the good French priest who died, in 1845, a victim to his zeal on the plains of Sobraon. In returning to Lahore, not far from Jhelum, and probably but a short distance of the spot where Porus faced Alexander, a French priest, Eev. Dr. Moria, is sta- tioned, whose life has been these two years one continual mar- tyrdom. As for me, I feel as if I was lost in this capital, lately belonging to the Seikhs, and to-day fallen under British sway. There, at the head of about eighteen hundred Catholics, I have often wept for the loss of those souls who, for want of priests and instruction, will never see their Creator and their God. Fifteen leagues south of I^ahore is stationed a zealous Irish "MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 233 priest, worthy of the generous but too-unfortunate Ireland. Thus there are few missioners, no schools, almost no chapels, no resources to build some church worthy our holy religion on a soil where heresy commences to scatter silver and gold by handfuls, in order to pervert souls. How frequently this afflict- ing picture makes us cast our eyes on those unhappy portions of the vineyard of our Lord ! Oh, gentlemen, in the name of our common Master, make, then, in the Annals, a zealous appeal to our pious clergy of France, and to the devotion of our good sisters in J. C. Repeat to our Catholic brothers how we are destitute of succour in these distant countries, how much we have need of their prayers to forward here the work of God. I venture to hope that these reflections, penned under dejection of grief, will excite the ardour of some good priests, who will share oiu' trials and some of our consolations. Here, perhaps, they may not shed their blood for Jesus Christ; but there re- mains abundance of suffering and merit. Here life is short, and, nevertheless, trials are numerous ; but behold the ingredients of the apostle and missioner! " Hoping, then, for a reinforcement, for without that we would very soon fall, and leave at our death many souls in the path of vice, and one day see them reprobate for eternity, *' I have the honour to be, with the profoundest respect, " Gentlemen, " Your very humble and devoted servant in Jesus Christ, ** L'Abbe Dodot, M.A. '*No,te. — The same cries of distress reach us from every quarter. We deem it useful to transcribe here some of those uttered by the misery of the Apostles of the different parts of the globe, for our asso- ciates ought to know all the sufferings as well as all the joys of the missioners. Perhaps, also, the spectacle of such profound destitution is necessary in order to dissipate the illusions of certain minds, who think that after so much charity, their sacri- fices have dried up the source of such wants." The two following quotations are also in full, being extracted by the directors themselves from the com- plete statements, to excite the compassion of the faithful and charitably disposed : — 234i ' MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. " DIOCESE OF CHICAGO, UNITED STATES. *' The Right Rev. Bishop Van de Velde to the Councils of the Work. "December 13, 1849. " Since my consecration, I have visited nearly the third part of my new diocese. This episcopal visitation, which was equal to a voyage of twelve hundred French leagues, exhibited all the misery of the flock which is confided to me. You will judge, gentlemen, by this simple observation how I have verified with my own eyes this stern reality. " In general, the emigrants who arrive in this country, and form almost all the Catholic population, are not in a condition to supply their own wants. Poverty is so prevalent, that there is not one of the oldest parishes sufficiently provided with those things most necessary for the celebration of the holy rites. One priest has sometimes to attend as many as eight churches ; and as he does not possess for the different stations more than one chalice, one missal, one vestment, one alb, and an altar stone, he is obliged to carry with him all these things, no matter how laborious or long the road may be. As for remonstrances and ciboriums, these things are almost unknown in this diocese. I have only seen in all the parishes which I have visited, over a space of 3700 English miles, but three remonstrances, and five ciboriums. For want of a sacred vessel, the blessed sacrament is preserved in a cor- poral, or in a tin box, or in a porcelain vessel. After these de- tails, I believe it superfluous to give you a description of my episcopal residence. It accords in every point with the remain- der. I do not know if there is a more humble one in the world, but at least it is certain that there is not a poorer one in America." " MISSIONS OF OREGON AND OF CANADA. ** His Lordship the Right Rev. Bishop of Marseilles to the Central Councils. " February, 1850. " You will scarcely believe, gentlemen, what the extreme indi- gence of the missions of Oregon are, and of the Ked Kiver. In Oregon, some are on the point of dying with hunger. The statements which I have received show me that the missioners are compelled to eat the flesh of dogs and wolves as a great luxury, to walk barefooted, not being able to procure shoes ; and. MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 235 in order to clothe themselves, they are obliged to cut up a blan- ket, to make a kind of a soutan. You are sensible that I have not neglected to send them those things w^hich they are most in need of; but the journey is so long before reaching this extreme distance, that the materials suffer much in the attempt. Those of the Red River live in a frozen atmosphere, and are so great a distance from each other, that it costs enormous sums even to procure the most simple food. God alone can reimburse these men for their sacrifices, for all this which they suffer for his glory, and for the salvation of these poor souls, so truly forlorn." The following letter is also in full, from the May- No., 1851 :— " MISSIONS OF CHINA. '• APOSTOLIC VICAEIATE OF SU-TCHUEN. '* Letter of his Lordship, Dr. Peerocheau, Apostolic-Vicar of Su-tchuen, to Messrs. the Members of the Two Councils of the Propagation of the Faith. " Su-tchuen, September 15th, 1850. " Gentlemen, •* God in his mercy has this year specially protected our mission of Su-tchuen : blessed be he a thousand times over for this ! The immaculate Virgin Mary, our tender and powerful mother, has obtained for us this favour ; the angels and saints have contributed to it ; unbounded thanksgiving to all ! " You have, no doubt, learned that the emperor, Tao-Kouang, died on the 24th of February, and that his son, Han-Foung, nineteen years of age, has succeeded him. One month after the monarch's decease, the great mandarins of Pekin presented a petition to him to order all the Europeans in China, except in the five ports opened for trade, to be seized and driven out. The old emperor did not wish to sanction their project. Shortly after his death, the same personages, on several occasions, earnestly urged with the new prince the expulsion of foreign missioners, and they added to the old calumnies other imputa- tions equally serious and false. Nevertheless, the young emperor has constantly refused to issue such an order, because all the charges are in his eyes unproved; and hence, in the month of June, he sent to all the mandarins of the empire an 238 MISSIONS or the propaganda. ordinance, formally permitting Christians to build churches either at the capital or in the rest of China, that they may pray and preach there according to their faith. He, moreover, de- clares that he retains at court, for his service, four European missioners, formerly arrested in Mongolia and conveyed to Pekin. Let us all bless the Lord for having inspired this young prince with such favourable dispositions, and let us pray this God of goodness to complete his work by gifting Han-Foung with strength and means to effect the execution of his edict in all the provinces, by conferring on him the faith, the virtues, the qualities of Constantine. " Heretofore it was exclusively in maritime districts that re- ligious freedom and the permission to raise oratories had been respected, whilst the old prohibitions remain in force in the central regions, as you have been apprised by so many letters during the last five years. It is to be feared that the viceroys at a distance from the capital and the sea will ignore this per- mission of the new emperor ; the same course they have adopted with regard to several repeated concessions of his father. There is still greater apprehension that the great mandarins, hostile to the Christian religion, and out-numbering its friends, may succeed, by supplication and threats, in changing the conduct of so young a prince. Let all the good souls of Europe, the Associates of the Propagation especially, redouble their prayers, we implore them, in order to obtain, together with the execution of the imperial ordinance, graces that may convert the pagans by millions in each province." " These good dispositions of Han-Foung originated in an admirable dispensation of Providence. The emperor Tao- Kouang, afflicted at the death of his three sons, gave for governess to the fourth (the present emperor) a Christian lady in whom he vested entire confidence. He directed that the prince should absolutely be day and night under the eyes of this woman, everywhere, during his meals, his studies, his amusements, and his sleep. I have been apprised of this in- telligence these ten or eleven years since; it was kept secret, but now-a-days the mandarins publish it willingly. It is there- fore thh pious Christian, the imperial prince's governess, who must have inspired him with such good sentiments on behalf of our religion. MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 237 •• Moreover, the pagans eulogize the goodness and the happy- qualities of the new emperor. Let me likewise praise his greatness of soul and his courage. He has just given a signal proof of them, hy the publication of such an ordinance at such an early age, within a few months after his accession to the throne, against the well-known wish of the majority of the mandarins, and this, too, on behalf of a religion viewed by all functionaries as a worship hostile to the state, as a sect having for its principal aim, according to their notions, to prepare the way for European armies destined to overthrow the empire. May the Lord vouchsafe to stop these calumnies, and enlighten these blind individuals, and convert them all ! '* If we become enabled in Su-tchuen to avail ourselves of the permission to build churches, have the charity to aid us, I entreat you, by liberal sums. There is but one city in the whole province where the Christians can collect sufficient funds to raise a chapel. Three-fourths of our faithful are indigent, and the majority of the other fourth are merely in somewhat easy circumstances, or just above real poverty. It is the money of Europe that enables us to have so many schools, to provide baptism for so many children in danger of death. " The number of these little Chinese baptized in 1850 is less than the 2^'*'^vioi(s year. This diminution arises from your having been comjjelled to reduce your alms; as soon as it will be possible for you to afford us more, our number will rise in the same proportion. I therefore entreat you to be so good as to allot to us an annually increasing sum. By means of £4= given to our baptizers, we can regenerate three or four hundred children, more or less, two-thirds of whom go almost immediately to heaven. Urge earnestly the rich to open their purses. Tell all those who desire to draw large interest from their capital, to send their money to Su-tchuen, ivhere twenty sous produce annually two treasures by effecting the redemption of two souls. " Whoever knows well the price of a creature formed to the image of God, will judge how far my promise is below the reality. You will excuse me, gentlemen, for repeating a similar request. I am a real mendicant imj^ortuning people with my prayers ; but if I could obtain a few farthings, I should be too happy in employing them in procuring the perpetual happiness of souls, and in augmenting the glory of the Lord, Avho, during eternity, will be additionally glorified, as I earnestly desire. 238 MISSIONS or the propaganda. '• It was not our salaried baptizers alone that conferred baptism upon 94,131 children of pagans who were in danger of death. We have not yet sufficient resources to pay so many co- operators ; but we unceasingly exhort the pious and intelligent faithful, we unceasingly press them to go to the relief of children in their neighbourhood who are threatened with being lost. Many of them evince docility towards our advice and great zeal on behalf of the good work. On their side, Christian physicians and a number of pious neophytes exercising the art of curing infants, procure for us, likewise, a good number of baptisms. It is these gratuitous auxiliaries that annually swell so high the total number of little Chinese baptized in danger of death. This number, with the grace of God, will be constantly on the in- crease in proportion as the alms sent from Europe to Su-tchuen shall enlarge. " I forward, gentlemen, to you and all the associates of the divine work of the Propagation of the Faith, a thousand thanks for the succours your great charity has already granted to my mission, and will vouchsafe to grant to it annually. "With sentiments of the liveliest gratitude and the most sincere respect, " I have the honour to be, *' Your very humble and obedient servant, *' 4- J. L. Perrocheau, Bishop of Maxula, " Vicar- Apostolic of Su-tchuen.'' " Baptisms of Children of Pagans in danger of death in some of the Missions of Asia. In Su-tchuen, in 1849 99,807 In Yun-nan, in 1848 4,000 In Corea, in 1847 and 1848 1,225 In Cambodia, in 1849 5,000 Among the Birmans, in 1849 127 In Eastern Cochin-China, in 1849 . . . . 4,074 In Western Cochin-China, in 1849 .... 1,688 In Middle Cochin-China, in 1848 5,017 In Eastern Tong-King, in 1849 13,506 In Central Tong-King, in 1849 12,439 In Western Tong-King, in 1848 9,428 In the same Vicariate, in 1849 9,649 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. 239 '* When sending us these lists of baptized children, the missioners add, that three-fourths of them are already dead and in possession of heaven." Erom the No. for July, 1852, 1 give the following letter in full, as it there stands : — "apostoltc vicariate of southern tonquin. '* Extract from a Letter of the Right Rev. Dr. Masson, Bishop of Lavanda, to the Rev. Abbe Firbach. "SoTjg-Doai, Feb. 20th, 1851. "It is eagy for us at the present time to satisfy our zeal to the utmost extent, and, thanks be to God, our labours are not unfruitful. Our clergy is augmented, and the cata- logue of sacraments administered is very considerable. Before the persecution, the number of annual confessions for the whole of Western Tong-King seldom exceeded fifty thousand ; that of the baptism of adults generally amounted to about three or four hundred, and that of children of pagans regenerated, in articulo mortis, to a thousand. Now, in 1850, in this same Western Tong-King, which is at present divided into two vicar- iates, the number of confessions has increased to three hundred and forty-four, that of the baptisms of adults to fifteen hundred, and that of the children of pagans, baptized in articulo mortis, to twelve thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine. I think the proportion is about the same in the other vicariates apostolic. We are indebted for this result to the blood of our martyrs, and to the prayers offered up to heaven for us by the faithful of Europe. " For the unusual calm that we are now enjoying, we are indebted to the governor of the province. Instead of losing time in persecuting us, this functionary devotes his activity to the improvement of the condition of the people, and the services that he has rendered to those who are under his charge, by diminishing one-half of the taxes and public imposts, are im- mense. May heaven reward him by granting him the gift of faith. His toleration and forbearance, however, are sometimes carried too far ; for to all the robbers that are brought before him, he merely gives an eloquent exhortation ; and after having obtained from them a promise of amendment, he sets them at 240 MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. liberty. This promise costs them httle ; the essential part of the business would be to keep it. And what is still more astonishing, the other day he received an order from the king to put to death a brigand who had been condemned a long time ago, but the execution of the sentence deferred. Instead of obeying this order, he at once liberated the prisoner, on the ground that his penalty having been deferred beyond the legal period, he was entitled to a free pardon. No other mandarin would have dared disobey the prince's orders ; this is an addi- tional proof of the authority and credit enjoyed by this func- tionaiy. *' In one of my last letters, I spoke to you of the tigers that infest these countries, and I added that every year these ferocious animals devour at least a thousand persons in the whole extent of the kingdom. You may have considered this number exag- gerated, but I scarcely consider it high enough for the average. You must know that the forests of Tong-King and Cochin-China cover an extent of land four hundred leagues in length from north to south, and of which the breadth varies, but often extends to forty leagues from east to west. In these forests the tiger reigns as the supreme master, and from thence he makes his excursions into the sm-rounding country. Formerly, govern- ment granted a premium of thirty francs to every individual that brought the ears and tail of a tiger. This acted as a stimu- lant to induce the inhabitants to hunt the animal more success- fully; but Minh-Menh, of execrable memory, considered that this practice cost too much, and suppressed the rewaiTl. Hence, at present, few persons attempt to hunt the beast. Moreover the pagans respect it as an evil divinity. In speaking of it, they only call it Ong, (Mr., or Great Father.) All feel persuaded that if they were to speak of it irreverently, it would at once take vengeance on the act. They even quote numerous stories prov- ing that the tiger knows all those who have spoken ill of his ferocity, or who have attempted to lay snares for him. But un- fortunately for this popular credulity, he does not appear to spare those who show him the customary re.spect. *• On my recent excursion on the Annamite mountains, the native priests who had studied theology under me, came to see me at the commencement of the new year. Besides the presents which they are accustomed to offer, on this occasion they wished MISSIONS OF THE PHOPAGANDA. 241 to give me a more solemn pledge of their affection and respect, by gratifying me with a particular present. Now, you could scarcely guess what my old pupils had to offer me. After having concerted together, they came to the conclusion that they could not do better than offer me a coffin, observing that I was grow- ing old, and should never have a better opportunity of procuring this essential article of furniture ; they took care to call my atten- tion to the excellent quality of the wood and the beauty of the workmanship. Thus I may now die in peace; my coffin is ready. " You will doubtless consider this strange ; but, among our priests and Christian congregations it is common. There are few persons here fifty years old who have not their coffin ready made. How often have I had to sleep or write upon boards prepared for an interment ! Not unfrequently children of respec- table families join in presenting their father or mother with a coffin. Scholars do the same for their master. It is considered a strong mark of filial affection. On the day of its presentation they make a great feast, to which they invite all their friends. "A coffin in this country, moreover, is an object of great moral worth. Persons of respectability never think of calling it simply quan-toi, which signifies bier ; but they designate it by different honorary names, such as trams-tlio (immortality), hi'm-su (a thing after all), or ao-daise (a thick coat). Hence, no one has a horror of it. They even look upon it with pleasure. A poor widower was left with a number of children in their infancy, and fell dangerously ill. His father-in-law came to tell him that he had succeeded in borrowing for him a coffin. At this news the sick man was delighted, and asked to see this trams-tho. When he had looked at it, he was so well pleased that he refused to eat any more, that he might accelerate his death. His reasoning was very simple. ' If I die at present,' said he, ' I am sure of having a coffin, whilst, if I recover, I shall have to return it, and I know not whether I may be able to procure another.' Un- fortunately he did recover, and was thus deprived of the pleasure of trying on his new suit. '' Death has no terrors here for any one. They speak in the presence of a sick person of his or her approaching end, and of his funeral, as they would of any other event. Hence we never have the least need of precaution in admonishing the sick to prepare for the reception of the last sacraments. A short time 242 MISSIONS or the propaganda. ago I was called to a neophyte whose death, though certam, was nevertheless distant. On entering, I found a woman seated at his bed-side, making mourning for the family. In addition to this, the carpenter, close to the house-door, was adjusting the coffin-boards in such a position that the sick man could see all that was going on from his bed. The good man himself pre- sided at these details, and gave orders for each of these opera- tions ; his pillow even consisted of a portion of the mourning that had been already made up. I might relate to you many similar stories, but I think this Avill be enough on the chapter of coffins. " Yours truly, N. L., " -|- C. Bishop of Laranday The following financial particulars, taken from the May No. (1851) of the "Annals of the Propagation," throw light upon several points of interest to a Pro- testant eye — the pitiful sums raised in some purely Catholic countries — the large sums raised in Protes- tant countries and impoverished Ireland — will strike every one's ohservation. Prom Austria, so long the chief prop of the papacy, of the total collected in Germany in 1850, only 182f. 80c. were contributed ! The inducements to contribute, printed with each No. of the Annals, (as on our 244th page,) one would imagine should produce larger results. The allocation also deserves attention, as " 20,000 for the missions of Europe." The greater part of this is appropriated, as the details show, to Germany and the British Isles. " 30,000 to the missions of America," &c. MISSIONS or THE PllOPAGANDA. 243 RECEIPTS. r Lyons Fraiice, ^p^^.^ Germany . North. America South America Belgium England, British Isles, Scotland Ireland, ^ Colonies Roman States Spain . Greece Levant Lombaa-do-Venetian kingdom Island of Malta Duchy of Modena Duchy of Parma Holland .... Portugal .... Prussia .... £41,544 32,838 £1,099 196 3,191 446 J £ s. iL 74,382 14 01 1,633 7 2,795 14 521 19 6,442 15 4 2i 9 8 4,934 12 H 1,652 0 327 4 29 17 206 14 1,426 18 404 7 520 19 419 8 3,326 14 1,104 12 6,343 3 11 n 4 u 2 H H /Genoa, £1,780 5 4^) Kingdom of J Piedmont, 4,733 12 9 Sardinia. ) Sardinia, 30 8 4i i Savoy, 1,457 17 7f _, „. .,. /Naples, £1,824 7 2i\ Two Sicilies, I g.^^y^' 370 1 8i| Switzerland ....... Tuscany From different parts of Italy (paid at Rome) From different countries of the north, of Europe . Amount received on a protested bill of exchange Total of receipts for 1850 . . , . Sums left imemployed, in consequence of the "j decease of tbe Superior of the mission to V which it was destined J Balance from excess of receipts over disburse- "1 ments in the account for the year 1849 } Total .... 8,002 4 U 2,194 18 lOf 1,811 0 3 1,664 13 3 68 18 llf 54 8 H 14 19 Oh 120,184 8 01 355 15 0 8,490 17 IH £129,031 0 llf EXPENSES Missions of Europe „ Asia „ Africa „ America ,, Oceanica . . . . Expenses of publication of Aimals, and other "1 printing J Ordinary and extraordinary expenses of admi nistration Total expenses for the year 1850 Balance on hands 20,087 10 40,786 2 10,528 5 30,291 16 16,002 1 6,550 13 5f n H H- } Total 1,318 16 5i £125,565 5 H 3,465 15 lOi £129,031 0 llf R ^ 2M MISSIONS OF THE PROPAGANDA. " The Institution for the Propagation of the Faith has solely for its object to assist by prayers and alms the Catholic missionaries who are charged to preach the Gospel to foreign nations. The prayers are a Fater diudiAve each day. It will suffice to say, for this purpose, once for all, the Tater and Ave of our daily morning and evening prayer, and to add the following invocation : ' 8aint Francis Xavier^ pray for us.^ " The Institution for the Propagation of the Faith has, from its first foundation, been highly favoured and warmly recommended to the faithful by the Holy See. The sovereign pontiffs, Pius YII., Leo XI., Pius YIII., and Gregory XYI., by thek rescripts of March 15th, 1823, May 11th, 1824, September 18th, 1829, September 25th, 1831, November 15th, 1835, and January 22nd, 1837, have granted to all the members of the Institution, in the dioceses where, with the consent of their respective bishops, it shall be established, both in Prance, and in all other countries in communication with Prance, the follow- ing indulgences, applicable to the souls in purgatory : *' 1st. A Flenary Indulgence on the festival of the finding of the Holy Cross, the anniversary of the first establishment of the Institution at Lyons in the year 1822 ; on the festival of Saint Prancis Xavier, patron of the Institution ; and once a month, on any day at the choice of each subscriber, provided he says, every day within the month, the appointed prayers. To gain the indulgence, he must be truly sorry for his sins, go to confession, receive the holy communion , et c . " CHAPTER VI. CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. " We humbly beseech Thee for all sorts and conditions of men ; that Thou wouldest be pleased to make Thy ways known unto them, Thy salvation unto all nations." Book of Common Prayek. The tendency of everything good in this fallen world is towards decay and corruption. The Church, so happily established in these realms, is no excep- tion. E^eformed in all things essential from the doctrines and usages of Home ; distinctly protesting against them ; and most fully enunciating the pure Gospel in its formularies, it has been only preserved by a series of wonderful providences from falling back into downright Popery, through formalism, superstition, and the dangerous possession of wealth, dignity, and power. True spiritual religion, as Leighton, I think, ob- serves, is on this earth of ours a delicate exotic, in an unfriendly soil. The germ of Popery, on the other hand, is in every breast, and requires no cul- ture to bring it to maturity. In ecclesiastical 246 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. persons it has always appeared most vigorous and luxuriant. None are so injured by the possession of authority and pre-eminence as those whose profes- sion it is especially to follow the meek and lowly Saviour. The total absence of all missionary zeal in the Church for nearly a century and a half, presents a very unfavourable view of the state of vital godli- ness within its bosom during that long period. Were it not for the petitions to be found in the Book of Common Prayer, we might imagine that the Church never entertained a thought on the sub- ject. The established religion had certainly a fear- ful ordeal to pass through, in its transition from E-omanism to Christianity, before it could be viewed in its true character, as a propagator as well as a witness for the truth in the world. That which generally has been considered a source of strength to the Reformed Church of England, contributed most largely to produce those evils which so long disfigured and oppressed it. The E/cformation of the Church was part of a great national movement. The mass of the people ceased to be Romanists, but had not become Christians. The majority of the clergy, who as a body at once changed sides, were not men renewed by the Holy Ghost, through belief of the truth. The court was a hideous blot upon the Church; a tyrant king and a godless nobility favoured, for their own vile purposes, the movement ; greedy after the spoil, they secreted, Achan-like, many a wedge of gold, and many a Babylonish gar- ment. They had destroyed Baal out of Israel ; but, CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 247 like their political prototype, retained every evil practice and usage which brought them power or wealth. Prom the fires of persecution in the bloody Mary's reign, the Chm^ch came forth all the brighter and better. The memory of our confessors and martyrs will be amongst the household recollections of En- glishmen, Nonconformists, and Churchmen (should we continue, unhappily, so to be distinguished) until the last page of England's history shall have been written. Prosperity proved far more injurious to spiritual religion. In the times of quiet from foreign war, hostile invasion, and civil commotions, the arms of Protestants were turned against each other. These divisions were busily fomented by Jesuits within and without the Church, planning thereby the destruction of all alike. Under the ill-starred Stuarts, England had well nigh lost her glory as the keeper of the truth ; her destmed pre-eminence in commerce and the arts of peace ; her nobly-won privilege of civil and religious liberty ; her nation- ality. But I am straying beyond my province and my purpose. It would fill a volume to give but a sketch, in order, of the varied and complicated evils which, for ages after England's Church had cast off the yoke of E/oman bondage, continued to mar its usefulness, and endanger its very existence. It is unnecessary, also, here to enlarge. Whilst large numbers of our countrymen were, from love of the 248 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS, truth, " earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to the saints," every one knows with what fierceness the evil passions of the unrenewed heart burned, from time to time, in the rulers of Church and State, who had hut received Protestant- ism negatively ; — how closely also men who had themselves even suffered from the intolerant spirit of Popery, followed in the steps of their predecessors in power, carrying out far more in their practice the system in which they had been from infancy indoctrinated, which recognized neither justice nor humanity in the treatment of those who ventured to dissent from its dogmas, which system they professed to have renounced, than the principles of the Gospel which they had nominally adopted; — and how, in consequence of this unnatural perversion of things, the energies of the national Church, instead of being devoted to high and holy objects, were wasted in futile and cruel efforts to propagate a lordly pre- lacy in one great section of the empire ; to enforce an absolute conformity in another, in the minutest particulars, to the very colour of a priest's night- cap ;* and in fact to establish an inconsistent sort of Popery in the land everywhere. I only glance at those circumstances and charac- teristics of the times to show how little likely, or even possible, it was for the Church to entertain such comprehensive and lofty thoughts as those involved in missions of mercy to the perishing - See Canon. 74- CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 249 heathen, the outcasts of Israel, and others who have not the pure word of life. To the usurper, Cromwell, belongs the credit of having first planned a mission from the Reformed Churches to the less favoured parts of the world. " His project," as Bishop Burnet remarks, " was certainly a noble one. He resolved to set up a council for the Protestant religion, in opposition to the congregation de Propaganda Fide at Borne. He intended it should consist of seven counsellors and four secretaries for different provinces. These were the first : Erance, Switzerland, and the Valleys ; the Palatine and the other Calvinists were the second; Germany, the North, and Turkey were the third ; and the East and "West Indies were the fourth. These secretaries were to have £500 salary a-piece, and to keep a correspondence everywhere, to know the state of religion all over the world, that so all good designs might be by their means protected and assisted. They were to have a fund of £10,000 a-year at their disposal for ordinary emergencies, but to be further supplied as occasion should require." But it was not until after the revolution, which placed the present illustrious house of Hanover on the throne, that a society was formed in England for such a purpose. On the 16th of June, 1701, this Institution was established by royal charter, under the designation of " The Society for the Propagation oe the Gospel in Eoreign Parts." I have before me the first report of this venerable 250 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. Society. It is on a single sheet, and has the follow- ing postscript : — "The Treasurers for the year 1703 are, — Mr. John Trimmer, merchant, living on College-hill ; Mr. John Hodges, merchant, living in Elhow-lane, near College-hill. " The Secretary to the Society is John Chamber- lain, Esq., in Petty-France, Westminster. " At a Conrt held at St. Martin's Library, Peb. 4, 1703, Resolved, That the thanks of the Society be given to the Reverend Mr. Stubs for the great care and pains he hath taken in preparing the new account of the proceedings of the Society. Resolved, That this Order be printed at the foot of the said account." The following are extracts from the body of the same interesting document : — " England we must confess hath been too much wanting to herself in this great concern, from whom more might have been expected, as enjoying more of the special favours of God, under a clearer light of the Gospel than many other nations ; but the concurrence of many unhappy circumstances under which we have long laboured, hath obstructed the willing endeavours of many able and pious persons, who would often and heartily have come into this Evangelical work ; but this noble design seemed, by the special providence of God, to be reserved for so favourable a season, when many other pious and charitable works are carrying on in this kingdom. '* 'T was during the reign of King William III. CHURCH OE ENGLAND MISSIONS. 251 that this glorious design for advancing the kingdom of the Blessed Jesus was first effectually set on foot, who was no sooner informed by some whose hearts God had stirred up for this extraordinary under- taking, Efjat in mans of our plantations!, Colonieis, antr factories liegonti tJje Seas, tlje Probtsion for Mini^-- ters toag faerg mean; anti mang otljers of our ^Plantations, Colonies, antr Jaetories toere b^fjollg tiestitute anti un-^ pro&itietr of a fHaintenanee or JHinisters anti tlje Puli= liek TOorsfitp of ^otr ; anD tljat for lacJt of Support anti JHaintenance for suelj, mang toantetr tlje atrministra= tion of ©oti's aEortr anti Sacraments, anti seemeti to he a&antioneti to attjeism anti Sufttielitg ; anti also tJjat for faant of Hearneti anti ©rtfjotiox JSlinisters to instruct otfjers of 5t]is Subjects in tlje ^Principles of true 3^eli= gion, tii&ers iSomisfj Priests anti Sesuits toere tlje more encouraseti to per&ert anti tirabj tfjem o&er to Supersti^ tion anti Stiolatrg, but he immediately erected a So- ciety or Corporation, consisting of many eminent personages in Church and State, as well as of a con- siderable number of others of almost all ranks and professions, to carry on so glorious a design ; at the head of whom appear our Metropolitans of both provinces, the most Reverend fathers in God, Thomas, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, and John, Lord Archbishop of York, with the Eight Eeverend Father in God, Henry, Lord Bishop of London, to whose jurisdiction the most of those places do belong. "The Society" (I quote from the Eeport) "thus constituted, after adjusting preliminaries, as the 252 CHUUCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. choice of officers, such were the President, Vice- President, Treasurers, Auditors, Secretary, &c., appointment of Deputies in the counties, to take subscriptions, settling of by-laws and orders for their more regular proceeding in a matter of such consequence ; and admission of new members, ap- plied itself diligently to the great work in hand, which had soon met with a fatal period by the lamented decease of its founder, had not the good providence of God blessed us Avith an equal suc- cessor to the important affairs of religion as well as State — our gracious Queen Anne, who, upon an Address for her protection from the whole body of the Corporation, was pleased, in the most favourable manner, to express herseK thus : *I SHALL BE ALWAYS READY TO DO MY PART TOWARDS PROMOTING AND ENCOURAGING SO GOOD A WORK.' ** The Society being thus encouraged by the assur- ances of Her Majesty's royal favour, the work has gone on ever since, by God's blessing, with greater success than could reasonably be expected. Corre- spondencies are begun abroad, deputations settling at home, many subscriptions made, several benefac- tions brought in, and divers prudential ways and means taken for the conversion of Indians, and settling the state of religion in Her Majesty's fo- reign dominions, by supplying with able and good ministers the natives as well as English ; appoint- ing catechists and schoolmasters for the slaves with other ignorant persons; and sending over select CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 253 libraries for the improvement of the clergy, as well as practical treatises for the edification of the laity. " And at the same time, it has pleased God to raise up a spirit of zeal in many of the plantations for promoting this great and good work." The whole income of the Society, on the average of its first three years, was little more than £1000. Its first collection under Koyal letters, within the cities of London and Westminster, in the churches, took place in 1711, in Queen Anne's reign, and the amount raised was £3060. A collection under Royal letters within the provinces of Canterbury and York, in 1741, in George II. 's reign, realized £15,278. The first collection of the same kind under Queen Victoria, in 1838, was £39,518. The average income of the last three years' general fand was £70,552 ; besides which are trust funds to a considerable amount for special purposes, some of which are deeply interesting, and it may do good to mention them. The Vaudois Clergy Fund arose from a collec- tion made under Royal letters, granted in 1768, in favour of " the Protestants of the Vaudois Churches in the valleys of Piedmont, to enable them to main- tain the ministers, churches, schools, and poor, which they were not able to support in any tolerable manner ;" increased by subsequent legacies, dona- tions, and accumulations. It is now applied to the payment of thirteen Protestant pastors. The Debritzen Fund was transferred to the So- ciety, as trustees, in 1761, for the relief and benefit 254 CHURCH OE ENGLAND MISSIONS. of the Frotestant College of Dehritzen, in Hungary, The proceeds are paid to the Professors of the College. The Codrington Estate, — General Christopher Codrington, in 1710, by his will, gave the Society " his two plantations in the Island of Barbados, and part of his Island of Bermuda, to erect a college in Barbados, and to maintain a convenient number of professors and scholars, who are to be obliged to study and practice physic and chiinirgery, as well as divinity, that by the apparent usefulness of the for- mer to all mankind, they may both endear themselves to the 'people, a^id have the better opportunity of doing good to men^s souls, whilst they are taking care of their bodies J^ " The Children's Friend Society's Fund was the gift of the Children's Priend Society, to be applied in the maintenance of one or more Clergymen of the Church of England at the Cape of Good Hope, engaged to superintend the moral and religious con- ditio7i of the juvenile emigrants sent thither by the Children's Friend Society," In the year 1711 the Society had only ten labour- ers in its mission fields; in 1851, 492. Of this number 100 in America are supported from the interest of the clergy reserve-fund, or by a Parlia- mentary grant limited to the lives of the present missionaries. The Society may be regarded as a fau' represent- ative of the Church of England in its mixed cha- racter. CHURCH or ENGLAND MISSIONS. 