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 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 
 
 
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 PRESENTED BY 
 
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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
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 https://archive.org/details/missionarytalesfOObarb 
 
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MISSIONARY TALES 
 
 FOR 
 
 LITTLE LISTENERS. 
 
 M. A. S. BARBEll. 
 
 REVISED AND ENLARGED BY THE EDITOR. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 
 
Stereotyped by E. C. Allen, No. 51 Commerce Street. 
 Philadelphia. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 The Negro Village 
 
 Egede 
 
 The Three Sisters 
 
 Story of Mrs. Judson 
 
 Dusselthal Abbey 
 
 The Panorama 
 
 Leang Afa 
 
 Heathen Superstitions 
 
 The Alpine School 
 
 Jerusalem . ' 
 
 Little Ellinor’s Prayer 
 
 Rarotonga 
 
 The Jews at Shiraz 
 
 The Rechabites 
 
 Skenando, the White Man’s Friend 
 True Story of a Young Jew . . . 
 
 Girls’ Schools in India 
 
 5 
 
 IS 
 
 35 
 
 40 
 
 49 
 
 62 
 
 72 
 
 84 
 
 95 
 
 108 
 
 120 
 
 132 
 
 148 
 
 159 
 
 163 
 
 171 
 
 177 
 
 3 
 
Entered according to the Act of Congress in the year 
 1848, by A. W. Mitchell, ]\I. D., in the office of 
 the Clerk of the District Court for the Eastern Dis- 
 trict of Pennsylvania. 
 
 4 
 
MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 THE NEGRO VILLAGE. 
 
 Africa is a beautiful country ; stately trees 
 a hundred feet in height, the pullom, the 
 tamarind, the locust, the delicately tinted 
 cashew, and that renowned tree, which all 
 my little readers must have heard of, the 
 lofty palm, overshadow the land ; the ground 
 is strewn with flowers, of colours far more 
 brilliant than any which peep forth in the 
 cool fields, and amongst the fresh grass of 
 our native country ; blue, scarlet, purple, 
 they hang like silken streamers from the 
 lofty branches of the trees, or spread like a 
 rich and variegated carpet over the ground ; 
 plants, such as we keep with the greatest 
 care in hot-houses, spring up wdierever they 
 can find space: green and blue lizards, and 
 golden with brown spots, glitter on the 
 stones, and the air resounds with the song- 
 of the palm bird, and widow bird, and the 
 humming of innumerable insects floating bv 
 1 * 5 ‘ 
 
6 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 in the sunshine, while monkeys and parrots 
 chatter aniono; the trees. 
 
 The inliabitants, however, of this fine coun- 
 try, arc, for tlie most part, idolatrous, igno- 
 rant, and cruel; taught by the evil and wicked 
 example of white men, in former times and 
 even now they steal and sell each other for 
 slaves. 
 
 In their savage state the Africans may be 
 said to worship the devil: they have an idea 
 that he “ lives in the bush,” as they call their 
 vast forests ; they know nothing of God, their 
 kind and merciful Creator, or of his love and 
 care, over his ungrateful creatures; but they 
 pay all sorts of respect to their Fetishes, for 
 so the things they worship, are called, under 
 the fear that if they do not, they will receive, 
 harm from them. An English traveller, who 
 was making a voyage down the Niger, saw 
 one of the negroes, when they came to a 
 j)articular place in the river, rise up in the 
 boat, and utter occasionally a loud cry ; 
 whenever an echo was returned, half a glass 
 of rum, and a piece of yam and fish wmre 
 thrown into the water ; the Englishman, who 
 had often sufiered for want of provisions, was 
 not very well pleased at seeing the food 
 thrown into the wmter in this manner, so he 
 asked the negro what he meant by it. “Did 
 you not hear the Fetish,” replied he; “ if we 
 do not feed him, and do good for him, he will 
 kill us, or make us poor and sick.” So the 
 poor creature mistook the echo of his own 
 call for the voice of the Fetish. In some 
 
THE NEGHO VILLAGE. 
 
 7 
 
 places they worship the tiger ; in others, the 
 snake, the alligator, the lizard, and the hyiena ; 
 sataka, or ofierings to the devil, are every- 
 where to be seen : once a missionary saw a 
 party of negroes ofiering a sacrifice to three 
 cannon balls and two decanter stoppers ! 
 Many other practices of their folly and super- 
 stition I could recount to you ; they are also 
 sometimes very cruel; in one of the States, it 
 is the custom for the king to water the graves 
 of his ancestors with the blood of people 
 killed on purpose ; and their huts and walls 
 are ornamented with skulls and human bones. 
 But we must not suppose, that these people 
 are worse than others ; our ancestors once 
 did things almost as wicked and cruel, and 
 we should have done the same, had it not 
 pleased God to teach us better ; we should, 
 therefore, pity the heathen, and not despise 
 them. 
 
 Near Sierra Leone, (a British settlement 
 on the western coast of Africa,) situated 
 amopg the mountains which surround it, 
 stands a pretty village called Gloucester 
 Town; here huts, gardens, and cultivated 
 lands, bespeak a happy and industrious set 
 of people. A little while ago, they were 
 worshippers of Fetishes, as ignorant and 
 foolish as any of their countrymen. But 
 having been carried off as slaves, they were 
 brought here by the English ships which 
 rescued them. When they first arrive, they 
 are generally in a miserable state, but they 
 acquire by degrees better habits : First, they 
 
8 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 learn to dress themselves, in a neat and pro- 
 per manner : in their savage state the negroes 
 are very fond of finery : a European travel- 
 ler, who was journeying througli the interior 
 of Africa, says, that in order to get food, he 
 sold the labels of his jars, and a few days 
 after, he saw some of the natives strutting 
 about, with the little pieces of tin, on which 
 was written, “ Concentrated Gravy,” “ Es- 
 sence of Anchovies,” &c., stuck on their 
 heads, and which they doubtless fancied to 
 be most s]dendid and becoming ornaments : 
 a string of blue glass beads, such as you 
 dress your doll in, is considered a rich pre- 
 sent; and when the English travellers have 
 no more of these left, they often cut the 
 bright brass buttons off their coats, in order 
 to purchase the favour of the negro kings, or 
 get provisions when their own are exhausted. 
 Do you think this is very foolish '! it seems 
 so indeed to us ; but lam afraid we should 
 appear equally ridiculous in the eyes of wiser 
 and better judging people, when we decorate 
 ourselves with all sorts of foolish finery, or- 
 naments, and trinkets. What is the real dif- 
 ference between a blue glass bead, and one 
 of any other colour? many of our vain and 
 useless decorations, make us appear quite as 
 silly, as the savage, when he was displaying 
 his taste, in “ Concentrated Gravy,” and 
 Essence of Anchovies.” But though the 
 negroes are so fond of finery, they have sel- 
 dom an idea of dressing themselves with pro- 
 priety ; among their friends, at Sierra Leone, 
 
THE NEGEO VILLAGE. 
 
 9 
 
 however, they soon learn to do so ; and to 
 build houses, cultivate the ground, and prac- 
 tise useful trades ; so that in the process of 
 , time, instead of wild and ferocious heathens, 
 they become, as I have before told you, the 
 industrious and happy inhabitants of a plea- 
 sant village, among the mountains of their 
 own country. Many villages, such as this, 
 stand round Sierra Leone, which is itself a 
 large town, and full also of black people. 
 
 Although Africa is a beautiful country, 
 and a very pleasant place for the natives, it 
 is extremely unhealthy for Europeans, so 
 much so, that Sierra Leone has been called 
 the “White Man's Grave,” because nearly 
 all the white men who go there, die; the 
 mists, which arise from the swamps, occa- 
 sion fevers, especially the black fever, a very 
 dreadful disease ; tliere are, how'ever, always 
 missionaries to be found willimr to so there. 
 An Amei’ioan missionary, Mr. Cox, before 
 he sailed for Liberia, (an American colony 
 south of Sierra Leone, composed of free 
 blacks from the United States,) said to a 
 friend of his: “If I die in Africa, you must 
 come after me, and wadte my ejntaph.” “ I 
 will,” said his friend, “but what shall I 
 w'ritel” he answered, “ Let a thousand mis- 
 sionaries die, before Africa be given up.” 
 Love to Christ, a desire to spread the know- 
 ledge of His gospel, and faith in Ilis prom- 
 ises, supported them through their heavy 
 trials ; and though a very great number of 
 missionaries have died, and among them the 
 
10 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 excellent man just named, thousands of ne- 
 groes have reason to bless God, that there 
 were found teachers thus willing to give up 
 their lives ; Christian churches, Christian vil- 
 lages, and Christian families, are scattered 
 about the mountains, and the negro inhabi- 
 tants of many a sweet place, besides Glou- 
 cester Town, have reason to bless the love 
 and self-devotion of English and American 
 missionaries. In addition to the unhealthi- 
 ness of the climate, there were other reasons 
 why so many of the missionaries died ; they 
 lived about with the negroes, in their vil- 
 lages, being deprived of the comforts and luxu- 
 ries, which the other European inhabitants 
 of the colony enjoy. Very often they had 
 no house, until they built one for themselves, 
 and then perhaps it was not fit to live in. 
 
 Mr. During was the first who settled at 
 Gloucester Town : can my little readers, 
 imagine an European missionary, with a num- 
 ber of negroes in a forest, among the moun- 
 tains, under the burning sky of Africa ! They 
 had not even a hut to shelter them, until 
 they built it. As the negroes were industri- 
 ous, and worked hard, they soon cleared suf- 
 ficient space for their own huts, and they 
 next proceeded, under Mr. During’s direc- 
 tion, to erect a house for a school, and another 
 for him to live in. I suppose they were built 
 of mud, and thatched with leaves accord- 
 ing to the custom of the natives. When 
 '•these were completed, Mr. During seems to 
 have been much satisfied. The new village 
 
THE NEGRO VILLAGE. 
 
 n 
 
 was named Gloucester Town, and, for a 
 while, all went on pleasantly. At a certain 
 season of the year, Africa is subject to heavy 
 rains; when the sk}" seems to pour forth tor- 
 rents of water, which comes with force to the 
 ground, or is driven violently, by the wdiirl- 
 wind, against everything which opposes it. 
 Now, Mr. During had not calculated upon 
 this, and his poor house could not withstand 
 the fury of the storms; down came the rain 
 in showers, through the roof — there was no 
 escaping it — with great difficulty they con- 
 trived to keep their bed dry, by building 
 another roof over it; but they do not seem to 
 have been able to do the same for the rest 
 of the house. So the rain continued to pour 
 in, and they, to eat their meals, sit, and walk 
 about under an umbrella! This was very 
 uncomfortable, as you may suppose, but it 
 was worse than that, for it was extremely 
 dantjerous for their health. Mr. During and 
 his wife, lived, however, through the rainy 
 season; and it pleased God to bless, for a 
 long time, his labours among the heathen. 
 Many an interesting account he gives of his 
 little village, his church, his school, and his 
 black friends. Rice grounds, corn, and cas- 
 sada fields, began to display themselves to 
 the sun, where formerly the rank and use- 
 less brushwood alone had grown. The thick 
 trees, which had choked the circulation of 
 the air, were cut down, and the delicious 
 sea-breeze, from the Atlantic, refreshed their 
 dwellings. 
 
12 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 Early in the morning, the inhabitants might 
 be seen going to Sierra i.eone, to sell their 
 wood and other articles, and then returning 
 to breakfast, and to finish the labours oft he day 
 in their corn and cassada fields. ‘■IIow,” 
 said the captain of a ship, which visited Afri- 
 ca, to an English gentleman there, “how has 
 this ])lace become so flourishing, and these 
 people so civilized “ It is through the in- 
 structions of the missionaries,” said the gen- 
 tleman. The captain could harldly believe 
 that only a few years before, a vast forest had 
 covered that place, though the gentleman 
 showed him some of the old trees, which had 
 not been carried away, still lying along the 
 ground. But what kind of people were these 
 negroes, when they were first placed under 
 the care of the missionary? I have given 
 you some instances of their folly and super- 
 stition in their original state. Most of the 
 negroes at Sierra Leone, were rescued from 
 ships which were carrying them away to be 
 slaves. You cannot imagine what a dreadful 
 thing a slave-ship is, or what a wretched, 
 miserable condition the poor creatures are in, 
 when they are taken out of it. The horrors 
 which sometimes are there practised upon 
 the poor negroes, are too terrible to relate. 
 As soon as they arrive at Sierra Leone, they 
 are divided into several companies and distri- 
 buted among the dilferent villages; and each 
 missionary is sent for to receive his share. 
 Such were the people who afterwards com- 
 posed the population of Gloucester Town. 
 
THE NEGEO VILLAGE. 
 
 13 
 
 About four years after its first settlement, an- 
 other slave-ship was brought to Sierra Leone, 
 and Mr. During had directions sent him, to 
 come and receive a party of negroes out of 
 it. He went accordingly; some little delay 
 pirevented his receiving them until past four 
 o’clock. Gloucester Town was some distance 
 from Sierra Leone, and it was on a very 
 steep hill, so that when Mr. During had got 
 all these poor people out of the town, he be- 
 gan to think it w'ould be no easy matter, to 
 take them to his village. Faint and ill, and, 
 in some cases almost reduced to skeletons, 
 they were incapable of the least exertion ; 
 what could he dol he must take them home. 
 If he had known they were so ill, he would 
 have brought some of his people to asisst 
 them; but he did not, and in this dreary soli- 
 tude, there was none to help. Slowly and 
 wearily, therefore, they began to ascend the 
 hill. Fortunately, however, the negroes at 
 Gloucester Town, had heard of the miserable 
 state these newly arrived people were in, and 
 before they had got far from the foot of the 
 hill, they were met by numbers of people, 
 who, as they came near, took up on their 
 backs those who were unable to walk, so 
 that before Mr. During was half-way up the 
 hill, he saw almost the whole number, thus 
 carried by those who had come down for the 
 purpose. Mr. During, as he walked along, 
 reflected with joy on the sympathy thus 
 shown: he remembered that in former cases 
 of the same kind, they had displayed very 
 2 
 
14 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 little pity to the sufFerers, unless they happened 
 to see some friends of their own, amongst 
 them ; but they had now been taught the 
 commandment of Christ, that we should be 
 willing to assist every one, whether they are 
 our friends or not, and it rejoiced the heart 
 of the missionary to see them thus practising 
 what they had been taught. As soon as they 
 arrived at home, Mr. During ordered food to 
 be prepared for the new comers, but provi- 
 sions came in from all quarters, and the inha- 
 bitants gladly received them into their houses. 
 
 Among the rest, a Christian negro woman 
 had taken another wmman under her care : 
 she showed such a very great desire to have 
 her, that Mrs. During asked her, “what she 
 wanted to do with the woman.” She re- 
 plied, “Ma’am, it is now almost two years 
 since I came to this country: my country- 
 woman then took me, and did me good, and 
 told me of the Lord Jesus Christ; and that 
 same thinn- she did to me at that time, I want 
 to do to this woman now.” 
 
 For a long time, the new comers were very 
 ill; but they were nursed and attended to, by 
 the Christian negroes, with the greatest ten- 
 derness and care; nor did they only attend 
 to their bodily wants, for such of them as 
 were well enough they took with them to 
 church to be instructed, and as they had no 
 clothes, they lent them some of theirs. 
 
 But you must not suppose that the negroes 
 always listened to Mr. During's instructions, 
 or that he did not meet with many trials, and 
 
THE NEGRO VILLAGE. 
 
 15 
 
 find need of much patience in teaching them. 
 One negro, he particularly mentions as having 
 been very troublesome to him ; not only in 
 leading a wicked life himself, but seducing 
 others into sin by his evil examjile. One day 
 when Mr. During was talking very seriously 
 to him, pointing ou-t to him his wickedness, 
 and the consequences of it to him in eternity, 
 he boldly declared that of all INIr. During had 
 said, he did not believe one word: “ I know,’ 
 continued he, “that one day I must die, but 
 then I go back to my own country.” Upon 
 which Mr. During asked him, if he had ever 
 seen any one returning to his country, who 
 liad died in another. To this, of course, he 
 was obliged to anwer, “No.” This negro 
 afterwards became a Christian: and it pleased 
 God in general to give much success to Mr. 
 During’s teaching. 
 
 I have told you before, how prosperous 
 and flourishing the little village among the 
 mountains became; those who have learned 
 to love God, endeavour to do their duty to- 
 wards men: but the former was the best part 
 of Mr. During’s instructions. In the church, 
 in the school, both he and Mrs. During la- 
 ‘boured earnestly to teach the people about 
 Christ, and they were repaid with the grate- 
 ful love of those, who felt what a rich bless- 
 ing had been, by their means, bestowed upon 
 them. Mr. During gives a very interesting 
 account of the affection which they showed 
 towards him, during an illness which he had, 
 when they crowded round his house, and 
 
16 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 could scarcely be kept out of his room, while 
 tlie few who were admitted, prayed for him, 
 and recalling his own words when addressed 
 to them, tried to comfort him. 
 
 Once after he had been absent from them for 
 some time, they received both himself and 
 Mrs. During with transports of joy; one of 
 them coming to welcome his arrival, said, 
 “Alassa, Gloucester Town all cry for you 
 very much: yes, Massa, we want you there 
 very much; we hungry to see you there 
 again !” 
 
 And where is this beloved minister now ? 
 He is gone to his rest in the Lord. And is 
 his grave by the side of his own little church 
 among the mountains, where the grateful 
 negro may point it out to his children, as the 
 grave of the beloved missionary who taught 
 him about Christ, and who is now “absent 
 from the body, present with the Lord !” No 
 he lies in another tomb; the ship in which he 
 was going to visit England for a short time, 
 sailed from Africa, and was seen no more : 
 nor was it ever again heard of, and the poor 
 negroes were “hungry” in vain for the re- 
 turn of their minister. 
 
 It is most probable, that the vessel was 
 wrecked in a storm, and that all on board 
 perished. No doubt, through the horrors of 
 the tempest ^the heart of the missionary was 
 hxed upon Jesus : and perhaps he thought of 
 the time, when amidst the roaring of the 
 waves, lie said to his disciples, “It is I, be 
 not afraid.” To those who love the Lord, 
 
THE NEGRO VILLAGE. 
 
 17 
 
 “ to depart and be with Christ is far better." 
 The time will come when the “sea shall give 
 up the dead which are in it.” Then may the 
 missionary meet once more those faithful 
 converts, for whom he laboured, and for 
 whom he prayed ; then shall he understand 
 more perfectly than he can understand on 
 earth, “that he which convert eth a sinner, 
 from the error of his way, shall save a sou! 
 from death, and shall hide a multitude of 
 sins.” 
 
 / 
 
EGEDE. 
 
 It is written in tlie Bible, “ We walk by 
 faith, not by sight and this text may be 
 well explained by an account of the instruc- 
 tive and interesting labours of Egede, the 
 Danish missionary in Greenland. 
 
 In the early days of English history, when 
 Edward HI. was king, there lived on the 
 shores of Greenland, a colony of Danes ; 
 what induced them to leave Denmark, their 
 own country, and go to that cold and deso- 
 late region, is not known at this distance of 
 time; tliey built houses, and churches, and 
 even had a bishop. But Greenland is a very 
 cold country, the ground is covered with ice 
 and snow, so that the fruits, vegetables, and 
 grain, upon w'hich w'c live, will not grow 
 there, and on that account ships used to come 
 every year from Denmark, although it was 
 such a great way otf, to bring them food. 
 This went on for some time, until one dread- 
 ful year, a pestilence, which had been grad- 
 ually spreading all over Europe, reached 
 Denmark; it wms a fearful plague called the 
 18 
 
EGEDE. 
 
 19 
 
 Black Death, and such a number of Danish 
 sailors died of it, that there was not one left, 
 who knew how to sail to West Greenland. 
 What became of the people there, whether 
 they died of hunger or not, no one ever dis- 
 covered. Many hundred years afterwards, 
 in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, some Eng- 
 lish sailors were sent under the command of 
 a great navigator, to endeavour to reach the 
 place, but when they arrived, they were una- 
 ble even to get near the land; immense 
 plains of ice, with vast chasms, or openings 
 in it, stretched all along the coast, and pre- 
 vented the ships from approacliing ; from 
 their decks, the sailors saw, or fancied they 
 saw, ruins of the buildings which had once 
 belonged to the poor Danes. Hundreds of 
 years again passed aw’ay, and Greenland, 
 and the Christians who had lived there, were 
 once more forgotten; until in tlie year 1732, 
 a minister of the name of Egede, at Yogen, 
 in Norway, read the story which I liave just 
 been relating to you of the colony and its in- 
 habitants ; he felt sympathy and pity for their 
 fate, and ■ longed to know more concerning 
 them. In those days, you must remember, 
 the art of navigation was much better under- 
 stood, than at the time of the Black Death, 
 and there wmre plenty of sailoi's, who not 
 only knew the way to Greenland, but had 
 often been there to catch whales. But though 
 ships went there every year for that purpose, 
 no Christians lived there now, nor did any 
 trace of them remain, except the ruins of 
 
20 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 their churches, scattered about the desolate, 
 and now heathen country. The account 
 that he heard of the misery and the wicked- 
 ness of the inhabitants affected Egede greatly, 
 for thoLiglit he to himself, “ Perhaps these 
 wretched people are the descendants of my 
 Christian countrymen !” Tliose whom we 
 truly pity, wc shall wish to assist ; and ac- 
 cordingly Egede, soon felt an anxious desire 
 to benefit and instruct the Greenlanders. 
 But what could he do '! there were no mis- 
 sionaries in those days, and no missionary 
 societies ; he was a poor minister, with a 
 wife and family to take care of, and had no 
 money either to pay for his passage to Green- 
 land, or to find himself and his children food 
 when he got there. He soon, however, 
 thought of an expedient ; he drew up a peti- 
 tion, that an attempt should be made to in- 
 struct the Greenlanders, and gave as a reason 
 the commandment of Christ, that the gos- 
 pel should be jireached among the heathen ; 
 this petition he sent to some Norwegian 
 bishops, who approved very much of the 
 plan, and promiseil to ask the consent of the 
 king : the country, however, was then at 
 war, and they desired him to wait for a 
 favourable opportunity; this favourable op- 
 portunity never came, and year after year, 
 Egede waited in vain ; when his hopes were 
 exhausted, he resigned his charge at Vogen, 
 and taking leave with much regret of his be- 
 loved people there, he set out for Copen- 
 hagen, to see the king himself. When he 
 
EGEDE. 
 
 21 
 
 arrived there, people laughed at him, and 
 treated his project of preaching the gospel to 
 the heathen as madness, and asked him if 
 he wanted to be made a bishop in Greenland. 
 Egede bore it all patiently, and persevering 
 in his purpose, obtained an audience with 
 the king. His majesty received him very 
 kindly, and promised him his support, and, 
 in great joy at his unexpected success, he re- 
 turned home, to prepare for his voyage. The 
 promise, however, was not fulfilled ; no money, 
 no assistance came, and another long year 
 passed away in vain. At length in the spring, 
 the king sent him £40, and promised to allow 
 him £00 a year for his support in Greenland. 
 Thus, after ten years of incessant anxiety 
 and fatigue, for Egede tried many more ex- 
 pedients than I have had time to detail to 
 you, he saw himself possessed of the object 
 he had so long, and so ardently desired. And 
 what was his object ? the means of leaving his 
 native country and all the comforts of civi- 
 lized life, to live among savages, exposed to 
 all the hardships and miseries of an intensely 
 cold climate, in the remote regions of the 
 frozen North. 
 
 But the heart of Egede was filled with 
 an intense desire for their salvation, and he 
 counted his own interests and happiness as 
 nothing. After a stormy passage over tem- 
 pestuous seas, covered often with a thick 
 fog, they reached in safety the place which 
 was to be their future home. Before telling 
 
22 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 you what happened to them there, I will give 
 you some description of the countiy. 
 
 If you look for it in the map, you will find 
 it very near the North Pole ; it is surrounded 
 with immense fields of ice, and covered near- 
 ly all the year with deep snow. In summer 
 there is no night, for the sun never sets ; in 
 the depths of winter there is no day, for it 
 never rises ; the frost may be called per- 
 petual, and the snow falls at intervals all the 
 year, except during June and July; the coun- 
 try is surrounded on every side by mountains 
 of ice, which sometimes break, and falling 
 with a thundering noise into the sea, over- 
 whelm all wdio may happen to be within their 
 reac h. No trees, no plants, no flowers, grow 
 there, but the inhabitants do not depend upon 
 vessels bringing them food from Europe, as 
 the colonists did in the early time ; they live 
 almost entirely upon the fish which they 
 catch in the ocean : still, this supply is so un- 
 certain, that they often experience the horrors 
 of famine. 
 
 Such w’as the place to which the good 
 Egede so earnestly' desired to be sent, and 
 which he now reached before the commence- 
 ment of the long dark wdnter. Some other 
 Europeans had accompanied him, not as 
 missionaries, but w’ith the intention of trad- 
 ing w’ith the natives. The first thing they 
 did was to build a house, and provide against 
 the approach of the cold weather; this prov- 
 ed more severe than they' expected : “ the 
 
EGEDE. 
 
 23 
 
 ice, and hoai’ frost,” said one of the mission- 
 aries, who lived there some time afterwards, 
 “ reaches down the chimney to the mouth of 
 the stove, without being thawed by the fire 
 in the day time. Over the chimney is an 
 arch of frost, with little holes, through which 
 the smoke discharges itself. The door and 
 walls are as if they were plastered over with 
 frost, and, what is scarcely credible, our beds 
 are often frozen to the bedstead. At night, 
 our breath freezes upon the pillows.” Egede, 
 however, was very happy in this new dwell- 
 ing, and longed to commence that great work 
 for which he had come, — the instruction of 
 the Greenlanders. There are a great many 
 sorrows in this world, and every one has a 
 portion of them; but, notwithstanding this, 
 our happiness depends more upon ourselves, 
 our own conduct and disposition, than upon 
 the circumstances in which we are placed. 
 Yes, it is very true, the greater part of your 
 unhappiness is made by yourself. Things 
 become pleasant or disagreeable to us, ac- 
 cording to the manner in which we receive 
 them, and the little events which happen to 
 us during the day, are often agreeable or 
 otherwise, according to the temper which 
 they find us in. Suppose you could be olfer- 
 ed your choice for to-morrow — whether you 
 would go out on a party of pleasure, or be 
 in a perfectly good humour all day. Very 
 likely you would choose the former, but you 
 would be wrong, for the latter would make 
 you much the more happy. And what is it 
 
24 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 which can make us cheerful, good-humoured, 
 contented at all times? Nothing, but being 
 sincere Christians — nothing but the grace of 
 God ; this will make us happy at all times, 
 and in all places. It has made people 
 liappy in prisons, in pain, in death. “My 
 iieart,” says the Psalmist, “shall sing in thy 
 ways,’’ which means the joyfulness of heart 
 which is the portion of God’s obedient chil- 
 dren. It was this which made Egede hap- 
 p'y, upon the gloomy shores of Greenland: 
 it is this which may make you happy, from 
 hour to hour, from day to day, amidst the 
 ■small events, and little trials of your life. 
 Then there would be no more tears shed 
 over duties unperformed, or the incurred dis- 
 pleasure of your friends ; no more fretting 
 over unavoidable disappointments, no more 
 quarreling for your own way, no more 
 frowns upon slight offences ; in a word, none 
 of those various troubles, which, both when 
 we are children, and when we are grown up, 
 we make, in order to torment ourselves. 
 Whenever you feel unhappy, ask yourself 
 what is the cause, and who is to blame! 
 
 Egede’s first object was, to learn the lan- 
 guage: but this was not easily done; he 
 had to write his own grammar, and make 
 liis own dictionary; and no way of setting 
 about it, but pointing to things, and asking 
 tlie natives the names of them, and then 
 endeavouring to arrange the words he had 
 thus obtained. In this manner you must 
 necessarily imagine he passed a long time 
 
EGEDE. 
 
 25 
 
 before he was able to obtain a knowledge 
 of the language of the Greenlanders; and 
 beine: eaa;er to communicate religious in- 
 struction to them, he showed them pictures 
 of some of the events in the Bible, such as 
 our Saviour healing the sick, and raising the 
 dead, and also of the general resurrection. 
 These, however, had an unfortunate effect; 
 foi’, as he could only explain the sul)jects to 
 them very imperfectly, they imagined that 
 he himself possessed the same wonderful 
 power; they, therefore, brought their sick to 
 him, to be cured. Though lie endeavoured 
 to explain to them, that God alone could im- 
 part health, they peristed in attributing to 
 him mii'aculous powers, and even entreated 
 him, on one accasion, to bring the dead to 
 life. He could not, therefore, hope to in- 
 struct them in the knowledge of the truth, 
 until he was able to converse with them, 
 without any difficulty. 
 
 A new trial now awaited him; they had 
 not brought out any large store of provi- 
 sions, as, knowing that the inhabitants sub- 
 sisted upon fish, they expected to have been 
 able to do the same. But the fishing that 
 year had failed, and the people who accom- 
 panied him began to murmur at the scarcity 
 of food, and to upbraid him with having 
 brought them to that dismal place. Was this 
 then, to be the end of all his hopes'? Was 
 the very same vessel which brought them 
 out, to carry them all back again to their 
 own country, with no other fruit of his anx- 
 3 
 
2G 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 ieties, than a long and miserable voyage ? 
 lie begged, he prayed them to remain — to 
 stay only a little longer, and see if it was the 
 will of God to send them food. They listen- 
 ed to his entreaties, and agreed to stay the 
 “little longer:” and, before it was expired, 
 the welcome sail was seen at a distance on 
 the sea, and a vessel from Norway arrived, 
 bringing them the food and necessaries they 
 required. 
 
 Years passed away, and Egede continued 
 indefatigable at his labours. To gain the 
 necessary knowledge of their tongue, he 
 went to live, for a time, in the hut of a 
 Greenlander, in the midst of the fdth with 
 which it abounded, and the vermin with 
 which it swarmed. The savages, who live 
 in the countries near the North Pole, are 
 generally dirty, and disgusting in their ha- 
 bits; and the Greenlanders are, or rather at 
 that time were, particularly so. He after- 
 wards received a family into his own house, 
 for the same purpose. As soon as he had 
 thus learnt to speak the language, he began 
 to attempt to teach some of the young 
 Greenlanders to read. They, however, had 
 no desire to learn: eating was the thing 
 which they seemed best to have understood, 
 and had the strongest passion for. Whole 
 nights, sometimes, were spent by them in 
 gluttony; and if I were to tell you the deli- 
 cacies upon which they feasted, I think you 
 would be rather shocked. Books, paper, 
 pens, are not, as little children say, “good to 
 
EGEDE. 
 
 27 
 
 eat,” and they turned a deaf ear to every- 
 thing the missionary could say to them: in- 
 deed, they told him, he was an idle, useless 
 man, who passed his time in looking at 
 books, and scratching with a feather, while 
 the brave Greenlanders were hunting seals, 
 and catchinsr fish. In vain he endeavoured 
 
 o 
 
 to talk to them concerning their souls. They 
 knew of no other life than the present, and 
 cared for no other. They were ignorant 
 savages; but, are you sure you are not pur- 
 suing the same end, though, perhaps, in a 
 difierent manner? All they thought about 
 W'as feasting and gluttony. Your thoughts 
 are, perhaps, equally intent upon this world; 
 and if so, you are as unwise as the Green- 
 landers. If a house was on fu'e, a lady, who 
 could not leave an interesting book she was 
 reading in the drawing-room, would be as 
 much in danger of being burnt to death, as 
 the servant who would not get up from his 
 supper in the kitchen. It scarcely matters to 
 us, how we lose our lives, or our souls, if we 
 do indeed lose them. The Greenlanders 
 showed an equal aversion to hearing any 
 thing about religion; and, not possessing the 
 dissimulation of polite society, they did not 
 leave Egede in doubt of their feelings upon 
 this subject either. They plainly told him 
 they cared nothing at all about it. Perhaps 
 you will say, why did he not go back to his 
 own country? No; he would not go home 
 until he considered his duty there was done. 
 He thought it was the will of God, that he 
 
28 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 should preach the gospel to the Greenlanders, 
 and, therefore, he persevered. “We walk 
 by faith, not by sight our conduct should 
 be governed, not by what wo see and expe- 
 rience in this world, but what God has de- 
 clared to us in his word. We see the world 
 around us, wholly intent upon providing for 
 their happiness //ere. Our Saviour has com- 
 manded us to take up our cross and follow 
 him, and then we shall be happy here, and 
 perfectly blest with him hereafter, We see 
 daily around us all that is honoured, prized, 
 and esteemed, in the sight of men. The Bible 
 tells us it is vanity, and the only things 
 worth our attention are those which are 
 esteemed in the sight of God. Egede walked 
 by faith, not by sight; he saw that the Green- 
 landers j)aid not the slightest attention to his 
 instructions, and that year after year, it 
 seemed as though he laboured in vain; but he 
 knew that Christ had commanded that the 
 gospel should be preached among the heathen, 
 and therefore he persevered. If not one single 
 idolater was converted to Christianity, it 
 would still be the duty of Christians to “go 
 into all the world,” teaching all nations. It 
 would be their duty, because it is their 
 Saviour’s commandment. 
 
 After Egede had lived about twelve years 
 in Greenland, some Moravian missionaries, 
 not deteri’ed by his w'ant of success, came 
 out to help him. Their coming was a great 
 blessing and encouragement to him; but, like 
 himself, their efforts, their entreaties, their 
 
EGEDE.. 
 
 29 
 
 exhortations, were totally lost upon the 
 Greenlanders. They built themselves huts 
 at a part of Greenland, which they fixed 
 upon, and Egede generously lent all the 
 assistance he possibly could to those, who 
 followizig his example, had thus come to 
 share his fruitless toils, and many misfor- 
 tunes. His knowledge was of m’eat use to 
 
 O ^ O 
 
 them, especially in teaching them the lan- 
 guage, which he had acquired with so much 
 labour and difficulty. The grammar, books, 
 and observations he had written, were all at 
 their service. They derived great benefit 
 from his kindness, and the experience he had 
 acquired from his long residence in that bar- 
 barous country*. 
 
 Egede, who seems to have sought every 
 opportunity by which he could possibly 
 hope to benefit the Greenlanders, had per- 
 suaded six of them to go to Denmark, hop- 
 ing, perhaps, tliat the sight of the superior 
 comforts and advantages enjoyed by civi- 
 lized nations, might induce them to listen to 
 his instructions, at least for tiieir temporal 
 welfare, if not for their soul’s salvation. 
 Four, out of the six who went, died, and the 
 remaining two were sent back again, soon 
 after the arrival of the IMoravian mission- 
 aries. One of them, a girl, died at sea, the 
 boy arrived, ajiparently in good health; but 
 soon after his arrival, he was seized with a 
 severe illness of which he died ; the next 
 person who was taken ill, was one named 
 Christian Frederick, to the great grief of 
 3 * 
 
30 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 Egede; the disorder proved fatal to him 
 also, and his loss was deeply regretted, not 
 only because he was one of the very few 
 Greenland children, whom the missionary 
 had been able to obtain, to instruct in the 
 Christian religion, but also as Christian had 
 now grown up to be a youth, and proved 
 both grateful and useful to his benefactors. 
 None, however, knew what the disease was, 
 until another was taken ill, and then it was 
 found to be a most virulent species of the 
 small pox. The small pox, when it is intro- 
 duced among savage nations, almost resem- 
 bles the plague. In Africa, it is so dreadful, 
 that in the interior, if it is known that there 
 is any person ill of that complaint in a hut, 
 the cruel people will surround it, and burn 
 it to the ground, with every person who is 
 inside it. In North America, large tracts of 
 land have been entirely depopulated by it. 
 In former times, it was very dreadful in 
 England ; so much so, that in the time of 
 Queen IMary II. it was forbidden to mention 
 it in society, on account of terrifying people. 
 Of late years a remedy has been discovered, 
 for which we ought to be truly grateful to 
 God. Vaccination was not known at the 
 time I am speaking of, even to the Euro- 
 peans, and the Greenlanders would not sub- 
 mit to the remedies which were known to 
 them. Unable to endure the pain, heat, and 
 thirst of the disease, in their madness they 
 plunged into the sea, or stabbed themselves, 
 to put an end to their torment ; they would 
 
EGEDE. 
 
 31 
 
 take no medicine, nor even submit to re- 
 main in their lints, but wandered about 
 among their countrymen, carrying every 
 where contagion and death. Egede sent to 
 the Greenlanders at a distance, begging them 
 to remain in their own places, and receive 
 no strangers, warning them of the conse- 
 quences of neglecting his advice. But it 
 was received with the same perverseness as 
 his religious instructions ; the Greenlanders 
 chose to follow their own course, and conse- 
 quently the plague spread everywhere, with 
 fearful rapidity. When he visited the sick, 
 and exhorted them to patience and resigna- 
 tion, he was answered with exclamations of 
 rage, impatience, and despair. One man, 
 whose son died of the disease, mui’dered a 
 woman in the house, because he fancied she 
 had bewitched him. Still Egede continued 
 to attend them with kindness and forbear- 
 ance ; their ingratitude might distress him, 
 but it did not prevent him from doing every 
 thing for them that he could, in which he 
 was assisted by the other missionaries. Once, 
 they found a poor girl alone upon an island, 
 ill of the small pox, and three little children, 
 her brothers: they were the only living crea- 
 tures left there: her father had buried all the 
 other inhabitants, and having made himself 
 a grave, he lay down in it with his young- 
 est child ; some fish was left, which the chil- 
 dren lived upon, until they were found, 
 when Egede took them home to the place 
 where he lived and took care of them. The 
 
32 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 disorder did not cease until it had almost 
 depopulated the country for many leagues, 
 leaving little else than empty houses and un- 
 buried bodies. 
 
 Fifteen years had now been spent by 
 Egede in Greenland ; his health was im- 
 paired by anxiety and fatigue; old age was 
 fast approaching; yet no Christian church 
 there rewarded his labours — no Christian 
 converts blessed the hour of his coming to 
 their shores. Yet it was not for this, that 
 the venerable Egede resolved upon returning 
 to his native land; he considered that his task 
 was accomplished, and that he was now per- 
 mitted to spend the few remaining days of 
 his life in jieace: especially as there still re- 
 mained in Greenland a band of faithful mis- 
 sionaries, who had bound themselves by a 
 solemn resolution, that come life, come death, 
 they would never quit the place, until they 
 could appeal to the Lord, with the testimony 
 of their own conscience, that they had, with 
 the help of God, done all that man could do. 
 Egede preached his farewell sermon from the 
 text, -‘I said I have laboured in vain; I have 
 spent my strength for nought, and in vain : 
 yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, 
 and my work with my God.” After which 
 he took an affecting farewmll of the other 
 missionaries, and left them with a prayer that 
 God would yet bless the Greenland mission. 
 He returned to his own country, and passed 
 his time until his death in instructing students 
 in the language of the Greenlanders. 
 
 O O 
 
EGEDE. 
 
 33 
 
 The missionaries he left behind him, un- 
 dismayed by difficulties, dangers, and suffer- 
 ings, imitated the glorious example of his 
 perseverance, patience, and zeal; and the 
 Lord crowned their labours with success. In 
 the year 1822, the anniversary of Egede's 
 landing in Greenland was celebrated. One 
 hundred years had then elapsed since, after 
 his long and patient waiting, he landed upon 
 the shores of that country. But who was 
 there to celebrate it ! Hundreds upon hun- 
 dreds of Christian Greenlanders to join their 
 prayers and praises wdth the missionaries, 
 that it had pleased God to put it into the 
 heart of Egede to come to their desolate 
 shores. J\ow Christian churches, Christian 
 settlements, Christian congregations, are scat- 
 tered over the land; and a spirit of love, of 
 grace, and of knowledge, moves the hearts 
 of the once barbarous and ignorant heathens. 
 “How happy,” says one of the missionaries, 
 “is a life spent among a flock of true children 
 of God and lovers of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
 collected from among wild and barbarous 
 heathens ! How willingly do we forego many 
 outward advantages, while we partake of the 
 real blessedness of the house of God in such 
 a family of Jesus, who have been brought by 
 the Spirit of God out of heathenish darkness 
 into the glorious light of his countenance!” 
 My little friend, follow' the example of the 
 good Egede. How — do you ask me ! “ In 
 
 walkmg by faith, and not by sight” — in act- 
 ing from hour to hour, and day to day, and 
 
34 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 year to year, not according to what you see 
 and feel in this world, but according to that 
 which God in his word hath commanded 
 you : and be assured, that like Egede, you 
 shall reap, if not here, hereafter, a glorious 
 recompense. Perseverance is the crowning 
 grace of a Christian's life: he does not look 
 for reward here, but is contented to follow 
 Christ’s commandments, in faith, leaving him 
 to order all things according to his will, and 
 submitting patiently to it, at all times, and 
 still endeavouring to act in obedience to his 
 precepts, as though iverything succeeded 
 and was prosperous. 
 
THE THREE SISTERS. 
 
 You often read histories of ciiildren who 
 have died. Perhaps you would like to hear 
 something about three young, happy, livmg 
 sisters. 
 
 Do you remember the first Sunday in Jan- 
 uary? Perhaps your minister preached to 
 young people on that day, and urged you to 
 begin this year by giving your hearts to the 
 I Saviour. This was what these sisters wished 
 to do. They had long sought to do so in 
 secret, and now they wished to do it in pub- 
 lic ; and on the first Sabbath in this year, 
 i: they were received as members of the church, 
 
 and went together to partake of the ordi- 
 nance of the Lord’s Supper. How happy 
 they felt, and how happy their dear parents 
 ; felt, no one can tell. If only one had come 
 to this decision, it would have been pleasant, 
 but for all three to have done so, made this 
 a joyful day indeed. They have since said, 
 that they useil to feel so much before, when 
 they were obliged to leave the pew and go 
 up into the gallery while their dear father 
 
36 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 and mol her remained below. It made them 
 think, “What, if there should be a separa- 
 tion at last! Our dear parents in Heaven, 
 and we shut out !” Do you ever have such 
 thoughts as these? 
 
 Then they began to think what more they 
 could do to please their Father in Heaven. 
 They cannot do much for they are young, 
 and a great deal of their time is taken up 
 with their lessons, but they felt very anxious 
 to do what they could. So they formed some 
 little plans for themselves, and I will mention 
 a few, in case there should be any that you 
 would like to adopt for yourself. 
 
 First you must hear how they divide their 
 time. They rise at half past six. At eight 
 they meet, and read some of Matthew Hen- 
 ry's commentary together, and talk about it. 
 
 In the cold dark weather, they meet in a 
 snug little study with a cheerful fire. The 
 room in which they meet during the greater 
 part of the year, has a window with a deep 
 seat, on which they rest their Bibles. It 
 looks out on some beautiful bills, covered 
 with low green wood. On the fine spring 
 mornings, the sunlight streams through that 
 w'indow, and the bleating of the sheep, and 
 the singing of the birds make the scene very 
 cheerful. Alany a happy hour have these 
 dear girls passed there together. Sometimes j 
 they wonder how long they shall be per- i 
 mitted to enjoy so much sweet pleasure in 
 each others society, and how soon death or 
 change may be sent to divide them ; but this 
 
THE THREE SISTERS. 
 
 37 
 
 thought draws them only the more closely to 
 each other now, and makes them look for- 
 ward to a happier meeting above. The} 
 have often knelt together at the footstool ol' 
 their blessed Redeemer on earth, and the\ 
 hope again to meet and bow at his feet in 
 Heaven. 
 
 After family prayer and breakfast, they 
 are at their lessons till one. The time is 
 divided into hours and half hours, that none 
 may be lost. At one they walk out, and 
 there is generally some poor person to whom 
 they have to take medicine, food, or clothes. 
 After dinner they read history and other 
 books. For half an hour before tea the\ 
 sing. They are thinking they should like to 
 improve the singing at the place of worship 
 where they attend, and they are practising 
 hymns together in parts for that purpose. 
 They always have a hymn at family prayer, 
 and take it in turns to lead the tune. 
 
 After tea, the whole family meet, and one 
 reads perhaps some missionary work, or 
 some volume of biography, while the rest are 
 engaged with their needles, or in other useful 
 employment. Every Saturday morning the} 
 have a little missionary prayer-meeting. 
 Every Monday morning, the missionary box 
 goes round in the parlour, and the servants 
 have imitated the example, and set up one of 
 their own in the kitchen. There are three 
 young servants in the family, and each sister 
 has taken one under her charge, with the 
 resolution to pray and labour for the cou- 
 4 
 
38 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 version of that one. They have each a class 
 in the Sunday-school, and there is also a day- 
 school which they visit. Every Friday morn- 
 ing, the lessons are put aside, and they set 
 olf directly after breakfast to take tracts to 
 ihe cottages, and to read to the poor and 
 ignorant. They have divided the village 
 into districts, in order to do the work tho- 
 roughly, for they feel great anxiety to be 
 I he means of leading some of the poor igno- 
 rant peo})le around them to the knowledge 
 and love of Jesus. 
 