255 On its lists are the names of missionaries whose soundness of views, according to our Articles, have never been called into dispute, and to whose exem- plary zeal and devotedness to the cause of Christ, their abundant labours most fully testify. The Society does not hesitate to employ the most zealous evangelical men as missionaries, catechists, or schoolmasters, provided they are properly quali- fied. It would be too much to affirm that a body formed, as the venerable society is, on the model of the Church, would recommend men of this descrip- tion for colonial bishoprics, or the professorships of its colleges. Por such offices the higher church clergy seem to have a prescriptive right, and more natural aspirations, if not gifts. John Wesley was one of the Society's mission- aries. In 1735 he received that honourable appoint- ment, and- the Society has paid, in its last Report, the follomng high tribute to his worth : — "It may surprise some to learn that the celebrated John Wesley received an appointment from the Society as first missionary in Georgia; and though he re- mained in America only two years, no one ever exhibited more zeal or greater devotion to his duties. His manner of life was remarkably plain and frugal. He was indefatigable in his ministrations ; and as there were scattered settlements of Prencli, Italians, and Germans within his mission, he officiated to those several congregations in their own tongue. No soldier of Christ was ever more ready to endure hardness than John Wesley, for he frequently slept 256 CHrRCH OF England missions. on the ground, sometimes waded through swamps, or swam over rivers, and then travelled till his clothes were drv." I have the happiness of knowing some of the Society's missionaries. Prom one of these, (my dear brother in the Lord, the Eev. Eiehard Tlood, Dela- ware.) the following particulars concerning his mis- sion were sent to this countiT some vears back. » » They will illustrate the laboiu's, perils, and consola- tions of a true missionary. '•'Pour different tribes of Indians are comprised in my mission besides the European settlers : the 0/ieidas, the Jfunceys, the Chipijeicays, and the Fotwahtamles, who are very few in nimiber. The whole of the Muncey tribe, with the exception of two, have embraced Clnistianity, and the work of conversion is rapidly spreading among the Chippe- wavs and Oneidas. Tor two whole vears, after I had commenced mv labours amons: these savaore tribes, there appeared -'no fruit.' At the end of those years of trial and perplexity, it pleased the Most High to open the heart of their principal chief (called Captain Snake.) nephew of a celebrated war- rior named Tecimiseth, who then sought admission into the Church by baptism. Many of the tribe, after preparatory instruction, immediately followed his example." With reference to this old man, Mr. Flood ^Tites : — *•' I never had occasion to reprove or find the least fault with him since his conversion, but have rather foimd him a most useful auxiliarv in all mv mission- CHrRCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 257 ary labours in that locality. For instance, if any of the young people were known to be guilty of the least impropriety, he was sure to ^dsit them for the purpose of expostulation and admonition, but yet in the spirit in which the kind and affectionate father would reprove his children for any levities or UTegularities. '^ Shortly after his own mind became impressed with Di"s-ine truth, the following circumstance oc- curred : — As I rode to their tillage early one Sunday morning, I perceived with astonishment that most of the wigwams were deserted, but when I reached the chief's, the mystery was solved, by his telling me, he had marched them all to the school-house, in order that I should not suffer inconvenience from delay, as I was wont to do when I first sought to turn them from dumb idols, to serve the living God; upon which I remarked, that he wore his honours well, as my idea of a chief was this, to be superior to his fellows in holiness and righteousness of life, and to show a good example in every work that had for its object God's glory and man's wel- fare : at this, the old man smiled and said, ' that he always prayed to be such as I described.' " In 1846, Mr. Flood visited this country for the pur- pose of soliciting assistance towards building a church for the use of the Indians, and also to defray the ex- pense of printing the Liturgy in the Muncey language. The following are extracts from a letter from the Rev. Mr. Flood, on his return, dated Delaware, Canada West, May 29th, 1847 :— s 258 CHTJUCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. " I wish to lose no time in acquainting you with my safe arrival in these parts, through a kind and merciful Providence, and of the hearty greetings with which I was welcomed by our Indians at Muncey Town. On last Sunday there could not he less than two hundred and fifty Indians assembled at the school-house, our temporary place of worship, the greater portion of whom had to remain outside the door for want of room. The attendance at even- ing service was also very full. I can assure you that my spirit was refreshed in beholding again their fervent devotion, and hearing their voices raised to heaven in praising the Great Spirit. On the fol- lowing day their chiefs assembled in council, to learn what success I had had in my late mission to England; and when I informed them of the hearty reception and cordial support I experienced in England, their joy was unbounded. ^' After I had concluded my address, the head chief of the Bear Creek Ogybways, Miskomon (Red Knife) arose, and spoke for his tribe in a most ani- mating strain, expressive of their gratitude to your Society, and all other Christian friends, who are taking an interest in their spiritual prosperity. Then followed the head chief of the Munceys, no ordinary man, the substance of whose speech I shall here insert. I held a council at the Oneida village, four miles distant from the above place, on Tuesday last, after Divine service, which was numerously at- tended; and I rejoice to say, that the same Christian spirit was manifested on the occasion as among the tribes on the former day. CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 259 " Captain Snake addressed me to the following effect on behalf of the Munceys : — " ' Dear Eather, — We feel very glad to see you once more among us on your return from England, where you have been to procure the means of in- creasing our spiritual improvement. We prayed to the Great Spirit, who sees us at all times and knows our hearts, that He would watch over you, and pre- serve you when far away from us. We are truly grateful that our prayers have been accepted at the throne of mercy, and that we behold you again in health and safety. We salute (shake hands in our hearts with) our great Mother, the Queen, and all in authority under her, and pray that the Good Spirit may ever be with them, to bless and pre- serve them. We also salute the great Eathers, the Bishops and Ministers of our Church, the great Church Societies, together with all others our Christian friends in England, whose hearts the Lord hath been pleased to open to the wants of their red brethren in this place ; and pray that the Great Spirit may continue to bless them, and enable them to complete the good work they have so kindly begun. *' ' We feel happy in having the Gospel preached by the Minister whom the Queen has been pleased to send to us. We believe if we walk according to the truths of that Gospel we shall be happy in this world, and happy for ever with Jesus Christ in heaven. We wish, by God's help, to repent us truly for all sins, to forsake the foolish and wicked s2 260 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. ways of our fathers, to put away from us the fire- water (ardent spirits) which has destroyed so many of our peo]3le before you crossed the great lake (Atlantic) to preach Christ the Saviour to us ; and we all now, thanks be to God, desire to walk in the way that leads to eternal life. " ' All our brothers and sisters salute you with a hearty welcome, and receive with gratitude the good news that so many friends have offered to assist us in building a Church for the worship of Almighty God. We are very grateful for the many blessings, temporal and spiritual, which under your ministry we enjoy, and particularly for the zeal and love you have so lately shown for the future happiness of ourselves and children. " ' We desire once more to stretch out our hands, and salute our kind friends across the great water, for all their goodness to us by you, and for the hand- some present of clothes promised by our white sisters for our dear children; and we will tell our little ones, who can now read the good words, never to forget, as long as they live, and to tell their children how good our white friends in England were to print, in our language, the praying-book (Muncey Prayer- book), and to send it by you to us, with Qther good books, to make us happy in this world, and in the world to come.' " " In connexion with the history of this remark- able man," writes Mr. Mood, "and according to your request, that I should commit to writing the tragic occurrence which took place (as you heard CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 261 me relate), within the village of Delaware, in the white settlement, distant about twelve miles from Muncey town, I avail myself of the present oppor- tunity to do so. " At the commencement of spring, in the year 1843, the wooden bridge, which crosses the river Thames, and connects the township of Caradoc to Delaware, had been swept away, a short time before, by an unexpected flood, caused by the rapid melting of the snow, so that the banks, to a considerable distance, were covered, to the depth of sixteen feet, with water, which presented the appearance of an agitated lake. All who attended the Delaware church, from the Caradoc side of the river, were conveyed over in an ill-constructed scow, or ferry-boat. I was on this occasion accompanied by two Indian chiefs, Captain Sn^alce, and William Halfmoon, and reached the opposite side in perfect safety. It was on our return the fatal occurrence took place. There were fourteen of us, including the Indians, stowed into this little boat ; and, as soon as we reached the more troubled eddy of the current, we were swept along with frightful rapidity, and the oarsmen were not able, by the violence of the current, to avoid the trees and underbrush, which rose out of the deep, when we instantly came in contact with a large wil- low tree, which stood out in a horizontal position, and we seized hold of it the best way we could. This was the work of a moment, or we should have been struck down by it into the foaming surge. The part of the tree I grasped was a small branch, almost 262 cHuiicH or England missions. level with the water — my feet sticking in a nest of wild vines, which encircled the trunk under water. I was thus immersed almost to my shoulders. One of the chiefs, Kalfmoon^ who happened to be near- est to me at the time, caught me by the neck, his feet resting on my knees, thereby rendering my situ- ation painfully critical. The rest of the party held on by the branches and limbs of the tree above the water pretty well, with the exception of four, whose heads only appeared above its surface, yet holding the main stem of the tree, which became level with the water, in consequence of the superincumbent weight. These poor souls, chilled to the core, dropped off, one after the other, more dead than alive, into the foaming waters, but not before I was able, through the Divine mercy, to address them, as a dying man to dying men, entreating all to commit themselves to the protection of that precious Saviour who died for us, and begging of every man to keep his hold until it should please the Most High to send deliver- ance. There was no canoe near the place whence succour could be afforded : the inhabitants who wit- nessed this frightful catastrophe from the shore could only weep. Being myself ready to sink from ex- haustion into a watery grave, like those already re- corded, I implored at length JELalfmoon to swim for the next tree, ' And, if successful,' I remarked, 'you may have an opportunity, by-and-by, to seize me, as I shall be borne along in that direction.' His instant reply was, ' Yes, my minister, the Son of Almighty God is good,' and swam off, striking the CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 263 water alternately with his hands, after the fashion of a dog (the Indian mode of swimming), and suc- ceeded in taking hold of a projecting branch of the opposite tree, to my great relief, and was soon perched upon it. After which, his eyes were fixed upon me, with the intention of giving another proof of his love, by trying to save my life, had it been the will of Providence that I had dropped off. " The villagers had to send, the distance of five miles, a pair of horses and a wagon, to transport a canoe, by which we were taken off, after having been there three hours in the water." In 1848, the following obituary notice of Captain Snake appeared in a Canadian paper, from the pen of Mr. riood, who kindly forwarded it to me : — "At an early period of the history of Upper Canada, this remarkable man, with other warriors of the Muncey tribe, left the United States, entered this province, and joined the British standard, as independent allies, about the year 1800 ; some time after which period, they settled on a part of the Ojibbeway reserve, now called Old Muncey Town. " The subject of this brief memoir was in early life a distinguished warrior, as well as a great orato at the council fire. In many a fierce and deadly en counter with Britain's foes, did he stand for the brav- est of the brave in his tribe. He received his first lessons in those stirring times, under the training of his uncle, the celebrated warrior, Tecumseth. Shortly after my arrival as missionary at Caradoc and parts adjacent, I discovered that the Muncey and Bear 264 CHUllCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. Creek Ojibbeway tribes were enveloped in all the darkness of Paganism, with few exceptions, and therefore considered it a duty incumbent on me to visit them, as time permitted, with the view of draw- ins: their attention to the o^reat truths of revelation. But nearly two years elapsed before a decided im- pression was made, when this aged chief expressed a desire to renounce Paganism, and embrace the Clu'istian faith. After due examination into the grounds upon which he sought admission into our Church by baptism, I ascertained, to my great joy, that the gospel, hitherto proclaimed without any apparent success, had not fallen to the ground. On that occasion, this truly converted man freely and fully unbosomed himself, by giving me a short his- tory of his former life, such as the awful scenes of warfare in wliich he took a prominent part, and his deep-rooted attachment to Pagan rites, with all then' soul-enslaving and demoralizing tendencies, and added, ' I thank the Great Sj)irit for directing your footsteps to us ; for I can now plainly see the folly of placing dependence 'upon those ridiculous traditions of om* forefathers, when my poor immor- tal soul is concerned.' He was led, I doubt not, by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, to the know- ledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who loved us, and gave himself for us, and so found, with those who have obtained like precious faith, peace and rest to his soul, in time and eternity. I can truly affirm, that, from the day of his reception into the Church, his conduct has been consistent in all CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 265 things with the profession which he had made be- fore many witnesses. His example was a silent sermon to the entire settlement, and he was univer- sally beloved by the other tribes, as well as by his own. '' I gladly availed myself of his invaluable assist- ance in advising, admonishing, and exhorting his people to embrace the ever-blessed gospel, in which labour of love he always seemed to take the greatest pleasure. Yea, even more than this: I have learned from Mr. Hogg, our catechist (at whose table he was a constant guest), that during my absence in the white settlement this venerable chief took every opportunity of rendering my instructions the more unpressive, by dwelling upon them in his inter- course with the Munceys. This consistent Christian, who has been declining in health for the last six months, was induced, a short time since, at the in- stance of his daughter, to accompany her to Mora- vian Town where she resides, with the view of bestowing that care and attention which his delicate state required. My Muncey interpreter visited him in the course of the past month; by him he sent me his Christian love, as he felt dangerously ill, and expected not to recover. He shook hands with me in his heart, and requested me to remember him at the throne of grace. "It is delightful to know that the closing scenes of his eventful life were peace. The Moravian mis- sionary has just informed me by letter, that during his illness his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ never 266 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. wavered, and that he frequently reverted in conver- sation to the truths which he had heen taught in Muncey town. Thus, through grace, our heloved brother continued stedfast to the end of his Chris- tian course, and is entered into the rest which re- maineth to the people of God." Subsequently Mr. Mood writes : — " You will be rejoiced to learn that the Most High continues to crown with success my feeble efforts in making the way of the Lord known among this long neglected race, the aborigines of the land ; and here I would remark, that from the day that I first broke ground by the gospel plough, the work of the Lord pros- pered not by pressing upon their attention the evi- dences of revealed religion or its precepts exclusively, or for the greater part ; but by the preaching of that salvation which is by grace through faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The missionary who would win souls must never forget the words of Him who spake as never man spake : ' When I am lifted up I shall draw all men unto me ;' for, surely, nothing deserves the name of Gospel but that which makes ' Christ all in all,' and so we have found by experience, that, as the savage heart is melted at the tidings of redeeming love, his morals and whole manner of life are reformed; hence the only safe and true mode te effect civiliza- tion. " We have planted the Cross in the wilderness, and all who come beneath its shade, however fero- cious, became gentle like lambs. We have many CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 267 others following in the steps of the late chief, and adorning the doctrine of God their Saviour ; from beneath whose roofs ascend praise and prayer both morning and evening, as regularly as in our own dwellings. All this is most cheering to the poor missionary, who is called to weep over at times the irregularities and inconsistencies of others. We have an association, auxiliary to the Church Society, established among them, which is purely of a mis- sionary character, and at our quarterly meetings a collection is taken up after the sermon for this ob- ject. Their contributions on such occasions cannot but be novel to your ears ; they consist of Indian corn, maple sugar, &c., which, when converted into cash, make no inconsiderable item in the annual Report of the Society. " Our Day and Sunday-schools are working well, although we have to regret at times the withdraw- ing of some of the cliildren who have to accompany their parents in their hunting expeditions ; but I am confident you will be pleased to learn that the small articles of clothing which our excellent friends in England were so kind as to send us, will tend much to check this evil ; as I gave our Indian children lately to understand, when I distributed your offer- ings among them, that henceforth no child will be entitled to an article of dress if irregular in attend- ance at school. " TeU your dear children that our little Indians are taught to sing, and they possess very sweet voices. On the occasion of presenting them with 268 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. your bounty, I concluded with a short address, and closed with singing the well-known missionary hymn, in their own tongue, "Ummong uh kid moot mook," — "Blow ye the trumpet, blow;" which I hope your dear little ones will learn by heart and repeat to you."* It is a matter of surprise that the Gospel Propa- gation Society, which has, beyond all question, effected a large amount of good in the colonies of England, should be yet so inadequately supported, representing, as it does, the most affluent and aris- tocratic classes of the mother country, and the most numerous section of the clergy, and having the ad- vantage of a triennial collection in all our churches, under the Royal letter. Happily for the increasing wants of our colonies, another society has lately sprung up in the Church, having a kindred object in view, without any un- holy rivalry, but as co-worker in a cause which may well draw forth sympathy and help from every sec- tion of the Church, and every lover of his country. This new institution is — THE COLONIAL CHTJKCH AND SCHOOL SOCIETY. This Society will be found (like the Church Mis- * Contributions to this Mission, Mr. Flood informs us, of clothing, old or new books, slates, j^ictures, stationery, cotton, thimbles, scissors, pins, needles, &c. &c., would be truly accept- able ; and small glass beads, which are used by the natives in making purses, slippers, &c., by the sale of which they procure some few comforts. They will be thankfully received at the ad- dress of the writer, and forwarded. f^ CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 269 sionary Society), if I mistake not, to increase the resources of the older one, rather than take from them. They appeal for support (it ought not to be concealed, in Christian candour) to two distinct di- visions in our common Church : the Gospel Propa- gation Society to the great body of churchmen who would place the liturgy and rubrics before the Articles ; the Colonial Church Society to the evan- gelical body, who have first in their regard the Articles, as embodying most distinctly the great truths of the Gospel, and a full protest against the errors of Romanism ; and as supplying, also, a bond of cordial union with all reformed Churches which hold the same leading truths. May they long con- tinue to " provoke one another to love and to good works y The Colonial Church and School Society is indeed entitled to the warmest support of all who are decided in their attachment to the Protestant and Evangelical character of the Church of England, and when more fully made known in the country, will assuredly command it. Already its rapidly- increasing income amounts to upwards of £8000, and it employs in the colonies 115 missionary labour- ers, of whom twenty-three are clergymen. The following instances of munificent support afforded to this admirable Society are worth recording, and will point out a way by which not only much good may be done to the colonies so assisted, but to our congregations at home, by the establishment of so interesting a bond of Christian union and benevo- 270 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. lence, and the realization of the sure word : " they that water others shall be watered also themselves." The Report for 1852 informs us that — " The Incumbent of Headingiey, Leeds, has con- sented to form an Association in that district, and to devote the contributions raised to the support of an individual agent, to be called the ' Headingiey Missionary,^ It has, also, been arranged, that the sphere of labour for the proposed agent shall be Prince Eupert's Land. " Prom the information which the Committee have received, it appears that the Red Hiver Colony comprises upwards of 7,000 Europeans, located in three settlements, extending fifty miles along the river, and for which the bishop and two clergymen form the entire ministerial provision. There is also another settlement at some distance, without either clergyman or schoolmaster. Under these circum- stances the Committee have already entered on ar- rangements for sending a catechist. He will pro- bably be located in the middle settlement, in which the bishop is now labouring alone, adding, to the exercise of his wide episcopate, the arduous duties of a parochial minister. The Committee express their willingness to carry out the same plan, where practicable, in other colonies, and their earnest hope that similar tokens of special interest in colonial missionary work will, ere long, be manifested by other auxiliaries." In the parish of Islington (London), the congre- gation of the chapel of ease, at the instance of their CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 271 beloved minister, the Kev. J. Hambleton, have taken upon themselves also to defray, by a special contri- bution, the grant of the Society to a missionary in Australia. In the same parish, a member of the congregation of St. James's, under the highly- valued ministry of the Rev. W. B. Mackenzie, raised, in the course of two years, the sum of £80 towards sending out a female missionary teacher to a settlement of Indians on the island of Manitoulin, in Lake Huron, and it is fully hoped that the Society's grant will, in future years, be met by similar exertions. Concerning the devoted Christian happily selected for this work, the missionary chaplain of that settle- ment writes as follows : — " You will be happy to hear, that the more I see of Miss Poulkes and her faithful discharge of the important duties imposed on her, the more I feel the greatness of the debt due by this mission to the Colonial Church and School Society for the import- ant aid given by it in her appointment. '' I often wish you could be here to hear the united voices of the little red children who, before Miss Eoulkes's arrival, had never been trained to sing the praises of God, raised in the beautiful hymns, both in their own language and in English, which she has taught them to sing. And that the effect of her instructions on the children does not stop short at a matter of mere outward form, but has already had considerable effect in instilling right principles into the minds of the children, I think the 272 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. following instance, which occurred during my ab- sence from home, will afford gTatifying proof. A little boy, whose grandfather paid a visit to Mrs. O'Meara for the purpose of telling her how pleased he was with the improvement his grandson was mak- ing, being at his grandfather's house on a Sunday morning, when, in consequence of my absence, there was no service in Church, and seeing a good many people there, proposed that, as their minister was not at home to call them to the house of prayer, they should join in singing the praises of God ; and, so saying, the little fellow opened his book, and commenced singing in Indian the hymns which he had been taught in school. He was joined by the grown persons present, and, having concluded this part of the worship, remarked that it was not suffi- cient for them to sing the praises of God, they must worship Him too, and invited them to join him while he knelt down to repeat the prayers which he had been taught both at the Sunday and Day- schools. This little anecdote is only an instance of the general effect on the little ones of my flock already perceptibly produced by the instructions of Miss Poulkes, and which if, as we have every reason to hope, it goes on increasing at the same rate, will soon render her appointment to this sphere of labour a blessing to be recounted by children's children, as among the choicest mercies of a gracious God." Later particulars, of an interesting character, concerning this mission, will be found in a paper appended to this volume. CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 273 THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. This society, although not strictly missionary in its primary object, was, at a very early period, an auxiliary to Christian missions, and is, at this day, a most powerful help to the Church of England, in her desolate places abroad, as well as at home. It was founded in 1698, mainly by a private clergy- man. Dr. Thomas Bray, who subsequently acting as commissary in Maryland, and seeing the great necessity for some effort at home for the further- ance of religion in the colonies, happily succeeded in rousing public attention to the matter. Having subsequently formed the Gospel Propagation Society, Dr. Bray may be fairly considered the founder of both these institutions, and, in them, of the many noble societies which followed them, by imitation or natural consequence. To the exertions of the Chris- tian Knowledge Society, in support of the missions of Denmark, which preceded our own some years, and which had engaged the services of the illustrious Swartz, the following just tribute is offered in the Church 3Iissionary Intelligencer: — " Christianity, on its introduction into India, had much to contend against : Brahmins and Bomanists combined to hinder it, and the ungodly lives of Eu- ropeans presented a still more formidable obstruc- tion. Yet the leaven spread, converts increased, congregations were formed, catechists raised up, and, in 1732, the aggregate of baptized persons T 274 CHUBCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. amounted to 1478, of whom 506 were Tamulians. In the next year, the first ordination of a native, named Aaron, took place, followed by several others. These native pastors and catechists penetrated the country in different directions, scattering the seed of God*s word, and enduring patiently much per- secution. " The "Danish mission at Tranquebar declined to- wards the termination of the eighteenth century, from a variety of causes. Yet it was, for a long period, the centre and spring of all the efforts to propagate Christianity in the country. The mis- sions that grew out of it to the west, the north, and the south, still exist. The Bibles, and other numerous publications that issued from the press at Tranquebar, for the instruction of old and young, show what blessings it showered over the south of India; and the translations and compositions of these first missionaries, together with their nume- rous congregations and schools, formed the ground- work of much that has since been accomplished. Who can contemplate all this, without rendering unto God the tribute of praise, for the manifold benefits conferred on India by means of this mis- sion ? The trunk of an umbrageous banian may rot in the ground; but the branches it has sent forth, each supported and kept alive by its own prop, and clothed Avith perpetual verdure, give ocular demonstration of the character of the parent stock. '' Erom this parent stem at Tranquebar, the Tan- CHURCH OP ENGLAND MISSIONS. 275 jore mission originated, in 1726, and the Tricliinopoly mission in 1762, which, with Sioartz as its mission- ary, was taken up, five years afterxcards, by the Chris- tian Knowledge Society, ichose friendly countenance and pecuniary sup)port had been freely given to the Danish missionary work in India, from the year 1709. A congregation was formed and visited by Swartz, who placed the infant church under the superintend- ence of his tried catechist, Sattianaden, who, in the year 1790, was ordained by the missionaries expressly for the Palamcottah work. In the next year, he was joined hj John Daniel JoenicM, of Halle, a mis- sionary of the Christian Knowledge Society. He and Sattianaden made several journeys into parts of the country where the word of God had never before been preached, and they found the people generally very attentive and desirous to hear. They assem- bled by hundreds, and showed them every mark of respect, and many conducted them from village to village. Sattianaden, when alone, received the same attention. He appeared to have been peculiarly qua- lified for his work. ' I cannot,' says Swartz, with that nobleheartedness and generous acknowledgment of the gifts of others which distinguished him, ' but esteem this native teacher higher than myself. He has a peculiar talent in conversing with his country- men. His whole deportment evinces clearly the in- tegrity of his heart. His humble, disinterested, and believing walk has been made so evident to me and others, that I may say, with truth, I never met with his equal among the natives of this country. His t2 ^76 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. love to Christ, and his desire to be useful to his coun- trymen, are quite apparent. His gifts in preaching afford universal satisfaction.' Thus the Gospel was preached to the inhabitants of Tinnevelly intelligibly in their own tongue, without an interpreter, both by Joenicke and Sattianaden, with other native cate- chists and assistants. " The native preacher," says Joenicke, " returned lately from an excursion of thirty-five days. Every morning he went to some village in the neighbour- hood. He cannot sufficiently describe the desire ex- pressed by the people for instruction. Wherever he went, they begged him to read and preach to them. I believe we shall have a great harvest in the west." " I always thought," writes Swartz, in reply to this letter, ''that a large congregation would be col- lected at Palamcottah. This, my hope, now begins to be fulfilled." After Joenicke' s death, the district was visited by GericM, " He was welcomed every- where with gratitude ; and in several places he found, that, by means of Sattianaden' s preaching, it had pleased God to awaken a sense of religion in the in- habitants of whole villages, insomuch that of their own accord they had sought further instructions from their Christian neighbours." He baptized, on this journey, more than 1300 persons ; and after his de- parture, the native teachers formed no less than 18 new congregations, and instructed and baptized 2700, making together about 4000 souls." The receipts of the Christian Knowledge Society, in 1851, from all sources, amounted to £95,964 15^. \d. CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 277 THE BORNEO CHURCH MISSION. This institution was formed on the instance of Sir James Brooke, on the 2nd of May, 1846, the Earl of Ellesmere beinfij in the chair. Its last year's receipts were £1905 Us. Sd., but ten times that amount could be well employed in carrying out the objects contemplated. "His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury (I quote from the last report), at a Meeting of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, when a grant of £50 per annum was proposed towards the salary of the Rey. W. Chambers, stated, ' that he belieyed that at present Borneo offered the most promising opening for extending the knowledge of Christ among the heathen that was to be found on the face of the globe.' The Bishop of Calcutta uses the yery same language; Sir James Brooke and the Missionaries amply confirm the account; in the providence of God the Church of England is called to the high honour of planting the standard of the cross in Borneo, and we surely cannot draw back. Eyery- thing calls on us to go forward, but at present the means are loanting. " The Committee, howeyer, confidently put forth this statement, conyinced that when once their claims upon the liberality of churchmen are under- stood, and their position appreciated, many warm- hearted Christians will come forward with such aid as is required to carry the glad tidings of salya- tion, and to establish the apostolic doctrine and dis- 278 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. cipline of our Church among the thousand tribes of Borneo." The following characteristic letter from the apos- tolic Bishop of Calcutta, who, unwearied in labours for the cause of Christ, visited the settlement in the beginning of last year, will be here read with interest by many, and, it is hoped, with advantage to the funds of the Mission : — The Bishop of Calcutta to the Rev. 0. D, Brereton, honorary Secretary, " Semiramis War Steamer, on her way from Sarawak, to Singapore. January 24th, 1851. "My dear Priend, — I have spent four days at Sarawak. I have consecrated the church according to the request of the diocesan, the Lord Bishop of London. I have inspected the state of the infant Mission, and conferred fally with the indefatigable and zealous Chaplain and Missionary, the Bev. P. T. M'Dougall. I have conversed also with the gentle- men, and have read the several works published on the events which have occurred in the last few years. "It is my full persuasion that there is no Mission, on the face of the earth, to be compared with that of Borneo. It has been thrown open to Christian enterprise almost by miracle. One of the darkest recesses of heathen ignorance, cruelty, and desola- tion, where piracy, and murder, and conflagration, and head-hunting, stalked abroad in open day, and the aboriginal inhabitants were in the sure way of being utterly exterminated, is now, so to speak, like the CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 279 Paradise of God. Deliverance has been proclaimed, security of person and property, equal rights, an enlightened and paternal distributive justice, the arts of life, an extending commerce, are already established at Sarawak, and spreading along tlio whole coast of Borneo. The China sea is free from marauders, and all Europe and America may pursue their peaceful occupations from Singapore to Labuan. " The Christian Mission is begun, to sanctify and to crown all these secular blessings. Two things, quite unexampled, favour the design. Eirst, English- men have become first known to the oppressed Dyaks by a single English gentleman of benevolence, talent, and singular wisdom and tact for governing, who has received, as a token of gratitude from the native princes, a tract of land as his own territory. To the benefit of the inhabitants, this gentleman, who is now recognized as the Rajah of Sarawak, is devoting his time, his fortune, his zeal, his health, his body and soul. The noble government of our honoured and beloved Queen Victoria at home has come forward with her admirals and brave captains to assist in reducing the piracies which infest the coast, to silence and tranquillity. Sir James Brooke has been made Governor of Labuan. The last en- gagement with the pirates, about a year and a half since, when 120 war boats, with 2000 banditti, were interrupted in the very act of plundering and setting fire to villages, seizing native vessels and murder- ing their crews, has humbled and alarmed the whole tribes; and the chiefs are sending messengers to 280 CHURCH OE ENGLAND MISSIONS. Sarawak, promising to turn themselves to honest occupations. In the mean time, the population of the town has increased, in nine years, from 1500 to 12,000 souls, and throughout the whole territory to 30,000. "The peace thus established, like that of the E;Oman empire at the Incarnation of our Lord, pre- pares for the Gospel, renders the diffusion of it practicable, and calls imperatively to the Christian Church at home to seize with eagerness the occasion, to which nothing parallel has perhaps ever occurred. The second peculiarly favourable circumstance is, that the millions of poor Dyaks have no religion of their own, scarcely a notion of a Deity, no Maho- medan obstinacy, no Hindoo caste, no priesthood, no written books, no Koran, no Veda ; and are led by a strong feeling of gratitude for deliverance from worse than Egyptian bondage, to place unbounded confidence in the truth and disinterestedness of the Rajah, to solicit instruction in his religion, and to follow the habits of the 'white people.' In truth, when I stood on the hill on which the church is erected, and viewed the subjacent town stretched on the river's banks, and beheld the mission-house and school on the College Hill, which crowned the oppo- site shore, I could not but break out into thanks- giving to the God of all grace for his wonderful works. And during the very solemn service of con- secration, I looked with amazement on the neat wooden edifice, with its Early English arches, its nave, seventy feet by twenty-two, and thirty-five CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 281 feet high, its side aisles, its handsome communion- plate placed on the holy tahle, and its Christian congregation of forty-three (of whom eleven were Dyak and Chinese school children, seated in the aisle), and when I assisted in administering the Blessed Supper to nineteen communicants, besides the clergy, my heart was almost too full to proceed. "Will England then fail to support the work thus prosperously begun ? Impossible ! It is not in the manner of Christian Britain to forget that she was herself, 1400 years ago, in as low a state of bar- barism as the Dyaksj and infested with European pirates as they with Asiatics. No ! she is well aware that what the Gospel has done for her, it can do for Borneo. " But it must be understood that nothing has yet been effected as to the instruction and conversion of the natives. The preparatory work of a mission has yet to be accomplished by holy and devoted mission- aries, with their catechists and schoolmasters, planted under the protection of the Bajah in the several spots most favourably situated. Then the real spiritual and blessed influence of the Spirit of Grace is to be implored and waited for. Nothing can be done in a hurry to any good effect. Nothing of a secular and merely external success is to be aimed at. The salvation of souls by the atoning sacrifice of Christ and the sanctifying grace of the Holy Ghost, must be the object in view. How long was the Western African Mission in bearing fruit ! How long has India been waiting for the full triumnh of the 282 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. Gospel ! We must have patience in Borneo. It is a great thing to have built a church, mission-house, and schools, and to have sent out one active and zealous missionary [since this was written, a second has arrived at Sarawak] ; whilst Bishop's College, Calcutta, has given two catechists, one of whon I brought with me. But a large number of both classes of labourers are indispensable ; and of course very considerable funds will be required for their support. To lay the foundations of a mission is a difficult task. The selfishness of human nature is extreme. Wise and persevering efforts, however, to make the case thoroughly known through the length and breadth of Protestant England, will assuredly be respon^ied to. " I need not add, that the character of the men whom you send out is of the last importance. Christ our Lord must be honoured and preached in all the simplicity of the Gospel, or no spiritual good will follow. Men of crotchets and peculiarities and mere forms will not do. They must be, like St. Paul and St. John, men of vital, experimental piety, men devoted to the real work of the salvation of souls, men who understand and love the doctrines of Bedemption. But I conclude, full of hope and joy, and am, " Your most affectionate, " D. Calcutta. " The Bev. C. D. Brereton.'* CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 283 THE LONDON SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIANITY AMONG THE JEWS. This honoured society has this year published its forty-fourth annual report. Its income last year was £30,495 155. 