 Do you think that this is a great deal for 
 them to do? 1 hope you do not, and I am 
 sure they do not think so. They hope to be 
 able to do much more in a few years’ time. 
 It is only a very little of what they ought, 
 and what they wish to do. They often think 
 how their gracious Saviour gave up all for 
 I hem, and they think it will be the least they 
 can do to give their whole hearts and lives to 
 1 lim. 
 
 There is one pleasure to which they are 
 looking forward with much delight, and that 
 is a Missionary communion. They will not 
 this year have to go up into the gallery to be 
 addressed as spectators, but hope to unite 
 with the disciples of our Lord Jesus, in com- 
 memorating his dying love, and in devoting 
 tiiemselves afresh to his service for the time 
 to come. 
 
 Dear little girls, is there any thing here 
 which you have not yet done, but which you 
 could do ? I hope you will try to make a 
 
THE THREE SISTERS. 
 
 39 
 
 Heginning. First give your own selves to the 
 I>ord, and then you will soon find out sonic- 
 thing to do for Him. If the girls can do 
 something, the boys can do more. Girls can 
 only exert themselves in private — for a few 
 ]>eople at a time — but boys may grow up tn 
 lie ministers of the gospel, or even to be mis- 
 sionaries, and to preach Christ to hundreds 
 and thousands. If all the dear children who 
 read this book, were to come to the same 
 resolution as the three sisters of whom I have 
 been writing, what a happy thing it would be, 
 and how much good might be done ! 
 
 There is a hymn which these sisters often 
 sing together to the tune called Suftblk, and 
 of which they never seem to get tired, begin- 
 ning, 
 
 “ Awake my soul, stretch every nerve.” 
 
 May it soon be the language of all our 
 young readers. 
 
STORY OF MRS. JUDSON. 
 
 Little Jane’s mamma was one day very 
 Imsy reading the newspaper. Little Jane was 
 sitting on a stool at her feet ; she had her 
 doll in her lap, a piece of net, and some 
 pink ribbon, which she thought w'ould make 
 the young lady a pretty new cap, if her 
 mamma was at leisure ; but then her mam- 
 ma looked as if she was so very busy! Poor 
 Jane sighed two or three times, and she 
 looked at dolly, and she looked at the pink 
 ribbon ; at last she could not control her im- i 
 I'atience any longer, so she ventured to | 
 interrupt her mamma by saying, “ Mamma, 
 you are not generally so fond of reading the 
 newspaper !” Mamma smiled, as she put 
 down the news]iaper. and looked at her little 
 'jfirl, and then she said, “ I was reading, Jane, 
 about a })lace, and about some people whom 
 1 feel very much interested in, and I think 
 I could tell you something about them, 
 which would make you feel interested in 
 them too, but, perhaps, you would rather 
 that I made your dollv’s cap.” Jane consi- 
 40 
 
STORY OF MRS. JUDSON. 
 
 41 
 
 dered for a moment, and then she said, 
 Mamma, if you please, I would rather you 
 told me the story.” “A great many years 
 ago, there lived in Massachusetts a young 
 lady who was very pious and sincere in her 
 love to God, and wished to serve him. In 
 these days, you know, it is not at all un- 
 I common for women to leave their homes and 
 i their friends, and to go out as missionaries 
 among the heathen. But then such a thing 
 had never been heard of ; and when this 
 lady desired to accompany her husband to a 
 far distant country for this ])urpose, every 
 one opposed it, and thought it very foolish 
 and unreasonable on her part. However, she 
 persevered in her intention; and she was the 
 first American lady who ever left her coun- 
 tiy for such a cause.” 
 
 “ She went to the country you were read- 
 ing about, I suppose, mamma ?” 
 
 “Yes; it is called the Burman Empire: 
 here it is — a long, long way from America, 
 as you may sec — besides which, the people 
 are very savage and barbarous, as the story 
 I am about to tell you will prove. The 
 lady’s name was Judson — she and her hus- 
 band, Mr. Judson, lived for some years at a 
 place called Rangoon, which is here on the 
 sea coast. I hav^e not time to tell you all 
 that they did there, though the account is 
 very interesting, and they had the happiness 
 of seeing some of the people forsake the wor- 
 ship of idols, and learn to love their Saviour. 
 After a time, however, they went to a town 
 
 4 * 
 
i‘2 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 lurther off, which was the largest in the em- 
 pire, and wiiere the king himself lived — this 
 town was called Ava. Here, they lived 
 jieaceably for some time; they had a prettv* 
 house, and a school, where they taught the 
 children, and instructed all who were willing 
 to come and learn. But this did not last 
 long. You see, here is India, close to the 
 Burmsfn Emiiire; now, you know that the 
 English people have taken possession of the 
 greater part of India. It so happened, that 
 just at this time the Burmese had offended 
 the English, and a large English army was 
 sent to invade their country. The king of 
 Ava was in a great passion when he heard 
 of their arrival, and he resolved to revenge 
 himself on the poor missionaries. One day, 
 just as Mr. and Mrs. Judson were preparing 
 for dinner, in rushed about a dozen Burmans, 
 amongst whom was one with a spotted face — 
 a mark, in that country, of his being an exe- 
 cutioner. They immediately asked for Mr. 
 Judson, seized him, tlirew him down, pro- 
 duced a small cord, which they use as an in- 
 'trument of torture, by tying it round a per- 
 son as tight as possible, and having bound 
 him fast, they dragged him off, no one knew 
 where. Boor Airs. Judson! what do you 
 think she did, when she was left alone in such 
 a dreadful manner ?” 
 
 “ Prayed to God, mamma ?” 
 
 “ Yes, she prayed to God; and she asked 
 1 lim to give her strength and courage, in her 
 distress.” 
 
STORY OF MRS. JUDSON. 
 
 43 
 
 “ But did not she go and look for her hus- 
 band ?” 
 
 “ She could not, for they shut her up in 
 her house, and kept guard outside, to prevent 
 her getting out. Next moniing, she sent a 
 native, whose name was Moung Ing, (he 
 was a Christian,) to see if he could find Mr. 
 Judson. He did find him at last, but in a sad 
 state ; he w’as in prison, with three pair of 
 iron fetters on, and fastened to a long pole, 
 to prevent his moving. For several days 
 Mrs. Judson was kept in her house ; but at 
 last she w'as allowed to come out, by pro- 
 mising a present to the governor of the city. 
 She hastened to the prison, and as she was 
 not allow’ed to enter, Mr. Judson crawled to 
 the door to speak to her, but she was driven 
 away by the jailers. From that day, during 
 seven long and sorrow'ful months, she was 
 occupied every day in trying to get Mr. 
 Judson set free, but in vain — he was not 
 kept in the prison all this time, but in an 
 open shed, within the prison enclosure, where 
 she wa-s allowed to send him food and a mat 
 to sleep on, and sometimes she was allowed 
 to see him ; but often and often, this could 
 only be after it was quite dark; and when 
 she came out of the ])rison, she had a long 
 way to walk to her own house, alone and at 
 night. There, she says, she used to throw 
 herself down on a chair which had been 
 given her by her friends at home, and think 
 of some new scheme for the release of Mr. 
 Judson: and what added to her sufferings 
 
44 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 was, that she lived in daily fear of his being 
 cruelly put to death.” 
 
 “I think that she must have been very 
 sorry that she ever went to that country.” 
 “No, I do not think she was; she does not 
 once tell us that she thought of her home in 
 America, or wished she was there — but she 
 docs tell us that, in her sorrow, she thought 
 of that peaceful, happy rest, where Jesus 
 reigns — and think what a satisfaction it must 
 have been to her to have remembered, that 
 all she suffered was in his service — had it 
 not been for her love to him, and her desire 
 to teach others about him, she never would 
 have fjone amons: such a fierce and barbar- 
 ous people. Now what does my little Jane 
 think of this 1 Does she think the lady really 
 was happy in the midst of all her sufferings, 
 liecause she met with them in the service of 
 God?” “Yes, mamma, I dare say she was.” 
 “It is not every one who is required to be a 
 missionary; but no person can serve God, 
 who does not daily do many things, and bear 
 with many things, that are disagreeable to 
 themselves, and contrary to their own incli- 
 nations. Do you remember the text I taught 
 you about this, the other day, and the mean- 
 ing of it ? ‘ If any man will come after me, 
 
 let him deny himself, and take up his cross 
 daily and follow me.’ ” “ You said that those 
 
 who wished to be Christians, must try to do 
 in every thing as Christ did, and not as they 
 liked best themselves.” “Yes, and then 
 they will enjoy the same kind of happiness 
 
STORY OF MRS. JUDSON. 
 
 45 
 
 that Mrs. Judson did, though in a different 
 manner; for it is said, ‘Great peace have they 
 which love thy law, and nothing shall offend 
 them.’ 
 
 “Things went on in this way for some 
 time, until one morning Mrs. Judson received 
 a message from her husband, to say, that he 
 and all the other white people had been put 
 into the inner prison, in five pairs of fetters 
 each, that his little room had been torn down, 
 and his mat, pillow, &c., been taken away 
 by the jailers. This was sad news to her. 
 She went to the prison gate, but they would 
 not let her in — all was as still as death — not 
 a white face was to be seen, nor a vestige of 
 the little room remaining. She then went to 
 the governor’s house. This old man was 
 very kind to her, and felt very sorry when he 
 saw her. But why then had he put Mr. Jud- 
 son into the inner prison? — because he had 
 been ordered to kill him secretly, so he had 
 put him and all the other white men out of 
 sight. Mrs. Judson was therefoi’e obliged to 
 go home again very sorrowful. That coun- 
 try is not like ours — the weather is intensely 
 hot; and as there were a hundred people shut 
 up in one close place, without a breath of 
 air, except from the cracks in tlie boards, 
 their suflerings were very dreadful ; they 
 looked more like dead people than living 
 ones; and day after day, as Mrs. Judson 
 went and looked in upon them — for she was 
 not allowed to stay — she went away more 
 
MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 4« 
 
 unhappy than ever. One morning, however, 
 when slie went, she found them all gone ! 
 8he went from one place to another, asking 
 every one what had become of them ; but no 
 one would or could answer her. At last an 
 old w'oman told her that all the white people 
 had been sent to a town some w'ay off. 
 Taking her poor little baby in her arms, and 
 accompanied by two other children, whom 
 she took care of, she set out and travelled till 
 she came to the ])lace. Here, for a very 
 long time, she suffered in the same manner 
 as she did at Ava; but she did not know the 
 purpose for which the prisoners were brought 
 to that dreadful place, which was, that they 
 were to be burned alive: the cruel man, how'- 
 ever, who intended this, was killed himself, 
 so that they still remained in prison. In the 
 midst of their sorrows, Mrs. Judson was 
 taken ill of a dreadful fever; but though she 
 was so ill, and not able to move, she could 
 ■pray, and she did pray; she asked God to 
 take care of him, and she felt comforted in 
 the thought of his love and protection; and 
 in time she recovered from her illness. In 
 the meanwhile, the English army came nearer 
 and nearer to the city, and the king and the 
 people got more and more frightened. At 
 last they sent and promised to give the 
 English every thing they wanted, if they 
 would only promise to go away. Among 
 the things which the English demanded, was, 
 that all the white people, (amongst whom of 
 
STORY OF MRS. JUDSON. 
 
 47 
 
 course were Mr. and Mrs. Judson.) should be 
 sent to them. This the king, for a long time, 
 refused — for though he had used them so 
 cruelly, he did not wish to part with them ; 
 but when the English army threatened t(.» 
 take possession of his city, he consented to 
 that, and every thing else they required. If 
 Mrs. Judson had prayed to God in her dis- 
 tress, she did not forget to praise him now, 
 when, safely seated in the boat, with her hus- 
 band and little baby, and sailing down the 
 river on a beautiful moonlight night, she left 
 for ever the place where she had sufiered so 
 dreadfully.” 
 
 “And were the English kind to her, mam- 
 ma, and did she get safely back to her own 
 country, and live happily afterwards ?” 
 
 “ The English were very kind to her, and 
 I have no doubt that she lived happily after- 
 wards; but she did not desire to go back to 
 her own country; she lived and died among 
 the heathen, trying to teach them about 
 Christ; Nor was it without suceess — five I 
 have read of who were converted and be- 
 came Christians; and some of them who loved 
 Mrs. Judson very much, had stayed with her 
 all the time Mr. Judson was in prison, and 
 did every thing they could to comfort and 
 assist her.” 
 
 “ But five seems very few, mamma !” 
 
 “Very few, Jane! I do not know that 
 there were only five; but if so, it is not very 
 few; do you remember the text you have 
 
48 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 learnt, about the angels of God rejoicing in 
 heaven over the soul of one person who re- 
 pents ? one, only one; how can you say, then, i 
 that five are very few 
 
/ 
 
 DUSSELTIIAL ABBEY. 
 
 It is a happy thing to labour for the cause of 
 Christ among the distant heathen; but there 
 are also missionaries at home, whose work is 
 often equally useful, and equally blest. It is 
 about one of these that I am now going to 
 tell you. 
 
 It was a lovely morning in spring, when a 
 little boy was w’alking alone in a beautiful 
 garden; alone, as he thought, but not quite 
 so, for his fond mamma wdio had sent him 
 out, w'as standing at a wdndow of her castle 
 watchins; her dear child. The nio;ht had 
 been stormy, and she had sent him out to 
 see if any of her flowers had been blown 
 down; and if there were, to raise them, and 
 tie them up again. For some time the little 
 Adelbert pursued his occupation, enjoying 
 the sweetness of the morning, as cheerful 
 and gay as the little birds who w'ere sing- 
 ing among the branches over his head. At 
 last, as he was looking up, watching some 
 pigeons which w’ere flying about at a dis- 
 tance, he saw one little dove fluttering fee- 
 
50 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 bly on the wing; its movements showeii 
 that its strength had failed, and it w'as fall- 
 ing to the ground ; its companions hovered 
 round, but could not help it; little Adelbert 
 knew that immediately under it there was a 
 large pond, and that if it fell into it, it 
 would certainly be drowned. Ofl' he ran to 
 its assistance. There w’as a bridge across the | 
 pond, and a boat in it, but the bridge was I 
 too high above the water, to enable him to 
 reach the dove, and the boat was too far off 
 While he was considering what he should 
 do, the poor dove dropped faster and faster 
 through the air, until at last it fell as Adel- I 
 bert had feared, into the water ; it faintly ! 
 stretched out its scarcely hedged wdngs, and 
 Adelbert knew not how to rescue it; until 
 he joyfully saw at a short distance a wash- 
 ing tub, which the maids had been using for 
 the clothes. Down he rolled it into the pond, 
 and seizing a pole wdiich lay near, pushed 
 otf to the hel]i of the drowning dove. He 
 caught hold of it, just as it wms in the act of 
 sinking, took it out of the water, and wiped 
 its wet wdngs with his handkerchief, and 
 not knowing what to do with it, put it in- 
 side his jacket, whilst he w’as occupied in 
 setting back again to the shore. The Coun- 
 tess had watched her child with great anxiety, 
 during this time : Adelbert was wmong in 
 getting into the washing-tub, for although 
 we should ahvays be ready to risk our own 
 lives to sav'e one of our fellow'-men, it is not 
 right to do so for the sake of a bird ; yet the 
 
DUSSELTHAL ABBEY. 
 
 51 
 
 Countess was not angry, for she felt over- 
 joyed, to see that her Adelbert possessed 
 so much iiumanity and kindness; still she 
 watched him anxiously, till he got safe to 
 shore. Warmth had restored the dove; it 
 opened its red eyes, and the happy Adelbert 
 began to feed it with a piece of bread : he 
 then ran into the castle to his mother, to tell 
 her all that happened, but she knew al- 
 ready, and clasping her dear little boy in 
 her arms, she pressed liim to her, and solemn- 
 ly said, “ God bless you, my dear child I 
 May you never show less promptitude or 
 intrepidity in rescuing unfortunate men !” 
 'rhese words went, as the words of a fond 
 Mother often do, to the heart of her child. 
 They were not forgotten through long after 
 years, and the good Countess, before she 
 died, had the happiness of seeing him, by 
 the blessing of God, save hundreds of his 
 fellow-creatures from a fate, far worse than 
 that which awaited the drowning dove. 1 
 will tell you how this came about. When 
 (munt Von der Recke, for such was the 
 name of the little boy, became a man, Prus- 
 sia, his native country, had been desolated 
 by a long and dreadful war. You do not 
 know what a terrible thing war is. Little 
 children, when they hear of great battles 
 and splendid victories, do not know the 
 sufferings with which they are purchased ; 
 for my part, although I love my country as 
 well as any one, and hope that it may 
 always be as flourishing, and prosperous, as 
 
52 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 it now is, yet I cannot help thinking it is a 
 very wicked thing to go to war. 
 
 At the time of which I am speaking, the 
 countiy had been laid waste, the towns made 
 desolate, and many, many families utterly 
 ruined. There was another dreadful conse- 
 quence of the war in Prussia : many people 
 lost, not only their property, but their lives, 
 and their poor little children were left to 
 wander about the world without any one to 
 take care of them. Fatherless, motherless, 
 homeless, some wandered from door to door, 
 begging a bit of bread ; some hid themselves 
 in the woods and lived like savages upon 
 berries and birds' eggs, which they found in 
 the nests ; and some lived in the holes and 
 corners of the city, in dirt and wretchedness, 
 among thieves and beggars, and learned to 
 beg and steal like them. Count Von der 
 Recke pitied these multitudes of unhappy 
 children, and although he and his family had 
 lost a great part of their property, during the 
 war, he resolved to do something for their 
 relief. He, therefore, bought an estate, called 
 Dusselthal Abbey, and went to live there, 
 devoting his life to the care and instruction 
 of the poor oiyhans, whom he collected from 
 the woods, and towns, and villages around. 
 The Count, was a nobleman, and might have 
 lived only for his own ]>leasure and amuse- 
 ment, as many do ; but he was a pious man, 
 one who loved Christ, and was willing to 
 give up his own comfort to do good to his 
 fellow creatures. Instead of having fine car- 
 
DUSSELTHAL ABBEY. 
 
 53 
 
 riages and horses, plenty of servants, and an 
 elegant house, he lived in a plain and hum- 
 ble manner, eating black bread, and drinking 
 water, and devoting his money and his time, 
 to the orphans he had received. 
 
 Dussellhal Abbey is a large mansion, 
 situated in a pleasant valley, near the town 
 of Dusseldorf. It has a chapel belonging 
 to it, gardens, and play-grounds for the chil- 
 dren; they have school-rooms, where they are 
 taught to read and write, and work-shops, 
 where they are taught dilTerent trades, in 
 order that they may be able to work for their 
 living, when they are grown up. At the 
 hour of five in summer, and six in winter, a 
 bell rings for them to get up, and when they 
 are dressed, another bell calls them to pray- 
 ers. An hour after comes the sound of the 
 breakfast bell ; and when breakfast is over, 
 they all go to the chapel, where they hear 
 the Bible read, and are taught their duty as 
 Christians. From thence they all separate 
 to their different school-rooms, where they 
 are taught writing, reading, arithmetic, geo- 
 graphy, and history. At noon, they have 
 their dinner, after which, they go out to play, 
 in the garden and play-ground. After their 
 time for play is over, the bell rings again for 
 labour, and they each go to the different 
 rooms and work-shops, where they are taught 
 their future trade. Some learn to colour 
 maps, pictures, and plants — some to make 
 shoes — some to bake, or work upon the farm, 
 others to be smiths, gardeners, or millers; but 
 5 * 
 
54 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 they all attend the tailors room, and are 
 taught to make their own clothes, that they 
 may never go in rags again. At seven they 
 have their supper ; after which, they all as- 
 semble for evening .w'orship. Sometimes, 
 interesting stories about missionaries, are 
 then told them, or something of importance 
 that has occurred during the day, is related, 
 or any instance of kindness showm, or interest 
 taken in them by strangers, is told them. 
 The day is closed wdth hymns and sacred 
 music, which they sing very sweetly. 
 
 Do you not think these children ought to 
 have loved the Count, who had taken them 
 from so much misery and wretchedness, and 
 placed them in such a comfortable home? 
 They ought to have done so, certainly, but 
 many of them were very ungrateful. You 
 w'ould have supposed that a number of starv- 
 ing children would have been thankful for 
 good food ; but no, they had learnt to prefer 
 the sour fruit, and raw vegetables which they 
 used to get w hen wandering about, to the 
 wholesome food given them by the Count; 
 and they liked much better, many of them to 
 go about in dirt, and rags, than to w'ear neat 
 and proper clothing; for they looked upon 
 regular meals, and clean clothes, as a re- 
 straint, and were better pleased to go wild, as 
 they used to do. We may see from this, the 
 advantage of contracting good habits. You 
 are accustomed to be well dressed, to have 
 your meals at the usual time, and to eat 
 proper food ; and so far from thinking these 
 
DrSSELTHAL ABBEY. 
 
 55 
 
 things a restraint, you would think your- 
 selves very unfortunate to be without them. 
 So it is with all good habits ; they are a re- 
 straint at first, but when we become used to 
 them, they are a comfort and a pleasure. To 
 submit our own wills to the commandments 
 of God, is often a difficult lesson to learn : 
 but when, by the help of God, we become 
 used to it, then it is a blessing ; and the peace 
 of mind, cheerfulness, humility, and gentle- 
 ness, which we have learnt, make our own 
 happiness, as well as that of those around 
 us ; and protect us from many things that 
 would otherwise vex us. “Ye are my 
 friends,” said the Lord, “if ye keep my 
 commandments;” happy are the friends of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ ! But to keep his com- 
 mandments, we must learn to deny ourselves, 
 to submit to constraint, and to refrain from 
 many things which are agreeable to our own 
 inclination. There was also another cause, 
 which inclined these orphan children to hate 
 every thing which was good, and to love 
 that which was bad; they had all their lives 
 lived among wicked people, and evil exam- 
 I pie always does harm to those who witness 
 it. There is a small^creature called the cha- 
 ; meleon, which has the singular property of 
 constantly changing its colour; being green 
 upon green grass, red upon red cloth, and so 
 on. Now, that is just the case with us ; we 
 are too apt to resemble those whom we are 
 constantly with; so that we should be care- 
 ful to associate with good people, whom we 
 
56 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 should wish to be like, and not with those 
 whose example we ought to avoid, for we 
 may be sure that if we are constantly with 
 them, there is danger of our becoming like 
 them, whether we are sensible of it, or not. 
 
 Some of the children at Dusselthal, weary 
 of the restraint which they considered so dis- 
 agreeable, ran away and resumed their beg- 
 ging and wandering life. One of them named 
 ])iedrich, having wandered about some days 
 in the woods, began to be sorry for what he 
 had done, and to wish to return to his kind 
 friends. So he found his way to a town, and 
 putting the following letter into the post- 
 office, waited for an answer; “Dear Count, 
 
 I cannot omit to write to you. 1 pray you 
 whom I have so often odended to forgive 
 me. I perceive now my errors, and I beg 
 you will this once receive me again as a poor 
 
 lost sheep. I beg you will do it thus 
 
 wishes your affectionate Diedrich.” He for- 
 got however to put a direction, so that the | 
 
 Count did not know how to write to him : j 
 
 he employed the police to see if they could | 
 
 find him, but in vain : at last, he sent a letter ! 
 
 to him to stay at the post-office. Day after : 
 day poor Diedrich called there in vain, for : 
 
 the people at the post-office, did not think the ' 
 
 letter could be for that ragged boy ; until at i 
 last, teazed by his constant inquiries, they j 
 asked his name, and finding the (fount’s let- | 
 ler really was for him, they gave it him. To 
 his great joy it contained his pardon, and 
 permission to return to Dusselthal, which he 
 
DUSSELTHAL ABBEY. 
 
 57 
 
 accordingly did. He had not been long there, 
 however, before he committed a theft, and 
 ran away to the mountains. Six months af- 
 ter, he was again found under the walls of 
 Dusselthal, and again pardoned and received. 
 But his evil habits soon returned, and, after 
 remaining a short time, one cold winter’s 
 night, he again set off with a number of 
 worthless creatui’es in masks, and was seen 
 no more. 
 
 There were many other cases like this, yet 
 the Count was not discouraged ; he patiently 
 persevered in his kind efforts and was in seve- 
 ral instances richly rewarded. We should 
 never be in a hurry for a quick return ; if 
 you sow any seeds in your garden, you must 
 wait several weeks before they come up, and 
 weeks and weeks more, before they pro- 
 duce flowers ; neither do the prettiest flow- 
 ers always come up first. We should there- 
 fore learn to wait patiently for every thing. 
 The Count was very happy, as you may sup- 
 pose, when he saw any of the poor children, 
 whom he had taken out of such a deplorable 
 state, learn to be good, and industrious : they 
 were not all like Diedrich, several of them 
 amply repaid him, for his kindness, by their 
 own improvement, which was what he de- 
 sired. Amongst this number was Clemens. 
 When he first arrived at Uusselthal, although 
 he was thirteen years old, he could hardly 
 speak intelligibly; his language resembled 
 the grunting of the pigs he had been used to 
 keep company with in the woods. He had 
 
58 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 no father, and no mother, nor could he recol- 
 lect the time when he had any one to love 
 or to care for him, nor give any account of 
 where lie came from. As he became more 
 familiar w'itli them, they found out that he 
 had been employed as swine-herd by a peas- 
 ant ; he used to take his drove of pigs into [ 
 the fields, far from all human habitations, 
 and there he ate and slept amongst them; I 
 his favourite recollections when he began to j 
 talk of past times, always related to these j 
 pigs, and he used to tell his companions at ; 
 Dusselthal, long stories about them. Ilis 
 unfeeling master scarcely allowed him sulli- j 
 cient food to keej) him from being starved, ' 
 
 and often the poor little boy faint and hun- j 
 
 gry, was glad to eat the herbage such as the 
 pigs eat. It was a long time before he could 
 be made to give up the almost brutish habits, 
 which he had acquired during a childhood 
 passed in such a manner. One of his great- 
 est luxuries, w'as, when having stole secretly 
 upon all fours into the garden, he could 
 browse without interruption upon the salad 
 beds, which were to him a delicious treat, 
 neither was it very easy to make him forego 
 it. After a long series of care and teaching 
 however, his amiable qualities began to show 
 themselves. In process of time his conduct 
 became so kind and obliging, that it gained 
 him the affection of all his companions, while 
 his humility and gentleness made him a fa- 
 vourite with his teachers, and an example to 
 those who had enjoyed far greater advan- 
 
Ct’SSELTHAL ABBEY. 
 
 r>p 
 
 lages. Witfiin a very few years he was still 
 living at Dusselthai, industrious and happy. 
 
 I could tell you a great many more stories 
 about the Count and his children; of the 
 Strange habits of the unfortunate little beg- 
 gars, and of the extraordinary dress in which 
 they used to arrive: their ragged Prussian 
 coats, French tattered cloaks, Russian caps 
 scarcely stuck upon the clotted fragments of 
 uncombed hair, and their toes thrust through 
 the remains of ladies’ embroidered shoes; ot' 
 the unwillingness with which they submit to 
 be disrobed of their finery, although it often 
 swarms with vermin. I could tell you of 
 thpir evil ways, their swearing, lying, steal- 
 ing, and idleness, which they had learnt of 
 the wicked people they had been with, in 
 many of the different nations of Europe 
 througlf which they had wandered. I could 
 show you the same children, neat and clean 
 in their persons, content with proper food, 
 willing to submit to proper restraint, learn- 
 ing to read and write, and acquiring the 
 knowledge of a trade, which might support 
 them in comfort and honesty when they 
 grew up. I could also show them to you 
 singing the praises of God, learning the love 
 of Christ, and in some happy instances de- 
 lighting in the knowledge. But it would 
 make my story too long. Yet I must ask 
 you, whether, if you have a comfortable 
 home, and kind parents, you ought not to 
 be very grateful to God for these blessings ; 
 and whether you ought not to show your 
 
(50 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 gratitude by giving either now, or at some 
 future time, when you have an opportunity, 
 something to assist in taking care of or- 
 phans. 
 
 One tiling more I will add — Do you not 
 think the Count Von der Recke is happier 
 than if he had passed his life in ease and in- 
 dolence ? I am sure he is. In consulting our 
 ease, we do not consult our happiness : that 
 is, by giving ourselves trouble, and exerting 
 ourselves for the welfare of others, we are 
 tar more happy than while we are only in- 
 tent upon our own enjoyment — not that we 
 ought to exert ourselves for the sake of being 
 happy ourselves, but in order to make others 
 so, and then our own happiness will follow as 
 a matter of course. 
 
 One of our first considerations should be, 
 to make ourselves useful. Have y«u ever 
 noticed what a pretty web the spider makes? 
 the long fine threads, drawn regularly from 
 point to point, and interwoven so beautifully 
 together ; and if it happens to be outside the 
 window, you may see those pretty threads, 
 on a fine dewy morning, all covered with lit- 
 tle rows of dew drops glistening in the sun 
 like pearls; and what is that web for? To 
 catch poor flies for the spider’s dinner. Now 
 1 do not see why we should find fault with 
 the spider for catching flies, any more than 
 with ourselves for eating beef and mutton; 
 yet you know we do not particularly admire 
 him, and far from liking his web, we always 
 sweep it away ; but we do not treat the silk 
 
DUSSELTHAL ABBEY. 
 
 61 
 
 worm in this way, because liis web is useful 
 to us, and makes us a comfortable dress, and 
 we think mucli of his skill and ingenuity. 
 Now, while you are only occupied for 5'our- 
 self, you are like the spider, but when you 
 are doing any thing which will be useful to 
 any one else, you are like the siik worm 
 which is far better. 
 
 Every one who wishes it, may be a mis- 
 sionary at home, although they may not be 
 able to receive beggars and orphans in their 
 house to provide for them, and instruct them 
 like the good Count Von der Rccke : he is 
 happy, for God has said “ they that turn 
 many to righteousness shall shine as the stars, 
 for ever and ever but those who have no 
 opportunity to do as he has done, may al- 
 ways find at home, some poor and ignorant 
 people, w'ho need their assistance and instruc- 
 tion, as much as the distant heathen. 
 
 6 
 
THE PANORAMA. 
 
 *• Mamma,” said little Jane, “ I’ve such good 
 news for you!” It was very early in the 
 morning, but a bright ray of light shone 
 through the opening of the window-shutter, 
 and even peeped in, through the curtain of 
 mamma's bed. Jane had scrambled up on 
 a chair, and her little face was now just 
 making its appearance above mamma’s pil- 
 low. “What's the matter, Jane I” “Oh, 
 mamma, have you forgot the Panorama !” 
 Mamma, to whom the Panorama was not 
 an object of such great consequence, as it 
 was to her little daughter, had (juite forgot- 
 ten it, and felt rather vexed at being woke 
 at such an unseasonable hour in the morn- 
 ing. She, however, inquired what was the 
 good news. “Why, mamma, that it is a 
 tine morning, and we shall be able to go.” 
 Jane’s mamma tried to go to sleep again, 
 but she could not. So after some delay, she 
 got up, and when she was dressed, she called 
 Jane to take a walk with her in the garden. 
 All the beautiful flowers were fresh and 
 fragrant with the dew of the night, and the 
 62 
 
THE PANORAMA. 
 
 63 
 
 little birds were singing their merry song in 
 the bright sunshine. Whilst they were walk- 
 ing, Jane’s mamma talked to her child about 
 the Panorama they were going to see: she 
 told her it represented a beautiful island, but 
 that the people were both heathen and sa- 
 vages ; they had no houses to live in, nor 
 clothes to wear, nor any fields planted with 
 corn to make them bread ; but worse far 
 than this, they knew nothing of God, until 
 some kind missionaries went to teach them : 
 and Jane was very much pleased when her 
 mamma told her she would see the picture 
 of the missionary’s house and his garden, 
 and the church which had been built. After 
 breakfast they put on their bonnets, and as 
 Jane’s mamma was not rich, and had no 
 carriage of her own, they walked down the 
 hill to wait for the omnibus to take them up 
 to town. Now it happened that morning, 
 that there were several people in the omni- 
 bus who knew Jane’s mamma, so they be- 
 gan to talk to her about ditferent things, and 
 .Jane was left very much to herself. Now 
 Jane was very uncomfortable; a poor shab- 
 bily dressed woman sat next to her, who 
 had several parcels and a bundle. Jane did 
 not like that her pretty muslin frock should 
 touch the woman’s clothes, so she held it as 
 much as possible away from her. Tlie woman 
 stopped to get out just at the same time that 
 Jane and her mamma did, and she seemed 
 to want Jane to hold some of her parcels for 
 her. Jane had been too well brought up. 
 
MISSIONAUY TALES. 
 
 G 4 
 
 positively to refuse, so she looked out of the 
 window, while her mamma was getting out 
 of the omnibus, and then followed her, and 
 away they walked to the Panorama. When 
 they got there Jane was very much delight- 
 ed with the magnificent scenery. The time 
 represented was early in the morning ; the 
 place was a large island, surrounded by the 
 calm blue sea; in the distance were several 
 other islands and rocks; the distant hills of 
 the island were covered with beautiful trees, 
 while nearer might be seen bright scarlet 
 flowers, such as we keep in hot-houses and 
 green-houses, but there they grow wild 
 amongst the bushes. On one side was a group 
 of savages, dancing in a wild and tierce 
 manner, and drawn up on the beach was a 
 large canoe, out of which came a number of 
 ferocious looking men, who were, returning 
 from one of their wicked and cruel expedi- 
 tions. On the opposite shore was a very dif- 
 ferent scene; just at the foot of the wood- 
 covered hills, close to the blue sea, were a 
 few cottages, which, with their barns and 
 hay-stacks round them, looked like a quiet 
 little English village. After Jane had passed 
 some time in admiring all she saw, her mam- 
 ma told her that the island was called New 
 Zealand, and that the English cottages were 
 the missionary settlement ; and she pointed 
 out to her the pretty plots of green grass by 
 which it was surrounded, the seeds of which 
 were brought from England, for they have 
 no grass in that country; and she showed 
 
THE PANORAMA. 
 
 65 
 
 her the missionary’s house, and the school, 
 and the church. Jane thought it did not 
 look much like a church, but she was pleased 
 when she saw all the little New Zealand chil- 
 dren going to school. She had read a letter 
 which they had written to some children in 
 this country, and she knew that they learned 
 about Christ, and she thought what a differ- 
 ence there was between them and the wild 
 savages on the other shore. Her mamma told 
 her how kind the missionaries had been to the 
 ; New Zealanders in many things, and how 
 ; they had taught the New Zealanders about 
 God. Jane could think of nothing, and speak 
 ! of nothing all day, when she got home, but 
 the kindness of the missionaries, in going to 
 i that distant island, and of how happy they 
 must have been, when any of the New Zea- 
 j landers, by the blessing of God, became 
 j Christians ; and at last she said, “ Mamma, 
 how I should like to be a missionary !” Mam- 
 ma shook her head. “ Yes, indeed, mamma,’’ 
 said Jane, more earnestly, “ that I should !” 
 Then you have much to learn first : why, 
 you did not even like that woman in the om- 
 nibus to sit next to you !"’ “ Oh, mamma, 
 
 but then she was so dirty!” “Dirty ! I as- 
 sure you, she was beautifully neat and clean, 
 compared with the New Zealanders.” “ But 
 you know, mamma, that is quite different.” 
 “Not at all different: if you could not bear 
 with a dirty woman in the omnibus, you may 
 depend upon it, you could not bear with the 
 G * 
 
6G 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 New Zealanders. A missionary must try to 
 })lease others, in order that lie may have an 
 opportunity of teaching them about Christ, 
 I’or no one will listen to the instructions of a 
 person whom they do not love. lie will 
 have much to bear with, and must, there- 
 fore, learn not to think about his own com- 
 fort and accommodation. Those who will 
 not begin at home, are not likely to succeed 
 abroad. 
 
 New Zealand is a very pretty place to 
 look at, in the Panorama, but that you may 
 understand that it is not such a ]ileasant 
 place to live in, I will give you an account 
 of what happened, not long ago, to a mis- 
 sionary family there. Jane's mamma took 
 a book out of her work-basket, and Jane sat 
 down, on her little stool, to listen to the 
 story. “ A man of the name of Towee Ta- 
 boo, instead of knocking in the usual man- 
 ner, for admittance, chose to jump over the 
 fence and in doin^ so, lie hurt his foot. He 
 then commenced jumiiing about the yard, 
 making many wild antics, and brandishing 
 his s])ear, with furious gestures ; he then 
 rushed up to the missionary, and demanded 
 to be paid for having hurt his foot.” “ Oh ! 
 really, mamma !” exclaimed Jane, “ that was 
 too bad.” “ So tbe missionary thought. 
 Jane, and he refused.” Towee tlien snatched 
 up an iron pot, which he was going to 
 carry otf. but the missionary would not al- 
 low it. Towee then began to stamp about 
 
THE PANOEAMA. 
 
 67 
 
 the yard, with a measured pace, and horrid 
 gestures, every now and then stopping or 
 squatting down, thumping his breast, and 
 panting, as if trying to excite his own rage 
 to the utmost, before making a fatal spring. 
 The missionary not being able to cjuiet him, 
 left him to himself, and joined the rest of the 
 ' family, it being the time for prayers. After 
 prayers, Towee came to the window, and 
 putting in the leg he had hurt, again de- 
 manded payment. The missionary told him 
 he had acted very wrong, that he must go 
 away, and come again to-morrow, in a pro- 
 per manner, and knock at the gate, like Mr. 
 Tekokee, Mr. Wattoo, Mr. Eurota, Mr. Uark- 
 eye, and then lie would let him in, and say, 
 ‘How do you do, Mr. Towee ?’ and invite 
 him to breakfast. This, however, by no 
 means pacilied him; he talked about stay- 
 ing many days, and burning the house ; that 
 he should stay to-day, to-morrow, and five 
 days more, that he should make a great 
 fight, and that ‘ ten, and ten, and ten, and 
 ten men, holding up his fingers as he spoke, 
 would come and set fire to the place. The 
 natives, who lived wuth the missionary, now 
 got frightened, and coming to the window, 
 they called to the missionary’s wife, and 
 said, “ To-morrow, you see a great fire — the 
 house — oh, yes! — the children dead — all 
 dead — a great many men, — a great fight — 
 plenty muskets.’ The missionaries then shut 
 up their house, and closed all the windows. 
 
G8 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 and some of tliem went to bed, and some 
 remained to keep watch. Nothing further, 
 however, happened that night, except that 
 they heard Towee, chaunting, or rather 
 yelling a horrible ditty, by which he fancied 
 he could bewitch the missionaries. Very 
 early in the morning, they were awakened 
 by the savages who were continually ar- 
 riving, until the premises were entirely sur- 
 rounded. However, the family ventured to 
 assemble, and go to breakfast, and even to 
 send out some to their uninvited guests, 
 hoping to appease them. Towee drank the 
 tea, but was soon again seen prancing about 
 the yard, with many other warriors, all hide- 
 ous figures, armed with spears and hatchets, 
 and some few wdth muskets. The missionary 
 went out to endeavour to appease the tumult, 
 leaving his wife and children in the house. 
 Here they sat nearly all day, trembling with 
 fear, and almost fainting with the heat, as 
 the windows were blocked up, with ranges 
 of native heads looking in. The noise and 
 clamor outside, were very great, and the 
 poor little children began to cry in the fear 
 that the savages would kill their papa, and 
 themselves too, when they heard the slight rush 
 walls of the mission-house, shaking all around 
 them.*’ 
 
 “ Oh, mamma, if I had been there, how 
 frightened I should have been.” 
 
 “Well, so they were: but one little boy 
 remembered he had a F riend, who was able 
 
THE PANORAMA. 
 
 69 
 
 to take care of them all ; and he began to re- 
 peat the first lines of a little hymn he had 
 learnt : — » 
 
 “ Jesus, thou, our guardian be. 
 
 Sweet it is, to trust in thee” — 
 
 and said, he should like to say it for a month; 
 and then, when the fight came again, he 
 could pray to himself, and he would pray the 
 great God to make these poor creatures know 
 Him, and love the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 then they would leave off fighting. He then 
 repeated what his mamma had told him, to 
 his little sister, and told her, that a woman 
 and four little children, could do nothing; but 
 they could pray to God, and he could keep 
 the natives from hurting their poor papa. It 
 was not the natives that they ought to be 
 afraid of, for they could not keep them out 
 of heaven, if they killed them; but they 
 should be afraid of sin.” Thus he tried to 
 comfort his little sister, and God heard their 
 prayers, for their papa was not killed, but 
 came back to them again safe, after the dis- 
 turbance was over. 
 
 “ And so, mamma, Mr. Towee did not suc- 
 ceed in getting paid, for having hurt himself, 
 by clambering over the fence, instead of 
 coming in at the door.” 
 
 “ I am sorry to say he did ; for he kept 
 possession of the iron pot he had seized, 
 in the first instance, and carried it off in 
 triumph.” 
 
 “ But had not they any servants in the 
 
70 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 house that the children were left there alone, 
 with their mamma ?” 
 
 “ There were a few native girls who helped 
 them to do the work of the house, but direct- 
 ly there was any thing to be seen or heard, 
 they went away, and sometimes even when 
 there was not. How would you like it, if 
 when it w^as time to lay the cloth for dinner, 
 Sarah wa^ to go out and bathe in, the river, 
 and return after dinner, and lie dowm for two 
 or three hours ; you, in the meantime, being 
 obliged to lay the cloth, wait upon yourself, 
 and wash up all the plates and dishes after- 
 wards V’ 
 
 “ Is that the way they do in New Zealand, 
 mammal” 
 
 “ That is the account a missionary’s wife 
 gives of her servants.” 
 
 This cooled Jane’s ardour for going to 
 New Zealand. After remaining quiet for some 
 time, at length she said, “ Well then, mamma, 
 I should like to go to India, as a missionary ; 
 there are plenty of servants there!” 
 
 “ Perhaps there may be,” said her mam- 
 ma, “ but then there are other inconve- 
 niences to be borne with ; but one thing I am 
 sure of, that wdien you are grown up, you 
 can never be a useful Christian, much less a 
 missionary, until you have learned to con- 
 sider your own comfort a secondary object ; 
 and to reflect, not what you like best your- 
 self, but how you can do that which is most 
 pleasing to God, and most likely to do good 
 to others.” 
 
THE PANORAMA. 
 
 71 
 
 Jane said nothing further, but she did not 
 forget when she went to bed that night, to 
 pray to God to make her think less of herself, 
 and more of pleasing Him, and doing good 
 to others. According to the words of Christ. 
 “ If any man will come after me, let him 
 deny himself, and take up his cross daily, 
 and follow me we can never follow Christ, 
 or be really Christians, whilst we are only 
 intent upon pleasing ourselves, and making 
 ourselves comfortaWe. 
 
LEANCx AFA.' 
 
 Opex the map of Asia, and you will there 
 find traced the vast empire of China. Its 
 riches, prosperity, and civilization, equal its 
 extent; it has fine towns, beautiful gardens, 
 and well cultivated fields, and a population 
 as skilful in inventing, and as eager in enjoy- 
 ing the comforts and luxuries of life as our- 
 selves. It has existed too, from very remote 
 times, before the coming of our Lord upon 
 earth, and when England and the rest of 
 Europe were covered with forests, and inha- 
 bited by barbarians, the Chinese were, what 
 they are now, a learned, civilized, and po- 
 lished people. 
 
 Might we then have lived as well and as 
 happily had we been born natives of that far 
 distant country, as we may in our own land ? 
 No; for the Chinese know not God. How- 
 ever wise or clever people may be, they know 
 nothing of the will of God, unless He teaches 
 them: of this, the Chinese, as well as the 
 Egyptians, Grecians, Romans, and other great 
 nations that have existed, are a striking 
 12 
 
MISSIONARY PREACHING. 
 

LEANG AFA. 
 