8c/. The society distributes the He- brew Scriptures, and tracts Hebrew, German, Eng- lish, &c., and employs a devoted band of labourers in various parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Its work is one eminently of faith in the sure word of prophecy; and it is destined, we are persuaded, to exercise an increasingly blessed influence in the world, not only as regards the outcasts of Israel, but the Gentiles also. (See Hom. xi.) As yet but the droppings before the shower have been felt, but enough to raise our expectations of the coming gracious and abundant rain from the Lord, to revive and gladden his own work. Vastly more, however, has been accomplished than is gene- rally thought. Eive hundred and ninety-two Jews have been baptized in the Society's chapel in London alone; and there are now living, it is confidently stated by persons competent to form a judgment, two thousand of the descendants of Abraham united with us in the profession of faith in our blessed Saviour in the metropolis ; whilst not fewer than fifty converted Israelites have been ordained in the Church of England, and as many more in other Protestant Churches. Oh that the Lord's salvation Were out of Zion come, 284 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. To heal his ancient nation, To lead his outcasts home t How long the holy city- Shall heathen feet profane ? Keturn, O Lord, in pity, Rebuild her walls again. Let fall thy rod of terror, Thy saving grace impart ; Roll back the vail of error : Release the fetter'd heart. Let Israel, home returning, Her lost Messiah see : Give oil of joy for mom-ning, And bind thy church to thee. One spot, above all others, in the Society's field of labour, must attract the thoughtful Christian's regards, that from which " The Sun of Righteousness arose with healing in his beams." " Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the day-spring from on high hath visited us ; to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." The land of Palestine has been so often and so well described, that I shall say notliing on the subject here, but refer my readers for most interesting and valuable information respecting its religious aspect to the published Mission of Inquiry of the Church of Scot- land, in 1839 ; the later travels of Eisk, in the same region, eloquently and graphically related ; and the most instructive and inspiriting memoir of the late devoted and greatly-honoured young servant of God, -^WChcf/ne. CHURCH or ENGLAND MISSIONS. 285 Erom the first-named of these volumes, I will just quote one passage : — " (Sabbath, June 9.) The morning seemed the dawn of some pecviliar season, from the thought that we were in Jerusalem. We sung together, in our morning worship. Psalm Ixxxiv. 1 — 4, 'How lovely is thy dwelling-place.' At ten o'clock, ac- cording to agreement, we met in Mr. Young's house, where Divine service was at that time conducted. It was an upper room — that being generally the situation of the largest and most airy apartments in the East, and also farthest removed from the noise and bustle of the street. Here was gathered toge- ther a little assembly of fourteen or fifteen souls to worship, according to the Scriptures. How difPerent from the time when, in the same city, ' the number of the men that believed was about five thousand ! ' After Mr. Nicolayson had gone through the service of the Liturgy, Dr. Black preached on Isa. ii. 1 — 5. It was very pleasant thus to mingle our services^ and to forget the differences hetioeen our churches in the place where Jesus died, and the Soly Spirit was given. On our way back to our lodging, we had to pass through a small part of the bazaar. Here all was going on as on other days, and we were forcibly reminded that ' Jerusalem is trodden down of the Gentiles.' " Having rested till the noonday heat was past, we went, at four o'clock, to the house of one Simeon, a converted Jew, where Mr. Nicolayson went through the evening service of the Liturgy, in German, and 286 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. preached on Hebrews xii. 5, 6. At five in the even- ing, we assembled again in the upper room, when Dr. Keith conducted the service in our own Presby- terian form, and preached from 1 Kings xviii. 21. All these exercises were very solemn and reviving ; yet still we frequently felt throughout the day that it is not in the power of the place itself, however sacred, to enlighten and refresh a sinner's soul. Com- passed about as we were on every side with the memorials of the Saviour's work, our eyes gazing on the Mount of Olives, our feet standing on the holy hill of Zion, we felt that there was still as much need as ever that ' the Spirit should take of the things of Christ, and show them unto us,' as he himself declared, when sitting with his disciples in such an upper room as this in Jerusalem. ' The glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ,' is not an object within the compass of the natural eye. Associations of place and time cannot open the eye to see it; though such associations as those with which we were now surrounded soften the mind, and suggest the wish to comprehend what ' God, manifest in the flesh,' revealed. Even were Christ already ' reign- ing in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously,' nothing less than heavenly eyesalve would enable us to say, 'We beheld his glory !' " Since the above was penned, a Protestant Epis- copal church has been built, which now has a con- gregation of eighty-eight adults, and forty-three children ; '^ the number of the disciples together were CHTIKCH OP ENGLAND MISSIONS. 287 about an hundred and twenty,'" ** Who hath de- spised the day of small things ? " The importance of this mission, as a witness for the truth, and an exhibition of scriptural Christian- ity and brotherly love, in the face of the idolatries of the Greek and Latin Churches, and their most ran- corous and deadly hostilities towards each other, is far greater than can be estimated by the number of direct conversions, or its influence on the Jewish population of the country. It is delightful, therefore, to see it being strength- ened continually from different quarters of the Church of Christ ; and that the same spirit of godly charity, expressed by the Church of Scotland brethren, con- tinues to pervade the whole assembly of God's peo- ple there. The loohed-for success from the efforts of Bible Christians in JPalestine, under God, depends upon the permanence of this feeling, more than upon any one thing else. Sigh JPresbyte7'ianism, or high pre- latical Churchmanship, would utterly destroy all, and expose our common faith to ridicule and contempt ; and as nowhere in the world is such unity more to be desired and prayed for, so surely in no spot should it be more easily accomplished. May the great Head of the Church perpetuate it, to the confusion of the enemy, and the advancement of His glory ! In the month of ^February of this current year, the mission at Jerusalem was strengthened by the 288 CHUBCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. appointment and arrival of the Rev. Henry Craw, ford, late curate of North Mimnis, but at the first a medical practitioner in this neighbourhood; a man of prayer and holy zeal. In a solemn meeting of the congregation of St. James's in this parish of Islington, about a year back, I heard this devoted Christian offer himself to the work of the Lord, and I rejoice now to read in the Society's last Report, concerning him and the mission, — " Mr. Crawford arrived in Jerusalem on Saturday evening, February 21st, and was able to join in the next morning's public service, in the Lord's sanc- tuary on Mount Zion. "'I cannot tell you,' he says, 'how we enjoyed our first Sabbath in Jerusalem. The church is one of the neatest I have ever seen, plain, but hand- some ; and to see it in its present place, and a Pro- testant congregation listening to the Gospel there, filled me with joy, and an intense desire to unite with those who have been beforehand with me in the work. The singing was a very pleasing speci- men of congregational psalmody I am truly gratefal to be placed where so much has al- ready been done by others to facilitate missionary labour." Before Mr. Crawford's arrival, the annual confer- ence of the brethren of this mission had been held. An account of the proceedings on that interesting occasion has appeared in the Jewish Intelligencer^ for April. It was felt by our missionary brethren to CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 289 be a time of refreshing, and there is reason to hope that it has greatly tended not only to cement their Christian union, but also to animate and enliven their zeal. At the close of the Conference they recorded ' their gratitude to the God of Israel, for the harmony, unanimity, and cordiality, with which they had been enabled to review the past history, and to provide for the future wants, of this mis- sion, and those connected with it within the same diocese, and for the cheering prospect of the fu- ture.' " Among the events affecting the cause of Chris- tianity in Palestine during the past year, the Com- mittee cannot but advert with deep interest to the appointment of a missionary to that country, of the Church Missionary Society ; believing that any mea- sure of success which it may please God to vouch- safe to a sister Institution, among the degraded Christians and unconverted Gentiles of that country, cannot fail to operate beneficially upon the labours of this Society among the Jews. "A similar effect may be anticipated from an- other event, which has marked the history of the Protestant community on Mount Zion during the past year, viz., the appointment by the King of Prussia of a minister to its German members. The choice has fallen on a pious countryman of Mr. Nicolayson, placed in circumstances which spe- cially secure to him the personal and Christian sym- pathy of the latter. The Hev. P. P. Valentiner has expressed his earnest desire for harmonious u 290 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. co-operation in the salvation of souls, with those who have preceded him in this work." The medical department of the mission at Jeru- salem must commend itself to every philanthropist, as well as to every Christian. May the nohle ex- ample of Dr. Macgowan he extensively followed in the Church. " The hospital, which at first was assailed hy the rahhies with extraordinary virulence, has gradually not only overcome that opposition, hut softened pre- judices generally, and has conciliated much good- will to the mission, as well as done much good to hundreds and thousands of suffering, Jews hy means of its dispensary. The estahlishment offers the ex- ample daily to its inmates of Christian worship in Hehrew, within its walls. A copy both of the Old and New Testament is placed at the bedside of every patient. These are read by many during their stay in the hospital, and on their leaving they have fre- quently applied for permission to take the book home with them, which is freely granted. Although no direct religious instruction is given in the hospi- tal, which would give it a proselyting character in the sight of the Jews, and be regarded as a breach of faith towards them ; yet a missionary enters on the day of receiving visitors, for the purpose of hold- ing conversation with some one or other of the Jews whom he had previously known, or for making new acquaintances among them, to be followed up and improved at some future opportunity. Incidents do not unfrequently occur in the wards of the CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 291 hospital, which lead to some conversation on reli- gious subjects, of a profitable nature ; and a word or observation dropt in season, often makes a deeper impression than a more laboured and controversial argument, " The restriction, however, which it is expedient to exercise in the hospital. Dr. Macgowan does not feel equally bound by, in his private visits to patients at their own houses. He then considers himself more at liberty to press upon them the vital truths of the Gospel, to awaken them to a consciousness of sin, and direct them to the only Saviour of souls. But to introduce these subjects to the attention of patients, which are always more or less embarrass- ing to them, requires, as Dr. Macgowan remarks, much delicacy and prudence. "The grateful and friendly feeling which the medical department of the mission has succeeded in communicating to the Jewish community has been strikingly illustrated by a visit paid, in last autumn, to Dr. Macgowan by the chief rabbi, accompanied by several of the most respectable rabbles of Jeru- salem. The chief rabbi expressed his congratula- tions, and pronounced a blessing on your physician's entering into his new abode ; and also conveyed his thanks for the good which he did to Israel. If the violent opposition is remembered, which the hospi- tal had to encounter on its first establishment, from the same parties who now bear this public testimony of gratitude for and appreciation of our labours, this cannot but be felt to be very gratifying. u2 292 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS, * " The total number of patients relieved by tiie medical department of the mission during the year 1851, amounts to 8283. Of these, 457 have been under treatment in the wards of the hospital ; 5113 have been out-patients, relieved at the establish- ment ; and 2713 patients have been visited at their own dwellings. ''Mr. Caiman has, as almoner, the superintend- ence of the internal arrangement and domestic details of the hospital. In that capacity he super- intends the purchase of provisions and stores, distri- butes food to the patients, attends to the repairs of the premises, overlooks the servants, and maintains good order and regularity ; and, in general, it may be said that his services to the establishment, and thereby to the mission, are most valuable and im- portant. "It is evident that your mission has set an ex- ample which now stirs up to emulation those who before never thought of such efforts. There has recently been an addition to the medical establish- ments of Jerusalem, in a hospital for patients of all religions, which has been set on foot by the Homan Catholics, under the patronage of the Prench Con- sul. A new Jewish physician has also arrived in the Holy City, who practises on his own account." THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY. This great Society is one of the first-fruits of the revival of evangelical religion within the Established Church, towards the close of the last centurv. Its CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 293 beginnings were small, and for a great many years its growth inconsiderable. Commenced by a few men of God, who were animated by the thorough persuasion that they were engaged in a work com- manded by their Divine Master, it has continued to this day increasingly prosperous. Eor a long while, however, it was looked coldly upon by the bishops. Some regarded its constitution and operations with suspicion, and even dislike. The principles of the Romaines and the Yenns of the bygone genera- tion, and of the Cecils and Simeons then prevailing on every hand, were barely tolerated by the authori- ties in the Church. Good Bishop E^yder, uncle to the present Earl of Harrowby, one of the most meek and lowly of Christians, was the first of his high order to give in his adhesion to the Society. The illustrious Wilberforce, at an early period, advo- cated its claims with commanding eloquence and wisdom. The Society now enjoys the patronage of the whole episcopal body, and the warm support of many of their number. This redounds far more to its credit, as being the result of observation and searching inquiry, than if it had been so counten- anced in its commencement. The evangelical body may always point to the spirit which character- izes the Church Missionary Society as the best prac- tical exponent, on a large scale, of their own. Those who would thrust such men out of the Church would do well to study, and still better to imitate, the stedfastness of principle, the deep-rooted attach- ment to the Church of England, the godly charity, 294 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. yea, the respect for authority in the Church, mani- fested on all occasions by that great evangelical Institution. One of the most interesting scenes in London, connected ^^dth the promotion of Christianity, is the monthly meeting of the Committee, in Salisbury- square. Upon such an occasion you may see assem- bled men of various ranks and honourable profes- sions: the peer of the realm; the time-worn mission- ary ; the naval and military officer, retired from service in their own sphere; the banker, the mer- chant, and the lawyer; with a goodly number of clergymen who have long laboured in harmony and love with their greatly honoured brother, the Rev. Henry Venn, and his associate in the secretaryship, the Hev. John Tucker. Por what purpose are those gentlemen assembled? To promote the glory of their country ? to open new markets for our colonial produce ? to bring coun- tries, yet barbarous and pagan, within the range of civilization, and to the enjoyment of peace and order, and liberty, and security for property and life ? to crush the inhuman traffic of man in man ? to unite in one great brotherhood the whole human race ? Yes ! They aim to accomplish even all this. Nevertheless, not as the world's wisdom and hu- manity would propose. They begin with men as beings responsible to God ; as co-heirs of immortal- ity ; and as those for whom, in common with them- selves, Christ died and rose again, opening the gates CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 295 of heaven to all believers. They desire to give to the dark places of the earth — now the habitations of cruelty — the light of the glorious Gospel of God, which, wherever it is received in truth by a people, a family, or an individual, leads to happiness in Christ, and eternal salvation ; and brings untold temporal blessings in its train. They are met to pray that God would raise up persons fit to carry this blessed light to the nations ; to hear also what the Lord is doing by the instrumentality of those who have gone forth ; and to consider how best to occupy new openings made in God's good provi- dence ; and, if possible, to respond to the intensely increasing cry from perishing millions : " Come over and help us." They have felt, themselves, their need of a Saviour, and have found him, to the joy of their hearts. They want their fellow- sinners to experience the same blessedness. Ask any one at that table what he is, and what he is doins^ there ? He will tell vou this. They bow the knee in prayer. I thought, when present for the first time, I perceived new emphasis in that petition which one so often heedlessly uses : " Thy kingdom come," uttered as it so evidently was from so manv believins^ hearts. The form, too, of the Society's prayer, presented to my miud new excellence. I shall take leave to give it here, before I pass on. Some may be induced to use it, in whole or in part, in their family devo- tions. It would be a suitable addition to such ser- vice, particularly on the Lord's day. TThen, how- 296 CHUKCH OE ENGLAND MISSIONS. ever, we so pray, as there directed, let us be prepared to give and to give up, as the Lord may call. Frayer of the Church Missionary Society, '' Almighty and Most-merciful Pather, we give Thee humble thanlcs for the light of Thy Gospel. Make us more grateful for this Thy mercy, and more zealous for the salvation of all mankind. Visit in mercy the Church of Christ ; enrich it more abundantly with the grace of the Holy Ghost ; and bless its endeavours to make known Thy Truth. Unite, as one man, all who are truly labouring for Thee. Disappoint the designs of Satan. Let all Christian Societies live in harmony and love ; give them wisdom in all their plans ; perfect Thy strength in their weakness : and direct their labours to Thy glory. " The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few ! O Thou Lord of the harvest, send forth la- bourers into Thy harvest! Eill with Thy Spirit those whom Thou hast sent forth ; and enable them faithfully and boldly to preach, among Jews and Gentiles, the unsearchable riches of Christ. Keep them from the snares of the world, the flesh, and the devil ; deliver them from all evil ; and make them wise to win souls. " Upon all the native converts whom Thou hast gathered to thyself by means of Thy labouring serv- ants throughout the world, pour out Thy Holy Spirit, that, as Thou hast begotten them again unto a lively hope, so they may ever be followers of Thee CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 297 as dear children. Deliver them from all remaining darkness and ignorance; destroy and abolish in their hearts all that remains of Satan's kingdom; grant that their faith, and hope, and love, may- grow exceedingly ; make them to be ready to every good work, and more especially to exert themselves for the salvation of those around them ; that so, by their zeal and faithful testimony, by their holiness and fruitfulness, they may glorify Thy name before their countrymen, and bring in unto Thee from the midst of them, such as shall be saved. " Have compassion, O most merciful Pather, on all those who have come under instruction, though they be not yet altogether Christians. Convince them effectually, by Thy Word and Spirit, of their sinful and miserable state ; pour upon them the Spirit of grace and supplication, and draw them to Jesus. Take away blindness from the Jews. Let them receive Thee, O Jesus, as their Messiah, and proclaim Thy saving Name among the Gentiles. Deliver all Mahomedans from the delusions of the false prophet ! O Thou True Prophet of Thy Church, enlighten them by Thy Holy Spirit, and bow them down at the foot of Thy Cross ! Pity blind idolaters, who are kept in cruel bondage by the god of this world. Turn them from idols, that they may serve the living and true God. O Thou Almighty Saviour, who by the right hand of God art exalted, and hast received of the Pather the promise of the Holy Ghost, shed forth His light and grace on this dark world ! Cause all Christians, we beseech Thee, to 298 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. SOW bountifully, that they may reap also bountifully. O Thou that lovest a cheerful giver, let all grace abound toward them, that they may minister liber- ally of their substance to the making known of Thy Name. "With these our humble prayers, we join our praises and thanksgivings for what Thou hast done, in making known Thy salvation : perfect Thy work, O Lord ; shortly accomplish the number of Thine elect ; and hasten the coming of Thy Kingdom ! Be present with us, O Lord, at this time. Give us all a single eye to Thy glory. May Thy blessing rest upon our meeting ; and may all our hearts be this day quickened and encouraged to fresh and persever- ing efforts in Thy service. "We ask these mercies for the glory of Thy Name, through the merits and mediation of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ; and would ascribe to Eather, Son, and Holy Ghost, Three Persons in One God, everlasting praise. Amen ! " Our Pather," &c. The Society was founded on the 12th of April, 1799, one year after the death of the illustrious missionary, Swartz. Its first year's income was £911, and first mis- sion station. West Africa, to which the Society sent, in 1804, two clergymen. In 1814, the Society's in- come was £11,024, and the number of its mission stations in Africa, South India, and New Zealand (the two latter being opened in that year), five ; and its total of missionary labourers, fourteen. In 1815, CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 299 Nortliern India and the Mediterranean were added. The number of labourers in the field were twenty- one, and the income of the Society, £17,107. In 1820, a mission was opened to Western India. The income of the Society reached £31,058, and there were employed 201 missionary agents. In the schools of the missions were 6125 scholars, and there assembled from time to time at the Lord's table, 318 communicants. In 1822, the interesting mission in North- West America was begun ; in 1837, the South Africa mission ; in 1841, the East Africa and China ; in 1845, the Yoruba ; in 1850, the Scinde mission. The income of the Society, in 1851, amounted to £118,674, and (it is important to notice) of this sum £10,975 were raised in the countries where the mis- sionaries are employed, being the contributions of civilians, military persons, &c., having the work be- fore their eyes, and of the converted natives. The Society had in its employment 202 European mis- sionary agents, exclusive of the wives of the married, who yet " labour much in the Lord " in all our mis- sions, in the schools, &c. Of those 202, 140 were ordained European, or East Indian born ; twenty- one were ordained natives. In addition to these, there were employed in the various missions 1,628 East Indian, comitry-born, and native catechists, teachers, and assistants. The number of communi- cants had gradually increased to 15,308 ; attendants on public worship, to 107,000 ; and of scholars (re- turns incomplete) to about 40,000. There were 300 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. during the year 4806 baptisms, of which 1834 were of adults. The following sketches of some of the missions, taken from the Society's most valuable, interesting paper, the Church Missionary Intelligencer (Seeley), will supply the reader with the means of judging of the character of the work which, under God, is being accomplished by its agency : — " West Africa Mission, ** A gentleman, resident in Sierra Leone, having carefully sown some foreign cotton seed, was sur- prised to find that large portions of it missed, and that it sprang in patches only. These portions were permitted to advance to maturity, and the seed which they yielded, although small when compared with the original quantity which had been expended, was care- fully gathered, and, in due time, sown likewise. This naturalized seed, however, unlike the foreign seed from whence it had been derived, germinated surely, and proved to be abundantly productive " So in missionary work ; in the few converts of the first sowing, the seed is being natu- ralized. '' Sierra Leone was occupied in 1816 By the unhealthiness of the climate, the progress of the work was retarded In the beginning of 1828, the native agency might be thus summed up : — one native catechist^ one native schoolmistress, and three native teachers Walker, the his- torian of the West African mission, thus portrays CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 301 this period : — ' The work was still for the most part discouraging, with now and then a gleam of promise shining amidst the general gloom.' In 1825, out of a population of 10,359 liberated Africans, there were 8000 regular attendants on public worship. In 1832, the number of worshippers remained the same, while the liberated Africans in the colony had increased to 21,000. In 1825, the communicants were reported to be 493 in number ; at the end of 1833, they were 445. In this year, however, hopes of a revival cheered the hearts of the missionaries ; and in 1835, after so long a time, ' a new life was evidently im- parted to every village ; the mists of winter dark- ness and sterility were fleeing before the general light and warmth of approaching spring; hearts, long dormant in worldliness and irreligion, were be- ginning to throb with newly-awakened emotions of spiritual existence, and to demand that aliment which living hearts alone can relish, and the demand was accompanied with, proofs of earnestness and sincerity that could not be disputed.' " Prom that period the mission progressed. The annual return of the communicants increased year by year, by a progressive growth of a healthful and satisfactory character, until the year 1842, when, by the blessing of God on the means used, the moral aspect of the colony had completely changed. In- stead of the dearth of native agents, which had so pained the missionaries at the end of the first four- teen years of labour, there were no fewer than forty catechists and others, engaged in sowing the seed of 302 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. Divine truth amongst their fellow-countrymen, old and young; more than 6000 persons statedly at- tended Divine worship, beside 5287 children and adults in the Sabbath and day schools ; while, dis- persed throughout the different stations, were to be found 1300 communicants, and as many candidates for baptism. " The seed-shedding time appeared now to have arrived for the Sierra-Leone mission, when it was to sow a naturalized seed, derived, through its in- tervention, from the foreign seed which had been originally introduced ; and as gracious arrangements are providentially made, by which the seeds of plants are wonderfully so\\ti when the season comes ; some plumed, so as to catch the breeze, by which they are wafted along to their future resting-place ; some, by the action of strong springs, shot forth from their receptacles to a considerable distance; some pro- vided with a multitude of little hooks, by which they lay hold on any moving object which brushes past them, and are thus carried here and there ; so the same all-wise God, who is paramount in the pro- ceedings of grace as in those of nature, provided a way by which the ripened seed of the Sierra-Leone mission might be transferred afar, and there be sown to bring forth fruit more abundantly. "The home tendency, so strongly generated amongst the liberated Yorubas, in Sierra Leone, by the tidings of their own land, conveyed to them by the return- ing Niger expedition, was the elastic spring by which, in the providence of God, the seed was to be cast CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 303 forth. The Rev. H. Townsend, when ahout to leave Preetown for Abbeokuta, on the exploratory mis- sion, was greeted with hearty salutations ; subscrip- tions were got up throughout the colony to aid the society in this new effort ; the people of Hastings undertook, at their own expense, to send one of their number with Mr. Townsend to Abbeokuta ; and John- son, the Yoruba owner of the vessel in which the mis- sionary sailed, gave him and his companion a free passage. Townsend' s favourable report, on his re- turn, gave additional impetus to the movement. Many of the converted Yorubas, who had been hesi- tating from the fear of losing their Christian privi- leges, resolved on following the example of their countrymen, and Andrew Wilhelm, the Christian visitor, was appointed to act as teacher, until the arrival of European missionaries. And when the latter came, they came not alone One of the ordained missionaries was himself a Yoruban. At the end of three years from the ar- rival of the missionaries, they found around them, at the lowest calculation, 500 constant attendants on the means of grace, about 80 communicants, and nearly 200 candidates for baptism and the Lord's* Supper. ' A new church,' writes Mr. Crowther, ' is forming in the heart of Africa.' The prayers of the Church to this end are being answered, the seed of their long, faithful, and tried labours for Africa is shooting forth." This Mr. Crowther has been for many years a de- voted missionary clergyman. His early history, sim- 304 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. ply told in The African Slave-boy (Wertheim), is one of the most touching and useful stories on record. " In the new position which Christianity has ob- tained at Abbeokuta (a town in the Yoruba coun- try, 1200 miles in linear distance from Sierra Leone), it has already awakened amongst the native popu- lation a growing indisposition to the slave trade. A remarkable opportunity has been afforded them of contrasting the beneficial influences of Christianity with those of which the slave trade is productive. The population of Abbeokuta consists of refugees from one hundred and thirty towns, suc- cessively destroyed amidst the flames of war, kin- dled by the self-interested devices of the slave- dealers. "Within these few last years, numbers of their countrymen, who had been carried away and sold as slaves at that disastrous period, have marvellously returned — their lives spared, their liberty restored, their temporal interests promoted, their intellect developed, their character and conduct in many cases, as it were, newly cast. They recognize in such re- sults the peculiar action of Christianity. They have ^learned to identify the benevolent actions of the English with their religion as a Christian nation. They see that the slave trade degrades, that Chris- tianity restores and elevates. They believe that what it has done for individuals it can accomplish for a whole community. This is the general impression amongst them " The year 1848 furnished a remarkable instance CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 305 of their growing aversion to the slave trade. The Uev. H. TowTisend, being on the point of returning to England in March of that year, the chiefs deter- mined to address a letter to the Queen of England. It was taken down in Yoruba, as dictated by them, and afterward read over to them twice for correction and approval. It was as follows : — " ' The words which Sagbua, and other chiefs of Abbeokuta, send to the Queen of England. May God preserve the Queen in life for ever ! Sodeke, who communicated with the Queen before, is no more. It will be four or five years before another takes his office. "We have seen your servants, the missionaries, whom you have sent to us in this country. What they have done is agreeable to us. They have built a house of God ; they have taught the people the word of God, and our children beside. We begin to understand them. ^' * There is a matter of great importance that troubles us — what must we do that it may be re- moved away ? We do not understand the doings of the people of Lagos, and other people on the coast. They are not pleased that you should deliver our country people from slavery. They Avish that the road may be closed, that we may never have any intercourse with you. What shall we do that the road may be opened, that we may navigate the Eiver Ossa to the Hiver Ogum? The laws you have in your country we wish to follow in the track of the same — the slave trade, that it may be abolished. We wish it to be so. The Lagos people will not X 306 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. permit ; they are supporting the slave traders. We wish for lawful traders to trade with us. We want also those who will teach our children mechanical arts, agriculture, &c. If such a teacher should come to us, do not permit it to he known, hecause the Lagos people, and other people on the coast, are not pleased at the friendship you are shelving to us. " ' We thank the Queen of England for the good she has done in delivering our people from slavery. Respecting the road that it should not he closed, there remains yet much to speak with each other.' " The Earl of Chichester, the president of the Church Missionary Society, was authorized to trans- mit the following gracious answer from Her Majesty to the chiefs of Ahbeokuta : — '' ' I have had the honour of presenting to the Queen the letter of Saghua and other chiefs of Ah- beokuta, and also their present of a piece of cloth. The Queen has commanded me to convey her thanks to Saghua and the chiefs, and her best wishes for their true and lasting happiness, and for the peace and prosperity of the Yoruba nation. The Queen hopes that arrangements may be made for affording to the Yoruba nation the free use of the River Ossa, so as to give them opportunities for commerce with this and other countries. The commerce between nations, in exchanging the fruits of the earth and of each other's industry, is blessed by God. Not so the commerce in slaves, which makes poor and miserable the nation which sells them, and brings CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 307 neither wealth nor the blessing of God to the nation who buys them, but the contrary. " ' The Queen and people of England are very glad to know that Sagbua and the chiefs think as they do upon this subject of commerce. But com- merce alone loill not make a nation great and happy, like England, Ungland has become great and happy by the knowledge of the true God and Jesus Christ, The Queen is therefore very glad to hear that Sagbua and the chiefs have so kindly received the mission- aries, who carry with them the word of God, and that so many of the people are willing to hear it. cc c j;^ order to shoio how the Queen values Ood^s word, she sends ivith this, as a present to Sagbua, a copy of this Word in ti€o languages— one the Ara- bic, the other the English, ^^ ' The Church Missionary Society wish all hap- piness, and the blessing of eternal life, to Sagbua, and all the people of Abbeokuta. They are very thankful to the chiefs for the kindness and protec- tion afforded to their missionaries ; and they will not cease to pray for the spread of God's truth, and all other blessings, in Abbeokuta and throughout Africa, in the name and for the sake of our only Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (Signed) " * Chichester/ " It is impossible to peruse this document with- out feelings of deep thankfulness and gratification. The unequivocal acknowledgment of Christianity as the element of England's greatness, was becoming the sovereign of this great Protestant nation X 2 308 CHUKCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. "The gifts which accompanied the letter were most admirably selected — the Eible, in two lan- guages, sent to show how much the Queen values God's word. Yes, truly, if Christianity be the pal- ladium of England's greatness, the Eible is the safe depository of that Christian truth. It is because England's Christianity has been a Eible Christian- ity, that she has prospered. Corrupted Christianity cannot elevate a nation. Guided at the Eeforma- tion to the fountain of Divine truth — a faithfully- translated Eible — England drew afresh from thence her national faith. It is to the Eible her National Church refers as the basis on which it stands, dis- claiming any power to require of any man, as an article of faith, what may not be found therein, nor may be proved thereby, inasmuch as ' Holy Scrip- ture containeth all things necessary to salvation.' Accompanying this was a steel mill, presented by Prince Albert, most suitable, as expressive of civi- lization, attendant on Christianity '' The letter, and its accompanying gifts, have been presented to the chiefs — a memorable event in the annals of Abbeokuta, of which the Eev. Samuel Crowther has given us the following interesting description : — '*'May 23rd, 1849.— To-day was the time ap- pointed to deliver Her Majesty's letter, and her splendid presents of two copies of the Eible, and the corn-mill from the royal consort, Prince Albert, to Sagbua and brother chiefs. Sagbua having called many of the influential elders, representatives of CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 309 different towns, together, and Ogubonna and Shomoi being present, on the part of the war chiefs, in the outer court of the council-house at Ake, the spokes- man announced their readiness to hear Her Majes- ty's letter. I took the letter, and read it, one para- graph after another, and translated it to them ; after which, the two copies of the Bible and the corn-mill were presented to Sagbua and the chiefs, which they received with tokens of much respect. '* ' We would not let this fine opportunity pass without embracing it, to impress upon the minds of these old superstitious people that clause in Her Majesty's letter, that it is not only commerce which makes England prosperous as she is, but the know- ledge of God. I proved it to them, while holding the splendid Bibles in my hand — the prosperous reigns of Kings David, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Josiah, who feared God, and encouraged their people to do the same ; as well as the successful government of Ne- hemiah, who rebuilt the ruined walls of Jerusalem ; whereas those kings who did not fear God, but wor- shipped the devil, and offered human sacrifices, never prospered, because the blessing of God was not upon them. " ' Messrs. Miiller, Hinderer, and Smith addressed the assembly. It is not often that we can get so large a number of the elders of the country together ; and of all they are the most superstitious, and cling with all their heart to the custom of their forefathers. '* ' After this, the mill was fixed ; some Indian corn having been got ready, was put into the funnel before 310 CHURCH OP ENGLAND MISSIONS. them, and, to their great astonishment, came out in fine flour, hy merely turning the handles of the machine. They requested all the corn put in to be- ground, that each one might take some home to show to theu' people. As a token of their gratitude, they presented us with a goat, so we parted with satisfac- tion on both sides.' " A fortnight afterward, Ogubonna, one of the in- fluential chiefs, visited Mr. Crowther, and, after de- scribing the deep impression which that meeting had produced, stated his firm conviction, that, in six years' time, Christianity would become the national faith of Abbeokuta." '' Whilst this blessed work has been going on, the enemy has not slept, but his devices have been made to tend to the clearer exhibition of the grace of God in these converted Africans, and to the greater sta- bility of the work. " The heathen priests of Abbeokuta have for some time perceived their craft to be in danger. Repeat- edly they endeavoured to stir up persecution, and cause the expulsion of the missionaries from the town. The following deeply interesting letter from the Rev. S. Crowther, dated November 3rd, 1849, informs us that the dark cloud so long collecting at length broke forth with great fury : '^ * October 20. — To-day the people of Igbore broke out upon our converts : preparations were made in order to make the day dismal and appalling to the poor sufferers. Oro, the executive power of the CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 311 nation, was called out in Igbore town : the Ogboni drums were beating in fury, and a great multitude were armed with billhooks, clubs, and whips, catch- ing and dragging our converts to the council-house, where they were unmercifully beaten and cruelly tormented. They came after four young men who were living in our premises, singing and shouting after them as if they were thieves and robbers. Each of the men's feet were thrust through holes perforated in the walls, and made fast on the other side in stocks : some of these holes were made in the wall two feet from the ground, and are intended for torturing gross offenders. In such holes, after many of our converts were beaten nearly to death, their feet were made fast, exposed to the scorching sun by day and floods of rain by night for five days together. In the council of the persecutors, some, like Nicodemus, Joseph, and Gamaliel, did not con- sent with them. Such persons there were who relieved our people, or many of them would have died in that cruel posture, and had that been the case, the whole prisoners, about one hundred per- sons, including those in connection with the Wes- leyan mission, would have been put to death. Why ? Because, as they were all confined and punished for going to church, without any other crime, so, if one die for the same cause, others must die likewise. What would have become of this mission, hitherto most promising, and which I look to as a starting point to Central Western Africa in 312 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. some future days ? Satan would have had it so to the annihilation of the Mission, but God would have it otherwise '' ' Whatever accusation was made a cloak of this persecution, the first question put to them in their confinement was, whether they would not worship Ifa and Orisa again : to which they unanimously answered " No ! '' At first they tried to subdue them by starvation. For nearly two days nothing was given them to eat ; but our poor persecuted sufferers said, Christ fasted forty days and forty nights in the wilderness : and that it was Christ's will that they should suffer after his example. They comforted one another in their confinement, and prayed for their persecutors, while in bonds, after the example of Christ — ''Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Their Christian fortitude in suf- fering preaches loudly to all the inhabitants of Abbeokuta. They sent frequent messages to me not to be broken-hearted ; that they remained the same and would be to the last, because they had been told such things would take place, — that the very fulfilment of them strengthened their faith more and more in Christ their Saviour.' " This persecution was put an end to by the au- thority of the superior chiefs, but after a while again broke out, for thus wi'ites Mr. Gollmer, December 2, 1850 :— "At Abbeokuta, according to letters received this morning, persecution is still going on at Igbore. The cause, Mr. Townsend says, is the CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 313 close blockade of Lagos, in consequence of wliicli the slave-trade is almost done for in that dreadful den of iniquity. The slave-traders can ship no slaves, and therefore refuse to buy any more — of 135 only 7 were sold last market — which so much enrages the head slave-trading chief at Abbeokuta, that he seeks to annoy, defeat, and drive away, if possible, our friends, by threatening even death, as he has done the last few days, to every one who dared to go to church " This attempt to renew persecution was soon quelled, chiefly through the arrival of the British consul. Captain Beecroft, at Abbeokuta, who effec- tually stirred up the chiefs to protect the converts, and gave additional confidence to the Sierra-Leone people settled in the town " The following account of the arrival of the native catechists at Abbeokuta is deeply interesting. About three hours' distance from the city they met the most advanced of the many groups who had come out to welcome them : first, the young men who were training for schoolmasters ; then a party of Sierra-Leone people ; then some natives and school- children; and thus, like Paul when he met the brethren at Appii Porum, on his way to Home, they 'thanked God, and took courage.' " March 30, 1850.