 73 
 
 proof. Notwithstanding the Chinese are a 
 civilized people, and have been such for 
 thousands of years, they are plunged in the 
 profoundest ignorance in all things relating 
 to religion. Not only are their idols multi- 
 plied through the land, but they ofl'er sacri- 
 fices to the hills, the rivers, and the winds, 
 and to the great men who lived in former 
 times, the principal of whom is a philosopher 
 called Confucius. Does a fire happen 1 they 
 attribute it to an evil spirit; a long pole is 
 erected in a public place, and adorned w’ith 
 lanterns; it is visited each morning wfith 
 music, and the people bow towards it. A 
 theatrical exhibition is then appointed in the 
 hope of appeasing the evil spirit. Does an 
 inundation overspread the country, destroy- 
 ing the grain, and reducing multitudes to 
 famine? “It is the Dragon,” say the Chi- 
 nese, “moving his tail under-ground, and 
 causing the water to come up !” 
 
 But let not my little reader smile at this; 
 we should have been as foolish and ignorant 
 as they, unless it had pleased the Lord to 
 teach us better. Perhaps you w'ill ask. Why 
 do we not send missionaries there? The 
 Chinese will not allow them to come; they 
 are filled with a vain idea of their own great- 
 ness and wisdom ; they call the English, and 
 all other nations, “ Outside barbarians,” and 
 despise every people on earth, except them- 
 selves. Some few years ago, the King o'f 
 England sent an ambassador to China, with 
 presents for the Emperor. As the ambassa- 
 7 
 
74 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 dor offended the Emperor,* he refused to re- 
 ceive him, and wrote a letter to the king, in 
 which he told him, that he did intend to have 
 feasted the ambassador in the hall of light and 
 splendour,” and in the “ garden of mutual 
 pleasure;” to have granted him leave to ram- 
 ble among the “hills of ten thousand ages,” 
 and to have conferred rewards at the “Gate 
 of Concord ;” but “ in consequence of this 
 affront, although he did not inflict severe 
 chastisement, he sent them away.” It cannot 
 be doubted that the ambassador was wrong, 
 for he said he was ill, I believe, when he was 
 not; and thus had a journey of so many 
 thousand miles in vain. The letter, however, 
 goes on, after mentioning the acceptance of 
 a few presents, to inform the king of England ■ 
 of the Emperor’s pleasure in the following 
 terms: — “The celestial empire,” (by which 
 he means China,) “does not value things 
 brought from a distance; all the curious and 
 ingenious productions of your country, it 
 does not look upon as rare pearls. There is 
 no occasion for the future to trouble yourself 
 to send an ambasssador so far; but pour out 
 your heart in dutiful obedience, and for ever 
 obey this.” Simh was his Majesty’s mandate 
 to the kina: of England! but if tlie self-conceit 
 of the Chinese lead them to despise the “ out- 
 
 * By refusing to enter the Emperor's presence im- 
 mediately on his arrival from a long journey, without 
 having had time allowed him even to change his dress. 
 Lord Amherst was the ambassador. — See Dr. Morri- 
 son's Memoirs. 
 
LEANS AFA. 
 
 75 
 
 side barbarians,” they equally dislike them: 
 no stranger is ever allowed to go to any Chi- 
 nese town except Canton, no woman is per- 
 mitted to land even there; and the Chinese 
 government absolutely forbids its subjects to 
 teach the language to foreigners. But the 
 written Chinese is the language of five 
 nations ; the language of 300,000,000 of 
 people ! Whatever, therefore, may be the 
 consequences, the difficulties, or dangers, 
 attending the attempt, it has been the earnest 
 desire of Christians, to send missionaries to 
 acquire the language, and to preach the gos- 
 pel in it. A missionary. Dr. Morrison, passed 
 nearly all his life there, translating the Bible 
 into Chinese, which he completed before his 
 death. The Chinese is a language very diffi- 
 cult to learn, as it contains 80,000 different 
 characters. The translation of the Bible was 
 the great work of Dr. Morrison’s life; but 
 both he, and another missionary, Dr. Milne, 
 though prohibited from preaching, and watch- 
 ed and suspected on every side, yet found 
 means to convey instruction to a few of the 
 people, who in their turn became persecuted, 
 w'hen their knowledge of Christianity was 
 suspected. Amongst these few was a Chi- 
 nese, named Leang Afa. 
 
 ! Dr. Morrison lived at Canton; but although 
 he was suflered to remain there, no sooner 
 did Dr. Milne arrive from England, than he 
 
 I was immediately ordered to leave the place ; 
 he, therefore, went to Malacca, a town not 
 very far distant, where he occupied himself 
 
76 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 ill learning Chinese, and in printing Dr. Mor- 
 rison’s Cliinese translation of’ the Bible. For 
 ihis purpose, he engaged two Chinese printers, 
 one of whom was Leang Afa. 
 
 l.,eang Afa was an idolater; yet he does 
 not apjiear to have been entirely thoughtless 
 upon the subject of right and wrong, good 
 and evil. When he was about to leave Can- 
 ton, whilst sitting alone, waiting for the time 
 to come in which he was to embark on board 
 the vessel to go to Malacca, he thought to 
 himself that this change of situation would 
 be a good opportunity for altering his course 
 of life, and becoming w’ise and virtuous ; 
 “‘and now',” said he to himself, “w'hy not 
 give up my w'orthless friends, cease to follow 
 my evil practices, and become a good man'?” 
 Then he reflected with regret upon the folly 
 and w'ickedness of his past years, and the age 
 he had reached w'ithout having made any 
 good use of his life. It would be well for us 
 all to inquire what good use we have made 
 of past time — particularly those who are 
 young. Have you a little garden of your 
 own, where you attend to your own plants, 
 and sow your ow'n seeds ? If so, you know 
 that the time w'hich is lost can never be re- 
 gained; if you sow your seeds a month later, 
 they will come up a month later : and if you 
 let all the pleasant months of the spring go 
 by, and do not sow them until the summer, 
 they will not come up until the autumn, and 
 then, perhaps, never dower at all, or as soon 
 as their delicate blossoms appear, they will 
 
LEANG AFA. 
 
 77 
 
 be destroyed by the cold winds and rains of 
 the coming winter. Just so it is in our 
 hearts; the time wliich is lost before we be- 
 gin to do what is right, can never be re- 
 gained; perhaps you think all time that is 
 past is lost to us; no, if it has been well em- 
 ployed, it is not lost, although we shall never 
 see it again. Look at the pretty plant which 
 was set in the garden in the spring; it was 
 very little then, but now it has sent forth 
 shoots, and stems, and leaves, and has grown 
 large and handsome; the bright summer 
 months are past, but they were not lost to it. 
 God, who causes the sun to shine, and the 
 rain to fall, and the earth to bring forth herbs 
 and flowers, can alone cause holy disposi- 
 tions to grow in our hearts. We should, 
 therefore, look to Jesus, and endeavour with 
 his help to follow the example he gave us 
 when on earth : — 
 
 “ Like him may we be found below 
 In wisdom’s paths of peace; 
 
 Like him in grace and knowledge grow, 
 
 As years and strength increase.” 
 
 When Leang Afa landed at Malacca, he 
 was surrounded by people whose language 
 he did not understand. “ I had a mouth,” 
 said he, “but I could not speak; I had ears, 
 but I could not hear, my grief was extreme.” 
 Being thus unable to join in the society of 
 others, he had full leisure to consider his 
 good resolutions, and to put them into prac- 
 tice. But he did not find this possible. He 
 7 ^ 
 
78 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 prayed to gods and goddesses of every de- 
 scription, begging them to send him peace 
 and great prosperity. Then he burnt incense, 
 and made ofierings to them. The Chinese 
 burn paper before their gods, with gold and 
 silver leaf upon it ; the paper, they say, is to 
 represent clothes, and the gold and silver 
 leaf, money; all which, when sent up in flame, 
 are caught by surrounding spirits. 
 
 But, perhaps, you wonder how it was, that | 
 
 the missionary, in whose house Leang Afa | 
 
 lived, did not teach him better. Alas ! he | 
 would not learn; he disliked exceedingly to j 
 hear the Bible read, and to worship God, and 
 he wished to hear nothing about it. 
 
 At length the priest of one of the false 
 gods, called Budha, came to visit him; and, 
 glad to have some one to consult, in the un- 
 happy state of his mind, Leang Afa readily 
 entered into conversation with him, respect- 
 ing his idol. The priest assured him, that if 
 he would serve Budha, not only should he 
 obtain pardon for his own sins, but those of 
 all his family should also be forgiven. De- i 
 lighted at hearing this, Leang Afa eagerly | 
 inquired how Budha was to be served. The I 
 priest then told him, that daily, morning and [ 
 evening, he must repeat the sacred books, 
 and contribute money to the support of the 
 idol. Leang Afa then inquired if it would be 
 meritorious to burn incense to Budha. He 
 was assured it would. The priest then gave 
 him a book, and told him if he read a single 
 page, he would reduce a little the sins of i 
 
r 
 
 LEANG AFA. 
 
 79 
 
 his former state of being in this world; but 
 that if he would recite one thousmid million 
 pages, then all the sins of his former state 
 would be cancelled, all sufl’ering in his pre- 
 sent, prevented. Poor Leang Afa! joyfully 
 did he commence his task; evening after 
 evening, and evening after evening, did he sit 
 reciting the book. When we hear these 
 things, how can we help thinking of our 
 Saviour’s words, when he said: “When ye 
 pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen 
 do: for they think that they shall be heard for 
 their much speaking.” Leang Afa soon 
 found that his “ much speaking” brought him 
 neither peace nor holiness of mind, nor a 
 sense of the pardon he desired ; and, after 
 many wearisome eflbrts, he discontinued. 
 Still he feared the consequences of his sins, 
 and he was determined to make himself 
 better. He did not know that without the 
 help of Christ, he had no power to do so; we 
 cannot make ourselves good, any more than 
 if we are ill, we can make ourselves well; 
 but as diseases cause the death of the body, 
 so sin causes the death of the soul, that awful 
 death which is called in the Revelation, “the 
 second death.” Tliis is the reason why sin 
 is spoken of as a disease, in the Bible, as in 
 Isaiah i. 5, 0, and Christ alone is the physi- 
 cian who can heal us of this disease. 
 
 After some time passed in the manner 
 which I have described, it pleased the Lord, 
 to incline Afa’s heart to seel: his Saviour; by 
 degrees he began to listen to the instructions 
 
80 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 of the missionary, and to read the Bible. He 
 became convinced of his utter inability to 
 make himself good, and he heard with ex- 
 treme delight of the atonement which Christ 
 had oflered for his sins, of his love for him, 
 and of the promise of the Holy Spirit, by 
 which his heart might be changed and made 
 better. As soon as Dr. Milne thought him 
 sufficiently instructed in the truth, and was 
 persuaded, so far as man can know, of the 
 sincerity of his love to Christ, he baptized 
 him, and with much joy, as he was the first 
 Chinese whom he had seen become a Chris- 
 tian. 
 
 For four years Leang Afa continued at 
 Malacca with Dr. Milne; and during this 
 time he seems to have lived peacefully and 
 happily. At length, desiring to see his family 
 and friends once more, he returned to Can- 
 ton. When he saw them all given to idola- 
 try, worshipping gods and goddesses who 
 could not help them, and burning incense to 
 them, as he formerly did, he pitied them, and 
 endeavoured to teach them better. 
 
 In China, it is the custom to endeavour to 
 instruct others by writing, rather than by 
 speaking. Accordingly, Leang Afa wrote a 
 little book upon the way of salvation, in the 
 Chinese language, and was going to print it, 
 when suddenly the policemen entered his 
 house, carried Afa off to prison, and took 
 the books and blocks, which are the things 
 used for printing, to the public courts, where 
 they were all destroyed. When Dr. Morri- 
 
LEANG AFA. 
 
 81 
 
 son heard that Afa was in prison, he made 
 great efforts to get him released; which he at 
 last effected, by the payment of a sum of 
 money. Before the magistrates set him at 
 liberty, however, they caused him to be 
 beaten dreadfully. 
 
 It is against the law in China, for people 
 to be instructed in Christianity. Edicts are 
 constantly published in the Emperor’s name, 
 threatening death, imprisonment, and exile, to 
 any who shall be guilty of printing Christian 
 books, and teaching or baptizing the people. 
 In one of these, the Chinese Emperor says: 
 “When once a notion of ascending to heaven 
 enters the mind, men are regardless of death.” 
 That is true; did not our Saviour say, “Fear 
 not them which kill the body, but are not 
 able to kill the soul ?” Thus thought Leang 
 Afa, and neither punishment nor the fear of 
 death turned away his heart from following 
 Christ. After he had got out of prison, he 
 went to Malacca, to Dr. Milne, with whom 
 he remained until his death, after which he 
 again returned to Canton, to be with Dr. 
 Morrison. It would have been more safe 
 and pleasant for Leang Afa to remain at Ma- 
 lacca; but there was no person thei'e to in- 
 struct him in the faith of Christ, so he boldly 
 returned to Canton. For several years he 
 studied the Scriptures diligently, for it was 
 his earnest wish to be himself a minister of 
 the gospel, that he might preach it to his 
 countrymen. In the meanwhile, he did not 
 forget his own family, using every means to 
 
82 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 jicrsuade them to become Christians. His 
 wife was taught to believe in Christ, and his 
 little childi’en were brought up in the fear of 
 his name. 
 
 After Leang Afa was ordained to be a 
 minister, his anxiety and earnestness for the 
 spread of the gospel increased. He seems 
 to have been afraid of nothing, but distributed 
 his books every where, and taught and ex- 
 horted the people on all occasions. Such a 
 proceeding did not long escape the notice of 
 the government, and once moi’e Afa was 
 seized and put into prison, and once more he 
 was set at liberty by means of the English. 
 
 And where is Afa now? I cannot tell 
 whether he is yet alive, but I know that 
 nineteen years after he became a Christian, 
 he still lived, an anxious and devoted minis- 
 ter of the gospel amongst his pagan country- 
 men. Lonn; after both the English mission- 
 aries, by whom he had been instructed, 
 were laid in their graves, in that far distant 
 land, Leang Afa still faithfully persevered in 
 his Christian calling. I know, too, that he 
 had a little son, whose name was Leang- 
 tsin-tih, which means, “entering on virtue:” 
 this little son was baptized a Christian, and 
 it was his father’s earnest wish that he, like 
 himself, should live to preach the gospel 
 amongst the Chinese. Perhaps, if it should 
 please God to grant his wish, w’e may yet 
 hear of Lean<r-tsin-tih. 
 
 There is a prophecy in the book of Isaiah, 
 which says, ” Behold, these shall come from 
 
LEANG AFA. 
 
 83 
 
 far ; and lo, these from the north, and from 
 the west, and these from the land of Sinim,” 
 (Isaiah xlix. 12.) It is thought that Sinim 
 here is another name for China. Doubtless 
 the time will come, when China, now shut 
 out from all the rest of the w'orld, and where 
 the foot of a stranger is scarcely allowed to 
 tread, will listen to the preaching of the gos- 
 pel : for the kingdom of Christ shall fill the 
 whole world, as is prophesied in Daniel xi. 
 44 , 45 , and in many other parts of the Bible. 
 Meanwhile, blessed are they who, like Leang 
 Afa, have been chosen by the Lord, to spread 
 amongst their heathen countrymen, the first 
 knowledge of those good tidings of great joy 
 which shall be to all people ; blessed are they 
 in the midst of trouble, danger, and persecu- 
 tion, for “ there is laid up for them a crown 
 of righteousness, which the Lord, the right- 
 eous Judge, shall give them at that day, and 
 not unto them only, but unto all them also 
 that love his appearing.” 
 
HEATHEN SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 It was a rainy, windy evening, late in au- 
 tumn ; a sudden gust, which howled through 
 the old elms in the garden, shook the window 
 of the little parlour, bright with the light of 
 fire and lamp, where Jane's mamma was sit- 
 ting at a small table, busily writing. “ How 
 high the wind is,” she observed, as the long 
 deep blast died mournfully away among the 
 trees; but as no one replied, she looked up 
 and saw Jane’s eyes fixed on an unsnuffed 
 candle, which stood near her. “ The snuf- 
 fers are on the piano, Jane,” she said, and 
 being in haste to finish her letter, she again 
 looked down on the paper, and continued 
 writing. Jane got up and fetched the snuf- 
 fers. Again, there ensued a deep silence, 
 and Jane’s mamma, thinking her little girl 
 might be afraid of the storm, which had now 
 become very violent, put away her letter and 
 took her work, with the intention of talking 
 to Jane and amusing her. 
 
 Jane set two or three more stitches, in her 
 work, but every now and then she cast an 
 anxious and half-frightened glance towards 
 
 84 
 
HEATHEN SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 85 
 
 the candle. Her mamma thought she was 
 looking towards the window. 
 
 “Are you afraid of the wind, Jane?” 
 
 “No, mamma,” said Jane, with a solemn 
 countenance, “it is not the wind.” 
 
 “ J\'ot the wind ! why, what is it then ?” 
 
 “ Now, Jane would like to have said. Noth- 
 ing, mamma ; but she had been taught that 
 to reply, “nothing was the matter,” when 
 she knew that there was something, was un- 
 true, and, therefore, extremely wrong. In 
 the present instance, slie had a great objec- 
 tion to tell her mamma wliat really was the 
 matter, and so she did not know what answer 
 to make. Her mamma was obliged to ask 
 again and again, and at last, she pointed to 
 the candle. 
 
 “ Well,” said her mamma, “you are not 
 afraid of the candle because it wants snuffing, 
 are you I” 
 
 “ No, not for that,'’’ said Jane, 
 
 “ Then, for irhot, my love? 
 
 “ I would rather not tell you, mamma.” 
 Her mamma, however, insisted upon know- 
 ing, and after some further hesitation and re- 
 luctance, Jane pointed out what she called a 
 “winding-sheet” in the candle. 
 
 “ Am I to understand, Jane, that you think 
 that the tallow having melted in that manner 
 from the candle, is a sign that either you or 
 I are going to die?” 
 
 “ No, mamma, not exactly, only that I 
 heard Hannah say, that there was a wind- 
 ing-sheet in your rushlight, every night, for 
 8 
 
86 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 three nights, before little Eustace died.” And 
 Jane looked as if she thought this informa- 
 tion would produce its due effect upon her 
 mamma. 
 
 “And was the winding-sheet in the rush- 
 ligiit, the cause that we lost our dear little 
 boy, my love 1” 
 
 “ No, not the cause, mamma, only the sign 
 that he was going to die.” 
 
 “ Who sent the sign, my dear ? do you 
 think that it was God 1” 
 
 “ Jane could not say that she thought it 
 was.” 
 
 “ Then what could it have to do with his 
 death ?” 
 
 “ But people do believe in those sort of 
 things, mamma V’ 
 
 “ What sort of things, Jane?” 
 
 “ Why things that are lucky and unlucky, 
 and good and bad, without any particular 
 reason. Maria has got a halfpenny that she 
 takes great care of, and has kept a long time, 
 because it has a hole in it, and somebody 
 told her it would make her lucky ; and, mam- 
 ma, I have often and often heard people say, 
 that Friday is a very unlucky day, and that 
 if you begin any thing on that day, it will 
 not succeed.” 
 
 “ To believe those sort of things, my dear, 
 is to follow the example of the heathen, who 
 believe that the devil has a control over their 
 affairs. They arc all heathen superstitions. 
 If you were a little older, I could explain 
 to you how they originated, especially that 
 
HEATHEN SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 87 
 
 which concerns Friday. There is no such 
 thing as chance, good luck, or ill luck. Every 
 thing in this world is governed by God, and 
 it is very wicked to ascribe his power to 
 any thing else; it is, in fact, like heathen 
 idolatry. When our ancestors were savages 
 and idolaters, they invented many of those 
 foolish superstitions, which have been re- 
 peated from one person to another, even until 
 the present time ; but it is excessively wrong 
 and foolish for us, who are Christians, and 
 who know that every thing in this w^orld is 
 ordered by God, to listen to them for a mo- 
 ment. I remember an anecdote I once read 
 in the Journal of Mr. Cooper, who was mis- 
 sionary at 'Severndroog, in India. 
 
 “ A merchant from the Bazaar, a native 
 Hindoo, called upon him one day, and after 
 they had talked together for some time, Mr. 
 Cooper made him a present of one of the 
 gospels, and he took his leave. Just how- 
 ever, as he wms going out, Mr. Cooper, who 
 happened to w’ant his servant, rung a small 
 hand-bell, which lay on the table. Bells are 
 used among the Hindoos, almost exclusively 
 in their temples, connected with some act 
 of incantation or worship. The poor Hin- 
 doo, wdio had no idea of the meaning of the 
 bell, or what Mr. Cooper rung it for, took 
 it into his head, that he w’as bewitched, and 
 that his having received the book from Mr. 
 Cooper, under such circumstances, w'ould be 
 productive of some dreadful evil. He went 
 home in great terror, called his friends, and 
 
88 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 told them what had liappened; they were 
 all equally friglitened, and no one knew what 
 was to be done — at last, after some conver- 
 sation, they agreed to go to a Hindoo, who 
 lived with Mr. Cooper, and consult with him, 
 as being more likely to understand English 
 incantations, and the means of averting them, 
 than they did. Accordingly to this servant 
 they went, and detailed to him wdth much 
 solemnity the whole affair. He, after laugh- 
 ing heartily at their fears, explained the 
 dreadful mystery of the ringing of the bell, 
 and sent them away.” 
 
 Jane laughed too, and said she thought 
 they were very silly. 
 
 “ But, Jane, you know, we expect and be- 
 lieve, that a time will come, when there shall 
 no longer be any heathen in India, Avhen ‘ the 
 kingdoms of this world shall have become 
 the kingdoms of our Imrd, and of his Christ 
 but now, suppose when that glorious time is 
 come, and the Hindoos shall be all Christians, 
 knowing and worshipping the true God, that 
 some people should still have a superstition, 
 that if any person happened to hear a bell 
 ring, at the time a Bible was made a present 
 to them, it was very unlucky, and foreboded 
 some evil to them V’ 
 
 “It would be very foolish, mamma,” said 
 Jane. 
 
 “ It would be worse than very foolish, it 
 would be very wicked ; the poor ignorant 
 Hindoo, who went to Mr. Cooper, might be- 
 lieve in magic and enchantment, but Chris- 
 
HEATHEN SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 89 
 
 tians ought to know better, and do know 
 better, if they understand the Bible.” 
 
 “Did those things come from India, mam- 
 ma, that Mrs. S showed to you a little 
 
 while ago, when she spent the day here ? I 
 remember she said that the natives fancied, 
 that wearing them would protect them from 
 all harm.” 
 
 “No, they are called gregrees, or charms; 
 they are brought from Africa. The Africans 
 are extremely superstitious, and may be said 
 to live in constant dread of the devil, who, 
 they say, lives in ‘ the bush,’ that is, the 
 large thick woods which abound in their 
 country, and often surround their villages, 
 and they are constantly afraid that he will 
 come out and hurt them.” 
 
 For the sake of showing the Africans their 
 folly, a missionary once obtained a gregree, 
 and fixing it upon a tree, he shot at it ; the 
 ball went right through, and lodged in the 
 tree. ‘Now look,’ said he, taking it down 
 and showing the great hole which the ball 
 had made, ‘your gregree has neither been 
 able to protect itself or the tree.’ ” 
 
 “Well, then, mamma, they must have been 
 quite convinced, it was of no use.” 
 
 “Not at all, Jane; they had an answer 
 quite ready: ‘gregrees,’ they said, ‘were no 
 protection against white man, but only against 
 black man.' ” 
 
 “ But could not they have shot through it 
 themselves, mamma'!” 
 
 8 * 
 
90 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 “Certainly; but they did not choose to 
 try.” 
 
 “I heard Maria reading to you something 
 about an olfering to the devil, out of that new 
 book, ‘A Voyage down the Gambia.’ Will 
 you tell me what it was ?” 
 
 “One nio[ht,the English traveller who was 
 sleeping in his boat, at a little distance from 
 the shore, was awakened by the dreadful 
 howling of the wild beasts. In the deep 
 silence of the night, the noiSe sounded very 
 friglitful; and the Englishman lay awake 
 listening to it, and considering how very nar- 
 row the river was across, just at this place, 
 and how extremely hungry they must be to 
 howl in that loud and ferocious manner. He 
 called a black man, who was in the boat 
 with him, whose looks, when he came near, 
 showed the terror which he felt. The Eng- 
 lishman began to speak to him about it, when 
 he found out, it was not the wild beasts he 
 was afraid of, but the devil, who, he assured 
 the traveller, remained constantly in a part 
 of the river close to where they were. The 
 Englishman, of course, smiled at his fears; 
 but he was assured that no one passed by 
 there without giving something to the devil, 
 in order that they might be safe during the 
 remainder of the voyage. Sometimes they 
 throw a few leaves of tobacco into the river, 
 believing that he picks them up when they 
 have passed.” 
 
 “It is very shocking, mamma, that they 
 
HEATHEN SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 91 
 
 should think of sucli things. But there are 
 missionaries in Africa now, who will teach 
 them better, will they not 
 
 “We trust so, my dear; for the poor Afri- 
 cans may truly be said to be in bondage to 
 Satan. But the number of missionaries is 
 far too small, considering the vast extent of 
 country, and the thousands of jieople.” 
 
 “ Then why do not more go V' 
 
 “ Because it is very expensive, and they 
 have not sufficient money. It is for that rea- 
 son wm subscribe to missionary societies.” 
 
 “ Do any other people wear charms, ex- 
 cept the Africans!” 
 
 “ Yes, the Egyptians — particularly against 
 the ‘ evil eye.’ ” 
 
 “ The ‘evil eye,’ mamma — wdiat is that ?” 
 
 “ Have you never read of it in the Bible !” 
 “ No.” 
 
 “Oh, yes, you have; only you forget it, or 
 perhaps did not pay attention to what you 
 read.” 
 
 Jane’s mamma took her little Bible out of 
 her work basket, and she found the twentieth 
 chapter of St. Matthew, and, giving it to 
 Jane, she said, “ Now read the chapter to 
 yourself, and see if you cannot find out Avhat 
 the ‘evil eye’ means.” 
 
 Jane read the chapter, but not with suffi- 
 cient patience, so she was not successful. 
 Her mamma then asked her the meaning of 
 the fifteenth verse. "■ 
 
 “ The Lord of the vineyard asking the men 
 who had worked for him, whether they were 
 
92 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 displeased because he was kind to their fel- 
 low labourers.” 
 
 “To be displeased because others are pros- 
 perous, is to be envious; ‘the evil eye’ means 
 envy. It is spoken of in Prov. xxviii. 22.” 
 
 “ But I do not see,” said Jane, “why peo- 
 ple should wear charms against that.” 
 
 “ Because they suppose, that if one person 
 is envious of another, and looks at him with 
 an envious eye, he does him an injury. Who 
 do you think is the person injured ?” 
 
 “ No one, mamma.” 
 
 “ Yes, Jane, the person who indulges in 
 such a sin, does an injury, not to the person 
 whom he envies, but to himself. Envy is 
 called in the Bible, ‘the rottenness of the 
 bones it is a great sin in the sight of God, 
 and makes the person who commits it truly 
 miserable, as indeed all sin does, more or 
 less. But it is a vain superstition to suppose 
 it hurts any one but ourselves.” 
 
 “Are the Egyptians idolaters, mamma, like 
 the Africans, and do they wear the same sort 
 of charms '!” 
 
 “ The Egyptians are Mahommedans. They 
 have various kinds of charms ; one consists 
 of pieces of money of small value, called 
 cowries, which they hang about their dress. 
 I should think it very likely that the super- 
 stition concerning lucky halfpennies, as they 
 are called, is derived from this custom.” 
 
 “ I will tell Maria what you have said to 
 me, mamma, and get her to give away her 
 halfpenny.” 
 
HEATHEN SUPERSTITIONS. ' 93 
 
 “ I hope you will profit by what I have 
 said, yourself — that you will compassionate 
 the ignorance and blindness of the heathen, 
 and consider yourself bound all your life to 
 give your prayers and your help, if it be but 
 a mite, towards their instruction ; and I hope 
 our conversation will assist in enabling you, 
 with the help of God, to remember that 
 great lesson for which you have need, every 
 day, every hour of your life, which is, that 
 every thing, however trilling, is ordered and 
 governed by God. 
 
 Jane looked at a pretty nosegay of late 
 autumn llow'ers, which stood upon the table. 
 “ Yes, mamma,” she said, “w'hen I brought 
 you in that nosegay out of the garden this 
 morning, you reminded me of the text, in 
 which Jesus says, ‘consider the lilies,’ and 
 you told me that our Saviour teaches us to 
 look at the beautiful flowers, and remember 
 that it is God who hath made them so lovely, 
 and that we are far more precious in his sight 
 than they are, and that he will take infinitely 
 more care of us.” 
 
 “And he does take care of us, my chikl. 
 AVhen I was a little girl I knew nothing of 
 the love of Christ towards his people ; I did 
 not think of him, as the shepherd of his 
 flock, who carries the young lambs in his 
 bosom. But I had heard of angels, and I 
 used to wish I had one of those glorious 
 beings always by my side, to tell me what was 
 right, and to warn me when I was going to 
 do wrong ; but the presence of Christ is far. 
 
94 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 far more than this to his people. His word 
 and his Spirit teach us what is pleasing to 
 him; and the constant remembrance of his 
 presence, is the greatest encouragement and 
 consolation they can have, for they know 
 that he is all-powerful to protect them, and 
 if they could ever be tempted to fear that 
 he does not notice the little trials of their 
 daily life, they may answer their anxious 
 hearts, and set to rest their unbelieving 
 thoughts, with their Saviour’s most gracious 
 and blessed words, ‘even the very hairs ot 
 your head are all numbered.’ ” 
 
THE ALPINE SCHOOL. 
 
 I 
 
 I THINK I see a little family party, sitting 
 round the fireside on a cold winter’s night : 
 the trees are all bare of leaves, and the 
 ground is covered with snow ; dark thick 
 clouds shut out the light of the moon and 
 stars, the wind blows loud, and the storm of 
 mingled sleet and rain, rattles against the 
 window panes ; but are they the less cheer- 
 ful ? No ; nor is there any reason why they 
 should be, except when they think of those 
 who may be less happy than themselves; of 
 the sailor, the traveller, and the houseless 
 beggar, exposed to all the fury of the tempest; 
 but it does not hurt them; under the shelter 
 of their happy and comfortable home, what 
 need they care for the wind, the snow, or the 
 rain ? 
 
 My little children, doubtless, you remem- 
 ber many such an evening ; then understand, 
 such is the situation in this world, of those 
 who love God, and are His servants; they 
 enjoy in their own hearts, a peace, a hap- 
 piness, a comfort, which nothing that hap- 
 
 95 
 
96 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 pens to them can deprive them of, any more 
 than the storms and winds of winter can, 
 make you unhappy when you sit by your 
 own cheerful fireside, in your own dear 
 home. 
 
 I am going to give you some account of a 
 person who was very happy, although he 
 had scarcely any thing in this world to make 
 him so, except this peace of God ; but that 
 you may understand that portion of his life 
 which I am going to relate to you, I must 
 first give you some account of himself, and 
 the people amongst whom he lived. 
 
 In the south of France, among the moun- 
 tains of the High Alps, there live a race of 
 Christian people ; they have been Christians 
 from the earliest ages of Christianity, and 
 being persecuted on account of their religion, 
 they fled to the mountains to be out of the 
 reach of the wicked men, who wished either 
 to destroy them, or oblige them to give up 
 the worship of God. They however refused, 
 they would not give up their Bibles; they 
 would not cease to servm God. They had 
 left their homes in the pleasant and sunny 
 valleys, and gone to live among the solitudes 
 of the Alps, where they were surrounded by 
 ice and snow, nearly all the year, and were 
 scarcely able to find food to eat, or to build 
 huts to shelter themselves. Even to this 
 miserable place their enemies followed them ; 
 burnt their cottages, murdered their children, 
 and tried all means to destroy every human 
 being belonging to them. But it was not the 
 
THE ALPINE SCHOOL. 
 
 97 
 
 will of God that it should be so ; when their 
 persecutors came, the ('hristians buried their 
 Bibles in the ground, and hid therriselves and 
 their children in the caves among the rocks; 
 and as soon as they w’ere gone, (for it did not 
 suit them to remain long in that frozen and 
 desolated region) the people came out again, 
 and returned to their villages. These things 
 happened about six hundred years ago, and 
 fi'om that time, almost until the present, their 
 descendants have lived in the same place, 
 sometimes left in peace, and sometimes en- 
 during the most frightful sufferings, y/hen 
 their cruel enemies surmounted the preci- 
 pices of ice, and mountains of snow, amongst 
 which they had contrived to conceal their 
 dwellings. Yet, though the Christians con- 
 tinued faithful, as they were allowed no min- 
 ister to instruct them, they became in the 
 process of time extremely ignorant, and knew 
 but little of that Saviour, for whose sake, 
 their ancestors had been willing to give up 
 their lives. Their churches, all but one, had 
 been destroyed, and their teachers removed; 
 yet still they met together sometimes to 
 pray and read the Bible, and when at last, 
 after many hundred years, it pleased God, 
 once more to send them a minister, they re- 
 ceived him with great joy and gladness : 
 the name of this minister was Felix Neff. 
 He was greatly beloved among them, and 
 God blessed his labours, for every year dur- 
 ing the short time he lived, the people in- 
 creased in knowledge, in faith, and in love 
 9 
 
98 
 
 MISSIONARY TALESt 
 
 towards their Saviour. Grateful, indeed, 
 they were to their good, kind pastor, who 
 had left his own country to live amongst 
 them, and teach them the gospel of Jesus, i 
 Nor were they ever weary of listening to < 
 him ; often and often, after a day of liard la- 
 bour, would tliey assemble together in a barn 
 or stable, to listen to his instructions. These i 
 people were poor, and could hardly earn 
 themselves food, much less luxuries, and | 
 their beloved pastor lived as they did, shar- | 
 ing their coarse meals and humble lodging, j 
 At their evening meetings, a table and a ' 
 chair were placed for him, and the rest of : 
 the people sat round on forms placed before ! 
 the mangers of the cattle. One or two i 
 lamps hung by a string, lighted the place, 
 and there they sat during the long winter 
 evenings, the women knitting and listening 
 to the words of their dear minister, and all 
 joining in prayers, and hymns of joy, praise, 
 and thanksgiving to God. So much was he 
 beloved, that when he was expected any 
 where, the children were stationed on the 
 high places of the mountains, to watch till he 
 came in sight, and as soon as he was per- 
 ceived, a large company of the villagers de- 
 scended the rocks to meet him. Now you 
 must understand, that this was attended with 
 great fatigue and danger, so their pastor used 
 to beckon to them to remain where they 
 were, until he came up to them. “No,” 
 said they, “ it is not often we have the en- 
 joyment of walking with you, and we value 
 
THE ALPINE SCHOOL. 
 
 99 
 
 it too much to lose it.” Then they talked 
 together on the way back, about the kingdom 
 of God, according as we are commanded to 
 do in the Bible, for it is written, “ and these 
 words that I command thee shall be in thy 
 heart, and thou shalt talk of them when thou 
 sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest 
 by the way.” 
 
 I have told you that the people were very 
 ignorant ; they could neither read nor write, 
 nor even speak with correctness ; their pastor 
 felt that the intense cold and other hardships 
 to which he was exposed, and to which he 
 was not accustomed, as they were, nor able 
 to bear, would soon occasion his death ; and 
 then he grieved to think there would no lon- 
 ger be any one to teach his poor Alpines, so 
 he thought of the plan of forming a winter 
 school, assembling the cleverest and most in- 
 dustrious of the young people, and devoting 
 the winter to their instruction, hoping that 
 they would be thus enabled to teach the 
 others when he was gone. 
 
 During the long winters among those 
 mountains, people cannot go out of doors to 
 their work, they cannot even travel from one 
 village to another, but are obliged to remain 
 in their own, shut up amidst ice and snow, 
 and having scarcely any daylight, and long, 
 long nights. Neft' having assembled his small 
 party, fixed his residence for the winter at 
 one of the villages, the highest among the 
 mountains, called Dormilleuse. He next laid 
 
100 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 up a store of food for the winter, which con- 
 sisted of salted meat and rye bread ; our 
 bread, you know, is baked every day, and is 
 always soft and nice, but the corn of which 
 it is made will not grow in that cold place, 
 and they are obliged to have rye bread, 
 which is black and hard, because the rye 
 will not keep like the corn, but must be used 
 directly it is ripe, so that all their bread is 
 baked in the autumn to last through the 
 winter, and becomes so hard that it is obliged 
 to be chopped up with a hatchet when it is 
 eaten. Such was their food ; as for their 
 lodging, it was not more agreeable ; Neff 
 tells us, that his school was sometimes kept 
 in a stable, and they had great difficulty to 
 prevent the kids and fowls from tearing the 
 copy books to pieces. He did not think of 
 his own comfort, but only of the good he 
 could do to others; his living in such a place, 
 was just as if your minister should go and 
 live in some damp and dirty cottage amongst 
 the poor people all the winter, that he might 
 have an opportunity of instructing them ; 
 where Neff lived, they were all poor people 
 and no rich ones, and he went there solely 
 for the purpose of teaching them, in order 
 that they might become better and happier. 
 
 The hrst thing Neff did, was to construct a 
 room where he might be out of the noise of 
 the cattle, and the interruptions of the chick- 
 ens. This being done with much labour and 
 fatigue, he began the kind occupation of 
 
THE ALPINE SCHOOL. 
 
 101 
 
 teaching those who lie hoped might be able 
 to instruct others, when he should be dead. 
 There are some little children who hate the 
 sight of a book, and always cry over their 
 lessons; but if you wish to be useful when 
 you grow up, you must not be ignorant. A 
 great many of the dowers in our gardens 
 once grew wild in the fields and under the 
 hedges ; but when they were taken from 
 thence, and planted in the garden, watered, 
 cultivated, and attended to, then they became 
 much more beautiful. What child would not 
 rather have a bunch of double garden violets, 
 than the pale and scentless ones which she 
 finds in the lanes '? And would there not be 
 great surprise, if a little girl brought home a 
 nosegay of sweet peas, red roses, and jessa- 
 mine, which she found growing wild in the 
 : hedges'? Yes, for these dowsers only grow 
 
 with care and cultivation. So it is with you; 
 and if you would wish to be a garden fiower, 
 instead of a field one, you must cultivate your 
 mind, and try to learn every thing that is ne- 
 cessary and good for you to know. 
 
 Nefl’was a truly faithful minister of Christ, 
 He loved him, with all his heart, and thought 
 nothing worth knowing or loving in compari- 
 son with him; yet you see he was anxious to 
 instruct these people, for he knew that with- 
 out knowledge they could not be useful to 
 others. They divided the day into three 
 parts ; the first, from sunrise to eleven, when 
 they breakfasted; the second, from noon to 
 sunset, when they supped ; the third, from 
 9 * 
 
102 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 sunset till ten or eleven o’clock at night; 
 making altogether, fifteen hours out of the 
 twenty-four. First, they had to learn the 
 language, for they spoke a dialect which was 
 dilhcuU to be understood. It was a far harder 
 task to them to learn, than it is to you; but 
 so anxious were they to be useful, that they 
 submitted to it with pleasure. They were so 
 very ignorant, that it was extremely dillicult 
 for them to comprehend the simplest things 
 they were taught. They had to learn gram- 
 mar, but they did not know what nouns, 
 verbs, or adjectives meant; and their patient 
 and gentle teacher was a long time before he 
 could make them understand. They had 
 words to learn to spell, with meanings to 
 them, like you have, but they did not under- 
 stand either words or meanings, and so he 
 had to invent others, which might be more 
 easy to them. 
 
 These, as being their most difficult studies, 
 formed their mornings’ occupation. After 
 dinner, they studied geography.^ They were 
 much delighted with the sight of maps, which 
 were quite new to them. Their good pastor 
 also told them, that the eartli was round- 
 described to them how it moved round the 
 sun, and was itself a beautiful star to the 
 other stars; for when the sun shines upon our 
 earth, it would appear to tlie inhabitants of 
 the moon, it there are any, like a magnificent 
 moon thirteen times larger than our own. It 
 was rather difficult tor Netl to exjilain these 
 things to the Alpines. He had no globes, 
 
THE ALPINE SCHOOL. 
 
 103 
 
 such as we have ; so instead of them, he 
 made use of balls of wood, and of large po- 
 tatoes, hollowed out, with a candle to repre- 
 sent the sun. He then taught them what a 
 large place the world is, and of how many 
 diflerent nations it is composed; how few of 
 them are Christians, and spoke to them of the 
 missionaries who w'ent forth to teach the 
 heathen. Now, these people were, as I have 
 told you before, very poor; but when they 
 heard these things, they determined to sub- 
 scribe, if it were ever so little, to help the 
 missionaries; and they soon had a missionary 
 society of their own. It w'as but a little they 
 could give, but that does not matter: Christ 
 said that a cup of cold water, which was 
 given in his name, that is, out of love to him, 
 shall be blessed to the person who gives it. 
 
 When they had learned to read, they could 
 not afford to buy books, so they agreed to- 
 gether to go w'ithout some things which were 
 necessary to them, (for as to luxuries they 
 had none,) in order to lay by a little money. 
 One family gave up their pig, another went 
 without salt; and thus, in time, they were 
 able to purchase books. 
 
 Lessons in music formed their evenings’ 
 amusement. “But,” says my little reader, 
 “what did they want to learn music for ?” 
 They wanted to learn it for a purpose, for 
 which it is truly valuable, to sing the praises 
 of God: and often did the hymn of joy and 
 praise sound cheerfully in that little dw'elling, 
 amidst the midnight solitudes of the mighty 
 
101 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 Alps, And were they not happy? Yes, my 
 little friends, indeed they were. The active, 
 useful, and industrious life of those who love 
 and serve God, must be happy, wherever and 
 in whatever occupations it is passed. You 
 I'emember what I said to you at the beginning 
 of this story. Those who have peace within, 
 in their own hearts, need not be afraid of 
 difficulties or troubles without. 
 
 Thus the winter passed away; and when 
 the opening spring summoned them again to 
 their field labours, the pastor had the happi- 
 ness of finding that the laborious months he 
 had passed in that dreary and desolate vil- 
 lage, cut otf by winter barriers of ice and 
 snow from all the rest of the world, had not 
 been spent in vain. Two young women had 
 learned sutficient to be able to assist in a 
 Sunday School, which was established in 
 their village. And when the other young 
 people, who had been collected by Neff from 
 the ditferent villages among the mountains, 
 returned to their homes, several of* them, un- 
 der his direction, established Sunday Schools. 
 Anxious to consecrate their knowledge to 
 the glory of God, and the good of their fel- 
 low-creatures, they occupied themselves in 
 endeavouring to communicate to others the 
 instructions they themselves had received, 
 and, above all, the precious knowledge of 
 their Saviour. 
 
 Thus was the winter school at Dormil- 
 leuse blessed, not only to themselves, but to 
 the many hundreds whom they, in their turn. 
 
THE ALPINE SCHOOL. 
 
 105 
 
 taught. You see what a good purpose they 
 put their knowledge to ! The object of every 
 thing we learn in this world ought to be, to 
 make us useful in some manner or another. 
 If I asked you, which were the most indus- 
 trious among insects, I dare say you would 
 tell me the ant, or the “little busy bee;” but 
 why do we admire them so much ? the birds, 
 the flies, the spiders, all find their own food, 
 and provide for themselves from day to day. 
 “Ah,” but you say, “the ant and the bee 
 lay up food in store for the long cold win- 
 ter !” Yes, but there is also another reason 
 why we should admire them — they help one 
 another! A little girl was once watching a 
 path in the garden, where a number of ants 
 lived. She saw one of them trying to drag 
 something to the opening which led to their 
 nest ; upon looking closer, she saw it was 
 the dead body of an earwig ; but it was too 
 heavy for him — he could not manage it ; so 
 he went and fetched another ant, and to- 
 gether they dragged the earwig to the hole, 
 and threw it down. Down ran the first ant 
 after it, and his companion who had helped 
 him went away. Independently of the kind- 
 ness of the one ant in helping the other, you 
 do not suppose that the ant who carried 
 down the earwig, wished to eat it all him- 
 self? No; he intended, no doubt to add it t(> 
 the common store. The same may be said 
 of the bee, who is about all day gathering 
 honey — she carries it home to the rest in the 
 hive. When you hear of the prudent ant, 
 
106 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 and little busy bee, I hope you will remem- 
 ber, it is our duty to be industrious for others 
 as well as for ourselves, and that others 
 ought to be benefitted by all the knowledge 
 which we possess. Such is the law of Christ; 
 it is written, “ Look not every man on his 
 own things, but every man also on the things 
 of others.” 
 