— About one o'clock (Mr. King writes) we entered the town. Our arrival caused g]*eat joy indeed among the people. Could the friends of Africa have witnessed the scene to-day, and heard the many blessings the people implored 314 CHURCH OE ENGLAND MISSIONS. upon their heads for the return of those whom they had given up for lost, they would have seen how much their services are regarded. The people are deeply sensible of the good that the British Govern- ment have done by their generosity in freely restor- ing their children to them from slavery. Mr. Crowther's house, where we first came, was entirely crowded. The road from Igbein, Mr. Crowther's station, to Ake, leads through a market. We could hardly walk, for too many people, till we entered the yard. "And here occurred an affecting scene. As Jacob, when he fell on the neck of Joseph, whom he had found after so long a time, so now, long separated relatives unexpectedly met and wept together in the streets of Abbeokuta. Mr. Crowther had thus his aged mother restored to him, and now a like event occurred to Mr. King. He thus speaks of it : — " ' Among those who came to meet us in the way was my aged mother ; but she was too old to recognize her son among the crowd. When I was pointed out to her, so much was she overcome by her feelings, that she sat down in great amazement, weeping, while all the by-standers were rejoicing with her, and blessing the people of England on my behalf.' "There was this difference, Mr. Crowther' s mother, when found by him, was still a dark heathen, although his efforts were afterward blessed to her conver- sion; but Mr. King's mother had already heard, and valued, and embraced the Gospel. As she rejoiced CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 315 amidst her tears, she knew where her gratitude should be directed; and, as she embraced her son, felt the more strongly the love of Him who gave His only-begotten Son for sinners of every nation under heaven." In the last E;eport of the Society we are supplied with additional information respecting this mission- station, which promises to be so great a blessing to the whole of Africa : — " The E;ev. Samuel Crowther left the Mission in May on a visit to Sierra-Leone; from whence he was summoned by the Parent Committee to England, in order to confer with them upon the state and prospects of the Yoruba Mission. Mr. Crowther arrived in London in August. His visit has not only furnished the Society with much important in- formation, but has also enabled him to carry through the press a Dictionary of the Yoruba language, as well as to complete translations of portions of the Scripture, which will confer an immediate and in- calculable benefit upon his country. " During Mr. Crowther's visit to England he was honoured with an interview by Her Majesty's Secre- tary of State for Eoreign Affairs, Lord Viscount Palmerston, for the purpose of explaining the state of the slave-trade, and the political relations of his countrymen. Lord Palmerston, upon Mr. Crowther's departure from England, wrote to him the following letter, expressive of the interest felt by Her Majesty's Government in the welfare of the liberated Africans — estimated at more than three thousand, and of 316 CHURCH OP ENGLAND MISSIONS- whom he was the representative — who have emigrated as British subjects from Sierra-Leone to Abbeokuta: — ''Foreign Office, Dec. 18, 1851. " Sir, — I have been informed by the Chnrch Mis- sionary Society that you are about to return to your native country; and I am glad to have an oppor- tunity, before you leave England, of thanking you again for the important and interesting information with regard to Abbeokuta and the tribes adjoining that town, which you communicated to me when I had the pleasure of seeing you at my house in August last. " I request that you will assure your countrymen that Her Majesty's Government take a lively in- terest in the welfare of the Egba nation and of the community settled at Abbeokuta, which town seems destined to be a centre from which the lights of Christianity and of civilization may be spread over the neighbouring countries. " Her Majesty's Government trust that the mea- sures which the British Commodore on the African station has been instructed to take in consequence of the attack made last spring by the Chief of Da- homey against Abbeokuta^ will prevent the recur- rence of such an unprovoked and barbarous expe- dition, and will have the effect of promoting the security and well-being of the Egba nation. " I am, &c. (Signed) " Palmerston.* * Parliamentary " Papers relative to the Reduction of Lagos," &c., 1852, p. 142. CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 317 *' The events which subsequently occurred in this field of missionary labour are of a character far different from the usual course of missionary his- tory, yet tending, as the Committee trust, through the good providence of God, to the speedy and effectual furtherance of the Gospel in those regions. The missionaries of the Society have been in the midst of war and bloodshed. They have been called upon to mediate between armed conflicting parties ; and they have been enabled to manifest a degree of faith, prudence, and courage, which, no less than the results of late events, call for unfeigned praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God " Towards the end of the year 1850 it became e^ddent that the various parties interested in the slave-trade, both upon the coast and in the interior, were preparing for a combined and desperate attempt to crush the rising Christianity of Abbeokuta, and to expel the missionaries from the land. ^' The slave-trading chiefs, both at Lagos on the east, and at Porto Novo on the west, combined their operations with Dahomey, and sent their war-canoes to pass and repass the town of Badagry, which is situated on the banks of a river or lagoon. In the midst of these alarms the missionaries and European inhabitants very gratefully acknowledge the kind sympathy shown them by the commodore and other officers of Her Majesty's squadron on the coast " In January, 1851, Her Majesty's consul, Mr. Beecroft, arrived at Badagry, and visited Abbeokuta. 318 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. He did all in his power to prevent disturbances, to repress the slave-trading parties, and to encourage the Europeans to exercise their conciliatory in- fluence, and pursue their peaceful labours. At an interview with the chiefs of Abbeokuta, the consul represented to them that he had been sent to see if anything could be done for the good of their country, by the establishment of lawful commerce, the opening of the roads, and the suppression of the slave-trade. He brought forward the fact of the return of so many of the Sierra-Leone people as an evidence of the good intention of the English Go- vernment. The consul's address was responded to by the assembled chiefs in the best spirit, and pre- sents were sent as tokens of friendship. One princi- pal chief presented him with a load of cotton, a bag of ginger, and a bag of pepper, as specimens of the productions of the country, and as a token of their desire to trade with the produce of their farms. " On the occasion of an hostile armament appear- ing before Badagry, some of the boys from the mis- sionary boarding-school were taken away to places of safety. The Rev. C. A. Gollmer, however, re- mained at his post. The parent of two of his scho- lars, a native priest of Ifa, came to him to speak about the removal of his children, and the rest of his family, to a town in the country. The missionary told him he might do so, adding, 'But as for me and my house, we commit ourselves to God, and in Him we put our trust.' These words fell into the man's heart : he reflected upon them, and the day after CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 319 he came and said, ' I cannot take my boys away from you, for I will, with you, put my trust in God.' ''At length the grand coup de main was attempted — the destruction of Abbeokuta by the powerful army of Gezo, the ' Leopard ' of Dahomey. On Sun- day evening, the 2nd of March, intelligence was re- ceived of the approach of the enemy. Many of the Christian converts went from Divine worship and their special prayer-meetings to man the walls, for the whole male population was summoned to the defence of the town. Many of the timid inhabitants fled when the Dahomians were in sight. The mis- sionaries remained calmly at their post, exhibiting an unshaken trust in God. Mr. Crowther's house was near that part of the wall against which the chief attack was directed; but he thought it his duty to remain there, though his wife and family took refuge in the other Mission premises. " The attack was coolly directed. Masses of well- trained warriors, estimated at from 11,000 to 16,000, well armed with muskets, bore down with a steady tread upon the town, defended only by a low mud wall. They fought with desperation. But the Lord, who giveth the victory, did not suffer one Dahomian to enter the town, except as a prisoner. The enemy were completely routed, first under the walls of Ab- beokuta, and the next day at a neighbouring town, which they attacked in their retreat, and where they were overtaken by the Egbas. The Dahomians lost, it was estimated, 3000 — the Yorubans only 200 or 320 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 300. One thousand prisoners were taken by the Yorubans, and manifested their desperate character by rising against their captors, and, in several in- stances, killing them many days after the battle. The missionaries diligently occupied themselves in endeavouring to mitigate, as far as it was possible, the horrors of war, and to save the lives of the pri- soners. These were at length exchanged, in the town of Porto Novo, for ammunition, and other means of defence against future attacks. This dis- posal of the prisoners was in itself a signal triumph of Christian principles, as hitherto they had always been regarded as the private property and slaves of those who happened to be their captors. '' The Committee desire to record the signal mercy of God in the wonderful deliverance vouchsafed to the rising native Church of Abbeokuta, as well as in the preservation of the lives of the missionaries. It was ascertained from the prisoners that Gezo had given no orders to respect the property or persons of the missionaries. As in the capture of Okeodan, all persons would have been devoted to destruction who could not be sold as slaves. They notice also, as matter of thanksgiving, that this attack was per- fectly unprovoked by the Yorubans, and that this signal victory was gained by the native courage and skill of the people, without the assistance of the squadron, or any European soldiers. "The immediate moral effect upon the inhabitants of Abbeokuta, was most striking. The victory was by them universally attributed to the goodness of CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 321 the God of Christians ; all persecution ceased ; the principal chiefs sent their children to the Christian schools ; and it may be hoped that great advantage will soon be seen to have accrued to the cause of Christ from this deep and bloody plot against its very existence in Abbeokuta, "The next event of an hostile character took place at Badagry, where the usurper of Lagos at- tempted to seize some of the inhabitants, and to carry them as slaves to Lagos. The opposite party armed themselves, and resisted : a general conflict ensued between the two parties. The town was fired, and nearly the whole of it reduced to ashes. The flames were most providentially arrested as they approached one of the merchants' factories, which contained a magazine of gunpowder; and the Mission premises were also protected. Again the missionary acted the wise and Christian part of calmly remaining at his post with his wife, even in circumstances of extreme danger, that he might not create additional confusion, and that he might be at hand to mitigate the horrors of the bloodshed. Again it pleased God to give the ascendency to the party favourable to the British. The other side was driven from Badagry with great loss. Kosoko and the people of Lagos now became more enraged, and threatened with destruction the British merchants, as well as the missionaries. One English- man was shot on Badagry beach while guarding his goods. "The British consul came to the coast, and Y 322 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. attempted to mediate with Lagos. He had one interview with Kosoko, in the town of Lagos ; hut upon approaching a second time, with a flag of truce, hoth his own hoat and the hoats of the men- of-war were fired upon; and such hostile demon- strations took place as to leave no douht of the determination of the slave-trading party to per- severe in their iniquitous schemes. "Under these circumstances, Her Majesty's cruisers felt it necessary to interfere, and, acting upon instruc- tions from the Home Government, took measures against Lagos. Two attacks were made hy the hoats of the men-of-war, at the interval of a month : the second was completely successful — the usurper Kosoko was driven from the town with only a few followers. Akitoye, the lawful sovereign, was reinstated upon the throne, and the most decisive measures were adopted to put down for the future the slave-trading practices of this its last stronghold upon the west coast of Africa. " The loss of British lives in this fierce encounter must ever he the subject of deep regret, and sympathy with the friends who deplore their loss. It adds another item to the dark catalogue of woes con- nected with the slave-trade; yet the Committee feel assured that the results will be not only con- ducive to the introduction of lawful commerce, civilization, and Christianity, amongst the millions of that part of Africa, hut that they will stop the annual waste of thousands of lives, through the more effectual extinction of the slave-trade, and so CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 323 eventually save to the British nation the treasure and life which must otherwise have been expended in its suppression. Important treaties were made with Lagos and Abbeokuta by the commodore on the station, in which protection is secured to the missionaries, as well as to lawful commerce. The result was communicated to the missionaries in the following letter from the commodore : — ''JET.M.S. 'Penelope,' off Lagos, Jan. 2, 1852. " Gentlemen, — I have much pleasure in acquaint- ing you that I have succeeded in negotiating a treaty with King Akitoye and the chiefs of Lagos, the 7th and 8th articles of which are as follow : — '' * The king and chiefs of Lagos declare that no human beings shall at any time be sacrificed within their territories, on account of religious or other ceremonies ; and that they will prevent the barbarous practice of murdering prisoners captured in war. " ' Complete protection shall be afforded to jnis- sionaries or ministers of the Gospel, of whatever nation and country, following their vocation of spreading the knowledge and doctrines of Chris- tianity, and extending the benefits of civilization, nor shall any subjects of the king and chiefs of Lagos who may embrace the Christian faith, be, on that account, or on account of the teaching and exercise thereof, molested or troubled in any manner whatsoever.' '' I am not without hope that the measures I have carried out may be the means, under God's blessing, y2 324 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. of contributing in some degree to the success of the most important undertaking which devolves upon you. • " I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, " Your most obedient humble servant, (Signed) " H. W. Bruce, " Commodore, and Commander-in-Chief." The New Zealand Mission. The missionaries landed on the shores of the Bay of Islands in December, 1814. The seed was in- troduced into a harsh soil: germination was long delayed ; but not until the year 1825 was a first convert made, and a second in 1827. In 1832 we had no communicants among the natives ; in 1836 only sixty-four ; and in 1840 they numbered not more than 280, and this after a quarter of a century of labour ! In 1838 and 1839 a cry for instruction was heard from parts of the island where missionaries had never been. It had been produced by the action of Christian truth operating through the medium of the natives themselves. Hongi, in the course of his desolating wars, by which he had wasted vast districts, expelling the population from their original seats, and compelling them to take refuge in distant parts of the island, had deported to the Bay of Islands, where the missionaries resided, numerous slaves — fragments of different conquered tribes — brought together like the liberated Africans CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 325 of Sierra Leone, from various quarters, to the spot where Christian truth was shining as a light in a dark place. They shared in that light ; they at- tended the missionary schools and other means of grfice; they learned to read and write, and some of them had firmly fixed in their minds the essen- tials of the Gospel. After a time the rugged character of the chiefs and people in the Bay of Islands began to soften down under the continued action of Christianity, when these exiles were per- mitted to return to their own friends. Some went to the East Cape, others to Kawai, on the western shore. A young chief of Taupo advanced down the course of the Wanganui river to its mouth ; others went to Cook's Straits, where their tribes, expelled from the more northern districts by Hongi's firearms, had acquired a home by a simi- lar expulsion of the original inhabitants. Wherever they went they evangelized. They diflPused the leaven of Christian truth, and it wrought energetically. The missionaries became aware that some know- ledge of Christianity had advanced beyond their outposts, and that the natives were earnest for instructions where they had never been. Messen- gers came from the distance of 500 miles praying for teachers. In 1840 the three principal positions in the new districts which had been so unexpectedly opened, namely, East Cape, Otaki, and Wanganui, were almost simultaneously occupied by European missionaries. Native teachers were placed at East Cape, in 326 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. October, 1838. Archdeacon William Williams removed thither with his fam.ily in January, 1840. In that same year the number of individuals as- sembling regularly for worship in the district was computed at no less than 8000. The whole of that large portion of the island lying between the Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay, and further down along the eastern shore to Cook's Straits, is now professedly Christian. Mr. G. Clarke, who had visited these parts in 1839, after an interval of nine years de- termined to revisit them, and in 1849 travelled along the coast a distance of some hundred miles, to trace, as far as possible, the progress which the Gospel had made amongst the people, and their advance in civilization. We introduce large ex- tracts from his report, dated Tauranga, February 22, 1849 :— " Passing over the mission stations at the Thames and at Tauranga, my remarks will be confined to those places where it may be said we first planted the Gospel. I begin, therefore, with Maketu, Opotiki, and its dependencies, viz., Wakatane, Matala, Tunapahore, and the Kaha. At each of these places there is now a Christian place of worship, in which many hundreds of natives as- semble for public worship. " Opotiki, the central position, from whence most of the above places are visited, is a rich valley con- taining some thousand acres of land, with a river running through its centre, into which vessels of thirty tons can enter and lie with safety, and has CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 327 a population of about 1000 natives, with a mission station, occupied by Mr. A. J. Wilson. When I visited this place about nine years ago, there were only two or three Christian natives, liberated slaves from the north, who had carried their little stock of Christian knowledge to impart to their country- men. We assembled a large congregation at the time, and they have gone on increasing in numbers, and some, I trust, growing in grace, until they form now a congregation amounting to several hundreds, many of whom have been baptized, and a number are communicants at the Lord's table. They have a large native chapel, and are an indus- trious, plodding, and commercial people : they are owners of six small vessels, which they navigate themselves, carrying on a large trade with Auckland and other places in pigs, potatoes, Indian corn, and wheat; they have horses, steel mills to grind their wheat, and fine crops of wheat which they have just harvested, and they make their own bread, and supply their visitors in considerable quantity. There is one, and sometimes there are two, E^oman Catholic priests living here, who claim a small number of followers ; and from this place they travel into the interior as far as Taupo, and along the coast toward the East Cape, carrying the blighting influence of their tenets, not only to vital godliness, but to moral and social improvement, wherever they go. "Prom Opotiki I proceeded to Tunapahore, eighteen miles S.E. of Opotiki, where there is a considerable number of natives residing, and where, 328 CHURCH or England missions. nine years ago, the Gospel was first preached. There is now at this place an orderly community ; they have a pretty little chapel capable of holding 300 persons ; many can read and write ; and num- bers have been baptized and admitted to the other privileges of the church, such as confirmation and the Lord's Supper. They are industrious in their habits, and respectable in their conduct. I told twenty-six wheat-stacks round the village. They own one or two small vessels, a few horses, with a number of steel mills. In addressing them I could not help contrasting their present condition with that of nine years ago, when I first visited them : and they confessed that they^were indebted to the Christianity we had taught them for the many comforts they now possessed. The Romish priests have not succeeded in gaining any followers at this populous village. They had given the natives a bell in order to induce them to muster a few natives ; but they threw the bell into the sea, plainly telling the priests that they would have nothing to do with them. " We next visited a place called Marainui, about six miles further on, where, nine years ago, we landed the first Christian teachers mth their wives, who have been more or less made useful to the natives of this and the neighbouring vil- lages. They also own a vessel and some horses, and abound in good crops of wheat, which they have just reaped : the villages were everywhere CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 329 studded with wheat- stacks, calling forth songs of 23raise for temporal as well as spiritual hlessings. '' We then reached the Kaha, where, nine years ago, the Gospel was made known hy Mr. Stack and myself, afterwards by the two native teachers named above, and latterly by visits from Mr. Wilson and other missionaries. An interesting congregation has been raised at this place : the son of the most influential chief is a native teacher. They have erected a good chapel, and on Sunday assemble about 300 for public worship. Great efforts have been made at this place by the priests to gain over the father of the native teacher, the principal chief, by presents, but they have not succeeded. I ob- served the same marks of improvement here as at other places : the natives were all busy, some in grinding their wheat, others in getting in their crops of wheat, and they had already thrown an air of comfort and prosperity around them by the number of wheat- stacks with which they had adorned their village. a There was no other native village between this place and the East Cape when I first made this journey ; but now that those quarrels which ren- dered the native property so insecure have been lessened and mitigated by the introduction of the Gospel, I found villages everywhere, and Christian congregations, amongst whom the glad tidings of salvation were diffusing peace and happiness. *' The last village I slept at on this side the East 330 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. Cape is called Orete, from whence I passed on to tlie East Cape, to the mission stations formerly occupied by the Rev. G. A. Kissling and Mr. Stack, and latterly by the Kev. O. L. Keay, but now without a missionary (the E/CV. Ey. Barker has since been placed at this station) or catechist, and consequently dependent upon native teachers, and the occasional visits of Archdeacon "W. Williams and Mr. Baker for Chris- tian instruction. As soon as it was known that I was in the district, messengers were sent in all directions to the native villages to announce my being at hand. I spent three days among the natives at their pas, and was delighted to find hundreds of natives reading the word of God, where, only nine years ago, they scarcely knew what a book was. They have profited largely by the resi- dence of missionaries among them, and several hundreds have been gathered into the Gospel net. They had improved in their circumstances. They were no longer huddled together in pas or forti- fications, but were living in security in little vil- lages situated in fertile bays. By mutual consent they congregate on the Sunday in central spots, in which they have erected good chapels, and where they are met by their teachers for divine service, schools, and other religious exercises. On the Mon- day morning, after the Bible-classes, they all sepa- rate till Saturday evening, when they again meet preparatory to the Sabbath. An air of comfort is thrown around the villages by the appearance of a number of cattle in addition to the number of CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 331 wheat-ricks ; and almost every family were in pos- session of a steel mill to grind their wheat. "When I left the district of Kanakaua, I was accompanied hy a large number of natives, who followed me from village to village, and kept me on the full stretch of talking, in answering their very pertinent questions, mostly upon the meaning of different passages of Scripture, upon which I endeavoured to graft some important truths for their consideration. Erom their inquiries it is evident that they have carefully read the New Testament, an appeal to which they deem decisive. *' On Saturday evening I arrived at Waiapu, where Mr. Stack resided, and where with him, nine years ago, I spent some time in imparting religious instruction. At that time the natives were living together in three large pas, containing more than 2000 souls ; but now, here, as in other places, they are living in peace and security, scat- tered over their rich and beautiful valley, and along the coast twenty miles on either side of the valley. It is still a most interesting station, having at least 1000 natives in the immediate vicinity, and as many more in the neighbouring villages. Well do I re- member the feelings with which we left two native teachers at this pa, amongst a rude, yet interesting group of natives. After meeting them day by day to impart religious instruction, we left them, com- mending them to God and the word of his grace, little expecting that in so few years nearly 2000 natives would form an orderly community of pro- 332 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. fessing Christians, whose consistency in keeping the Sabbath might well put our Christian country to the blush. It was soon known by the natives that I had arrived in the neighbourhood ; and though late and I was tired, I was obliged to see some of the principal chiefs. They soon sup- plied me with the following refreshments, viz., milk, butter, eggs, and bread, that I might not starve, as they said, on the Sunday. The follow- ing is the way in which I spent Sunday : At eight o'clock in the morning I attended the children's school. At nine o'clock we had a full native serv- ice : about 500 were present. At twelve o'clock we had an adult school : 130 women and 160 men attended, more than half of whom were reading in the New Testament. Prom two till three o'clock I had an hour's rest. At three o'clock native service commenced, and at six o'clock I had a service with the only Englishman living about the place. I need hardly enumerate the many comforts of a temporal nature with which the natives were surrounded. They have horses, cows, nearly 100 steel mills, and several hundred acres of wheat ; and I have everywhere had ocular demonstration that ' godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.' "I afterwards reached the mission station of Uana, where Mr. Baker resides. I passed through a number of villages in my last day's journey, more immediately connected with Mr. Baker's station. CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 333 all bearing similar marks of Christian progress; and the only dissatisfaction I observed among them was, that my stay was so short, and that I could not stop at every village to partake of their hospitality. In no part of the world have I ever met with such a friendly reception, and profuse hospitality, as from this people. I spent a very happy Sabbath with Mr. Baker, and amongst his people, when I was delighted with the scriptural information and serious attention of the natives. " I will conclude my present letter with a few general remarks upon the district I have just passed through. It will be remembered that a little more than nine years ago the whole of this population, consisting of not fewer than 6000 to 7000 natives, were entirely heathen, and I doubt whether at that time, including native teachers, twenty could read and write. Now the district is professedly Christian, as much so as our own country, and at least one- third of the whole can read and write. There are more than twenty native churches, built by natives, with an average attendance of 4000, of whom 1000 have been baptized, and 800 are communicants. " But, leaving the subject of the many that have been turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, I proceed to notice the temporal benefits that have grown out of the labours of the missionaries. " Nine years ago there was not, that I am aware of, a grain of wheat grown in this district : now, upon a moderate calculation, there cannot be less 334 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. than 3000 acres grown by natives. There was not a steel mill in the whole range of my journey : now the natives have more than 200 mills among them. There was not a ship belonging to a native : now they have more than thirty vessels, of from ten to thirty tons burden, which they have purchased at a cost of little less than £8000. They had neither a horse nor a cow amongst them ; now they have a number of both. And it must be borne in mind that this property has been procured by their own industry, not by presents made to them by the government or by any other parties. '' If nothing more than what I have named had been accomplished through the instrumentality of the Society, it is evident that their labours have been greatly blessed. But I have only named what has passed under my own eye in but a portion of the middle and eastern districts. The amount of good at the four districts is incalculable even as admitted by the enemies of missions, I will just give you one instance in the north, of the powerful influence of Christianity amongst the most brave and warlike savages. You are aware that nearly one-half of New Zealand was reduced to a state of slavery by the conquests of the northern chiefs, especially by Hongi. Where are now the slaves that by hundreds and thousands were toiling and labouring for their conquerors ? Why, through the powerful influence of Christianity, they had been either all sent back to their country, many to preach the Gospel, or are living as free men CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 335 amongst their chiefs. There is now no slavery in New Zealand, and if this immense benefit has not been procured to the slave population by the influ- ence of Christianity, I know not by what other power it has been effected." Such is the unequivocal testimony borne by one peculiarly fitted to form a judgment on the subject, as to the remarkable change accomplished in this district during the short period of nine years ; and to this we add a brief extract from the report of Archdeacon W. Williams, for the year 1849 : — " In taking a review of the general state of the eastern district, there is a marked and regular progress to be observed from the beginning. In the year 1840 the Christian Church consisted entirely of natives who had come from the Bay of Islands, principally as teachers. The commu- nicants then were twenty-nine. In 1841 they amounted to 133 1842 451 ]843 675 1844 946 1845 1484 1846 1668 1847 1960 1848 2054 1849 'I _ 1 _ . 2893 1 1 "The communicants may be regarded as the fruit of the tree. They are those members of the congregation who are supposed to walk in the narrow path. Here, then, is abundant encourage- ment, ' The little one is become a thousand.' In 336 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. the course of ten years there has been time for the novelty of Christianity to wear away, but while some have gone back again to the ' beggarly ele- ments' of the world, hitherto God has blessed His vineyard with increase." We now pass on to the Otaki district, where Archdeacon Octavius Hadfield arrived in 1839 (December). In 1840 the number of natives who met together for daily prayer could not be less than 4000. During the year ending July, 1843, no fewer than 243 individuals were baptized, while the communicants numbered 255. In the rapid progress and encouraging aspect of the missionary work there, our readers will at once discern the peculiarity of result attending on the sowing of naturalized seed. We shall only mention one interesting fact. The principal chief of that portion of the island, Tamehcma Te Raiiparalia, the son of the old warrior, Te Rauparaha, at his own expense accompanied Archdeacon W. Williams on a visit to this country. Introduced to the members and friends of the Society at the anniversary meet- ing, he addressed them in his own language. The following is the substance of what he said : " You are all my friends. You are all my friends in Christ. My love is great to you, for we are brethren. Oh ! my joy is so great to see you who sent the Word of God to my country, then lying in darkness and superstition. I love you so much that I have forgotten my love to my relatives through my great love to you. CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 337 *' I have come all the way over the great sea to see this land of light and knowledge. I have left my home to come and see the ministers of the Church, the friends of New Zealand, and all the different things in this country. " Oh give to the ministers of the Church some money to send the Gospel to my own land, and to all countries in darkness. " I am glad to see you all assembled here ; and when I go back I will tell my tribe that I have seen and spoken at this your great meeting." This most remarkable young chief spent about twelve months in the Church Missionary College in Islington. During his stay here his conversa- tion was spiritual and edifying, and his whole con- duct and Christian zeal exemplary in the highest degree. He has since returned to his beloved wife, children, and country, with the esteem and love of us all who knew him, to be, as we trust and pray, a great blessing to his nation. The following are replies to the Society's Jubilee Letter, addressed to the native converts in the differ- ent fields of the Society's labours, from Kaikohe, a station in the northern district, under the charge of the Rev. Richard Davis. Mr. Davis remarks that the letters have been as correctly rendered as possible ; but from fear of straining the meaning he believes the sense is not so strongly conveyed as it might have been. The first is from a faithful Christian, who, with his wife, " received the Word in much affliction, z 338 CHUECH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. with joy of the Holy Ghost." (They are now childless, haying lost four children, the eldest of whom died while they were yet in a heathen state, the rest since they were hrought to the knowledge of the truth. Their last bereavement was that of a daughter, aged twelve, who, when admonished that she had not long to live, declared she would rather die than live in the midst of a sinful world. The expression of Christian resignation on the part of the parents was most touching. The father said, " Yes, I shall be thankful to know my children have gone before me. I shall have no further care for them on account of sin. They will be safe. I know my child must die. I do not wish she should live in this sinful world. Let her go to be with her Saviour. But do not think I shall not feel her loss. Por the last week my grief for her body has disjointed my frame, but when she is gone I shall think of others to bring them to Christ. I have them in my heart.") " Priends and Elders of the Church of England, Eathers in Christ, — How do you ? " We have heard of your thoughts and your con- siderations written in your affectionate letter which has reached us. You love us and the whole world together, with all parts of the Church in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. It is right for us all to praise him, and to rejoice at the present time, for he has saved us from the death of sin and from hell. It was through the mercy of God you sent CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 339 US the missionaries, through whom we have heard of the promises of God, of the gift also of his only Son, who has died for our sins : it was in his heart to send us the missionaries through you. I live in this land with Sarah my wife : we are alone : our children are gone to God. Jemina died happy in this school ; she was the last. Three of our children are with Christ : it is our desire they should go to God, lest they should, in remaining in the world after we are gone, have been led astray by the wickedness of man. It is just that we should love you, because it was through your missionaries we and our children heard of the salvation of God given to the world in Jesus Christ. I pray to God for all parts of the world that they should become Christ's, aud for you also who loved us, the smallest people, in Christ Jesus our Lord. I rejoice on account of your thoughts of love which you are now bearing towards us in Christ our God and our Saviour. " This is all, from your loving friend, '* Charles Taurua." The next is from a respectable chief and valuable Christian teacher, who, during the trying period of Heke's war, continued strictly loyal. His stedfast refusal to carry arms against the government exposed him to threats of vengeance from his own people ; but with Christian intrepidity he braved the storm, thinking it better, if such were the will of God, to suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing ; and he was mercifully preserved from injury. z2 340 CHTJECH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. " Kaikohe, July Uth, 1849. "Loving fathers, — Your love comes to us through the love of Christ. Your letter of love has reached us ; it has lain hefore me, it has been in my hand, been seen by my eyes, been read by my voice, and its