 The time was now come when this little 
 company were obliged to part, and very 
 sorry they were : nor were the inhabitants 
 of Dormilleuse, the village where they had 
 been staying, less sorry to part wdth them. 
 They would no longer be able to worship 
 God with them, or listen to their sweet even- 
 ing hymns, cheering their dreary mountains ; 
 the beloved and welcome guests were all 
 about to take their departure. On the even- 
 ing before they went, the people of the village 
 prepared a farewell supper. It was very 
 simple; a chamois, a marmot, a bear’s ham, 
 formed all the delicacies which could be con- 
 tributed in honour of the last evening. But 
 it is said in the book of Proverbs, “Better is 
 a dinner of herbs where love is, than a 
 stalled ox and hatred therewith ;” and there 
 was plenty of love among this humble cir- 
 cle. One of tbe party remarked, that their 
 meeting was indeed a delightful one, but it 
 was not likely they would ever all assemble 
 together again. Their pastor heard the re- 
 mark, and he took occasion to remind them, 
 that though they should never see each other 
 again in this world, if they loved the Lord 
 
THE ALPINE SCHOOL. 
 
 107 
 
 Jesus Christ, and continued faithful In his 
 service, they would be sure to meet again 
 in His glorious mansions in heaven. He 
 then gave them his parting blessing, and af- 
 ter many kind and affectionate good-byes, 
 they all separated. Early next morning they 
 began to descend the mountains, and each 
 took his way to his own home ; there always 
 to use, it is to be hoped, for the benefit of 
 others, the knowledge and instruction which 
 the devoted zeal of Neff had imparted to 
 them. 
 

 JERUSALEM. 
 
 “ Beautiful for situation, the joy of the ji 
 whole earth is Mount Zion, on the sides of jl 
 the north, the city of the great king thus 
 spoke king David, in describing his beloved 
 city. .Jeremiah tells us, it was called “ the 'p 
 perfection of beauty.” “Put on thy beau- 1 - 
 tiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city,” f 
 saith the prophet Isaiah. In the time of cap- l-i 
 tivity, sutiering, and sorrow, the eyes of the |i 
 Jews turned ever towards this fair city, in 
 whose temple the Lord had condescended, |. 
 “to put his name,” and where the shining ' 
 cloud wJiich betokened His presence had ap- 
 peared. No doubt you have read of the per- 
 secution endured by Daniel, because he re- i 
 fused to leave off praying to God ; and do 
 you not remember that on those occasions, 
 when he prayed, the windows of his cham- 
 Ixjr were open towards Jerusalem'? During 
 the time of their long captivity in Babylon, 
 the Jews never forgot their beautiful coun- 
 try, but alwa}^s looked forward with delight 
 to the time, when God should suffer them to 
 108 
 
JERUSALEM. 
 
 109 
 
 return to it. Among the Psalms there is 
 one, which describes how they used to sit 
 down by the rivers of Babylon and weep, 
 when they thought of Jerusalem, from which 
 they were so far distant ; it is Psalm cxxxvii; 
 if you read it, you will see how much they 
 loved their own city. But, alas ! of that 
 Jerusalem “ not one stone remains standing 
 upon another every building has been 
 thrown down, and the foundations even 
 ploughed up, and the land is lying, as God 
 declared it should, for many ages, barren and 
 desolate. Some hundred years after the tak- 
 ing of Jerusalem, a very great but wicked 
 prince,* who knew the prophecies concern- 
 ing the destruction of the Temple, thought 
 he would prove they w^ere wrong, by causing 
 it to be rebuilt by the Jews ; and he, there- 
 fore, being a mighty and powerful sovereign, 
 made many attempts, to fulfil his impious 
 wishes: but they were all of course utterly 
 vain, for how can man act contrary to the 
 will of God? and if God has declared that a 
 thing shall not be, is it for a contemptible 
 creature like man, to say it shall? Every 
 trial they made vras defeated ; sometimes in 
 one way and sometimes in another. Upon 
 one occasion, terrible balls of fire, burst out 
 of the earth, destroying and dispersing the 
 workmen. 
 
 But why have all the calamities, which the 
 Jews have endured, for more than eighteen 
 
 * Julian the Apostate. 
 
 10 
 
110 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 hundred years, and are still enduring even i 
 now, fallen upon them ? Because they re- 
 jected Christ, disobeyed God, and drew down 
 upon themselves his anger. 
 
 After the lapse of many years, God per- 
 mitted a town to be built near where Jeru- 
 salem stood. It was called by the same name, 
 but it was neither built nor inhabited by the 
 Jews ; the few who do live there, have al- 
 ways been exposed to greater tyranny and 
 oppression, than any where else ; for the city 
 is possessed by the followers of the false 
 prophet ^Mahomet, who hate the Jews with 
 a peculiar hatred, call them “ Jew dogs,” and 
 Treat them with every sort of cruelty and in- 
 justice. Some Iijiighsh and Ameiican mis- 
 sionaries have gone to Jerusalem, and have 
 c^iven a very sad account ot the sufferings ot 
 fhe Jews there; fulfdling exactly the pro- 
 jdiecy of Moses, Deut. xxviii. 33. “ The fruit 
 of thy land, and all thy labours, shall a na- 
 tion which thou knowest not, eat up; and 
 thou shalt be only oppressed, and crushed 
 alway.” and they are indeed crushed; so 
 much so, that Jerusalem has been called the 
 “ prison house” of the Jews. Sometimes 
 ihev are stopped in the streets and kicked, 
 and beaten by the Turks; it the Turks hap- 
 pen to want the mules they are riding on, 
 they take them away : once a Jew, a friend 
 of an English missionary, as he was on his 
 way to see him, was seized by some Turkish 
 soldiers, who were going to yoke him and 
 another Jew to some heavy cannons they 
 
JERUSALEM. 
 
 Ill 
 
 were drawing towards Bethlehem, but he 
 contrived to escape. 
 
 It is said in the prophecy of Moses, which 
 I have before spoken of, that when all these 
 things came upon the Jews, men should re- 
 member that it was for their disobedience, 
 and should say, “because they have for- 
 saken the covenant of the liOrd God of their 
 fathers, the anger of the Lord was kindled 
 against this land, to bring upon it all the 
 curses that are written in this book : and the 
 Lord rooted them out of their land in anger, 
 and in wrath, and in great indignation, and 
 cast them into another land, as it is this 
 day.” 
 
 Are you sure that you are really a Chris- 
 tian, and the obedient child of God ? If not, 
 a destruction as dreadful as that which fell 
 upon the Jews, is hanging over you. Sup- 
 pose you lived in a splendid house, filled 
 with all sorts of magnificence, and that you 
 had every thing which riches can procure, or 
 the world can give, to make you satisfied, 
 except, that in one corner of your house, 
 there dwelt a fierce enemy, who might rise 
 up any moment and destroy you ; could 
 you be happy I No; you would forget all 
 your pleasures, all your- enjoyments, and 
 think of nothing but the possibility of being 
 instantly destroyed. Such an enemy is sin : 
 if your sin is not forgiven by God, for Christ’s 
 sake, and taken away, it will, one day, de- 
 stroy you. Sin, is called in the Bible, dis- 
 ease, because it causes the death of the soul. 
 
112 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 as diseases cause the death of the body. But 
 are we as anxious to get rid of it, as you 
 would be to get your enemy out of your 
 house I No ; we are occupied with other 
 things, and it lies concealed, without our 
 knowing or caring any thing at all about it ; 
 yet this is a very sad and dangerous state to 
 be in, for sudden destruction may come upon 
 us any moment. 
 
 To give you a better idea of the present 
 situation of the Jews, in Jerusalem, and the 
 manner in which they are treated, I will re- 
 late you a story, extracted from the letters of 
 an English clergyman, the Rev. W. Lewis, 
 who resided there some time. 
 
 There was a Rabbi, of the name of Men- 
 del, who lived at Jerusalem ; he was a mild 
 and quiet old man; very learned, and high 
 in rank amonst the Jews there. One night 
 after he was gone to bed, he heard a loud 
 knocking outside his room door. As it was 
 very late, he thought it must be some thieves 
 who had broken into the house, so he lay 
 still and listened. Presently, the door was 
 burst open, and in rushed a large party of 
 soldiers. They ran up to the bed, seized 
 tlie Rabbi, and began to ill-treat him. The 
 poor old man in vain demanded the cause of 
 this outrage, for they could not understand 
 his language, nor was he able to speak 
 theirs, which was Arabic. The rest of the 
 family, however, roused by the disturbance, 
 were soon collected in his room, and a young 
 Jew, amongst them, being able to speak 
 
JERUSALEM. 
 
 113 
 
 Arabic, managed to ascertain what was the 
 reason of this uproar. And what do you 
 think it was ? The street door had been left 
 open! The soldiers then took the young 
 man, who could speak Arabic, and conducted 
 him to their governor, who was waiting in 
 the passage below. The governor demanded 
 of him why the door was left open ? The 
 young man replied, that they had had com- 
 pany, and he supposed that one of the visiters 
 had gone out, and forgotten to shut the outer 
 door. With this account the governor of 
 the soldiers seemed satisfied, and they all 
 went away and left the unfortunate Jews to 
 go to bed again.” 
 
 “ In that country, when the street door is 
 left open at night, people are made to pay a 
 few pence as a fine, and this the Rabbi ex- 
 pected to be obliged to do. Instead of this, 
 however, next morning, the soldiers again 
 appeared, and taking both the Rabbi and 
 the young man, set off with them for the 
 palace. On their way, they were joined by 
 two other Jews, also under a guard of soldiers, 
 charged with the same crime, that of leaving 
 their outer door open ; but, in this case, the 
 accusation was untrue. 
 
 “When they were brought before the 
 governor, they attempted to make a defence, 
 but in vain. The governor declared that he 
 heard the old Rabbi Mendel say, that he had 
 a firman, (a written protection from the Sul- 
 tan,) and was not afraid of the governor. 
 Upon this, he was assured that the Rabbi 
 10 * 
 
114 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 , could not speak one word of Arabic. In- 
 stead of being ashamed of the falsehood he 
 had invented, he flew into a violent passion, 
 and asked whether they meant to charge him 
 with telling a lie I Certainly they did, but 
 they did not dare say so. They were, there- 
 fore, obliged to be silent ; and, after a short 
 time, were desired to go away. This they 
 were glad enough to do, and lost no time in 
 complying with the command. But alas ! 
 they soon found they were not to be permitted 
 to go home, but were led into another room, 
 and ordered from one chamber to another, 
 until they found themselves at one of the 
 dungeons. Here they were shut up in dark- 
 ness, and told that they must pay the govern- 
 or ten purses, a very large sum of money; 
 and that unless the money was forthcoming 
 immediately, or on the next day, hot irons 
 should be applied to their heads, and sharp 
 nails driven through the palms of their hands, 
 a wicked manner of torturing the Jews, 
 which was often used by the Turks, when 
 they wanted to get money from them. 
 
 “ The other Jews in the city soon heard 
 of the distressed state of their imprisoned 
 brethren: but what could they do? They 
 were poor themselves; and even if they all 
 joined together, they could not have paid the 
 immense sum of money winch was demand- 
 ed ; still they could not leave their friends to 
 sufl’er such dreadful torture. They went to the 
 governor, and succeeded in persuading him 
 to take four purses and a half, much less than 
 
JERUSALEM. 
 
 115 
 
 he had at first asked, but still a large sum 
 for them to pay, equal to £ 60 * of our money; 
 and to collect it, some of them were obliged 
 even to sell their clothes. As soon as they 
 got enough, they brought it to the wicked 
 governor, and the four prisoners who had 
 Ijeen so unjustly confined wei'e set at liberty, 
 and allowed to return to their own homes.’’ 
 
 Such is the manner in which the Jews are 
 treated at Jerusalem. It is the fulfilment of 
 the word which God spake by Moses, that 
 if they rebelled against him, they should be 
 “only oppressed, and crushed alway:” so 
 that they may indeed say, in the words of 
 the prophet, “our holy and beautiful house, 
 where our fathers praised thee, is burned up 
 with fire, and all our pleasant things are laid 
 waste.” 
 
 There is a lesson which we should learn 
 from the affliction which has fallen upon 
 them ; and in the tenth chapter of Romans, 
 Paul, after speaking of what happened to 
 them, tells us, “not to be high minded but 
 fear, and that if God spared not them, his 
 own people, neither will he spare us.” 
 
 We should remember that although all 
 these punishments have fallen upon them, 
 we may be equally guilty. There was once 
 a tower in Siloam, in the land of Judea, 
 which fell to the ground and crushed eighteen 
 people in its ruins. This happened during 
 the time our Saviour was upon earth, and in 
 
 * About two hundred and seventy dollars. 
 
il6 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 speaking of it, he asked the people, if they 
 thought these eighteen people were greater 
 sinners than others. He then told them thev 
 were not, liut unless they repented, tliey also 
 should perish. Neither must wo think that 
 the Jews are greater sinners than ourselves, 
 or that the wrath of God will not equally fall 
 upon us if we are disobedient to him, and re- 
 ject the grace of Christ. 
 
 The day will come wdien the Jews shall 
 return to their own country, for God has de- 
 clared that such is his purpose concerning 
 them. It is written in the Bible, and the pro- 
 phecy will surely be fulfilled; “At the same 
 time, saith the Lord, will I he the God of all 
 the' families of Israel, and they shall be my 
 
 people There is hope in thine end, that 
 
 thy children shall come again to thine own 
 
 border And I will cause the captivity of 
 
 Judah, and the captivdty of Israel to return, 
 
 and I will build them as at the first Thus 
 
 saith the Lord ; Again, there shall be heard 
 in this place, which ye say shall be desolate, 
 without man and without beast, even in the 
 cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusa- 
 lem, that are desolate, without man and 
 without inhabitant, and without beast, the 
 voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the 
 voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the 
 bride, the voice of them that shall say. Praise 
 the Lord of Hosts: for the Lord is good; for 
 his mercy endureth for ever; and of them 
 that shall bring the sacrifice into the house 
 of the Lord. For 1 will cause to return the 
 
JEEUSALEM. 
 
 117 
 
 captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the 
 Lord.” “And I will bring again the capti- 
 vity of my people Israel, and they shall build 
 the waste cities, and inhabit them.” These 
 are two or three of the many glorious pro- 
 mises contained in the Bible, ot the future 
 restoration of the children ot Israel. It is 
 God only who can and will effect this ; but 
 we should pray for them, and send mission- 
 aries to teach them of Christ. They are our 
 brethren in a peculiar sense; it is written, 
 “ the law shall go forth out of Zion, and the 
 word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” And the 
 word of the Lord did come forth from Jeru- 
 salem ; it was in Jerusalem that our Saviour 
 lived and died for us; it was from thence that 
 his disciples carried the good news to the 
 other parts of the world. Jerusalem is no 
 more; but the garden of Gethsemane, the 
 Mount of Olives, the little brook Cedron, are 
 all in, or near the place where once it stood : 
 and though not “one stone remains standing 
 upon another,” of all its once splendid build- 
 ings, yet a few aged olives are left to mark 
 the place where the garden of Gethsemane 
 once was, and the brook Cedron still flows at 
 the foot of the mountains. Whether we think 
 of what Jerusalem was, in past times, or 
 what it shall be hereafter, it is a spot which 
 Christians as well as Jews have reason to 
 love. 
 
 But have we not a Jerusalem of our own t 
 Yes, a city whose builder and maker is God; 
 and to which no earthly Jerusalem, however 
 
113 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 beautiful, can be compared. This is the city 
 described by the apostle, when he said, “ he 
 (that is, the angel,) carried me away in the 
 spirit to a great and high mountain, and 
 showed me that great city, the holy Jerusa- 
 lem, descending out of heaven from God, 
 having the glory of God ; and her light was 
 like mito a stone most precious, even like a 
 jasper stone, clear as crystal.” 
 
 This is the city which Jesus spoke of when 
 he said, “In my Father’s house are many 
 mansions. I go to prepare a place for you. 
 But who shall enter into that city? those who 
 are the children of God, his servants who 
 serve him: none others. There are manj 
 parables in which our vSaviour speaks of en- 
 tering into the kingdom ol God, and he al- 
 ivavs speaks of those who are not really his 
 people, but only so in name and appearance, 
 as beinci: “shut out, in outer darkness, and 
 askino- him for admittance hr vain. “And 
 there °shali in no wise enter into it, any thing 
 that defdeth, neither whatsoever worketh 
 abomination, or maketh a lie: but they^which 
 are written in the Lamb s book of life. 
 
 Jerusalem ! thou blessed place, 
 
 How full of glory, full of grace! 
 
 Far, far beyond the starry skies. 
 
 Thy golden battlements arise. 
 
 Jerusalem! thy colours glow 
 Fairer than the heavenly bow. 
 
 Sapphire, topaz, emerald bright, 
 
 In glittering radiance all unite. 
 
JERUSALEM. 
 
 119 
 
 Can you not add the two next lines of that 
 beautiful little hymn, and say, 
 
 Jerusalem ! I long to see, 
 
 And live a happy child in thee ! 
 
 But remember, it is only if you are a 
 Christian, that you can look forward to that 
 glorious place as your eternal home. The 
 apostle who saw the vision of tlie Holy City, 
 saw also its happy inhabitants, and the angel 
 told him, they were those “who had washed 
 their robes, and made them white in the blood 
 of the Lamb.” 
 
 Happy indeed are all they who shall enter 
 into that city! “For the Lamb which is in 
 the midst of the throne shall feed them, and 
 shall lead them unto living fountains of 
 waters; and God shall wipe away all tears 
 from their eyes.” 
 
LITTLE ELLINOR’S PRAYER. 
 
 It was a beautiful evening in spring, when 
 Aunt Mary, who had gone up stairs to put 
 little Ellinor to bed, stood tor a few minutes 
 at the open window, to give one more look 
 at the distant hills, and to hear one nnore 
 soncT from the birds, betore she closed it loi 
 the^'night. “Lift me up aunt,” said little 
 Ellinor, “that I may see too!” So Aunt 
 Mary lifted little Ellinor up, and set her upon 
 the table. The sun was setting in the mist, 
 and a soft hazy light was spread over the 
 landscape. The garden was completely in 
 shade, except where one slanting ray ol light 
 rested on the upper branches ot the pear tree, 
 which were covered with white blossoms, 
 and the air felt soft and fresh, as it does on a 
 line evening in spring. Aunt Mary looked 
 out of the window for some time, and then 
 she said, “Ellinor, I am thinking ol a verse 
 of the hymn you learnt this moining. 
 
 “ Oh God, how good, beyond compare, 
 
 If thus thy lower works are fair ! 
 
 If thus thy bounties gild the span, 
 
 Of ruined earth, and tallen man , 
 
 How glorious shall that rriansion be 
 Where thy redeemed shall dwell with thee. 
 
 120 
 
LITTLE ELLINOR S PEAYER- 
 
 121 
 
 “I know what you mean, aunt,” said El- 
 linor; “you mean, that if this world is so 
 beautiful, what will heaven be !” 
 
 “Yes, love; and in heaven there is neither 
 sin, nor sorrow; every glorious being there 
 loves God, and is perfectly happy. But there 
 will come a time, when this world shall be 
 very different from what it is now — when 
 there shall be no heathen and no idols, hut 
 all the nations of the earth shall know the 
 true God, and serve him only.” 
 
 Little Ellinor was born in India, and lived 
 there for the first years of her life; and though 
 she had been some time in England, she had 
 only just come to live with Aunt Mary. 
 Aunt Mary loved her little niece, and tried 
 to make her happy; but, above all, she was 
 anxious that she should learn to love and to 
 serve God. She had taught her that pretty 
 little hymn, which says — 
 
 I was not born as thousands are, 
 
 Wliere God was never known, 
 
 And taught to pray a useless prayer, 
 
 To blocks of wood and stone. 
 
 And she now explained to her what the idols 
 of the heathen were. When her aunt had 
 done speaking, Ellinor said, “Do any of the 
 people here worship idols V’ 
 
 “Oh, no,” said her aunt; “not here, but in 
 distant places — such as Africa and India.” 
 “Aunt,” said Ellinor, with a thoughtful 
 countenance, and looking up earnestly in her 
 aunt’s face, “ does my papa worship idols f” 
 11 
 
122 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 “ No, my dear, not your papa, but the na- 
 tives; can you recollect when you were in 
 India, haviinj; a native woman to nurse and 
 take care of you ? 
 
 “ Oh, yes,” said Ellinor, “ and I loved her 
 very dearly; does she w'orship idols? 
 
 “ I am not sure, but I think it is most 
 probable, if she is a native, that she does.” 
 
 “ Oh, then, I hope some missionary will go 
 and teach her better — are clergymen mis- 
 sionaries, aunt ?” 
 
 “Yes,” said her aunt, “who did not quite 
 understand the meaning of this question.” 
 
 “ Then take me to-morrow to Mr. S , 
 
 that I may ask him to go and teach my poor 
 Ayah," (child's nurse.) 
 
 “ Oh, but Mr. S — is not a missionary.” 
 
 It w'as getting late, so aunt Mary shut the 
 window ; and she sat down upon the bed, 
 and took Ellinor on her lap, and she said, 
 
 “ My darling cliild, if you wish your nurse 
 to be taught about God, and become a Chris- 
 tian, I will tell you what to do. 
 
 Pray to God, he can make your poor 
 Ayah a Christian, and send a missionary to 
 instruct her.” 
 
 Then aunt Mary repeated some of the 
 promises there are in the Bible, that God 
 will answer prayer : Ellinor listened very 
 attentively, and when she knelt down to 
 pray, she asked God to grant that her Ayah 
 might become a Christian. 
 
 Whilst she was being undressed, she went 
 on talking to her aunt about the idols of the 
 
LITTLE ELLINOR’s PRAYER. 
 
 123 
 
 heathen, and begging that she would tell 
 her more about them. So when she was in 
 bed, her aunt sat down by her, and tried to 
 make her understand what a dreadful thing 
 idolatry is, and what reason we have to be 
 thankful tliat we have been taught better: 
 and she told her that we ought to pray for 
 the missionaries, and do all we can towards 
 helping them to go. 
 
 “ So I will,” said Ellinor, “ when I grow 
 up to be a woman.” 
 
 “ But why not now ?” said her aunt. 
 
 “ Oh, because I can’t ; I have not any 
 money, you know.” 
 
 “ Indeed ! why I thought you showed me 
 several shiHin^s in a little box.” 
 
 O 
 
 “ Oh, yes ; but if 1 were to give them all, 
 it would be no good ; they are not enough.” 
 