contents have sunk into my heart. By me it cannot be said (as well as by you) that I have been finally delivered from the sins of the flesh, the world, and the devil ; but when these evils are presented to me they rouse my strength (of indignation), and my thoughts startup to Christ. I win now give you some account of my journeying to different places where I go to visit those fami- lies who are living apart from the love of God. When I arrive among them and hear their worldly and superstitious conversation, it is as though a sharp -pointed bramble-bush were passing through my ears ; but when I look at them, love arises in my heart and I speak the word of God to them, but it is with a sorrowful heart. Some of them will converse with me on the subject, some will agree with what has been said, some will turn away, and others will disbelieve and controvert my words ; this saddens me. I have also another word to say to you, the elders of the Church, and that word is, that you will continue to lift up fervent prayer to God for us at all times. " Pray that we may be strengthened while living in the midst of so much evil ; pray that we may be enlightened in the midst of so much darkness ; pray that our foolish hearts may be divinely taught ; pray CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 341 also that we may stand fast, that our feet may not slide, and that true faith may be increased within us. It is my desire to rejoice with them that rejoice, and to weep with them that weep. I rejoice on account of the sheep which have been selected and gathered in, and sorrow after and pray for those which are still to be gathered in ; for Christ has still other sheep amongst the tribes of the earth. " One word more, which is, that you will give your whole hearts to prayer to God in our behalf, that he may continue to give his Holy Spirit, in order that we may possess light when we go among our friends who will not listen to the truth; that he, the Holy Spirit, may make the word sharp, and cause it to sink down and become fruitful in their hearts. Pray that the influence of the Gospel may increase ; then we will all rejoice together. " Prom your loving friend, "William Watipu." East-Indian Missions. The following translation of a memorial in the Tamul language, addressed to her Majesty Queen Victoria, by the native Christians gathered together from amongst the heathen in the Tinnevelly district, is of deep interest and importance. It is another con- vincing proof, if such were wanted, that missionary efforts do not endanger the stability of our Indian em- pire ; but that, on the contrary, they strengthen and consolidate its foundations. The natives of India, as they are evangelized, become identified with us in the 342 CHURCH or England missions. profession of a common Christianity; they are enabled to appreciate the blessings of a well-regulated go- vernment ; and the once estranged Hindu is trans- formed into a loyal subject of the British Crown. " To her most gracious Majesty Yictoria, by the grace of God Queen of Great Britain, — " We, native Christians of the province of Tinne- velly in the English dominions, who, by means of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Poreign Parts, and the Church Missionary Society, have embraced the Christian religion, in number about 40,000 persons, presume to approach the feet of your gracious Majesty, with all humility and reve- rence, presenting this humble memorial. "We desire to acknowledge in your Majesty's presence, that we, your humble subjects, and all our fellow-countrymen placed by the providence of Almighty God under the just and merciful rule of the EngKsh government, enjoy a happiness un- known to our forefathers, in the inestimable bless- ings of peace, so essential to our country's welfare. Even the most simple and unlearned of our people, recognizing this, declare the time to have at length arrived when ' the tiger and the fawn drink at the same stream.' Impelled, therefore, by the gratitude we feel, we humbly acknowledge it to be our delight- ful duty heartily and incessantly to beseech Almighty God, the King of kings, ' to endue our gracious Queen plenteously with heavenly gifts, to grant her in health and wealth long to live, to strengthen her CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 843 SO that she may vanquish and overcome all her ene- m-ies, and finally, after this life, attain everlasting joy and felicity.' ^' Incalculable are the benefits that have accrued to our country from the English rule, and in addition to the justice, security, and other blessings which all in common enjoy, we who are Christians are bound to be more especially grateful for having received, through the indefatigable exertions of English Mis- sionary Societies, the privilege of ourselves learning the true religion and its sacred doctrines, and of securing for our sons and our daughters, born in these happier times, the advantages of education. Many among us once were unhappy people, trusting in dumb idols, worshipping before them, and trem- bling at ferocious demons ; but now we all knowing the true God, and learning his holy word, spend our time in peace, with the prospect of leaving this world in comfort, and with the hope of eternal life in the world to come. And we feel that we have not words to express to your gracious Majesty the debt of grati- tude we owe to God for his bounteous grace. '' Knowing that many among our Hindu country- men, both male and female, though still heathen, are beginning to read our Bible, and inquire about the true religion, we take comfort in the hope that the Lord will vouchsafe to them his saving grace, and in future also, as hitherto, will hear the prayers of his faithful children throughout the world in their behalf. *' "We have heard with much sorrow that there are, in these times, in many of the kingdoms of Europe, 344 CHURCH or England missions. revolutions and sanguinary wars ; but we have heard also with the greatest joy, that in happy England peace and prosperity prevail, and that the income of the Missionary, Bible, and other Societies has been constantly on the increase. We firmly trust that God will overrule all events to the advancement of truth and peace, and will grant to many nations, and to the whole world, the same genuine knowledge and happiness which have been granted unto us. " Our countrymen who behold the magnificent bridges building by the English, the avenues of trees planting by them along all our roads, and the vast number of boys and girls, children of Christian, heathen, Mahomedan, and Roman Catholic parents, learning, gratuitously, both in Tamul and English, at the expense of English Missions, repeat their ancient proverbs, and say, ' Instruction is indeed the opening of sightless eyeballs,' and ' The father who gives no education to his child is guilty of a crime;' and especially when they behold among Chris- tians, girls and aged men and women learning to read the word of God, they exclaim, ' This truly is wonderful : this is charity indeed !' Surely then we, who enjoy those inestimable blessings, under a Christian government, are, above all our fellow-sub- jects, bound to acknowledge to yom^ gracious Majesty our obligations to be at all times unfeignedly thank- ful for them. And we would also entreat, with the confidence and humility of children, that your Majesty, agreeably to the words of holy writ, 'Kings shall be thy nursing fathers and queens thy nursing CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 345 mothers,' will still graciously extend to us your care and protection. " We add, also, our humble and fervent prayers that Almighty God will bless your Majesty's gra- cious consort the Prince Albert, your Majesty's son and heir the Prince of Wales, and all the members of the Royal family, and ever bestow upon them all happiness and prosperity. " Thus, with deepest reverence, " Your Majesty's faithful subjects, " and most humble servants." (Here in the original follow the Indian names of the writers.) Answer to the Jubilee Letter. '^ My Lord and rev. and honoured Sirs, — We, the native Christians connected with your Society's Mis- sion at Agurparah, near Calcutta, have been favoured with a copy of your Society's most afiPectionate letter, addressed to us, as well as to native Christians in other parts of the globe, * who have been called by God out of darkness unto light, and have been brought from the bondage of Satan, unto the fold of his dear Son,' through your Society's instrumentality. " We beg to record our deep sense of gratitude to your Society for the most inestimable and spiritual blessings which your Society has been happily instru- mental in conferring upon us in the benighted land of our fathers. You and we are natives of countries which are separated from each other by boundless seas and oceans ; we have never seen each other face 846 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. to face, there are no natural ties to bind us together, and yet your anxiety to promote our temporal as well as our spiritual well-being, is beyond all descrip- tion. The contemplation of it leads us to magnify God, and to humble ourselves before him, for thus uniting all his people, in whatever clime or region they might dwell, by * the golden chain of Christian love.' '' We are also thankful to say, that we feel it to be our bounden duty to be zealous for the conver- sion of our countrymen who live in the world with- out God and without hope ; and it is our prayer that we may be found faithful in the discharge of this heaven-imposed duty. "With sentiments of profound respect, and Chris- tian love and gratitude, we have the honour to be, My Lord, and reverend and honoured Sirs, Your most obedient and very humble servants, &c., &c. In 1816, the Rev. J. Hough, chaplain to the East India Company, arrived at Palamcottah, and the languishing state of Christianity in the province soon attracted his attention. He was a man of true missionary spirit, and we might borrow part of Bishop Wilson's portrait of Corrie, to describe a main element in the character of this indefatigable benefactor of Southern India. " He united in an eminent degree the missionary and the chaplain. He gave himself so early and so assiduously to the cultivation of the language (Tamul), that he was a very superior scholar in it. He had a missionary's CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 347 heart. Wherever he resided as a chaplain, he founded and sustained missions. He was the parent of the Church Missionary Society in Tinnevelly, " the centre of union, the soul of its operations." His care was directed in the first instance to the improvement of the mission of the Society for Pro- moting Christian Knowledge, under whose counte- nance Schwartz had laboured, and which had not been transferred then, as it was in 1826, to the So- ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Poreign Parts. Some Christian villages remained, and a Christian population scattered among the heathen ; but it was eighteen years since they had been visited by any European missionary, and the Christian character of these nominal converts had sunk very low. However, under the Divine blessing, the zeal- ous chaplain was enabled to do much toward restor- ing order, and infusing life amongst these humble communities. In 1817 he could report the number of Protestant Christians at 3000, and that in two vil- lages not an idol nor an idol-temple was to be seen. The hopefulness of the work at this period, and the wide providential openings for its extension which remained unoccupied, even after all other previous resources had been made available, induced Mr. Hough to lay the urgent claims of the district to a larger number of evangelists before our Society. His own health began to show the effects of an In- dian climate, and he urged the corresponding com- mittee at Madras to assist him in strengthening and extending his labours, by sending him at once an 348 CHUilCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. European missionary. Accordingly, in the year 1820, tlie Rev. C. T. E. Rhenius, who had laboured for six years previously at Madras, and the Rev. B. Schmid, were transferred to Palamcottah. Eor ten years Rhenius had at no period more than one co- adjutor at the same time ; but he was a missionary of singular and eminent gifts. The Gospel began to penetrate into some of the villages in the northern part of the province, which had been previously in- accessible ; there was a manifest movement amongst the population generally ; several spots of land had been purchased for the formation of Christian vil- lages ; an extensive system of native agency, through the ministration of catechists, had been organized ; and at the close of the year 1829, the numbers re- ported as under Christian instruction reached 6000, of whom nearly 1000 had received Christian bap- tism. The Tinnevelly mission was blossoming forth with all the promise of an abundant harvest, when a check arose from a quarter whence it had been little anti- cipated. In the midst of this success, a snare had been spread by the enemy who '' watches for our halting," which had well-nigh turned our rejoicings into sorrow and reproach. Mr. Rhenius was by birth a Prussian, and had been brought up as a member of the Lutheran Church of Germany, in which he also received holy orders. Eor a time he made the Book of Common Prayer the basis of his ministrations to the natives, and performed the English services in the church at Palamcottah, just CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 349 as an English clergyman, for the benefit of the Europeans at the station. Gradually, however, he imbibed the objections felt by Dissenters against our Church, and circumstances from time to time appeared to have deepened this unfavourable im- pression on his mind. It was his desire to build up the native converts in the mission rather according to the Lutheran form of Church government, than the episcopal. His great activity, diligence, and perseverance, prompted by an ardent love for souls, and accompanied with a remarkable power of influencing others, together vdth the self-denying labours of several coadjutors likeminded with him- self, had been largely followed by the Divine bless- ing; for after fifteen years of labour, he had the satisfaction of seeing more than 10,000 natives, men, women, and children, brought under Christian instruction, including a large body of native teach- ers, chiefly trained by himself, who were labouring among these converts as catechists and school- masters under the direction and control of himself and brother missionaries. Eive or six of these catechists were considered by Mr. Rhenius to be men worthy of ordination; and the Church Mis- sionary Society was quite willing that they should be admitted to holy orders. Then arose a question of vital importance to the future welfare of the infant church of Tinnevelly. Mr. Ehenius wished to ordain these men himself, according to the order of his own Church, and pleaded the practice of the missionaries of the Propagation Society in Tanjore, 350 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. as a precedent, who had themselyes ordained natives before the episcopate in India had been established. To this proposal the Church Missionary Society, honestly attached to the Church of England from its very origin, could not, of course, consent, tliere being now a bishop of our own Church in India. They did not, however, require the ordination of these men by the bishop, but simply refused Mr. Hhenius's proposal to have them ordained other- wise. All attempts at negotiation failed. Mr. Hhenius withdrew from the mission, taking with him all the German brethren, and at least one-third of the native congregations; and determined to carry on an independent mission in Tinnevelly or its neighbourhood. The details of this painful and anxioas crisis will be found in Mr. Pettitt's Narra- tive lately published, a work full of interesting and important information, from which the materials of the present paper have been to a great extent de- rived, and to which we gladly direct our reader's attention for a full and comprehensive record of the progress of missionary efforts in the Tinnevelly district. It was an anxious and trying time. One false step might have produced irretrievable con- sequences ; but so signally did He who heareth prayer overrule and guide the proceedings, that the mission was preserved to the Society. The younger missionaries were enabled, amidst much distraction, to persevere in the training of those converts who still adhered to us ; and not long after the death of Hhenius, in 1838, all were again CHURCH OP ENGLAND MISSIONS. 351 happily reunited. A tablet erected to his memory in the church that he had built at Palamcottah, which testified to his " exemplary zeal and devoted- ness " as a missionary — which all were ready to recognize, though they deplored his error of judg- ment— cemented and perpetuated the reunion. The seceding missionaries were welcomed back ; the son of E^henius became a missionary of the Society ; his widow was again received by them, and the re-combined action of the brethren long estranged manifested more than its old energy. " The 126th Psalm seemed," says Mr. Pettitt, " as though it had been written expressly for us : ' When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. . . . Then said they among the heathen. The Lord hath done great things for them;' and we responded, 'The Lord hath done great things for us ; whereof we are glad.' " The designs of Satan were defeated by the good hand of the Lord. The mission had survived the shock, and progressed in all its departments more steadily and soundly than ever. We wish that we had space to record the other fiery trials which tested the reality of the work in Tinnevelly. In 1841, a system of organized oppo- sition was set on foot to stop the progress of Chris- tianity, and the heathen banded themselves together into a VibootJii Sangam, or Sacred Ashes Society, to prop the tottering fabric of heathenism. The VibootJii is a mark made by the ashes of sandal- wood or cow-dung, which the heathen trace on their 352 CHTJECH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. foreheads, arms, or breasts, in honour of the god Siva, and its adoption by our converts is considered a sign of apostasy. These ashes were to be the pledge of the faithfulness of those who still adhered to idolatry, and the token of abjuration of Chris- tianity in any whom they might seduce from the faith. In 1845-46 another convulsive effort was made to extinguish the light of truth. In the NuUoor dis- trict at least 3000 persons had connected themselves with the mission within fifteen months. These numerous secessions alarmed the adherents of hea- thenism, and a bitter persecution reigned, accompa- nied by many violent outrages on the persons and property of the Christians. It was a period of searching and sifting trial, in which, if some proved faithless and unstable, many took joyfully the spoil- ing of their goods, and rejoiced they were counted worthy to suffer shame for their Saviour's name. But no weapon formed against the Church there prospered. The burning bush was not consumed. The late Bishop of Madras could testify, in 1845, that since his previous visitation, five years before, he had reason to believe that 18,000 souls had been added to the Church. And still the work goes on. In many of the districts a single missionary has received several thousands under Christian instruction, admitted a large portion of them to baptism, and welcomed hundreds to the table of the Lord. There are Benevolent Societies ; Church Building Societies ; CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 353 Book and Tract Societies ; and a Bible Society ; while Christian edifices, churches, prayer-houses, and schools, amounting now to 552, are dotted over the whole province. Amongst others, Mengnana- puram has its church, which holds, from Sabbath to Sabbath, 1000 worshippers ; and its spire, like that of Palamcottah, will soon, it is hoped, become a landmark and beacon of hope for many miles round. The Bev. John Devasagayan, admitted to holy orders in 1832, by Bishop Turner, has the happiness of seeing his son walking in his steps as an ordained minister of the Church of England. A system of inspecting catechists, first organized by Bhenius, brings the whole of the Christianized population under the regular and careful supervision of the European missionary. Candidates for baptism are tested as to their sincerity, before admission to that sacred ordinance. Confirmation is as solemn and profitable a time for thought and preparation as in any English parish. The last half-yearly statistical returns of the mission, ending December, 1850, have just reached us, and the tables are most encouraging. In the eleven districts, superintended by twelve European and two native clergy (exclusive of the recent ordi- nations), there are 452 native agents, catechists, readers, schoolmasters, and schoolmistresses. The number of baptized persons is 13,518, and 11,034 are under instruction, making in all, 24,552. There are 6682 children in the schools, one-third of whom are girls, and as many more the offspring of heathen A A 35Ji CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. parents ; while the roll of communicants contains no fewer than 2743 names. To sum up all in the emphatic language in which no mean judge who has lately visited it — the eminent Dr. Duff, of Calcutta — lately described to the Committee his impression of the Tinnevelly mission : — " A visitor is struck with the thorough- ness with which the missionaries superintend all details, and would notice an earnest workingness in the whole.'' We must, however, refer our readers to Mr. Pettitt's book for the details of the trials and tri- umphs of past years. In studying that narrative, they will realize what missionary work is ; they will identify themselves more with the joys and sorrows of the evangelists of Southern India ; and their prayers and their thanksgivings will be more earn- est, constant, and definite on behalf of that vast heathen population which, even now, occupies the larger towns and nineteen-twentieths of the pro- vinces. One of the most prominent tokens of the Divine blessing resting on the mission, we must dwell upon before concluding — the fact of the many villages in Tinnevelly, which contains a population wholly and exclusively Christian, from which caste and devil- worship and heathenism are, we trust, banished for ever. In 1817, as we saw, Mr. Hough could only record that two such existed. Their number now reaches 445. Much was done toward organizing these Christian communities, through the agency of CHUllCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 355 an institution called the Dharma Sangam, or native Philanthropic Society, " the chief design of which was the purchase of villages or land to form them, as a refuge for those who were persecuted, and not allowed by their heathen neighbours or landlords to build a place of worship for themselves." Such, for example, are Nulloor (Good town), Suvisesha- puram (Gospel village), and Kadatchapuram (Village of grace), over which the Rev. John Devasagayam exercises the pastoral office. Others were trans- ferred at once from heathenism by the voluntary accession of the entire population to the ranks of the Christians." On entering one of the happy hamlets, you would almost forget that you were in a pagan land. Be- neath the shades of cocoa-nut trees sit native women, spinning their cotton, and singing Tamul hymns, translated from the German by Eabricius, a fellow- labourer of Schwartz, to the motion of their wheels. To a Hindu female. Christian education is almost " a transmission from irrational to rational being." Sprightly gentleness of character, with a strong disposition to confide, gracefulness and timidity of manner, combined often with elegance of form, and an engaging countenance, are thereby rescued from a wild thoughtlessness or dulness of ignorance, to sparkle with intelligence, and to exhibit the power of Divine truth, reproducing, in some measure, the original idea of woman's creation." Instead of fall- ing down before those uncouth monsters whom a depraved imagination has invented as the deities, A A 2 356 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. they are now taught to worship the Eather of SpmtSj whose glorious perfections constitute our peace and joy. The idols have been built into the foundations of the place of Christian worship , or form, perhaps, the door-step on which the converts daily tread. Cleanliness and order, and a manifest change of aspect and demeanour, which even a stranger cannot help noticing, have superseded the degradation and misery of the hovel of the heathen shanar. There is the one husband with the one wife; there is the baptized child learning its first and indelible lessons at a Christian mother's knees. The tyranny of caste is being gradually overthrown ; and men, who once regarded each other with contempt and hatred, now share the offices of brotherhood and love. Surely to witness such a scene as this, must call forth in any Christian heart emotions such as swelled the breast of the late Bishop of Madras, when, on the 11th September, 1845, he laid the first stone of the church at Asirvathapuram. He says, "After that the congregation had sung a Tamul hymn to an European air, I spoke to them, with tears in my eyes, and thankfulness in my heart, on the subject which had called us together. Would that the friends and opponents of missions could have been present ! I have not the slightest desire to be ' picturesque' in my description of what I see in Tinnevelly, but am, on the contrary, very anxious to avoid any language that might be mis- constructed into overpraise ; hut there was a simple CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 357 reality about the scene before me, toliicli made my heart run over. There stood a crowd of native Christians, of whose Christianity there is no more doubt than of our own, and of whose sincerity, as of ours, there is but One able to decide, but who evidently took a deep interest in what was going on ; and there stood, among the other ministers of Christ who were present, the venerable John JDevasagayam — he is sixty years of age, and has been labouring, as a teacher of the Gospel, from before the days of Bishop Middleton — a pure native, and as pure a Christian as ever looked ' unto Jesus,' and to him only, as ' the author and finisher of our faith.' " This, too, is but a scene with many a parallel in Tinnevelly. Here are fields white indeed to the harvest; and there is but one step further which would complete the transition of these villages from mission stations into Christian parishes. Let them only receive native pastors, brought up amongst themselves, speaking their own native tongue, wearing their own native dress, habituated to their own native mode of life, as far as it is not distorted by heathenism — in shorty an indigenous ministry for an indigenous flock, which might nurture and propagate Christianity, even if India ceased to he England's, and which may now at once set free the European Evangelist to pursue his glorious and apostolic work of incursion on the unbroken ranks of idolatry and superstition. Our aim is not to Europeanize the Asiatic, but to naturalize Chris- 358 CHURCH OE ENGLAND MISSIONS. tianity in Asia ; and the noblest triumphs of ^nis- sions in Hindustan ivould be to have planted the Gospel there, not as a feeble exotic, depending on foreign influences for its protection, but to see it thoroughly acclimated, and assimila,ted to the soil, ^'And, on a small scale, we trust that this is being granted us in Tinnevelly. God is giving us the commencement of such a ministry there " Nearly thirty missionaries were gathered together at the bishop's visitation, at Palamcottah. It was a time of great harmony, earnestness, and spiritual joy. They were assembled to witness the ordination of no fewer than five native catechists, students at the Palamcottah Institution, whilst they joined in admitting to priest's orders the Rev. Jesudasen John, a native clergyman of the second generation, as well as the Uev. Jacob Chandy, T. Clark, and four other deacons. At the early morning service of the 2nd February, the Uev. John Devasagayam addressed a very stirring and affectionate exhortation to his future brethren in the ministry — a veteran soldier teaching those who were just girding on their armour how to war the good warfare. The ordi- nation sermon, preached by the E^ev. G. Pettitt, who was then visiting the scenes of his former toils and mercies, was forcible and appropriate. After which, Paramanantham, Abraham, Muttooswanii, Mathurentiram, and Seenivasagum were admitted to the holy order of deacons ; and we hope, ere long, to hear they have been located as pastors over some of those Christian villages which we have been CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 359 endeavouring to portray. Everything, throughout the visitation tour, was in keeping. The crowd of earnest and intelligent worshippers ; the replies, in doctrine and history, of numbers of catechists and schoolmasters ; the proficiency of the schools ; the seriousness of the candidates for confirmation and for orders, all united their testimony to the reality, depth, and extent of the work." Missions in North- West America. These were commenced in 1820, by the Rev. John West, who, while discharging his duties to the Hudson's Bay Company, interested himself deeply in the native population's welfare. The first mis- sionary of the Society, the late Rev. D. T. Jones, proceeded to the Red River in July, 1823, and was joined by the Rev. W. Cockran, in the autumn of 1824. In July, 1826, Mr. Cockran writes,— " I have not found any of the Indians of the Red River anxious to learn the things which belong to their souls ; the whole of their thoughts appear to be occupied about the things of the body. Their principal inquiries are. What shall we eat ? What shall we drink ? and How shall I get a blanket ? I have never heard any of them asking, What shall I do to be saved ? But though they are careless about the Gospel, they are by no means inimical to it ; only they seem to think that their own supersti- tions will do a while longer. They often say that they would like to learn to worship God as we do ; 360 CHUUCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. but they generally promise to begin at a future period." Prom amongst the Indians who had intermarried with Europeans, several were brought under the influence of the Gospel; but the unmixed natives continued to stand aloof. It was not until July, 1831, that Mr. Jones found himself enabled to use the following language of encouragement respecting them : — "A spirit of inquiry is evidently increasing among the Indians, particularly those of the low country. Many of them say they will come and settle next year. Connected with this feeling on their part, I do not mean to say but that a desire of amending their temporal concerns enters largely. On this subject we say to them, that as to their settling or not settling, we have nothing to do ; but that we are on the spot, ready to afford instruction, as far as we can, to all. There have been pure Indians — one man and nine women — baptized during the year, upon a long profession of love to God and faith in Christ. Some others we expect to admit soon. Though this number is small, it is encourag- ing. We trust we shall see greater things than these. There was a time when I should have con- sidered this an abundant reward for a life spent in the service, but now I desire still more. Time is pressing ; men are dropping into eternity ; Satan is at work. Surely, then, this is no time either to rest on one's arms, or to be satisfied with present attain- CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 361 ments. May the Lord pour out His Spirit upon us, and may our diligence increase." This hope continued to increase in brightness. In July, 1832, Mr. Jones again says, — " I have for the last eight months preached through an interpreter, to a congregation of seventy or eighty Indians, whose regular attendance, devout attention, and extreme desire to learn, afford every encourage- ment to proceed in the strength of the Lord. Por several years many Cree Indian families, from be- tween Hudson's Bay and Cumberland House, have been drifting to the settlement, having connexions here among the half-castes and others. Last sum- mer brought in about ten families ; and, among them, some very old men, one of whom told me, when I questioned him on the subject, that he had left his own country because he had heard that One from above had come to this world to save the souls of men, and he wished to learn something about Him." In this year, the Indian settlement was com- menced. In temporal and spiritual things the mis- sionaries found much to obstruct them in their efforts. Mr. Cockran writes, in his journal of Dec. 11th, 1833 :— "To-day we opened a weekly meeting at the Indian settlement, for the benefit of the adults, in which we read and explain the Word of God. There are only a very few who have a disposition to attend. Some have two or three wives; others are conjurors. 362 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. The former are averse to restraint, and therefore keep out of the way of instruction. The latter pride themselves in their art, and are persuaded that if they come to hear the Word of God, the knowledge of it will depart from them. However, as 'faith Cometh hy hearing, and hearing hy the Word of God,' I considered it safest to embrace the first opportunity, trusting that God will bear testimony to the Word of His grace, and make it mighty, that it may overturn those strong prejudices which the devices of Satan and an evil nature present against it. Every successful step which we take, however short, is a cause of gratitude. We turn ourselves round, and our sympathies flow into the surrounding desert, where our brethren are perishing, the slaves of Satan, on every side ; but in the centre, God, out of infinite mercy, has hid a little leaven, which is gradually increasing, and which he undoubtedly intends to operate as the leaven of the whole lump." The hope expressed in that last remark has been remarkably verified. The leaven began to penetrate the mass. Through the long process of difficulty and trial amongst the Indians of the Red E^iver, preparations were being made for the shedding of a naturalized seed, whose growth should be rapid and encouraging. About the year 1839, the same time in which Sierra Leone began to mature toward the seed-bearing season, and in which the dark districts of New Zealand began so wonderfully to open, a cry for help was heard from the Indians, at a point five hundred miles distant from the Hed Hiver, CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 363 where a missionary never had been, and Kenry Budd, the Indian cateehist, went forth to the help of his countrymen at Cumberland station, in 1840. Strange Indians occasionally visit the Indian settlement at the Ked Hiver ; amongst others, some from Cumberland House. Eventually they esta- blished themselves there, and with broken, yet joy- ful, hearts received the hopeful consolations of the Gospel. The Indian, awakened himself, becomes acutely sensible of the necessities of his relatives and friends. So it was with the Cumberland Indians at the Hed Uiver : they did not forget the friends they had left behind in heathen ignorance. They communicated with them in various ways ; sometimes visiting them, at other times sending messages, until, in answer to their prayers, a desire for Christian instruction was awakened. The cry for help having been made, it became necessary it should be attended to with as little delay as possible. If the opening had not been filled up by us, the Itoman Catholics were pre- paring to avail themselves of it, a priest having already been selected at the Hed River for the purpose ; and accordingly, Henry Eudd, a Christian Indian, a native of Cumberland district, and ac- quainted with the Cree language, was appointed to commence the work. It is remarkable that he was one of the two Indian boys entrusted by their parents to the care of the Hev. John West, in 1820 : one, the son of Withaweecapo, received at York Pactory, and this other obtained at Norway 364 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. House — one of the first of his race consigned to a missionary's care, and now the first to he employed in direct missionary work amongst his countrymen. He had heen for the space of four years discharging the office of schoolmaster at the Upper Church, and had given general satisfaction. The experiment was of a deeply interesting nature. It was ahout to he ascertained whether an Indian could with propriety be so employed; whether his spiritual and intellectual qualifications would he found in such proportion to the undertaking, that the diffi- culties and responsibilities connected with it would not overcome him. The prospective difficulties were indeed consider- able. The character and habits of the heathen Indians presented in themselves a formidable ob- stacle. " Their indolent, wasteful, and erratic habits are hostile to the spread of Christianity and civiliza- tion. Pamine often drives them from place to place. The chase is always precarious, one week they will have superabundance, and the next absolute want. The Indian seeks only the gratification of his sensual passions, and takes the shortest and easiest path to accomplish his wishes. How he may command the object of his wishes quickly and with little toil, without any regard to future consequences, is the sole occupation of his thoughts. He steals upon his prey by cunning, and takes away its life by cruel violence. He is thrown into an ecstasy on beholding the flowing of the blood, and the writhing CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 365 of his prey in the agonies of death. Thus deceit and cruelty are the component parts of his character." Moreover it was apprehended, that considerable difficulties would arise at Cumberland station with reference to food. Doubts were entertained as to the possibility of raising any grain crops there on which dependence could be placed, and consequently that the main supplies would require to be forwarded from the Red River. Even if the soil were better than it was expected to be, still, with Indian hands, to bring it into cultivation was a laborious task, requiring unconquerable perseverance. The Indians, in their natural state, have little taste for culti- vating the ground, and are averse to the hard labour which it requires. When the school children of the Indian settlement were employed in agricultural labours, their parents came and said to the mission- aries, " We sent you our sons that you might teach them to say prayers, but you are making slaves of them ; we will take them away if you ask them to do anything but say prayers." Even when this dis- inclination is so far overcome, that the Indian is persuaded to begin, stiU he is likely to be dis- couraged, and to give it up as useless labour. Thus a complication of difficulties seems to present itself. The indolent habits of the Indian, the discourage- ments attendant on a commencement of tillage, drive him away in search of food, by fishing or the chase, to a distance from the missionary, and thus place him beyond the reach of that Gospel, which^ 366 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. in the renewing of his mind, and the accomplish- ment of a Divine change within, can alone prevail to the surrender of old habits and associations. Such was the work to which the Indian catechist went forth, an humble instrument for a difficult undertaking ; yet if, under a deep sense of his own insufficiency, relying on the power of God, not the less likely to be employed by Him, who is often pleased, by weak instruments, to accomplish remark- able results. On the morning of June 22nd, 1840, when the boat was loaded, and all ready for their departure, the Rev. J. Smithurst addressed to Budd and his wife a few words of encouragement, urging upon them the importance of the undertaking, and entreating them to seek the Divine guidance in fervent prayer, relying entirely upon the Holy Spirit for strength and assistance. " I ]3ray," he adds, in his journal of the -above date, "that God may bless our brother Budd and family, and conduct them in safety to their destination, and make them a bless- ing to the poor Crees." It is with thankfulness to God we have to record that this prayer has been abundantly answered. His first interview with the Crees was not of an encouraging character. A large number of them were met at the Grand Bapids of the Saskatchawan. They were in the middle of their grand conjuring feast, and seemed little disposed to listen to any- thing on the subject of Christianity. Some said they wanted no missionaries ; others, that when they came to Cumberland, they would call and see. CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 367 On arriving at his destination, Budd found three Indian families, from whom he received the promise of ten children to teach ; and, ahout two months afterwards, we find him with an attendance, on Sundays, of about thirty-five persons, of whom twenty-four were children, most of them being very fond of learning. The man was now fairly in his work, and strength was given him to grapple with it. '*The importance of the work," he says at this period, " I see more and more daily, as well as my own insufficiency for its performance. Oh, that the influence of the Holy Spirit may be poured out upon me, that I may be made more zealous, more active, and more successful in the missionary cause!" In 1842 Mr. Smithurst proceeded to visit Cum- berland station. After twenty-six days' voyaging, they came in sight of the station on the 25th June, precisely two years' lapse from the departure of Budd from the Bed Biver. '' It appeared like an oasis in a desert : the school-house in the centre, Mr. Budd's house on the south side, and the child- ren's house on the north." The particulars of that visit we shall not enter upon : they may be found in that deeply-interesting little book, " The Bainbow of the Norths It will be enough to state, that the result of the missionary efforts which had been car- ried on during the preceding two years, were in the highest degree encouraging and satisfactory. On entering the school-room, where the adult can- didates for baptism had assembled, our missionary 368 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. was quite astonished to see so many, and began to fear that they could not be sufficiently aware of what they were about to undertake ; but a search- ing examination of each individual convinced him to the contrary. In speaking of their past lives, and the delusions under which they had laboured, the Indians were deeply affected ; " their hearts," to use their own expression, " were so sore, that they were ready to break in pieces." At the same time, with a simple faith, they looked to Christ as their Saviour, and stated their determination to trust entirely to him. On that occasion, thirty- eight adults, with forty-nine children and infants, were baptized. This, too, had been accomplished, notwithstanding the opposition which had been experienced from the chief. Yet this man, before Mr. Smithurst's departure, smoked with him the calumet of peace, and acknowledged that he should not be surprised if the Indians went over, one by one, to Christianity, until he was himself left alone. " Indeed," he added, " I will not say but I may yet come to you." After Mr. Smithurst's departure the work con- tinued to progress ; new candidates for baptism placed themselves under instruction, and the grow- ing importance of the station rendered a resident missionary necessary. The arrival of the Hev. J. Hunter, on the 26th September, 1844, was a joyful event to Budd and his Christian Indians. They had been anxiously expecting him, nor would they leave for their CHURCH OF ENGLi^ND MISSIONS. 369 hunting-grounds until the arrival of the fall-boat, by which it was hoped that he would come. As he landed from the boat they crowded round him to bid him welcome, and from their manner and address Mr. and Mrs. Hunter immediately per- ceived that they were surrounded, not by heathen, but by Christian Indians. There were thirty-one adult candidates for baptism. The deep emotion of many of them when under examination indicated the work of God within. They came up ''for baptism by households, and a most interesting and delightful scene it was to see the father and mother with their children approaching together. All was breathless attention ; many a tear was shed, and old and young appeared to be affected." As yet, however, no attempt had been made to form a settlement, and very little had been done in the way of tillage. Mr. Smithurst, when at the station, had marked out some lots, and one Indian had prepared wood, but no house had yet been built, and the Indians continued to dwell in tents. On an island, distant about half a day's journey, they had planted potatoes, but had not sown any barley or wheat. They had been told by the heathen Indians and the few from amongst them who had joined the priest, that no clergyman would be sent, and that it would be useless for them to build houses or cultivate the land. Later despatches enable us to present the station in one more interesting period of its history — the first visit of a bishop to this remote branch of our B Ji 370 CHURCH OP ENGLAND MISSIONS. missionary work, the opening of the new church, and the confirmation of the haptized Indians. Great exertions were made to get the church and other arrangements in readiness hefore the bishop's arrival. He was true to his appointment. On June 19th, 1850, he left Norway House, where the Council of Rupert's Land were sitting, and passed Sunday, the 23rd, on the table land over the Grand Rapids of the Saskatchawan. About forty Red River Indians were found encamped at this place, who formed a congregation in the wilderness. " We were all anxious," writes the bishop to the Society, ''to reach the missionary station before the following Sunday, and, by the good hand and blessing of God, we reached the Pas, and landed at the parsonage- house just as the sun was declining in the west on Saturday evening. It was the very moment I could have chosen for my arrival, and for my first sight of the spire of the pretty church which stands erected there through your benevolent exertions. Not half an hour before, Mr. Hunter had said that he was now quite ready for me at whatever moment I might arrive. Scarcely had he said so, when our boat was announced, and the flag immediately raised, which was the first object I discerned before we made the last turn on the river, so as to catch sight of the church and house." The next day (Lord's Day), June 30, the new chiu^ch was opened for Divine Service. "The Bishop," says Mr. Hunter, "opened this, the first Church of England beyond the Red River CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 371 settlement, built in the wilderness, in connexion with this mission, and purely among the aborigines; and here we had a congregation of natives, who for the first time, entered a churcli; and if our dear friends could have seen the devout and reverential manner in which they joined in the services, and repeated the responses, they would have thought that they had been accustomed to the ordinances of the sanctuary from their earliest infancy. Pive years ago, and there was no mission-house or church at this place ; but God has so blessed our labours, that this day we enjoy both." The bishop describes the church as occupying so conspicuous a position, that it cannot fail to attract the eye. May it prove in this respect a suitable type of that fabric of living stones, built on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, — Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone. May the Christian profession of our believing Indians be beautiful and conspicuous in its consistency, and be the happy instrument of attracting many to Christ. The confirmation was held on July 5th (Eriday). The service was read in Cree by Mr. Hunter : the bishop delivering an address before and after the confirmation, from Joshua xxiv., taking the 21st verse before, and the 22nd after the confirmation. He also read the Confirmation service in Cree re- markably well, to the astonishment and delight of the Indians. His own narrative of the proceedings of this day, and of the subsequent Sunday, is very interesting. B B 2 372 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. " All the preparation of the week had been directed toward the confirmation. Each day I have seen and examined many. I took them in parties ; started with the Catechism, the Lord's Prayer, or the Belief, or the Ten Commandments, in Cree ; and then I diverged, and asked them questions, which it was impossible to have imagined would be put. This tested their knowledge and practical acquaint- ance with the truths of the Bible ; and again and again I said to Mr. Hunter, that I was surprised at their intelligent and experimental acquaintance with our holy faith. Two were from Lac-la-Bonge, and they evinced an equal amount of knowledge, and fully as deep piety as any of the others. I believe them to be as far advanced at Lac-la-Bonge as at Cumberland. It was my happy privilege to confirm 110 on Eriday, July 5th ; and, to do so, using over them, two by two, the beautiful prayer, * Defend, O Lord,' &c., in the Cree language. It was a beautiful and stirring sight. The interior of the church is pretty ; and they came up very reve- rently and devoutly, and knelt in prayer before the communion rails, and then retiring to their places, joined, after all had been confirmed, in the remainder of the service, the prayers of which were all ofiered up in their own tongue. Indeed, the thing which most struck me at Cumberland, was the way in which the Indians join in our liturgy. Mr. Hunter reads the whole service, morning and evening, in Cree. In the Confession, the Lord's Prayer, and the CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 373 Litany, they all follow ; if he but give the first word, they carry it on throughout themselves. " On Sunday, July 7th, we met to commemorate the Saviour's dying love at His own table ; in all, fifty- four communicants, — as far as man may judge, simple-minded and humble believers, with a deep sense of sin, and a lively conviction of Christ's great love." Mr. Hunter adds, — *' In the afternoon I read prayers in Cree, and Mr. Henry Budd preached from Matt. xiii. 16, 17, *' But blessed are your eyes, for they see ; and your ears, for they hear," &c. The text was well chosen; and it would have rejoiced the hearts of the friends of the Society could they have been present at that service, and heard their native catechist, the first-fruits of their labours in this mission, address his countrymen in words solemn, appropriate, and eloquent, and, at the same time, with much affec- tion and feeling. His lordship was much pleased with Mr. Budd's style and manner, and intimated that he hoped to ordain him deacon at Christmas next." The next morning, after family prayers, the bishop left, and before embarking, the Indians col- lected round him on the beach, when he addressed them for a short time. Afterward they sang a hymn in Cree, and united in offering up the Lord's Prayer, the bishop concluding with the blessing in the native language, and, after shaking hands with them, pro- 374 CHUKCH OP ENGLAND MISSIONS. ceeded on his return to Red River. He was accom- panied by Henry Budd and his eldest son, and the eldest son of James Settee, the Indian catechist at Lac-la-E;onge. They are all now pursuing their studies at the Red River, under the bishop's super- intendence, with a view to future usefulness. "The bishop's visit," writes Mr. Hunter, "has been a delightful season, and his kind manner has won the hearts of all. An old Indian, Jacob Budd, said, ' ever since the bishop has been here, every day has been like Sunday.' The bishop's prayers and expositions in our family were beyond all praise ; they manifested great knowledge of God's Word, accompanied with much fervency and holy warmth of affection ; so that we feel edified and quickened in our blessed work. He read the Cree remarkably well, to the delight of our Christian Indians; and his addresses to the Indians were all that could be desired, just adapted to their capacity, containing similitudes, taken from their every-day life, and delivered with great earnestness and affection. They will long remember his visit, and I am sure he has an interest in their simple prayers. " The visit has tended to strengthen our hands, and give permanency and solidity to our work. We have, therefore, much cause to thank God, and take courage ; and, I hope, are prepared to make some further effort to extend his kingdom around us." The bishop expresses his conviction that Cumber- land station must prove a centre of missionary effort in that quarter of Rupert's Land. It has already CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 375 afforded indications of this. Itself the reflection of the missionary work at Red River, it is reproducing around it movements like that in which it has itself originated. Lac-la- Ronge station has originated in the Cumberland station work ; and now the follow- ing paragraph from a letter of Mr. Hunter's, dated July 30th, 1850, shows that in another direction the same process has begun : — '^ Moose Lake, two days' journey from here, would be an interesting place to commence a new station ; there are more than twenty families of Indians, and some of them have already been baptized. The lake is large, and abounds with excellent fish ; it is an outpost from Cumberland House, and also a boat- building establishment. I have visited it several times ; and if some one were sent there to reside, I am sure it would be attended with success. " The bishop wishes me to commence the same, by sending a pious Indian from here, called John Sumphible, who was my servant-man last winter, and reads the New Testament very well. John could build a small house, make a little garden, collect a few children and teach them to read, and conduct prayers every evening, and also on Lord's days, with the Indians who might be dis- posed to attend him. Thus a beginning might be made and a way prepared, should God own and bless the work, for sending a native pastor to carry on the movement. The bishop directed me to pay the expenses of commencing the station, should 376 CHURCH or England missions. John Humpliible be willing to go, out of the £100 placed by him at my disposal." " Let us now briefly review " (writes the Church Missionary Intelligencer, from whose interesting pages I have already drawn so largely) " the peculiar circumstances of the Indian tribes, the deep gloom which has hung over their past history, and the encouraging hopes and expectations which, in con- nexion with this letter, we venture to entertain respecting them. "The rapid diminution of its aboriginal tribes, since the discovery of the American continent, and the subsequent formation of European settlements on its shores, present a fact of painful character. Whenever the original blessing and expression of the Divine purpose toward man, ' Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it ' — a blessing and purpose renewed after the deluge (Gen. ix. 1), is so completely arrested in its action, that instead of increase there is accelerated diminu- tion, it is evident that some deep-seated evil is at work to produce results so disastrous and unnatural. No genuine Christian, who through the influence of Gospel truth, has had communicated to him a por- tion of that compassion which the God of infinite love has entertained towards the race of man can contemplate such a fact without a strong desire to investigate its causes and discover the remedial measures which ought to be adopted. This ten- dency of particular races to eventual extinction has CHUKCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 377 hitherto always been accelerated by colonization, simply because Christianity has not been the medium through which the infusion of races has been carried on. The colonizing race, in its quest of new habita- tions is evidently the most energetic of the two, and in its activity of temperament becomes influential upon the aboriginal race on whose territories it is entering, and which is comparatively torpid and quiescent. This influence of the superior on the inferior race, when not regulated and corrected by transmission through a Christian medium, is in- variably found to be in its general character an influence for evil, a communication of vice and aggravated misery, and a more rapid deterioration of the native race. The superior race, instead of ful- filling a benevolent mission, and raising the weaker and inferior one to the level of its own superiority, depresses it still more ; and the native, identifying his impoverishment with the arrival of the white settler on his shores, regards him with antipathy, and is indisposed to receive from his hands the good that he might be willing to convey to him. " In such unhappy influences, and their injurious results, the Indian of America has largely partici- pated. Amongst the tribes and races which have suffered from European colonization he occupies a prominent position. In his own natural tempera- m.ent and habits, sources of weakness existed which facilitated his deterioration, and which now increase the difficulty of raising him from a depressed and 378 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. suffering state. These are eloquently explained in the following touching passages of a letter recently received from the E^ev. W. Cockran : — • " ' The work of evangelizing and civilizing the erratic tribes in this country will be tedious and discouraging, however prudent, pious and energetic the superintendent may be. The careless, extrava- gant habit of the Indian race deprives them of the means of providing for winter or for sickness, or for the wants of an increasing family, or for old age. Man has to pass through these vicissitudes in his earthly pilgrimage. The Indian makes no provision for any of them ; consequently it often happens that he does not live out half his days. Disease, cold and hunger, destroy the greater number of them in infancy, or before they have reached tlie prime of life. The few who remain are so weakened from the above causes, that they appear old men at forty years of age, without energy and enterprise, and incapable of effecting much good either for them- selves or families. Hence the Indians do not increase in the same ratio as the civilized man does in other parts of the world. It is a melan- choly thought to look forward and contemplate the extinction of the race. God does not seem, in his providence, to design the E^ed man long to inherit the earth. He seems destined to perish before the march of the civilized man, the same as the beasts of prey. They very much resemble them in their habits, and the ratio at which they increase. When the spontaneous productions of nature are CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 379 abundant they multiply, — when those diminish they decrease, — when they fail they perish. Even when the Indian has embraced Christianity, and adopted the same course of life with the civilized man, as far as his capacity enables him to do so, a greater amount of evil falls upon him, through his negli- gence, than happens to the white man. He culti- vates his land imperfectly, ; he generally defers sowing till a later period than the prudent man ; he provides a smaller quantity of provender to supply his cattle through the winter. Thus if blight, smut, or frost visit us, one or other of these is sure to fall upon the small patch of ground which he has cultivated. If a hungry wolf pass the Indian's cattle, being weak and spiritless from the small quantity of food which they have received, he overtakes them with ease, and quickly destroys them for his prey. If disease makes its appear- ance among the cattle, his suffer the most from the same cause. " ' In whatever light you contemplate the Indian on earth, you behold him destined to suffer a large amount of misery. In his heathen, erratic state, he is ignorant, brutish, vicious, and miserable, with a gloomy future of everlasting separation from God before him. In a Christian and civilized state, though his condition is ameliorated, he still con- tinues poor, sickly, and miserable. It is only when you view him as an heir of immortality that you are cheered with his prospect under the GospeL You say, now let hunger, cold, and disease do their 380 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. worst, he is under the influence of a Kght which shall conduct him through the valley and shadow of death, and guide him safe into the presence of God, where there is fulness of joy, and to His right hand, where there is pleasure evermore.' " It is in connexion with such affecting statements that we hail with thankfulness and joy, the earnest desire for Christian instruction which is extending itself throughout the suffering remnants of the Red Indian tribes. Instances of this are of continual occurrence. Amongst them, that touching circum- stance of the Indian called Great Chiefs who tra- velled so many times the distance of two hundred and fifty miles, which lies between Lac la Honge and Cumberland House, that he might converse with Henry Budd, the Indian catechist, and bring back to his expecting countrymen at Lac la Honge, the crumbs of the bread of life which he had collected. And it is astonishing how much of Divine instruction the inquiring native is often enabled to extract from minute opportunities. The four Indians who were baptized by the bishop afford an illustration of this. One of them four years before had an opportunity of hearing a Protestant missionary in the interior, near Norway House. The truth which he then heard excited within him such an earnest desire to know more, that having obtained a copy of the late Mr. Evan's Cree alphabet, he made himself master of the powers of the letters. He then procured a Catechism in the same character, and by a diligent improvement of opportunities, few and far CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 381 between, learned to read it. The knowledge which he extracted from it he did not confine to himself, but — like Andrew of old, when ' he first findeth his own brother Simon and said unto him, We have found the Messiah,' — he taught others around him what he knew, and especially his half-brother, who came forward with him, as a candidate for baptism. The history of the remaining brothers is equally interest- ing. One of the Company^s officers of CkuroMll Fort had been in the habit of reading to the Indians there, and these men had been amongst the number. About four years previously to the bishop's arrival, this officer left Churchill Port, and with him the Indians lost the only outward aid they had, but in their intense desire after more knowledge, they sought out other opportunities. Once every year they came up to York Port, in the hope of meeting a boat's crew of Christian Indians from Norway House, where the Wesleyans have a station, and of having Christian conversation with these men for two or three days ; and for four years, this annual visit constituted their sole opportunity of receiving reli- gious instruction, except such as they derived from intercourse mth each other, and singing and praying together, nor had they ever seen a Christian minister until the arrival of the bishop and his party. Sow cases like these reprove our oivn inertness, and sloioness of groioth, amidst everything calculated to facilitate our progress to maturity ! '' The God of grace and love seems to have gracious purposes toward the enfeebled remnants of the power- 382 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. fill tribes which once reigned in undisputed ascend- ency over those vast territories from whence the white population have removed alike the ancient forests and inhabitants, and established themselves in the place of both. They are indeed a nation scattered and peeled, a nation trodden under foot. Once like a winter torrent rushing along with irresistible im- petuosity, and spreading its inundation far and wide; they are now like a little attenuated stream, which scarcely can be seen tracing its feeble course amidst the rocks at the bottom of the channel which once failed to contain its swollen waters. '' But now in their poverty God seems to visit them. The Spirit of the Lord is at work amongst them ; seeds of Divine truth are strangely wafted here and there, and they fall on willing hearts and are received with gladness ; and, actuated by a pow- erful craving after Divine instruction, the Indians come seeking help from us. " To meet the inquiring spirit which exists among the widely scattered population that wanders over the immense territories of the Hudson's Bay Company, a native agency is requisite, one inclusive of individuals belonging to different tribes, and speaking different languages, and which, breaking up into minute agen- cies, and extending itself in different directions, may convey to the famished Indian the bread of life, and lead him to that Saviour in whom he will find rest and peace. The crisis is urgent. The desire for instruction is rapidly extending itself Our present means of responding to it are plainly inade- CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 383 quate. The Romish priests increasing in numbers, and energetically striving to perpetuate the reign of ignorance and superstition, are giving to the poor Indian the counterfeit, instead of the reality of Gospel truth. We recognize, therefore, as most seasonable, the settlement in that region of a Fro- testant Missionary BisJiop who will gather together within the Institution at the Ued Hiver such men as Henry Budd and James Settee, and, after due instruction, send them forth to teach the Cree, the Ojibway, the Salteaux, and many others. The good Bishop of Bupert's Land has the heart of a mis- sionary. His first sermon on reaching his diocese aflPords convincing proof of this. In the hope that some of the Indians who were present on that occa- sion would understand him, and tell their friends and connexions what they had heard, he addressed himself particularly to them ; and as he told them that it was to them chiefly he had come, so mani- festly did his heart yearn over them, that gradually and unconsciously he advanced with extended arms, a considerable way from where he first stood, toward that part of the room in which they were sitting, his voice meanwhile becoming tremulously expressive of the anxious Christian affection which moved him towards them." Such an episcopate is a door of hope to the Bed Indian of America. Connected with the Church Missionary Society are two institutions in London which claim in these pages a brief notice : the Missionary College, and the 384 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. Missionaries' Childt^en's Some, both in the parish of Islington. The College was instituted for the pui'pose of preparing for holy orders young men, possessing natural ability, piety, zeal, and a desire to devote themselves to the service of the Lord in the ministry. During the last year seven (about the annual average) of the students received ordina- tion from the Bishop of London, and left for foreign stations. Hitherto, neither in the College nor the Universities, has the supply of missionaries equalled the increasing demand. Some think that the Society's standard of selection is too high. I am not of this opinion. Missionary enterprise is the very chivalry of Christianity. It is as arduous as it is honourable, and should have the very flower of our youth. To learn a strange language well, requires more than ordinary mental power. Without such know- ledge, a missionary, however useful in many other respects, is in a false position as regards preaching the Gospel. Leaning upon an interpreter, he may do as much mischief as good. The great principle to be kept in view in our missions, is native agency under European superintendence. To carry this out, the attainments of the European should be high. Here is our great difficulty. The necessities of home-work on the one hand, and the life of greater ease and worldly emolument on the other, with an improper estimate of the dignity and dis- tinction of a missionary, keep back many highly qualified young men from offering themselves for the CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 385 work. May the Spirit of God be poured d-^wn upon our universities and our families abundantly. Then shall we see our gifted young men, animated with faith and a holy ambition, pressing forward in response to the call for more labourers, for the fields already " ripe unto the harvest," and parents, and brothers, and sisters, not keeping them back. Under the principal, the Eev. C. P. Childe, as- sisted by his reverend colleague, Mr. Heisch, the Church Missionary College offers uncommon reli- gious and collegiate helps towards preparation for the ministry and missionary work, to young men who are attached members of the Church of England, and who have not the means, or the necessary school preparation, for the universities. I cannot express my own estimation, however, of the value of this institution, better than by saying, that I aspire to no greater honour for my own four sons, should the Lord spare them to grow up and call them effectually by His grace, than to be admitted into the College and to go forth from thence as faithful, zealous, and self-denyiDg mis- sionaries to the perishing millions of the heathen. The evening devotional services in the Institution, especially on the Saturday, are very solemn and impressive, and will serve here to show the spirit which pervades the whole establishment. The students, assisted by a well-toned organ, first chant one of the Psalms of David, the 67th, or 100th, or some other appropriate one bearing on the glorious prospects of the Redeemer's kingdom. c c 386 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. The principal then reads and ably expounds a selected chapter of God's word, and offers up a prayer composed by himself and printed by the students. A missionary h^mm is next sung, in very sweet harmony, and the service is concluded by the principal again praying (now without form) and by pronouncing the benediction. The Hymn sung on the occasion of my last visit was : Thou, whose Ahnighty \Yord Chaos and darkness heard, And took their flight, Hear us, we humbly pray ; And, where the Gospel-day Sheds not its glorious ray, " Let there be light ! " Thou who didst come to bring, On thy redeeming wing, Healing and light, Health to the sick in mind, Sight to the inly blind. Oh, now to all mankind '* Let there be light ! ' Spirit of truth and love. Life-giving, holy Dove, Speed forth thy flight ! Move on the waters' face, Bearing the lamp of grace, And in earth's darkest place " Let there be light! " Blessed and holy Three, Glorious Trinity — Wisdom, Love, Might ! Boundless on ocean's tide, Boiling in fullest pride, Through the world far and wide "Let there be light! ' CHURCH OE ENGLAND MISSIONS. 387 The Missionaries^ Children^ s Home is placed under the care of the Rev. S. H. Unwin, as director. There is something peculiarly interesting and beautiful in the picture of the Church thus nui'sing in her bosom, praying for and seeking to bring up in the steps of their parents, some hundred chil- dren of Christ's faithful soldiers and servants who have gone forth to battle against the Lord's enemies. In the selection of Mr. and Mrs. Unwin, the Society has been most happy. With those most loving and beloved Christians, the dear children of our honoured missionaries find indeed a home, and experience a father's wise and affectionate dis- cipline and a mother's tender care. No earthly comfort to our missionaries, assuredly, can be greater than the assurance of such a fact. My readers, I dare say, young and old, will be interested in the following letter to a missionary's son in the Home from a native young man in India, brought up in the schools of the mission, and then taken into the service of the missionary. It de- lighted my own mind so much on hearing it read, at a meeting, by Mr. Unwin, that I begged for leave to take a copy for the purpose of using it in these pages. It is written in English, and un- corrected. " Tirovtoilla, Thursday, July 1st, 1852. " My dearest Brother in Christ, — Since our last parting on board the ' Uarl of Hardwick,' I had the pleasure of hearing about you many times, c c 2 388 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. tlirougli your pleasing letters to Master and Madam. I have plenty of news to tell you, but I cannot write them all here. I got married on October 30th of last year. Master built for us a house ; my wife and myself live in that house now. Mas- ter gives me 6 rupees a month. My mother also comes and lives often with us, — she used to ask after you. Did you get a small horn box and a letter, I sent you by Dr. E^awes ? There are now many boys in the school. The Coimbattoo cow has now got another calf, the former one has now become very large and a little injurious. The monsoon has commenced here. Your donkies are sent away to Aleppie. Tippoo, Plora, &c. are quite well. "I heard that you went to see the Queen, the Exhibition, &c. I have a copy of the hymn you sent to Master, and which was composed by Mr. Purchell, your good schoolmaster. Oh it is a very nice hymn ; please tell me by what tune you sing it there. I cannot but express my approbation of that — ' Across the sea to,' — in this form ; no other hymn will affect you so much as this. We are all very sorry because dear Mr. Kagland is ill — he is now in England. Did you ever see him ? Please give him my best regards if you see him again. Please give the same to Mr. Tucker too when you see him. "Dear Atchen, did you give the knife and letter I sent by you to Mr. Tucker? The Bishop of Madras sent a present to me, i. e., the Memoir of CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 389 good Mr. Fox. Master built a new church at Thawaludy, Coshee, Mathen, Chandapilla, and WirgesCj and all are quite well. John Henery is dis- missed for running away lately. Miss Munro and Miss Baker came here lately ; then Miss Munro taught us to sing, ' Do, Ra, Mi,' &c. Mrs. Peet and Miss Peet are at Trivandrum, the former being sick. Please tell Henry Peet I remember him, if he is come with you to the Home. Dear Johnny Atchen, I remember^ your face, dress, &c., now you are far away in England. When will an JEarl of Hardioick, or any other vessel, take you back to India's shore, where thick clouds of heathen dark- ness are spread, and where your pilgrim parents preach Immanuel's grace ? You might wish that Master must soon come back to England, but we don't wish it at all, for the good of ourselves and many other children of Travancore. Oh pray that many more like papa to be sent here. I hope you love Christ. Oh, He is precious; it was He that preserved you from shipwreck, who gave you a comfortable home which was not in existence before 1848. Dear brother and sweet Atchen, pray for me. It is not sure whether I will meet you again on this side of the grave ; if we don't we will meet again in heaven where our dearest Papa (God) is. Oh never neglect secret prayer in morning and evening. I did not mention yet anything about Mary and Eanny — where are they? Please shew them this letter, and give my best salem. Please tell them that poor XJmen remembers both dear Eanny and 390 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. dear Mary always. Advise them too to love Christ. Please give my regards to Johnny Johnson and Willy. " I am, yours sincerely, '' A. TJmen.'' The following recent intelligence must conclude this long chapter. Ordination of a Clergyman for I*itcai7m's Island, As early as eight o'clock on Sunday morning, October 24, Mr. G. H. Nobbs, who has for twenty- five years gratuitously performed the offices of pastor, surgeon, and schoolmaster among the interesting community, consisting of 170 persons, at Pitcairn's Island, was admitted into holy orders at Islington, by the Bishop of Sierra Leone, under letters dimissory from the Lord Eisliop of London. Upwards of seventy persons remained to receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper. Mr. Nobbs had arrived in London a few days previously from Val- paraiso, whither he had been brought in the ship Portland, by Kear Admiral Moresby, who had been four days on Pitcairn's Island, and has confirmed the favourable accounts of the condition of the people. They are, as is generally known, descend- ants of the mutineers of the Bounty, who landed there in 1789. Their simple and virtuous habits may be attributed, in a great degree, to the care and attention paid to them, especially to the younger members, by their friend and teacher, Mr. Nobbs. His predecessor, John Adams, the CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 391 last of the mutineers, who has been long since dead, appears to have laid the foundation of religion and morality in the island ; and the worthy pastor who has just been ordained, and who knew Adams, has trodden in his steps. The people are greatly and deservedly attached to Ivlr. Nobbs, and they parted with him, at two days' notice, with many tears. They had long desired to see him a minister of our Church ; for although, in the want of a duly qualified clergyman, he had baptized, married, and buried among them, accord- ing to the ritual of the Church of England, they wished him to be invested with full authority, and to be enabled to administer the holy communion to his flock. He will probably be ordained priest in December, and will then return to the scene of his labours. The people, during his absence, are under the spiritual care of the Rev. Mr. Holman, chaplain of the Portland, The admiral, in a letter from Valparaiso to the Rev. T. B. Murray, secre- tary to the Society for promoting Christian Know- ledge, said that after much observation during his stay at Pitcairn's Island, he was convinced that the opportunity had arrived for the islanders to have a clergyman, and that Mr. Nobbs was the best suited for them. Mr, R. C. Faley, a grcmdson of the celebrated Faley, who is shortly to proceed as a missionary of the Church Missionary Society, to Abbeokuta, was ordained at the same time. Mr. Nobbs has since had the honour of an inter- view with the Queen and Prince Albert. CHAPTEE VII. PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS IN GENERAL. '* Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he foUoweth not us ; and we forbade him, because he followeth not us. Jesus said, Forbid him not." I ENVY not the feelings of the man, and think but lightly of his Christianity, whether in the Established Church or out of it, who, on learning that savages had been reclaimed, cannibals human- ized, and idolaters brought to own and worship the true God, feels no interest* in the intelligence, no thankfulness to God, no joy of heart, because the change was not brought about by the instru- mentality of his own peculiar denomination. The Scriptures of God recognize no such exclusiveness and bigotry, neither does common sense. It is told of the eccentric but pious Howland Hill (and the anecdote he himself authenticated to a relative of mine), that, having preached a sermon for some charitable object in the chapel of a friend, and find- ing that the Lord's Supper was subsequently to be administered, he sat down, purposing to join his fellow-Christians in communion. Upon his inten- PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS, ETC. 393 tioii ]hAnsi: ^^^ manifested, liowever, one of the elders or deacons was deputed most respectfully to acquaint him, that, according to the regulations of their Church, it could not be. '^ None are admis- sible," said he, " to our table, but members of our Church." '^ Your table!" retorted Mr. Hill, "I thought it was the Lord's table. As it is yours^ I have no wish to remain." Many would, in like manner, narrow the glorious work of Christian missions. It is no wonder, there- fore, that they should be occasionally much dis- couraged. But the work is the Lord's, and his labourers are '' the blessed company of all faithful people." (Eook of Common Prayer.) To those believing persons the Apostle says, '' Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and know all things." All who have this anointing, possess the first grand requisite for the ministry of Christ's Gospel. All who have it not, however ostensible and orderly their external call, are " blind leaders of tlie blind." These remarks will be gainsayed, I suppose, by few evangelical Christians ; yet the majority, even of such persons, feel but little sympathy with works of faith and love, beyond those originated amongst themselves ; and many amongst them, who would judge it no small disgrace to be found ignorant of the history of Christianity in the earlier ages, know very little of it in their own. What if the Lord should come and find us " striving together which shall be the greatest," 394 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS or about *' questions to no profit," whilst fallen idolatrous churches outnumber those who have the truth, and the whole world lieth in the wicked one!" I do confidently maintain, however, that there is now, as truly as ever, amongst all who are really in Christ Jesus by a living faith, a godly unity of faith, and hope, and charity, distinct from, and of an infinitely higher character than, that external communion which exists between the associates of the same religious body. (But do we not shut ourselves out too much from the perception and enjoyment of it ?) " Every one that loveth Him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten of Him," says St. John ; and again, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." The fire of persecution would soon melt down all our differences. Must the Lord permit it "to be kindled ?" A hostile invasion of the shores of our country would unite us all as one man. Should we not meet in the same spirit, with the higher and holier feelings of Christian brotherhood,- the attacks of infidelity and popery, on all sides, upon our common Christianity ? Oh may the glorious work of Christ, which is going on by the agency of his servants in the world ; may the openings which His providence is making continually for fresh exertions, on the part of those who have the truth ; may the wants of our perish- ing fellow-creatures, crying to us for help, startle IN GENERAL. 395 ■Qs from our trifling, our childish jealousies, or our love of ease, to a just sense of our responsibilities, and a right perception of the high destinies of the Church of our Eycdeemer ! We shall soon then see greater things accomplished in the world by Christian missions. Next to the Divine word, I know no sentiment better for our adoption than that one of Hooker's (I think it is his), with respect to brethren who do not agree with us in all things : — "In certis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in cunctis caritas." Happily, the spirit of it is prevailing to a greater extent, in the present times, between Evangelical Dissenters and Churchmen, than some years back. Before I proceed directly to the subject of my chapter, I would just throw out here a suggestion or two bearing upon this point. It has been proposed by some one, that, in order better to meet the spiritual wants of the world, missionary societies should each have, by a mutual understanding, allo- cated to it some distinct part of the globe. To my own mind this does not appear either practicable, beyond what naturally may exist, nor, indeed, upon the whole, to be desired. The spirit of the propo- sition, however, is admirable, and I think it would be of the greatest importance to carry it out by occasional fraternal conferences between the various committees, in order, that, whilst so much remains to be done by the Church Universal, the strength 396 PROTESTANT CHUISTIAN MISSIONS of each part may be wisely applied and employed in the quarter most in need. Such conferences also should discuss questions on language, in reference to accuracy, in the translations of God's Word, There is another thought which I have for some time entertained (it may now be allowed to pass for its real value). Much additional public interest and support, I think, might be attracted to Christian missions, and much increase of friendly interchange of feeling promoted, between the different bodies of Christians engaged in such works, if there could be established, in some good situation in the metro- polis, under wise and tasteful management, an exhibition for the sale of the productions of nature and art, imported from our various missionary stations, arranged, not according to the contributing societies, but to the various countries from which they were brought. Such an exhibition, moreover, would be a help towards the recreations, and even the education, of our children at home, while it would prove a stimulus to industry on the part of our converts abroad, and, it is hoped, a means of the self-support of our mission stations. In the cursory glance, such as only can be given in so brief a space, at the various noble efforts included under the heading of this chapter, it is impossible to do any one sufficient justice. Therefore it is hoped that the reader of the following sketches will go much farther, and pursue for himself the agreeable and useful study, in the marks of approved character, descriptive of the various societies, and of which IN GENEKAL. 397 the different secretaries would obligingly furnish lists> LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. The London Missionary Society was formed in 1795 by Evangelical Christians of diflFerent denomi- nations, for the sole purpose of conveying the Gospel to the heathen, l^'om that period it has been extending its operations, and at the present time its Missions exist in the Georgian, the Society, the Hervey, the Samoan, the Paumotu, the Loyalty, and the New Hebrides groups, with numerous other Islands of the South Seas; in Nortliern and Southern India, at Canton, Hong-kong, Amoy, and Shanghae, and at many important positions m China. A large number of its Agents are stationed in South Africa and the Mauritius, and also at Jamaica, Berbice, and Demerara, in the West Indies. These spheres of labour are occupied by 170 European missionaries, who, in most instances, receive the invaluable assistance of their devoted wives. These missionaries are engaged as follows : — in the South Seas, 32 ; in China, 17 ; in India, 58 ; in South Africa and the Mauritius, 43 ; in the West Indies, 20. These, with upwards of 700 native teachers, form a body of 1000 agents, sustained by the Society, and employed in promoting its designs. The Churches of Christ gathered by this agency in heathen lands are 150, containing, exclusive of the Christians in Madagascar, upwards of 16,000 members. 398 PROTESTANT CHUISTIAN MISSIONS In addition to a large number of Sunday scholars, the Society's agents superintend 400 day schools, in which 30,000 young people are receiving instruc- tion. There are also 32 boarding or home schools in India, China, and Polynesia, containing 595 girls, and 254 boys. But the most important of the Society's educational establishments are eight for the training of native evangelists and pastors; and in these, at the present time, there are 155 students. The zeal and liberality of Christians at the mission stations is shown by the fact, that, aided by the generosity of European Christian residents, they annually contribute upward £12,000 for the furtherance of the Gospel. In addition to their other labours, the missionaries of the Society have translated the Scriptures, in whole or in part, into the Chinese, Mongolian, Urdu, Bengali, Teloogoo, Canarese, Tamil, Guzurattee, Malay alim, Tahitian, Rarotongan, Samoan, Sitchuana, and Mala- gasy. Some of these languages they have reduced to a written form; in others they have prepared grammars and dictionaries, and in all a large supply of Christian books and tracts, which have been printed at the fifteen printing-presses of the Society, and are widely circulated amongst the natives. The income of the Society last year, was £76,105. The directors have done their utmost with the funds placed at their disposal, to maintain these numerous and important operations in a state of efiiciency; but, as their expenditure exceeds their ordinary income, they are unable to enter new IN GENERAL. 399 spheres of labour, though strongly induced to do so by the destitution of the heathen, the encourage- ments of Divine Providence, the entreaties of their missionary brethren, and the signal blessing which has hitherto rested upon their labours. MADAGASCAR. The persecution that has been maintained with unabated rigour in this island, for several years past, (I quote from the December number, 1851, of the Missionary Magazine,) bears a painful resemblance to the awful scenes perpetrated, both by Jewish and Gentile adversaries, when the first preachers of Christianity went forth, and converts were won to the faith which they preached. In both cases we find despotic power, a jealous intolerance of innovation, and remorseless cruelty arrayed on the side of the oppressor; but we find, also, a noble simplicity of purpose and patient endurance of wrong on the part of the oppressed. It is further observable, that the casting of incense on the altars of the Pagan deities, which absolved the offerer from the dangerous suspicion of being a follower of the Nazarene, finds its counterpart in the test applied by the Queen of Madagascar, of adhesion to the national creed, viz., the administration of an oath of homage to her dead ancestors and the idols. Like cases produce like effects. The spirit of per- secution may now, as in former ages, do its worst ; and some who had named the name of Christ, may, 400 PROTESTANT CHUISTIAN MISSIONS in the day of trial, be found to waver ; but others are prepared to endure hardness and even death itself, in its most fearful forms, rather than deny the faith; while many of God's liidden ones, dis- couraged for the moment, but not convinced by the stringent arguments of the oppressor, in due season will come forth as confessors and champions of the faith. It is known to many of our readers that during the persecution in Madagascar, in 1849, eighteen individuals were called to seal their testimony with their blood. Prom a journal kept by one of the native Christians, which has recently come to hand, we are now enabled to furnish a more detailed account of the events of that disastrous period. The document, written in the Malagasy language, has been kindly translated by the Rev. David Griffiths, formerly of the Madagascar Mission, and its authenticity and faithfulness may be entirely relied upon. The document, however, is long, and owing to frequent repetitions and the redundancy of the native style, it cannot be given entire. In the following narrative it has accordingly undergone modification, but only so far as to render it more concise and intelligible than in its original form. Notices of the Tersecution of 1849, abridged from the Journal of a Christian JFitness. "The persecution was commenced on Monday, the 19th Tebruary, 1849, by an order from the Queen's government to demolish two private houses, IN GENERAL. 401 used as places of worship, and which order was carried into effect. " At this time five individuals were arrested and put in chains. All possible means were used to induce the prisoners to implicate their companions, which three of them courageously refused to do, but the other two at length gave in the names of several of their fellow-Christians, of whom four were taken into custody. '' The history of one of these four persons, named Andriantsivoanaby, is particularly interesting. He entered one of the country schools, in the year 1824, kept at a village eight miles to the north of the capital. He soon distinguished himself as one of the best scholars in the school, was appointed a teacher in 1826, and continued to hold the office until 1829, when, with hundreds of the teachers and scholars, he was drawn for the army. There he was soon promoted, and became secretary and aide-de-camp to one of the generals. In 1834, he lost his sight, and on account of this misfortune was dismissed the service. He had been a faithful and efficient teacher and a powerful speaker, and so long as he continued in the army was highly respected by his general. He was moreover a humble, zealous, and devoted Christian, and was at last called to seal his testimony for Christ with his blood. "On the 22nd February, two other persons, a father and son, were arrested. On the 29th, num- bers of the people were summoned to meet the D D 402 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS officers of the queen, to know her will as to the manner in which those who persisted in the pro- fession of the Christian faith were to he dealt with. ' These are the words of the queen/ declared the officers on one of these occasions, ' which we have to tell you : — " I ask you," saith the queen, " tell me the truth, and tell me no falsehood, — what is the reason you will not forsake the very root of this new religion and mode of worship ? Por I have deprived officers of their honours, put some to death, and reduced others to unredeemable slavery, and you still persevere in practising this new religion. What is the reason that you will not renounce it ? " * Whereupon two of the Christians, in the name of their companions, replied, ' that they were restrained by reverence for God and his law.' "Another gathering of the people took place on the 25th, when the queen, by the mouth of her officers, again addressed them to the following effect : ' If any new religion or mode of worship, and especially this worship of yours, be introduced and practised in my country, I forbid it ; for it shall never be done. These are the things that are pro- hibited,— the practice of baptism ; abstinence from work on the Sabbath-day ; forbidding to swear by father, mother, sister, or brother, or by the queen ; refusing to sacrifice bullocks, or to worship idols of wood or stone. Therefore come forward all of you that have done so, and confess, that I may determine what punishment to inflict upon you; but if any IN GENERAL. 403 one shall wait till he is accused by another, that person shall be punished without mercy.' "On the 14th March, nine persons, j^??^ of whom were women^ belonging to the province of Vonizongo, when called upon to take the oath required by the queen's officers, declared their adhesion to the Chris- tian faith, and were forthwith put in chains and wrapped in mats. " On the 16th, a pious soldier, having refused to conform to the royal ordinance, was also loaded with chains and wrapped in mats. "On the 21st, all the people who were self-con- victed of having been secret followers of the new religion, were, with those of the province of Vonizongo, ordered to repair to Analakely, to take the required oath, and they were accordingly compelled to invoke upon their heads all the curses that the deceased deified kings, and the idols, and the twelve holy mountains could inflict upon them, should they so transgress any more. An officer, however, of the 5th honour boldly declared, that he would not conform to the ways and manners of this world, and, when called upon to take the oath, made answer — *It is God alone that I will worship, for he, and he alone, can do all things for me, and I shall not pray to any other object whatever.' He was thereupon put into chains, to await the queen's pleasure. " On the 22nd, the swearing in of the people was continued ; when two more confessors, one of them a retainer of the queen's nephew, Prince Ramanja, D D 2 404 PROTESTANT CHUISTIAN MISSIONS refused to conform, and were put under arrest. On the following day, their example was followed by two others, and with the like result. One of these last, Kamany, also a retainer of Prince Ramanja, stood up before the people, and said, ' I believe in God, for he alone can do all things for me ; and I wish to obey whatever he commands me : but as to swearing by the queen, or by one's mother or sister, or by one's father or brother, a lie is a lie still, whether you swear to it or not. I believe in God, and put my trust in Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Redeemer of all that believe in him.' He was then put in chains, with his companions, to await the queen's pleasure. At the same time, a female named Eanivo, of the tribe of Ralambo (the descendants of the first kings of Imerina), avowed her confidence in the God of the Christians, and was cast into prison. "The 24th, 25th, and 26th, were occupied in inquiries among the people as to the houses where they assembled to worship, and who were the preach- ers of the word to them, when Rabetsarasaotra and Rasoalandy were mentioned as the preachers. " On the 28th, another large assemblage of the people took place, when the officers of the palace, having thanked them for their good attendance, delivered the queen's message : — ' I, the Queen of Madagascar, say that no religion whatever, except- ing that of Andrianampoinimerina and Hadama, and the customs of your ancestors, shall be ever introduced and practised in this my country : any- IN GENERAL. 405 thing else is totally rejected by me. Had I not ordered the followers of the new religion to incul- pate themselves, they would soon overturn the country, and all the people would follow them. I consider them rebels ; therefore, I tell you how I have punished them, as the spirits of Andrianam- poinimerina and Radama have revealed them to me. The preachers and the persons that brought back their books, and those that sold the books to others, I have set apart, and ordered the soldiers to keep them separate from the multitude, and I have also set the slaves apart.' "The Christian confessors, before enumerated as having been placed under arrest, were then brought into Analakely, being borne by two poles on men's shoulders, wrapped in mats from head to foot, and their mouths stuffed with rags, to prevent them from speaking, the female E^anivo alone being ua- confined, and made to walk behind. "The following were the punishments appointed to be inflicted upon them by the queen : — "1. The wives and children of all taken by the ofl^cers were reduced to slavery. "2. The slaves that were taken, and also the slave accused of preaching the word, were condemned to work in chains during the remainder of their lives. " 3. The wives and children of the preachers were condemned to pay half the value of their persons, as if they had been sold as slaves. " 4. Half the value of the persons and property of those who brought back their books was confiscated. 406 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS "5. The multitude that inculpated themselves were to atone for their crime by paying each three bullocks and three dollars : but half of that sum was forgiven them. " 6. And with regard to the noble band of con- fessors, who were prepared to sacrifice everything for Christ, the sentence was : — that four of them, viz., one of the first five taken at the outbreak of the persecution, and three of those arrested on the 14th of March, should be burnt alive ; and their bodies were accordingly consumed in the flames. The rest of the martyrs, fourteen i/ti number^ were condemned to be thrown over the precipice at Itsinihatsaka, and their bodies to be afterwards burnt at the same place where their companions had suffered; and which sentence was executed upon all of them: ''7. And the slaves that were found guilty upon their own confession, were condemned to receive twenty stripes, in addition to their payment of the same sum with the other criminals, as an atonement for their sin of praying. "Then all the people, excepting the Christians, were called upon to take the oath of allegiance, by forcing a spear into the carcase of a bullock, and drinking the holy water mixed with the holy earth taken from the tombs of the deceased kings. "The Christians who had been condemned to slavery, were then sold, in the presence of the people. " Announcement was then made, that the queen IN GENERAL. 407 intended to erect a memorial- stone in each of the six provinces of Imerina, to forbid the practice of the new religion in her country. " The Prince Ramanja, the queen's nephew, was condemned to pay one hundred dollars, as an atone- ment for his sin in worshipping the true God; Rajoaka, an offi.cer of the palace, was also con- demned to pay fifty dollars; but both of these penalties were afterwards reduced to one-half, and all the degrees of honour which the (Christian) officers in the army, and in other departments of government, had enjoyed, were forfeited. " On the 29th of March, upon the petition of the officers and people, the queen consented to reduce the redemption-money imposed upon the wives and children (of Christians) who had been made slaves ; but, on the following day, the wives and children of those Christians who had suffered death were con- demned to irredeemable slavery. " The following is an enumeration of the sufferers by the late persecution : — " 18 persons put to death, viz., four by burning, and fourteen by being thrown over the rock. " 6 individuals, whose wives and children were made slaves. "27 preachers condemned to pay half the value of the persons of their wives and children. " 42 persons who brought back their books, and were to forfeit half the value of their persons and property. " 27 preachers, and those that brought their books 408 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS back from the province of Vonizongo, were to suffer the same punishment. " 1643 persons were adjudged to pay, as an atone- ment for the sin of worshipping the true God, three bullocks and three dollars each, but of which sum one-half was remitted. " 109 slaves were condemned to be flogged, with twenty stripes each, before the people, and to work in chains during the remainder of their lives. " 2 persons Avere condemned to pay fines ; one of one hundred, and the other of fifty dollars ; but one- half of the amount was afterwards remitted. " 6 persons, who had been punished before, were condemned to work in chains for their lives. " 2 slaves, one for preaching the word, were con- demned to work in chains for life. " Making altogether a total of 1903 persons who have been called to suffer the various punishments above indicated, for the alleged crime of having embraced or favoured Christianity. " On the 10th of November, the Christian officers who had lost their honours and been reduced to the rank of common soldiers, were ordered to build a stone house. On arriving at the appointed place, they had to raise the stones, and carry them to the building, for a whole year ; and they were compelled by their taskmasters to work hard every day, with- out any adequate supply of food or clothing." The violence of persecution has since greatly abated, and a dawn of brighter days now seems to be illumining Madagascar. (See Missionary Maga- zine, for Jan., 1853.) IN GENERAL. 409 The Tahitian^s Frayer. While seeking retirement for devotion about the rlawn of day, Mr. Scott, missionary at Tahiti, heard a voice at no great distance from his retreat. He distinctly recognized the voice of prayer. It was the first time that he knew that a native on Tahiti's shores had prayed to any but his idols ! It was a still and a solemn hour, In an isle of the southern seas, And slowly the shades of night were swept Away by the morning breeze; When a lonely son of Britain stood. With cheek and brow of care, Seeking amid the solitude A place for secret prayer. No ear to hear in that silent glen, No eye but the eye of God ; Yet the giant fern gave back a voice. As forth the wanderer trod. They were broken words that met his ear, And a name was murmur'd there ; It was the name of Christ he heard. And the voice of secret prayer. A native of that savage isle, From the depths of his full heart cried For mercy, for help in the hour of need, For faith in the Crucified. And peace and hope were in those tones, So solemnly sweet they were ; For He who answers while yet we call, Had blessed that secret prayer. The morning dawn'd on that lonely spot ; But a far more glorious day Came with the accents of prayer and praise, On the Indian's lips that day. 410 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS The first! the first who had call'd on God In those regions of Satan's care ! The first who had breathed in his native tongue The language of secret prayer ! Juvenile Missionary Magazine. Amongst the many honoured missionaries of this society, who have entered into rest, the learned Morrison, in China, and the martyred Williams, in Polynesia, will ever hold a chief place in the estima- tion of the Lord's people. THE WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. The body from which this great society emanates, is supposed by some to have well-nigh finished the work which Providence had assigned to it, and to be at present in a state of rapid decline. This is a great mistake. Like almost every other religious community indeed in the world, it has been lately grievously shaken from within, as well as rudely assailed from without; but the high degree of spiritual energy which continues to pervade its missionary operations (no obscure index of real vitality), betokens much real strength. The income of the Society last year was £102,730, of which £14,882 was raised by foreign auxiliaries. The number of missionaries and assistant mission- aries at present employed is 476, besides 782 cate- chists, paid teachers, &c. The income of the society, it will be seen, falls little short of that of the Fropa- ganda^ and if one looks into details for comparison's IN GENERAL, 411 sake, lie will find some despised anti-architectural meeting-house in the former connexion, raising double the whole amount which imperial Austria contributes for the foreign missions of the Church of Rome ; whilst a meeting at Exeter Hall, or an annual sermon by a Newton or a Bunting, will realize more than Wiseman's whole Church in his so-called diocese of London, or even the Papal States themselves under Pio ISTono ! The Wesleyan missions, originated by the Eev. John Wesley and Dr. Thomas Coke, have ever been marked, through much evil report and good report, by the spirit which characterized its illustrious founders : piety — zeal— loyalty to the throne and constitution of England — and the love of order and submission to " the powers that be." The missionaries of the Society are to be found in all parts of the globe. In many of the colonies they have supplied the grievous lack of service on the part of the Church of England, and have kept multitudes of our countrymen abroad, as well as at home, from sinking into actual heathenism. In some parts they have proved the pioneers of the Established Church, as may be instanced in the West Indies. The following testimony of the Chief Justice of the Island of Bermuda, in 1824, fully expresses my own sentiments, on a general review of the operations of the Society : — ** I will maintain that your missionaries, in the scene of their operations, of all others the most 412 - PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS interesting to us, I mean the West India colonies, have entitled themselves to the thanks of the Established Church, which they cannot, without being calumniated, be accused of undermining. We see a splendid religious establishment, and not more splendid than I sincerely hope it will be useful, going out to our West India colonies ; two bishops, three archdeacons, and a number of clergy. One of the principal objects of their appointment, as stated by Lord Bathurst, the Colonial Secretary of State, is to improve the religious condition of the slave population. I will maintain, therefore, that your missionaries sent from your parent society have prepared the way for this establishment ; they have been the humble but useful pioneers, who have preceded and removed impediments from its march ; and instead of being accused of a wish to subvert it, they ought to be permitted to share in its triumphs ; for what they have sown in tears the Church will reap in joy : they have, in fact, laid the foundation upon which the fabric of the Church will be reared among the slaves in the West Indies." It is not unusual to hear observations reflecting upon the qualifications of Wesleyan ministers. Such remarks proceed from persons who either have not had the opportunity of forming a correct judgment, or are so unhappily prejudiced as to do justice only to their own party. It fell to my lot in early and collegiate Hfe to know much of Methodism, and I have since had occasional opportunities of correct- ing early impressions, and I have no hesitation in IN GENERAL. 413 stating it as my opinion that of all Christian bodies in England and Ireland, the Wesley an connexion has the most efficient ministry for instructing the masses of the people, the most important, in my judgment, to be indoctrinated with Christianity as regarding our social well-being, no less than the religious character of our country ! Nor does one meet any where else so many men, Apollos-like, eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures ! "With respect to the fathers of Methodism, the real scholar- ship and high talent of John Wesley, and the more poetic genius of his brother Charles, have enriched the pages of our sacred literature, and shed no small lustre upon the country which gave them birth. The early missionary labours of John Wesley have been referred to in the previous chapter. Dr. Coke was little behind that great man, and, like a true soldier of the cross, died on his passage to India (then a long and perilous voyage), full of years and honours, in blessed hope of a joyful resurrection. Some particulars respecting him will serve to show what sort of man Coke was, and what the times were in which liis lot was cast. Prom the year 1735 Wesley had gone several times from England to North America, both to strengthen in the faith his brethren there, and also to labour for the further extension of the kingdom of God among the North American Indians. These voyages and travels having at length become too much for him at his advanced 414 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS age, he at last commended the important work to his younger friend, Coke, who, having been forbidden the pulpit in England, from the year 1780 devoted himself, with unwearied zeal, to the work of the Lord in all parts of the world. Por thirty-three years together he was incessantly en- gaged in journeys by sea and land, went nine times to America, and four times to the West Indies ; and at last, in 1813, when on a voyage to Ceylon, was suddenly called to his reward. He was one of the number who, in those earlier days, began to exert themselves for the abolition of the slave-trade, and was bitterly hated in many places on this account. But his calm intrepidity often disarmed his most rancorous oppressors. Coke, in the year 1786, on his second voyage to America, was driven by dangerous weather towards the West Indies. The crew had already given up all for lost, and the captain, a superstitious, worldly man, became still more alarmed when he saw the missionaries praying. Pointing to Coke, he went about grumbling among the sailors : " We have a Jonah on board." One day he burst into Coke's cabin, seized all the books and papers he could lay his hands on, and threw them into the sea. At the same time he gave him several blows with his fist, and swore before all the sailors, that if he prayed any more, he would throw him overboard. Coke endured all this treatment with the most perfect composure of spirit, and the captain at length resolved to steer about and make all possible way for the West Indies. Prom that IN GENERAL. 415 moment all seemed to go well with the vessel ; and without further distress it was run into Antigua harbour, on Christmas Day, 1786. Coke had with him the preachers Warrener, Clarke, and Hammett, who had been destined as missionaries to New Scotland; and he had then no idea how much they were needed in the West Indies. Besides the negro colony of the United Brethren, there were found in another part of Antigua many who were desiring Christian instruc- tion. Por as early as thirty years before, an active civil official, named Gilbert, who in England had been taken in hand by Wesley, had instructed the negroes of his plantation. After his death the little company remained as orphan children, till in 1778 a pious naval architect, named Baxter, who was also one of the Methodist connexion, gathered up the dispersed remainder of them, and in 1783 built them a chapel. More than 2000 negroes regularly attended it, and the burden of their superintendence was just then beginning to be too heavy for Baxter when Coke arrived. The latter was now obliged to have two public services every day, and the people did not rest till they prevailed with him to leave Warrener as their preacher, who thus became the first Wesleyan missionary in the West Indies. Coke found also believing negroes in Dominica, who had been instructed in the Gospel by converted negroes of the United Brethren's Church; and in St. Vincent there was such a general desire for Christian instruction that Clarke 416 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS was obliged to stay as missionary there. The negroes everywhere cried out, "The tempest has driven these men hither for our sakes." The third companion, Hammett, was left by Coke at St. Christopher's, from which island he was also to visit that of Nevis. In St. Eustachius a converted negro slave, named Sarry^ had been the means of converting a little company of his fellow slaves, but Coke's proposal of a mission was not listened to by the officers on the estates, and, moreover, poor Harry was afterwards publicly flogged there, then imprisoned for a long time, and afterwards banished the island. Coke could never suffer a field of labour which had been so wonderfully opened to him to be lost sight of. By the year 1788 he had paid a second visit to the West Indies. It was on this occasion that some pious soldiers in Barbadoes, who had become acquainted with him in America, fell upon his neck and embraced him. They were now assembled at the house of a mer- chant, named Button, who had also on his planta- tion some slaves that had been baptized by Coke. It was soon requested that Pearce, Coke's com- panion, might remain there as missionary in the Dutch island of St. Eustachius : however, the follow- ing government order had meanwhile been issued : " If a white man is found praying anywhere with any of his brethren, he shall be fined for the first and second offence, and for the third offence he shall be whipped, declared to have forfeited aU his goods and chattels, and be banished from the island. A IN GENEUAL. 417 black shall for every praying receive thirty-nine lashes, and if he is apprehended the second time he shall be whipped and banished the island. Lastly, a slave, if it appear that he has prayed, shall be flogged." Coke was obliged, in sorrow, to take leave of the negro church, consisting of 258 souls. He left, however, behind at Saba, Tortola, and Santa Cruz, indelible traces of his activity; the churches at Antigua and St. Chris- topher's had increased considerably ; and in ten islands, containing altogether a population of 200,000 negroes, there were now very promising missions set on foot. On his third missionary journey, in 1790, he visited also Grenada and Ja- maica. In the latter island a playhouse at Montego Bay was given np to him to hold meetings for worship. But at Kingston, in the same island, to which place he had sent Hammett to preach, he found this friend quite exhausted, in body and mind, as the mob had one day burst open the doors of his chapel, and treated him with such violence that he was for a considerable time confined to his bed with a severe illness, of which he died. Coke himself was now most spitefully attacked in the public papers. He, however, took the most vigorous measures and precautions ; and his loud declarations that the Church already set on foot should be put into a state of legal security by the English government, had the effect of his being permitted to leave behind him the missionary, Werrill, to preach the Gospel to the negroes. On his fourth and last missionary journey E E 418 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS to the West Indies in 1792, he had to witness a second time the rage of persecution at the islands of St. Eustachius and St. Christopher's. At the latter place it was ordered that no one should he allowed to preach to the negroes unless he had resided in the island a whole year, and had leave and license given him so to do. To the violation of this order was affixed the pain of ninety days' imprisonment for the first offence; corporeal punishment, with perpetual banishment, for the second; and for the third, the punishment of death. Coke's missionary, who had transgressed this order, was accordingly in prison and in irons at that time. Coke now applied in behalf of both islands respectively, to the English and Dutch governments at home. In Holland he was not listened to, and it was not till ten years after, that things were altered at St. Eustachius, when a new governor allowed himseK to be con- vinced of the value of the missions. But the English government sent to the West Indies for testimony respecting the Wesleyan mission there, and such a satisfactory one was returned that from that time no greater disturbance befell their labours. Within seven years 6570 negroes were converted. At that period those missions were more the business of individual friends, who supported them to the best of their ability without a society formed for the purpose ; and Coke, in particular, who had con- siderable property, gave most liberally in that way. The society for this object was not formed till the year 1816, after which the missions increased in an IN GENERAL. 419 extraordinary manner, and their intrinsic strength has been evidently manifested under persecutions which have never entirely ceased. The emancipa- tion of the negroes has contributed materially to their prosperity. BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY. This Society's income last year was £19,146. It employs 45 missionaries, 114 native preachers, and 165 assistant teachers. India has been the chief sphere of its labours, which have been there greatly honoured of God. It was much tried in the early years of its efforts, when the spirit of religious toleration was less distinctly recognized by the Eng- lish government, and the great commercial rulers of India saw so much hazard to their interest, in any attempt to propagate Christianity amongst the natives. One of the most illustrious missionaries belonged to this Society, Dr. Carey, This great man was originally by trade a shoemaker, and is said to have been so unsuccessful in that art, that he never could make a pair of shoes to match each other, or please his customer. In the debate for the renewal of the East India Company's charter, in 1813, the great Wilberforce stood forth to vindicate the missionary cause from aspersions freely cast upon it by previous speakers. India, before Carey, had seen no missionary of the EngKsh Church; and imputations could be cast E E 2 420 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS more readily on '' Anabaptists and fanatics." These attacks Wilberf or ce indignantly refuted. " I do not know," he often said, '^ sl finer instance of the moral sublime, than that a poor cobbler, work- ing in his stall, should conceive the idea of converting the Hindoos to Christianity : yet such was Dr. Carey. Why, Milton's planning his ' Paradise Lost,' in his old age and blindness, was nothing to it. And then, when he had gone to India, and was appointed by Lord Wellesley to a lucrative and honourable station in the College of Eort William, with equal nobleness of mind he made over all his salary (between £1000 and £1500 per annum) to the general objects of the mission. By the way," Mr. Wilberf or ce adds, "nothing ever gave me a more lively sense of the low and mercenary standard of your men of honour, than the manifest efiPect pro- duced upon the House of Commons by my stating this last circumstance. It seemed to me the only thing which moved them." — Zife of Wilberf orce. The Baptist Missionary Society, like the body from which it springs, seems less catholic than any of the great Protestant Christian Societies of England, except, perhaps, our own, the Society for Propagating the Gospel. The cause is one and the same in both — the magnifying of ordinances above their real value, and the converting things left open to Chris- tian liberty by the Scriptures, into dogmas of certain and necessary belief. Extreme dissenters and high- churchmen seem formed of the same psychological materials. IN GENEBAL. 421 ** In the East Indies," (I quote from the last Re- port,) ''thirty-live brethren are actively engaged in the work of God, having under their care churches numbering upwards of two thousand members; of whom about seventeen hundred are converts from heathenism, or from the false religion of Mahom- med. In this noble enterprise they are assisted by a numerous band of native preachers. India and Ceylon abound in gratifying proofs of the gradual, yet certain, enlightenment of the native population by the preaching of the Gospel. Everywhere crowds listen eagerly to the message of eternal life, and as eagerly receive the books distributed with the greatest care by the missionary. Education is ear- nestly sought after by the youth, and, even at the risk of conversion, Hindoo parents choose in prefer- ence, missionary schools for the instruction of their children. In Benares itself, the holiest of Indian cities, Brahmins discuss with each other in their private meetings the evidences of Christianity, while converted natives openly challenge their former associates to a searching investigation of their creed. It is also a sign of the increasing confidence of the converts, that native missionary societies are being formed ; as for example in Calcutta, where the native brethren have founded an association, of which the venerable Shujaat Ali is president. In the second year of its existence it has opened two chapels or preaching places in the city, supports one native preacher, and spreads, by means of its own members, the knowledge of Christ in various 422 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS parts of the suburbs. In other places, in a man- ner the most unlocked for, divine truth is found to have taken root beyond the eye and the personal influence of the missionary. Of this, interesting examples are found in the case of the weaver and his family some thirty miles from Monghir, and there is a still more remarkable case in the district of Comilla, near Chittagong. In the latter instance a large number of persons, aboat 120, were led to seek after Christ by the perusal of a few books that at some fair had fallen into the hands of a Brahmin. The scorching sun of persecution had not burnt up the tender plant, and so advanced were they in Christian knowledge, that some thirteen were shortly aftei^ Mr. Johannes' visit baptized into Christ, and others will speedily follow. Invitations have come to our brethren from remote quarters to visit districts into which some portion of light had penetrated, and excited a desire for more. " Other general influences are likewise operating most effectually to undermine the fabric of Hin- dooism. Caste is relaxing its hold upon the people. By some it is openly despised. Others seek to lessen the stringency of its rules. In every pre- vious era of India's history its conquerors have gradually yielded to the power of Hindoo social institutions ; for the first time they are giving way. England's ideas of law, of right, and of morals, with England's Christianity, are mightier than they. The intolerant precepts of Menu are set aside, new modes of thought are rapidly spreading ; and science IN GENERAL. 423 is doing her part to uproot the dreams of Brahmin- ical theology. * The |impressioii/ says Mr. George Pearce, in a recent letter, 'that has been made upon my mind beyond what I have ever received in former journeys, is, that the confidence of the people in Hindooism is gone. Their manner, their tone, their confessions, on many occasions, made me feel this in no ordinary degree.' " There are other missionary societies besides those which have been referred to, originating in England, well worthy of lengthened notice did space permit. The Colonial Missionary Society, which labours to supply the spiritual destitution of the colonies, inde- pendently of the Church of England (Office, 4, Blom- field Street, London). The British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel amongst the Jews, which employs 19 mis- sionaries abroad and at home, all but three of whom are of the seed of Abraham. The monthly organ of this society, the Jewish Herald (Partridge and Oakey), is a publication full of interest and information, respecting God's ancient people. The Chinese Evangelization Society, lately formed, the chief distinctive feature of which (and this a most interesting one), is the employment, as mis- sionaries, of medical men in whose hearts glow the love of souls, and zeal for the glory of Christ, who, whilst ministering to the temporal well-being of their suffering fellow-creatures, may tell them of the great and good Physician of souls. 4i24i PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS The Chinese and General Missionary Gleaner (Partridge and Oakey), is the organ of the asso- ciation ; and the friends of China would do well to promote its circulation. It is a most instructive and pleasing monthly epitome of missionary intelligence, and it costs only one penny. THE SOCIETY FOU PROMOTING FEMALE EDTJCATIOUsr IN THE EAST. Letters may be directed to the secretary, care of Mr. Suter, 32, Cheap side, for the latest information respecting this important mission, and the devoted Christian ladies who have gone forth, under the auspices of the Society, to their most trying and arduous labours. The communications, from time to time published, are intensely interesting and aflPecting. Every Christian mother should read them. " The sphere for the exertions of the society is enlarged year by year," says the last report. " Ap- plications from China show that female teachers are greatly needed to follow the heralds of the Gospel wherever their message has been received In India there has been awakened a desire for edu- cation, even among the higher classes of natives, and many interesting instances have come to light of husbands instructing their wives, and brothers their sisters, in the knowledge which they had obtained from European teachers. To meet the demand which is hence arising, a training school, on a superior scale, has been commenced at Calcutta; and the IN GENERAL. 425 committee have been happy to testify to its pro- jectors the interest and pleasure with which they welcome them as fellow-labourers in supplying the vast wants of their benighted sisters. One fact, which speaks plainly of the revolution of Hindoo feeling in regard to the instruction of females, may be mentioned — that a native rajah has recently arrived in London, with the avowed purpose of obtaining for his little daughter, who accompanies him, the benefit of an English education. The committee have further been much interested by representations made to them of the growing desire, on the part of ladies in Persia, to obtain the advantages of education which English ladies possess ; and there is reason to hope that permission will be granted to send qualified teachers to Teheran or Ispahan. This probable opening the committee especially commend to the consideration of ladies, who, having had experience in teaching among the higher ranks of our own nation, might there find all their valuable acquirements an offering accept- able to the Lord, for the promotion of his cause. To the same class of their fellow-countrywomen they would also commend the opening at Damascus, which presents a large sphere of usefulness, waiting for suitable agents to come forward.'' Concerning the training scJiool referred to, the reader may learn, by application direct to my very good friend, Mr. Suter himself. Mr. Suter is the honoured father of the two accomplished and devoted ladies who have given 426 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS themselves to tlie Lord for the great work of train- ing up Christian native females in India, as teach- ers; in order to meet the new and strong desire springing up (a most happy omen of future good), for the education of females amongst the middle and upper classes. It will not lessen the interest of my readers in this nohle and philanthropic enterprise of those Christian women, to hear that they are the grand- daughters of Major-General Andrew Burn, whose conversion and after life form so instructive and edifying a part in the Christian biography of England. I must not pass over the 'Fatagonicm mission, which lately terminated so fatally to all who en- gaged in it. It is too easy and too common to run down unsuccessful enterprises ; especially if they have a spiritual object in view. The mission to Picton Island has thus been treated in our day by a host of public writers, under the leadership of that powerful paper, which aims at expressing, as it generally does, it is freely acknowledged, the public voice. Other powerful writers for the public, however, have shown, in this instance, a clearer discern- ment of what is noble and great. Thus the London Spectator writes : — " It needs no concurrence in the special enter- prise of the Patagonian missionaries to witness, with something more than admiration, the heroism of Commander Gardiner and his companions^ — their IN GENERAL. 427 devotion, their patience, their faithfal kindness to each other. Even the cry that is raised against such missions, because in this case they have proved Wasteful of human life, is but partially true. The very astonishment betrayed by so many ' gentlemen of England, who stay at home at ease,' shows how much we require a memento that the power of heroic endurance, on behalf of conviction, has not died out of the blood of our race. But besides acci- dental examples, like that of the Birkenhead, at the southern extremity of Africa, we may cite Eranklin and his companions, lost in Arctic America, wander- ing in search of facts to round off scientific truth ; and now Gardiner and his companions perish at the other end of the vast double continent, carrying the gospel of their faith. The spectacle of the religious zeal which sustained them — which lifted them above their sufferings, and made them rejoice in the very midst of death, is not altogether unknown to us even here; but displayed on such a scene, it acquires a grandeur, an emphasis, a reality, that must have, to our worldly-wise, the moral efPect of a novelty, and a surprise not uninstructive. Surely the spirit which incites such men to raise glorious monu- ments in the most distant quarters of the globe, is not 'waste?' " Nor is every mission to be judged by its first failure. Many a ditch, before a beleaguered fort, has been filled with the bodies of those who were first amongst the victors ; were such soldiers defeated ? *' No doubt the conduct of the missionaries is a 428 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS gross violation of the economical-moral aphorism, ' Each for himself, and God for ns all.' The devoted hand held, that a trust in Divine Power was not incompatihle with service under that power ; they held, that each should work for the rest, not except- ing even the Patagonian ; and we have an idea that such views helong to a faith not altogether unknown to this country, though chiefly by name — Christian- ity. It may be surprising, indeed, that, whatever convictions they had, they should have acted upon them — that they should have persevered, in spite of 'difficulties,' nay, against their own 'interest!' Such heroic devotion must seem obsolete in the view of the new philosophy; but one great fact proves that it still possesses a stronger hold over the hearts, even of the 'gentlemen of England,' than that self-sufficient philosophy, and that fact is, the instant, irresistible burst of sympathy. They buried themselves on the desert shore ; but the whole people of England attends their funeral." The following are copious extracts from Captain Morshead's thrilling report on the subject, to E-ear- Admiral Moresby, transmitted to the Admiralty, and published all through England at the time : — " Her Majesty's Ship Dido. "Sir, — In compliance with orders from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, dated October 25, 1851, directing me to ascertain the fate of Captain Gardiner and his missionary party in Tierra del Euego, on my way to the Pacific, it is my melan- IN GENERAL. 4^29 choly duty to report, for their lordships' informa- tion, that the whole party have perished hy starva- tion. " Having received information from the Rev. G. P. Despard, of E^edland, Bristol, honorary secretary to the Patagonian Missionary Society, I learnt that the party, consisting of Captain Allen Gardiner, B>.N., superintendent ; Mr. Williams, surgeon and catechist; Mr. Maidment, catechist; John Erwin, carpenter ; John Badcock, John Bryant, and John Pearce, Cornish fishermen, left England in Sep- tember, 1850, in the barque Ocean Queen; also learnt that stores had been forwarded to them in June last, md the Palkland Islands; and, should the party be unable to maintain their position at Picton Island, Beagle Channel, being provided with partially-docked launches, that they would fall back on Staten Island. Having called at the Palkland Islands and embarked these stores, consisting of thirty casks, cases, &c., I sailed thence on the 6th of January, 1852, and stood along the north coast of Staten Island with large ensigns flying at the mast- heads to attract attention, and fired shotted guns into the mouths of St. John's Harbour, Cook's Harbour, and New Year's Harbour ; and, observing a flagstaff erected with a flag on it in New Year's Island, I came to an anchor under it at 8 o'clock on Sunday evening, the 19th of January " The following day, January 20, was devoted to scouring the coast and the adjacent islet ; and, after many hours of fruitless search, without a sign of the 430 PEOTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS party, and when on the point of giving them up, some writing was seen on a rock across the river, which we instantly made for, and found written — ' Go to Spaniard Harbour.' " Accordingly, the next morning, January 21, I sailed early for Spanish Harbour, and entered it on the same evening, at seven o'clock. Our notice was first attracted by a boat lying on the beach about one mile and a half inside of Cape Kinnaird ; it was blowing very fresh from the south, and the ship rode uneasily at her anchor. I instantly sent Lieutenant Pigott and Mr. Roberts, the master, to reconnoitre and return immediately, as I was anxious to get the ship to sea again in safety for the night ; they re- turned shortly, bringing some books and papers, having discovered the bodies of Captain Gardiner and Mr. Maidment, unburied "I landed early the next morning (January 22), and visited the spot where Captain Gardiner and his comrade were lying, and then went to the head of the harbour vrith Lieutenant Gaussen, Mr, Roberts, and Evan Evans, the surgeon. We found there the wreck of a boat, with part of her gear and stores, with quantities of clothing, with the remains of two bodies, which I conclude to be Mr. Williams (sur- geon), and John Pearce (Cornish fisherman), as the papers clearly show the death and burial of all the rest of the mission party "Their remains were collected together and buried close to this spot, and the funeral service read by- Lieutenant Underwood ; a small inscription was IN GENERAL. 431 placed on the rock, near his own tent ; the colours of the boats and ships struck half-mast, and three volleys of musketry, were the only tribute I could pay to this lofty-minded man and his devoted com- panions, who have perished in the cause of the Gospel " In looking over the papers found in the cavern, I am enabled to trace out the wanderings, and many of the sufferings which beset the party up to the time of their unhappy end. ..... *' Having arrived at Picton Island on the 5th of December, 1850, they landed and pitched their tents on the 6th, but were compelled to re-embark in con- sequence of the annoyance of the natives, until their boats could be got ready. Their boats were named the Fioneer and Speedwell; and they finally disem- barked, and slept in them on December 18. The ship sailed the next day, and their troubles seem to have commenced. "Both boats immediately got under weigh for the opposite shore, on the south coast of Terra-del-Puego, to a place they have named Bloomfield Harbour, as the natives annoyed them ; but before clearing the anchorage, the Speedwell got on the rocks, lost her anchor, and injured her rudder ; it appears to have been blowing fresh, as both boats swamped their dingies, and lost them. The Pioneer reached Bloom- field Harbour, but returned again the next day, and joined the Speedwell, Both boats then weighed for Bloomfield Harbour, but on this occasion the JPioneer grounded, and the Speedwell, having been out all 432 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS night, rejoined her next morning. On January 6, I find both boats in Lennox Harbour, where they had gone to beach them and stop their leaks ; but in tacking, the JPioneer was thrown by a squall into a nest of rocks, and she was not afloat again till the 17th of January. They left Lennox Harbour on the 20th of January for Bloomfield Harbour, to refit their boats ; but, finding the natives there in great force, they bore up for Spaniard Harbour, which they reached on the 24th of January. " Here they seemed to have experienced many vicissitudes from the surf and storms, till the 1st of February, when the Fioneer was driven on the rocks, her bow stove in, and irreparable. The party in this boat took to a cavern, but finding it damp, and the tide washing into it, they hauled the wreck of the JPioneer higher up on the beach, and, covering her with a tent, they made a dormitory of her, the Speedwell being higher up at the mouth of a river, which they named Cook's Uiver, after a lady bene- factress to the mission. " Peb. 18. — The tide rose higher than usual, and I find the following remark by Captain Gardiner : — * The box which contained my most valuable books and papers was floating about in the surf, and the beach strewn with its contents in all directions.' By this unforeseen accident Host a Reference Bible, my private journal, and some useful memorandums, chiefly on missionary subjects, which I have been collecting for years ; also my rings, and a purse containing £8. 8s., all the money I possessed, with the IN GENERAL. 483 exception of 6d., in copper. All my warm clothing was washed away, but, providentially, thrown up again by the tide in the course of two or three days. " Feb. 28. — Mr. Williams is unwell in the boat, and Captain Gardiner removes to a tent, to make more room '' July 4. — Having been seven weeks on short allowance, and latterly even this having been cur- tailed, the party are utterly helpless. Everything found in the shape of food is cooked and eaten — a penguin, a shag, a half- devoured fish washed upon the shore, and even the salted fox, washed out of the cavern, is thrown up again on the beach, and used for food. Captain Gardiner ^vrites : — ' We have now remaining half a duck, about one pound of salt pork, the same quantity of damaged tea, a very little rice (a pint), two cakes of chocolate, four pints of peas, to which I may add six mice. The mention of this last item in our list of provisions may startle some of our friends, should it ever reach their ears, but, circumstanced as we are, we partake of them with a relish, and have already eaten several of them. " July 20. — They are reduced to living on muscles, and feel the want of food, and sometimes the craving of hunger is distressing to them. Captain Gardiner writes : — ' After living on muscles for a fortnight, I was compelled to give them up; my food is now muscle broth, and the soft part of limpets.' " July 28. — Captain Gardiner writes of the party in the other boat, — * They are all extremely weak F F 434 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS and helpless ; even their garden seeds used for broth are now all out.' " August 14. — Captain Gardiner takes to his bed, but a rock weed is discovered, which they boil down to a jelly, and find nourishment from. " August 23. — John Irwin dies. " August 26. — J. Bryant dies, and Mr. Maidment buries them both in one grave. " John Pearce, the remaining boatman, is cast down at the loss of his comrades, and wandering in his mind, but Mr. Williams is somewhat better. " Sept. 3. — Mr. Maidment has never recruited from that day of bodily and mental exertion. The remaining remarks I transcribe literally, they must speak for themselves. '' * Sept. 3. — Wishing, if possible, to spare him (Mr. Maidment) the trouble of attending on me, and for the mutual comfort of all, I purposed, if practicable, to go to the river and take up my quar- ters in the boat. This was attempted on Saturday last. Peeling that without crutches I could not pos- sibly efiPect it, Mr. Maidment most kindly cut me a pair (two forked sticks), but it was with no slight exertion and fatigue, in his weak state. We set out together, but soon found that I had not strength to proceed, and was obliged to return before reaching the brook on our own beach. Mr. Maidment was so exhausted yesterday that he did not rise from his bed until noon, and I have not seen him since, con- sequently I tasted nothing yesterday. I cannot leave the place where I am, and know not whether IN GENERAL. 435 he is in the body, or enjoying the presence of the gracious God whom he has served so faithfully. I am writing this at ten o'clock in the forenoon. Blessed be my heavenly Pather for the many mercies I enjoy — a comfortable bed, no pain, or even cravings of hunger ; though excessively weak, scarcely able to turn in my bed, at least it is a very great exertion ; but I am, by His abounding grace, kept in perfect peace, refreshed with a sense of my Saviour's love, and an assurance that all is wisely and mercifully appointed, and pray that I may receive the full blessing which it is doubtless designed to bestow. My care is all cast upon God, and I am only waiting His time and His good pleasure to dispose of me as he shall see fit. Whether I live or die may it be in Him ; I commend my body and my soul to His care and keeping, and earnestly pray that He will take my dear wife and children under the shadow of His wings ; comfort, guard, strengthen, and sanctify them wholly ; that we may together, in a brighter and eternal world, praise and adore His goodness and grace in redeeming us with His precious blood, and plucking us as brands from the burning, to be- stow upon us the adoption of children, and make us inheritors of His heavenly kingdom. — Amen. " ' Thursday, Sept. 4. — There is no now no room to doubt that my dear fellow-labourer has ceased from his earthly toils, and joined the company of the redeemed in the presence of the Lord, whom he served so faithfully; under these circumstances it was a merciful providence that he left the boat, as I FF 2 436 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS could not have removed the body. He left a little peppermint-water which he had mixed, and it has been a great comfort to me, but there was no other to drink; fearing I might suffer from thirst, I prayed that the Lord would strengthen me to pro- cure some. He graciously answered my petition, and yesterday I was enabled to get out and scoop up a sufficient supply from some that trickled down from the stern of the boat, by means of one of my India-rubber overshoes. '^ ^ Priday, Sept. 5. — Great and marvellous are the loving-kindnesses of my gracious God unto me. He has preserved me hitherto, and for four days, although without bodily food, without any feeling of hunger or thirst.' " These last remarks are not written so plainly as the previous day's, and I concluded that they were the last ; but I find another paper, dated Sept. 6th, addressed to Mr. Williams, and written in pencil, the whole being very indistinct, and some parts quite obliterated, but nearly as follows : — " ' My dear Mr. Williams, — The Lord has seen fit to call home another of our little company. Our dear departed brother left the boat on Tuesday after- noon, and has not since returned. Doubtless he is in the presence of his Redeemer, whom he served faithfully. Yet a little while, and though . . . the Almighty to sing the praises . . . throne. I neither hunger nor thirst, though . days with- out food . . . Maidment's kindness to . . . heaven. " ' Your affectionate brother in . . " ' September 6, 1851. Allen F. Gardiner.' IN GENERAL. . 437 " Erom the above extracts I must therefore con- clude that the two bodies found at Cook's River were those of Mr. Williams and J. Pearce, and, con- sidering their weak state, it is unreasonable to suppose they could have survived Captain Gardiner, who could scarcely have lived over the 6th of Sep- tember, 1851. '' I will offer no opinion on the missionary labour of Captain Gardiner and the party, beyond its being marked by an earnestness and devotion to the cause ; but, as a brother officer^ I beg to record my admira- tion of Ids conduct in the moment of peril and danger, and his energy and resources entitle him to high professional credit. At one time I find him surrounded by hostile natives, and dreading an attack, yet forbearing to fire ; and the savages, awed and subdued by the solemnity of his party kneeling down in prayer. At another, having failed to heave off his boat when on the rocks, he digs a channel under her, and diverts a fresh water stream into it ; and I find him making an anchor by filling an old bread cask with stones, heading it up, and securing wooden crosses over the heads with chain. " There could not be a doubt as to the ultimate success of a mission here, if liberally supported ; but I venture -to express a hope that no society will hazard another without intrusting their supplies to practical men acquainted with commercial affairs, who would have seen, at a glance, the hopeless improbability of any ship not chartered for the occa- sion sailing out of her way, breaking her articles, 438 PROTESTANT CHRISTIAN MISSIONS and forfeiting her insurance, for the freightage of a few stores from the Palkland Islands. Painful and unsatisfactory as my report of the fate of the party is, I trust it may be considered conclusive by their Lordships, and setting at rest any further anxiety on the part of their sorrowing friends. "I have, &c., " W. H. MoRSHEAD, Captain. " Eear-Admiral Moresby, C.B." Auxiliary to all our missionary societies, in an eminent degree, are the British and Foreign Bible Society, and the Beligious Tract Society. The receipts of the former last year amounted to no less a sum than £108,449. The income of the latter reached £62,169. The value of the Bible Society's labours can hardly be overrated. They have reached unto the ends of the earth, and have made themselves felt in the most widely distant and dissimilar countries, Protestant and Popish, Mahommedan and Pagan. By the adoption of the system of colportage it has become a Missionary, as well as a Bible Society. Devoted men, employed in this work, may now be met with in almost every country : on the banks of the Black Sea ; in Anatolia, and the Holy Land ; in India and Australia ; in British North America and our West India Islands; in Tunis and Morocco. Long and increasingly may it prosper, continually putting forth new strength, and fresh efforts, for the IN GENERAL. 439 furtherance of the Gospel. Its glory however is dimmed, and its usefulness retarded, by one or two things, to which in justice I must here refer. Its assemblies begin and conclude without prayer. Secret prayer may be offered, and doubtless is, by all believing persons, when they meet to promote its objects ; but there is no open, common acknow- ledgment of the needed presence of the God of the Bible, by any act of devotion, unless irregularly introduced by the presiding person. Hence con- scientious objections to the Society led to the form- ation of the Trinitarian Bible Society, some years back. It is high time that those societies should be one again, and that an unholy compromise with those who "deny the Lord that bought them" be for ever dissolved. A prayer in form, or a prayer uttered without one, would be felt by evangelical Dissenters, I am sure, and Churchmen alike a great relief, attract more to the support of the cause, and infuse a spuit into the Society of incalculable value, infinitely above that of commercial activity, or enter- prizing philanthropy. The other matter, with which I think grave fault is to be found, is the production of cheap Bibles, &c., by the undue depression of the wages of the opera- tives employed. The cheapening of Bibles to lOc^. and 8(i. and of Testaments to 4 29 Montgomery (renewed 1827) ) Moriah Bambey (renewed 1840) Paramaribo (2 Stations) Charlottenburg Salem, on the Nickery . . Rust-en-Werk Liliendal Mynvermaak Warappa- Creek 3,652 3,929 2,136 y 54 Bluefields Genadendal (renewed 1792) Groenekloof Enon, on the Witte Revier . . Robben-Island Elim Sliiloh, on the Klipplaat . . Clarkson Mamre Goshen Lake Boga, in Port Phillip. . [New Fairfield, U. Canada . . Westfield, Missouri New Spring Place Canaan Woodstock Mills, &c Nain Okkak Hopedale Hebron New-Herrnhut Lichtenfels Lichtenau Fredericksthal 6,935 30 1,308 Total Stations 70 .. Missionaries •286 Total under Instruction 69,436, of whom nearly 21,000 are Communicants. • The wives of the Missionaries are included. 12 For many years, the increasing burthen of pecuniary expense at- tending these Missions has been much more than the Brethren were able to bear, and they are, at the present time, dependant chiefly on other communities of Christians for the means of continuing their interesting and invaluable work. The five new or further extended fields of labour upon which they are entering, will oblige them to look still more for that brotherly assistance. Of an annual expenditure regulated by the most rigid economy, of about 12,000^., the Brethren can raise among their own body scarcely a fourth part. Thus unless they are liberally and constantly assisted by others, the most distress- ing embarrassment must be experienced. — But can such assistance be denied them ^ The Bretlu-en are prepared to persevere, in simplicity and humility, in their labour of love, and have cheerfully given them- selves to the Lord for this service in far greater numbers, compara- tively, than any other Church. It is computed that nearly one in forty of their members becomes a Missionary, while the supplies they require, are of the most frugal description. The Missionaries receive no stated salary, but having food and raiment are therewith content, and they confidently trust, that He who said to His disciples, when He sent them forth to teach the nations, ^ Lo! I am with you always even to the end of the world,^ and again, 'take no thought' for outward things, ' for your heavenly Father hnow^th that ye have need of such things,' will not leave them destititute of personal support, but will still continue to them the opportunity to gather and to feed that portion of the flock of Christ from among the Heathen, whom it is the Divine purpose, through their instrumentality, to 'deliver from the power of darkness, and translate into the kingdom of God's dear Son.' ^ » — Such persons as may be disposed to render pecuniary assistance to these valu- able Missions, may contribute either to the ** General Fund," to the " Negro School Fund," or to that branch of it, applicable to the " Jamaica Free Schools," through the London Association in aid op the Moravian Missions, who will thankfully receive and transmit their contributions. This Institution interferes in no respect with the management of the Missions, but has in view to make them better known, and to gather the bounty of other communities for the assistance of a very small and less wealthy Church, a large proportion of the members of which, willingly offer themselves for the most arduous labours in the Christian vineyard. Patron.TRE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF HARROWBY. Vice-Patrons, THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF SHAFTESBURY, AND LORD HENRY CHOLMONDELEY. President, J. W. WARREN, Esq.-Treasurer, WILLIAM LEACH, Esq. Hon. Sees. Rev. H. HUTTON, M.A. Rectory, Covent Garden.— REY. JAMES STRATTEN. Corresp. Secretary, Mr. ROBERT WERK.— Collector, Mr. R. WATKINS, Jun. Offics of the Association, 28, Charles-street, Parliament' steeet. Subscriptions are received, in London, by the Treasurer, at the Office of the Association : by Messrs. Smiths, Lombard-street ; Williams and Co., Birchin Lane ; Rouverie and Co., U, Haymarket ; Hatchard, 187, Piccadj^^yy and Nisbet and Co., 21, Berners Street. And in the Country, by Messrs. Miles, Harford, and Co., Bristol ; Hurley and Co., Lewes ; Hall, West, and Co., Brighton ; Gurney and Co., Norwich and Lynii ; Robert Sevan, Esq., Bury St. Edmund's; Messrs. Attwood and Co., Birmingham; Smith and Co., Derby, Nottingham, and Lincoln ; 3. Fred. Foster, Esq., Manchester ; James Mont- gomery, Esq., jJAf^eW ; and E. Elwin, Esq., Dover. Jaques & Son, Printers, 30, Kenton Street, Bloomsbuqr. APPEAL IN BEHALF OF THE ESTABLISHED 1780, FOR SUPPLYING SAILORS AND SOLDIERS WITH THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, ALSO A Brief View of the Origin and Progress of the Society. THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF CHOLMONDELEY. HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY. HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF MANCHESTER, &c. &c. &c. The varied and extensive operations of the Naval and Military Bible Society being necessarily accompanied by a constant demand for the Holy Scriptures, to meet which the income of the Society is inade- quate, the Committee feel it to be incumbent upon them to urge its claims to the liberal support of every Briton, whether connected with the Navy, the Army, or with the Commercial Marine in all its branches; or partaking in common of that national security, prosperity, and domestic peace, preserved to us, under Providence, by these great bulwarks of our land. A brief outline of the Society's history, and of its proceedings, is therefore submitted to the favourable consideration of the Public. It will be in the recollection of many, that a considerable body of origin. Troops was assembled in Hyde Park, in the year 1779, to preserve the peace of the metropolis. A humble individual, who vvitnesse' to Sailors, on their arrival at our ports, the Holy Scriptures at very reduced prices. Nor are these efforts limited to Great Britain, but extended toour distant Colonies: where, (as well as at home,) in addition to an eH^'ective dis- tribution of Bibles and Testaments to Sailors, Soldiers, &c., for iiidi- vidual appropriation, every opportunity is embraced of placinir them in Barrack Rooms, Guard Rooms, Hospitals, and prisoners' cells, for general use. Great Britain is distinguished from all other nations by the number of rebgious and benevolent Institutions it so liberally supports ; but if any Society were to be selected, the immediate objects of whose solicitude are most truly national and important, doubtless tlieNaval and Military Bible Society would be fixed upon. For, if any portion of the community can Claims. claim the warmest sympathies of Britons, it is that part, who quit their families at an early period of life, to devote themselves to the best in- terests of their beloved country, whether in its defence, or in carrying on its commercial enterprise; most of whom are in isolated groui)s, excluded from the ordinary means of grace. To enlarge here, or press the paramount claims of Soldiers and Sailors to the notice or gratitude of their countrymen, is superfluous; nor can the whole that might be offered on this subject be better summed up than in the just and gene- rous sentiment of a reverend gentleman at Bath, who, pleading in behalf of the Society, said, "On most other occasions, when convened together, we meet to confer a boon ; but here (in aid of the Naval and Military Bible Society,) our duty is to discharge a debt." Whilst, however, it may not be deemed requisite to enforce the peculiar demands which these brave men present to the grateful re- membrance of their countrymen at large, it is but justice to press their necessities upon public 'notice; and in doing so, to quote the testi- mony of a highly respectable Missionary from the Society Islands; who, m remarking on the injurious influence of British example, (as exemplified by Sailors who frequently visit these islands,) has stated, that it was not uncommon for the native Islanders, shocked at the profanity exhibited bv these poor neglected men, to repair to the Missionary, and simply in- quire, ** Who is the God of Sailors? Surely not the Lord Jehovah, whom' the Bible teaches us to worship 1" As an encouragement pre- sented to the friends of the Society, two simple facts out of many are selected from the correspondence: — the first, that of some British Soidurs Soldiers, who fell into the hands of the French, prior to the peace of Pans, and were confined prisoners at Besan9on : here such a desire was excited to be possessed of the Word of God, that between twenty and thirty manu- script copies of the New Testament were actually made by the^e indivi- duals.—The other, more recent, is contained in a letter froni the Captain ^^iicus. of a Ime-of-battle ship, in the following words:— "As it has always been my opinion, that books purchased, at however low a price, are more ap- preciated and better taken care of by individuals, than when supplied gratis, it became an object with me rather to delay the distributing of these books uenerally, supplying at first those only whose better fore- sioht had indu<:ed them to reserve from their advance-money a suffi- ciency for that purpose. This had the effect 1 desired; and it is only justice to say, that several, who had no other means of raising cash, begged to have, some the whole, and others, half of their allowance of grog stop- ped, until the accumulation of short-allowance money was equal to the purchase of the book they wished for." — It is to these men, who are un- accustomed to tiike thoujj^ht for the morrow, that the Naval and Military Bible Society, with unceasinc^ vigilance, seeks to give that book which teaches them to fear God and honoj^r the King; to do the duties of their station of life, " not with eye-service as men-pleasers" ; " but with good will doing service, as to the Lord." At the Public Anniversary Meetings of the Society, it is most cheer- ing to the pious mind to behold Officers of all ranks and ages, joining to bear one uniform testimony to the great practical good effected by this Society, and to the beneficial influence of the sacred volume on the con- duct of those brave men with whom they have served, and with whom many have shed their blood in their country's cause. The limits of this brief view will not admit of entering into details, although they abound with most interesting facts. A General Officer who had commanded Her Majesty's 73d regiment for three years in India, stated that during that period he never had occasion to punish a single man: each soldier possessed his Bible; and the regiment was not more conspicuous for gallantry in the field, than distinguished for the sober, steady conduct of the men in quarters. — One of the most distinguished Generals in the British Service, in cheerfully granting permission to have the Holy Scriptures placed in Barrack Rooms, &c., said " I have no doubt the Bibles and Testaments will do good. When I was a Subaltern there was no such thing stirring, and no one but he who has been an eye-witness to the fact, can form a compa- rison as to the moral improvement which has taken place in the charncter of our Soldiers since that period : and I have no doubt at all, but that a great deal of it may be attributed to the efforts of your Society in circu- lating the Scriptures iimong them." Pitcairn's Island also affords a most striking instance of the benefits re- sulting from the distribution of a single Bible ; the hardy mutineer, ready to imbrue his hands in blood, was turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, through a copy of the Scriptures, which there is every reason to believe, was furnished by this Society to His Majesty's Ship Bounty; and which was providentially saved from the wreck. It was made unto him the *« savour of life unto life"; and like a Patriarch of old, in primitive simplicity, he trained up more than one generation to call Emmanuel blessed. ■^he above incident has received a striking confirmation through the tes- timony of the late esteemed Capt. J. Jones, R.N., who visited Pitcairn's Isle in command of one of H.M. ships, in 184!2; and whose interesting address on this subject is recorded in the Society's Report of 1843. The testimony of two Captains of the Royal Navy, delivered at the Society's Anniversary Meetings, is of sufficient importance to warrant the insertion of a short extract from their speeches, proving the value of the Bible to Seamen in times of extreme hardship and danger. Captain Sir John Franklin said, " I can have no hesitation in speaking of the mercies of God personally to myself, nor of his wondrous works among the children of men; for sure I am, that amidst the various trying scenes of professional life in which it has been my lot to be cast, neither I, nor those associated with me, could have borne up against them, but for the support of religion. This conviction constrains me to implore the blessing of God upon this Society; for considering the peculiar line of life in which our Soldiers and Sailors move^ their early entrance into the service; their want of experience) their perils by sea and land ; the temptations to which they are exposed; all these render it essential that their minds should be strengthened, by that alone which can efficiently doit— the AVordofGod." Captain Sir Wm. Edward Parry also, thus spake : ** On the para- capt. sir mount, the overwhelnjin^r importance of religious instruction in jj-enerai, parry^R.N. it is not my intention to intrude any remarks: it is to the effects of such instruction on the minds and conduct of Seamen in particular, that I wish to confine my observations. This I am the more anxious to do, because I know that there are many of my own profession, even amon*^ those who are disposed to treat reliyjion and its obligations at least with respect, who yet consider any high attainments in it incompatible with the temporal duties of Seamen; and it is principally with a view to combat so erroneous a notion that I now venture to offer my humble testimony. " I have lately had the honour, and I may truly say the happiness, of commanding British Seamen under circumstances requiring the utmost activity, implicit and immediate obedience, and the most rigid attention to discipline and good order; and 1 am sure that the maintenance of all these among us was, in a great measure, owing to the blessing of God upon our humble endeavours to improve the religious and moral cha- racter of our men. In the schools established on board our ships during the winter, religion was made the primary object; and the result was every way gratifying and satisfactory. It has convinced me, that true religion is so far from being a hindrance to the arduous duties of that station in which it has pleased Providence to cast the Seaman's lot, that, on the contrary, it will always incite him to their performance, from the highest and most powerful of motives; and 1 will venture to predict, that in proportion as this spring of action is more and more introduced among our Sailors, they will become such as every Englishman would wish to see them. To this fact, at least, I can, on a small scale, bear the most decided testimony j and the friends of religion will feel a plea- sure in having the fact announced, that the very best Seamen on board the Hecla — such, I mean, as were always called upon in any cases of ex- traordinary emergency — were, without exception, those who had thought the most seriously on religious subjects; and that if a still more scrupu- lous selection were to be made out of that number, the choice would fall, without hesitation, on two or three individuals possessing dispositions and sentiments eminently christian.'* The Committee is still encouraged to rely, under Divine Providence, on the kind exertions which their friends are making- in various ways, to increase the funds of the Society; and they rejoice to perceive, that while there is not a portion of the g-lobe that does not testify to the Christian liberality of Britain's sons and daugfhters, a sense of pious concern for the long--neg-lected state of our Sailors and Soldiers seems g-enerally to prevail. — Whatever may have been done for the spiritual welfare of our brave defenders, it is still an undeniable fact that much remains to be accomplished: and every Briton must surely feel it an incumbent duty to endeavour, by the constant and more general supply of the Bible, to shield from the deadliest foe to man, those who have boldly interposed their own persons to ward off the blows aimed at his happiness and home. During* a succession of labours for more than half a century, the Society has had its share of anxieties and vicissitudes ; but thoug-h oft in perils, in weariness, and painfulness, in watching-s often, it can with the Apostle grate- fully exclaim, " Having- therefore obtained help of God, we continue unto this day.'' Under the strongest impression of the benefits of the Naval and Military Bible Society — under the fullest conviction that it has carried, does carry, and will every day, under the blessing- of God Almighty, continue to carry knowledge to the ignorant, comfort to the miserable, and sanctification to the unholy ; — that through the gracious influences of that Spirit of Truth, whose sacred word it disseminates, it will still lead many a poor guilty soul to that cross where never suppliant sued in vain for mercy — the Committee would, with unfeigned gratitude for past mercies, commit their cause unto God as unto a faithful Creator, humbly praying, that the word of His Grace may have free course and be glorified, may spread as far, as wide, and as deep, as the wants, and miseries, and sins, of a fallen and a guilty world! By order of the Committee. F.S.SOTHKBV, Major, C.B.^«;--y Committee Room, 32, Sackville Street, A LIST OF THE VARIOUS STATIONS AT WHICH THE SOCIETY HAS AGENTS AND COERESPONDENTS. STATIONS. AGENTS. STATIONS. AGENTS. Aberdeen Alford Dr. W. Hendersou. Rev. G. Bryan. Rev. J. Clapp. Thos. INIason, Esq. Lt. Justice, R.N. T. B. Brooke, Esq. Rev. Dr. Drew. I\Jr. W. Pearson. Rev. A. T. Carr. Maj. Purton. VV. Eccles, Esq. Miss Rothwell. Rev. J. F.Ogle. M. Lane, Esq. Rev. W.Sherwood. Mr. G. Sully. Lt. Maiden, R.N. Col. Plenderleath. Miss L. Barrow. Mr. J. Harrison. Rev.W.L. Morgan. Jos. Ferguson, Esq. Mr. G. Skinner. J. K. Leake, Esq. W. Squire, Esq. Geo. Harrison, Esq. W. Gruggen, Esq. II. Stables, Esq. Miijor Brock. Lt. Geo. White. Capt. Forster, R.A. J. Flewker, Esq. Rev. H. Moule. Capt. Murray, R.A. J. Gauge, Esq. Rev. A. Campbell. Mr. Rt. McLauchlan. Mr. Laughton. Wm. VVhyte, Esq. Capt. Bingham, R.N. Falmouth Gainsborough .... Gloucester Greenwich Guernsey Halstead Hartlepool Hastings Hull Rev. T. Wildbore. Appledore Ashton-under-line. . Bath Mr. T. R. Da vies. Mr. W.Hancock. Barnstaple Belfast Mr. J Wrio-ht Berwick Mrs R F^pnsnn Beverley Birmingham Blackburn Rev. Chas. Cook. Ilfracombe Capt. John Harding. Capt. Pitcairn. Capt. Orange. Roger Moser, Esq. Mr. F. S. Randal. Lt.W.Hutchison.R.N. Rev. J. Turner. Capt.E.B.Stewart,RN J. H. Ridsdale, Esq. R. PL Faulconer, Esq. Bolton Jersey (St. Hiliers) Boston Braintree& Bockinf Bradford Bridgewater Brighton Bristol Bury St. Edmonds . Bury (Lancashire) Cardiff" Kingsbridge Kingstown, Dublin. Lancaster Leamington Leeds Lewes Lincoln ... ,.,,,.. Liftlehampton .... Liverpool Louth Lowestoft Mr. W. Pepper. Rev. W. Maynard. J. G. Hildvard, Esq. Mr. W. Cole. W. Everard, Esq. Rev C O'Neill Pratt Carlisle Chatham Chelmsford Cheltenham Chester MacclesKeld Msddon Manchester Margate Mil ford .... Chichester Clapham . , Colchester Cork Mr. S. Stratford. R. Gardner, Esq. F. W. Cobb, Esq. Mr. Thos Perkins Dartmouth Derby Newark Newcastle Newport I. Wight Newport (Alon.) .. Norwich Nottingham Oldham Lt. C.Parker, R.N. Robt. Walters, Esq. J. Eldridge, Esq. Mr. J. Skinner. Rev. W. Goodwin. Rev. T. H. Davies Dorchester Douglas (I. Man) . Dover Dublin Dundee East London Kdinburgh, ....... Exeter Penzance Plymouth Poole Lt. Bedford, R.N. Capt llaydon, R.N Rev. E. P. Blunt. STATIONS. AGENTS. STATIONS. AGENTS. Portsmouth Preston Rams<^'ate J. Hales, Esq. R.N. T. C. Hincksman, Esq Mr. Wm. Martin. T.Hickfbrd,Esq.R.N. Mr. VV. Littlewood. Capt. Jas. Hay, R.N. Mr. Thos. Pearson. Mr. W. Knewstub. H. Wilson, Esq. Rev. Jas. Crabb. Mrs. Hole. Rev. D. Moir. R. Sykes, Esq. .los. Spence, Esq. Rev. T. Dodd. H. Channing-, Esq. Lt. Brokensha, R.N. Tiverton Torquay Totness F. 0. Patch, Esq. l.t. J. A. Walker. Rev W INIartin Readin^^' . . . , Warrington Weymouth Ditto E. Greenall, Esq. Lt. Bond, R.N. Rev. John Smith. Rochdale Ryde(l. Wight) Seaham Harbour . . Sheerness Sheffii'ld Whitby Whitehaven Whitstable Windsor VVitham Rev. J. C. Potter. Mr. W. Scott. Hpv. F) Mrtrri