 “ You could give sufficient to do some good, 
 without giving them all : but I will explain 
 this to you, in giving you an account of an 
 Hindoo idol called Juggernaut. This idol is 
 a block of wood, having a frightful face paint- 
 ed black, with a great red mouth ; he is one 
 of the principal idols in India ; he has a 
 splendid temple, and in the month of June, 
 there is a festival held in his honour. At 
 this time the idol is taken out of his temple, 
 and placed on a car, or tower, higher than a 
 house, and drawn along on huge wheels, 
 large in proportion. It is attended by thou- 
 sands and thousands of people, whose shouts 
 and yells resemble thunder, on account of 
 the immense multitude. Dreadful to relate. 
 
124 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 it is thought that the idol is pleased with 
 human blood, and one or two people lie 
 down before it, as it is coming along, to be 
 crushed to death. As soon as the wheel 
 passes over them, the people around, set up a 
 shout of joy. I could tell you many other 
 terrible tilings about it, but it would only 
 frighten you, and now, how do you think this 
 idol, on his great tower, is moved along ?” 
 
 “ On wheels, did’nt you say,” said Elli- 
 nor. 
 
 “ Yes, but the wheels will not move of 
 themselves, you know, they must be drawm 
 along.” 
 
 Ellinor supposed then it must be dragged 
 on by elephants. 
 
 “ No,” said her aunt ; “ six very thick, 
 strong robes, of a great length, are tied to 
 it, by wdiich the people themselves draw it 
 along : men, women, and children, all help, 
 and even little children, almost babies, are 
 made to put their hands on the rope, and 
 assist. Now, not the strongest man in all 
 the world, could move the great tower of 
 that frightful idol, no, not an incli ; but a 
 number of people draw it along easily, and 
 even little children can, and du help. Just 
 in the same way that they can help in a bad 
 cause, they can help in a good one ; as a 
 number of people together, each exerting 
 the little strength they possess, can move 
 that great tower, so a number of people to- 
 gether, each giving a little money, can sub- 
 scribe enough to send out missionaries to all 
 
LITTLE ELLINOr’s PRAYER. 
 
 125 
 
 parts of the world ; but this is done not by 
 one, or two, or twenty, or a hundred, or even 
 a thousand rich people, who each give a 
 large sum; but by many thousands of peo- 
 ple, including rich and poor, and even little 
 children, who each give a very small sum. 
 Do you understand me.” 
 
 Ellinor thought she did. “ Suppose the 
 gardener had left the roller in a walk where 
 you wished to play, you could not move it, 
 could you ?” 
 
 “No,” said Ellinor. 
 
 “Then what would you do?” 
 
 “ I should call Nora, and Bertha, and 
 Maria to help; that’s just what we did to- 
 day.” 
 
 “Yes, I saw you; but what would you 
 have said if Maria had told you, it was of 
 no use for her to come, as she could not 
 move the roller ?” 
 
 “ I should have said, she could help.” 
 
 “ And so I say to you, every person who 
 gives even a penny to a missionary society, 
 helps. 
 
 “ But, my dear child,” said her aunt, 
 “what I have said to you, only relates to 
 giving money, which it is certainly our duty 
 to do according to our means. But all the 
 money in the world is of no use, without the 
 blessing of God ; the best assistance, there- 
 fore, that we can render to the missionaries, 
 is to pray for them.” 
 
 “ But do not they pray for themselves ?” 
 
 , “Yes; but it is equally our duty to pray 
 11 * 
 
126 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 for them. Paul, who was a great apostle, 
 tells the Christians to pray for him, that God 
 would enable him to ])reach the gospel to 
 the heathen. VV'hen you pray, you ask God 
 to bless your papa, and all your friends, and 
 yourself; but we are told, in the Bible, we 
 should pray for other people besides our- 
 selves, and those whom we love. We ought 
 to care for all people, and desire their good; 
 and if we really desire it, of course we shall 
 ])ray for it. I could tell you many stories 
 from the Bible, as examples of this : of good 
 men, who prayed to God for other persons, 
 who were not their friends, and felt an inter- 
 est for them, and wished for their happiness. 
 There is notliina; selfish in the relision of 
 Christ; it leaches us not to think of ourselves, 
 but of others, and to desire the. welfare of 
 others as much as our own. If you love 
 Christ you must love your fellow-creatures, 
 and try to make them hapjiy, and be of use 
 to them.” 
 
 “ I will pray for the missionaries, aunt,” 
 said Ellinor, “and I will give a penny a 
 week, like little Ann did, to the missionary 
 box; but how can I make any body happy?” 
 
 “ I must remind you,” said her aunt, “that 
 you can do nothing without the help and 
 blessing of God ; but he has commanded you 
 to be kind to others, and you must pray to him 
 for the grace to be so. I will engage, that 
 during the course of the day, to-morrow, you 
 will find plenty of opportunities.” 
 
 “ Tlien Aunt INIary kissed her little girl, and 
 
LITTLE ELLINOR’s PRAYER 
 
 127 
 
 having tucked her up comfortably, she took, 
 her candle and went down stairs. Ellinor 
 shut her eyes, thinking how kind she was 
 going to be to every body to-morrow, and 
 soon was fast asleep.” 
 
 Ellinor was much younger than any ol 
 her cousins, so she slept in a little cot, in her 
 aunt’s bed-room. While she was getting 
 dressed next morning, her aunt reminded her 
 of the conversation they had had togethei the 
 evening before; and when Ellinor piaj/cd, she 
 did not forget the missionaries and the hea- 
 then, nor her own intentions ol being kind to 
 those at home. The morning passed otf very 
 well — Ellinor was in a very good humour 
 with herself, and did every thing that was 
 kind and obliging to her cousins. The les- 
 sons were all finished, except the leading, and 
 she brought her book and sat down by her 
 aunt to read, with a smiling countenance. 
 It however unfortunately happened, that she 
 mistook two long old-fashioned ss s for fl’s, 
 and, in consequence, instead of the word 
 “ Russians,” she said “ Ruffians ;” at which 
 ridiculous mistake, Maria, who was sitting 
 by, was much amused. Now Ellinor could 
 not bear to be laughed at— nothing made her 
 more angry, and all her good humour vanish- 
 ed with Maria’s smiles. She read very badly, 
 because she was thinking how wu'ong it was 
 in Maria to behave to her in that manner. 
 Her aunt was displeased with her inattention, 
 and Ellinor got more and more cross; at 
 last, she began to be oi opinion that the 
 
128 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 author had put all the hard words he could 
 possibly think of, into that very chapter, on 
 purpose to teaze her, and by the time she had 
 finished, she was completely out of temper 
 with herself, and every body else. The little 
 girls w'ent out for a walk, but Ellinor had 
 scarcely any thing to say. After dinner, 
 they each went to their several amusements. 
 Maria wanted Ellinor to play with her, but 
 she was busy reading. A little while after, 
 Bertha asked her to hold a skein of silk, 
 while she wound it; but she had her lessons 
 to learn for to-morrow, so she took out her 
 books, opened them before her, and looked 
 out of the window. So matters went on, all 
 the afternoon and evening, until they ended 
 in a serious quarrel between Bertha and El- 
 linor, on account of Bertha’s having taken 
 possession of the chair while she was out of 
 the room, which quarrel displeased her aunt 
 so much, that she gave both the little girls 
 some work, and made them sit quiet for the 
 rest of the evening. 
 
 Ellinor having thus had an opportunity for 
 reflection, felt both ashamed and sorry, and 
 when bed-time came, she kissed her cousins 
 wdth many tears, and mutual requests for 
 forgiveness. 
 
 Ellinor was really sensible of her fault, 
 and she prayed to God sincerely to pardon it, 
 and to help her to keep his commandments 
 better for the futui'e. Her aunt's lessons had, 
 by the blessing of God, sunk deep into her 
 heart, and the little girl had learnt to love her 
 
LITTLE ELLINOR's PRAYER. 
 
 129 
 
 Saviour. She loved to liear the Bible read, 
 she loved to hear about Jesus, and she longed 
 to be, as she herself said, “one of his little 
 lambs.” She felt truly grieved that she had 
 done that day what was so displeasing in his 
 sight. 
 
 “ Ellinor,” said her aunt, as soon as they 
 were alone in her own room, “I do not think 
 you know how unkind you were to your 
 cousins to-day.” 
 
 Ellinor began again to cry, and she assured 
 her aunt that she did. 
 
 “ I do not think I can let you subscribe to 
 the missionary box.” 
 
 Ellinor looked as if she should like to ask 
 her aunt, what her conduct at home had to 
 do with subscribing to the missionary box. 
 “Why do you wish to subscribe to the mis- 
 sionary box'?” said her aunt, in answer to 
 her look. 
 
 WInjI is rather a puzzling question for a 
 little girl. Ellinor thought a minute or two, 
 and then she said, “that the heathen might 
 leave off worshipping idols, and learn to love 
 Christ.” 
 
 “ Is it only your own Ayah, whom you 
 love, that you wish to be taught ?” 
 
 “ Oh, all,'' said Ellinor, “ I wish them all to 
 be taught.” 
 
 “We ought to wish it, certainly,” said her 
 aunt; “first, for the glory of our blessed Re- 
 deemer, whose kingdom shall spread over all 
 the earth ; and because it is his command- 
 ment that the gospel should be preached in 
 
130 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 every nation: but it is written in the Bible, 
 that he who loveth God must love his brother 
 also, 1 John iv. 21 ; we ought, therefore, to 
 w'ish it also, for the sake of the poor, igno- 
 rant, and unhapjiy w'orshippers of false gods; 
 we ought to wish it, pray for it, help towards 
 it, out of kindness to them.” 
 
 “So I do wish to be kind to them,” said 
 Ellinor. 
 
 “Nay, but my child,” said her aunt, “how 
 can that be, when you are not kind to your 
 own cousins ?” 
 
 “Ah ! but aunt, I was very angry.” 
 
 “It is a very easy thing, Ellinor, to be 
 kind when we are pleased; But it is our duty 
 to be kind to others at all times, and to do 
 every thing we can to make them comfort- 
 able and happy. Besides, you say, you real- 
 ly wish the heathen to learn to love Christ, 
 do you not equally wish that people in your 
 own country, in your own home, should do 
 the same I” 
 
 “O yes.” 
 
 “ And how does our Saviour say you are 
 to try and teach them?” 
 
 Ellinor could not answer this question, so 
 her aunt told her to look in Matt, v., and see 
 if she could find the answer, but she could 
 not; so her aunt told her it w'as verse 16, 
 and asked her the meaning of it. Ellinor 
 said it meant that we should teach others by 
 showing our love to Christ in our outward 
 conduct. “ I am speaking to you now,” 
 said her aunt, “ as a child who desires to be 
 
LITTLE ELLINOr’s PRAYER. 
 
 131 
 
 one of Clirist’s lambs, and I am speaking of 
 your conduct, not with respect to the sin you 
 committed towards God, but that which you 
 were guilty of towards your fellow-creatures, 
 and which you see was very great. God 
 looks upon the heart, and you know that to- 
 day you have indulged your angry temper 
 secretly without any restraint, and openly so 
 far as you could wdthout drawdng down pun- 
 ishment upon yourself, and even some slight 
 degree further, and yet you think that your 
 conduct at home has nothing at all to do 
 with your washes for the conversion of the 
 heathen ; or rather, I am afraid, that you 
 never considered wdien you otfered your 
 penny a week, either what you washed, or 
 why you wished it. Now my little darling, 
 listen to me, whenever you subscribe to a 
 missionary society, ask yourself why you do 
 so ; and if your heart can answ er, it is from 
 love to Christ, and love to my fellow-crea- 
 tures: then ask yourself again, does my con- 
 duct at home prove that these are my true 
 motives'! For he sure that you can love but 
 little, and care but little for the distant hea- 
 then, while you do not love and care for 
 those people whom you see every day, and 
 those who live in the same house, and belong 
 to the same family as yourself. 
 
EAROTONGA. 
 
 In the great Pacific ocean, there are a num- 
 ber of very beautiful islands, which were 
 discovered by Captain Cook. The inhabi- 
 tants were heathen ; some sacrificed human 
 victims to their idols, some eat human flesh, 
 others were less cruel and barbarous, but all 
 were heathen, and addicted to most of the 
 foolish, vain, and wicked practices, which 
 distinguish the worshippers of the false gods. 
 
 About forty years ago, missionaries were 
 sent to these islands ; year after year how- 
 ever, tlieir labour seemed in vain ; until, after 
 a length of time spent in patient, though un- 
 successful endeavours, it pleased God to re- 
 ward their toil, making them the instruments 
 of converting numbers of these barbarous 
 people to Christianity. 
 
 Among the number of missionaries whose 
 labours were thus blest, was one of the 
 name of Williams. But the missionaries 
 were few, and the islands were counted by 
 hundreds, and the natives by thousands and 
 thousands. Mr. Williams therefore explain- 
 132 
 
RAROTONGA. 
 
 133 
 
 ed to his people, that it was their duty, 
 having heard tfie word of God theinselves, 
 to assist in instructing their ignorant coun- 
 trymen, in the neighbouring islands. 1 hey 
 gladly acceded, and one named Papeiha, 
 offered to set out. Mr. Williams had heard 
 there was, not far from there, an island, call- 
 ed Rarotonga. No one seemed to know 
 where to find it, and all endeavoured to per- 
 suade him, not to think of going there, tor 
 said they, “they are a most ferocious people, 
 horrid cannibals, and exceedingly treachei- 
 ous, and if you go, you wull lose your life. 
 
 ' This information, however, far from deter- 
 ring Mr. Williams, only made him more 
 anxious to find the island ; for he felt, that 
 the more wicked the people were, the more 
 they needed instruction ; so he set out on his 
 voyage ; but day after day, he traversed the 
 ocean in vain, no Rarotonga could be found, 
 and he was obliged to return. After a little 
 while, however, he set out again on the same 
 voyage, and for a long time, he sailed about 
 without meeting with any better success : his 
 OTOvisions were nearly all exhausted, and 
 fearing that himself, and the crew would 
 soon suffer for want of food, he resolved that 
 should eight o’clock that morning come with- 
 out their having been successful, they would 
 once more return home. Many times duiing 
 those few hours did he send a native to the 
 top of the mast, to see if he could discovei 
 land, but in vain, until within half an hour 
 of the time fixed for their returning home, 
 12 
 
134 
 
 missionary tales. 
 
 the rising sun dispelled the mists which 
 enveloped its towering hills, and the lovely 
 island presented itself to their view. There 
 was a general smile of congratulation on 
 board the little vessel, as she dropped her 
 anchor near the shore. A canoe, containing 
 Papeiha and some other natives, was sent 
 on shore ; they held a consultation with the 
 inhabitants of the island, under the shade of 
 immense trees, called Temanu trees, told 
 them for what purpose they were come, and 
 inquired if they were willing to receive 
 them? They said they were, and the king 
 Makea, accompanying them to the vessel, 
 told Mr. Williams he was willing they should 
 remain. So they went back to the island. 
 The vessel remained until next morning, as I 
 suppose, Mr. Williams wanted to see how 
 his friends were treated. Next morning 
 they came oft' to the vessel and gave a dread- 
 ful account of the manner, in which they 
 had been used, so that Mr. Williams was 
 afraid to leave them : Papeiha, however, in- 
 sisted upon remaining ; he remembered when 
 he was himself one of the heathen, and he 
 pitied his blind and foolish countrymen : 
 taking nothing with him, for fear of being 
 robbed, except his Bible and a few books, he 
 jumped into the canoe, accompanied by a 
 few other Christian natives, and returned to 
 the island : the missionary set sail, and de- 
 parted. 
 
 Rarotonga is a beautiful place; its hills 
 and valleys are rich in the fruits of the earth: 
 
RAROTONGA. 
 
 135 
 
 mighty trees overshadow the land, and grow 
 down to the very borders of the sea ; not in 
 a dense unwholesome forest, shutting out 
 the light of the sun ; but scattered here and 
 there among the green hills, and affording a 
 delicious shade ; some are covered with beau- 
 tiful flowers, some with light foliage, waving 
 like plumes in the wind, and many supply 
 the natives with food, such as the cocoa, 
 and the bread-fruit-tree. Nor was the island 
 uncultivated ; a good road run all round it, 
 on each side of which grew tht2 banana, the 
 mountain plantain, and gigantic chestnuts. 
 On each side of this road a little distance 
 from it, stood the pi'etty houses of the inhabi- 
 tants ; leading to each was a path, stiewed 
 with black and white pebbles, and bordered 
 on either side by the Ti tree, with its tufted 
 top and delicate blossoms, and the gigantic 
 Taro. Six or eight stone seats were placed 
 near the path in front of each house, and 
 here, in the cool of the evening, after the 
 labours of the day, crowned with flowers, and 
 wearing a shining pakaku,* sat the inmates of 
 the house, ready to enter into conversation 
 with all the passers-by. 
 
 The natives were very fond of these seats, 
 and used to point to them and say, “ It vvms 
 here my father and my grand-father sat ! 
 
 But notwithstanding the Rarotongans lived 
 in such a lovely place, and were surrounded 
 by the gifts of a kind and merciful God, 
 they were, in many respects, fierce and cruel 
 * Au article made of native cloth. 
 
136 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 savages. They offered human victims to their 
 idols, whom they killed in a barbarous man- 
 ner : when one member of a family had been 
 offered, all the rest were sure to be seized 
 upon in their turn ; wherever they fled to 
 they were taken when their turn came. Even 
 if they escaped to the mountains, they were 
 hunted there with dogs as soon as they were 
 wanted for this horrid purpose. 
 
 Such were the people amongst whom Pa- 
 peiha, accompanied by a few others, now 
 ventured himself. On reachina; the shore he 
 was conducted to the house of Makea, the 
 chief, or king. He was followed by a crowd 
 of natives ; one shouted, “ I'll have his hat 
 another, “ I’ll have his jacket and another, 
 “ I’ll have his shirt !” As soon as he came 
 into the king’s presence, Makea said to him, 
 “ Speak to us, O man, that we may know 
 the business about which you are come.” 
 Papeiha replied, that he had come to in- 
 struct them in the worship of the true God, 
 and in the way of salvation, through Christ, 
 that they might burn the idols of wood, of 
 cloth, and of birds’ feathers, which they had 
 made and called gods : immediately there 
 burst forth a tremendous shout of, “ Burn 
 the gods ! what shall we do without the 
 gods ?” The chief, however, let Papeiha go 
 without doing him any harm ; he established 
 himself on the island, and morning and even- 
 ing, on a stone, shadowed by a grove of 
 banana trees, he addressed the Rarotongans. 
 By degrees they began to listen. 
 
RAROTONGA. 
 
 137 
 
 There was in the island of Rarotonga, a 
 place called Arorangi, of which a person 
 named Tinomana, was chief; as the people 
 of Arorangi were not so strong as Makea 
 and his people, they were much oppressed 
 by them. They stole their food and property, 
 and whenever a human sacrifice was le- 
 quired, they seized upon one of them: so 
 great was their danger, that when they want- 
 ed fish for food, they were obliged to steal 
 down to the sea in the depth of the night for 
 it, and return before it was light. Tinomana, 
 the chief of this unhappy people, having 
 heard of Papeiha, sent for him and told him 
 he wanted to hear something about Christ. 
 Papeiha went: he instructed him in some 
 things relating to the worship of God, and 
 exhorted him to burn his idols. The chief 
 meditated for some hours upon this, and at 
 length he came again to Papeiha, and told 
 him that he had a great mind to burn his 
 gods, but he was afraid they might be enraged 
 and strangle him in the night. Papeiha as- 
 sured him there was no fear, as they pos- 
 sessed no real power; the chief, however, 
 could not be convinced. In the evening they 
 went to prayer, and many of the natives 
 joined them. 
 
 The natives of that warm climate do not 
 sleep on beds, but on mats spread on the 
 floor; after he had prayed, Papeiha spread 
 out his mat and laid himself down to sleep : 
 Tinomana, full of affection for his new friend, 
 brought his mat, and placing it at his side, 
 12 * 
 
138 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 told liim he came to be taught how to pray. 
 Papeiha, happy to be so employed, repeated 
 a short prayer, which the chief said after 
 him; he then dropped oft’ to sleep, but was 
 soon aroused by the chief, who said to him, 
 ‘‘Pve forgotten it; go over it again.” This 
 Papeiha did, but Tinomana anxious to be 
 taught to pray, awoke him again several 
 times during the night, to ask the same thing. 
 In the morning, Papeiha returned home, and 
 Tinomana accompanied him part of the w'ay, 
 still endeavouring to learn the prayer, and 
 assuring him when they parted, that he would 
 think much of what he had heard. 
 
 A little while after Papeiha had returned 
 to the place where he lived, there was a hea- 
 then feast, and a large number of the people 
 assembled to oft'er food to their gods; the 
 w'orshippers presented a strange and hideous 
 appearance. Some had one side blackened 
 wdth charcoal, another was painted all over 
 with dift'erently coloured stripes; others again 
 were dressed up in shells and birds’ feathers. 
 Papeiha walked boldly into the midst of the 
 assetnbly, and remonstrated with them on 
 their folly and wickedness. The scene of 
 uproar and frenzy w'as stilled, and they lis- 
 tened quietly to him. When he had done 
 speaking, the people began to ask him ques- 
 tions: — “Where is your God?” said they, 
 “ we do not see him !” “ He fills heaven 
 
 and earth wdth his presence,” answered Pa- 
 peiha. “ How is it then, we do .not run 
 against him ?” asked the ignorant savage. 
 
RAROTONGA. 
 
 139 
 
 “ The earth,” answered Papeiha, “ is full 
 of air, and full of light, but we do not run 
 against either of them the meeting, how^- 
 ever, broke up without fui’ther results. 
 
 Alone on this barbarous island, far from 
 his country and his friends, Papeiha found 
 all his consolation in his Bible and prayer ; 
 away from his kind teachers, the mission- 
 aries, he had none whose counsel he could 
 ask, except that of his Bible, or I should 
 rather say, Testament, which was the only 
 part of the Bible then translated into his 
 native language. When he walked out he 
 carried it with him ; when he sat in his house 
 he read it, until the people remarking his 
 strong attachment to it, exclaimed at last to 
 each other, “It is his God!” and when they 
 saw him reading it, they said, “that he and 
 his God were talking together.” My dear 
 little reader, this you know was the silly 
 mistake of ignorant people, but does not 
 God, indeed, talk to us, when we read the 
 Bible? and should we not listen with the 
 deepest reverence as if to his voice ? When 
 we hear, or read his word in an idle, careless 
 manner, we are like those Jews who came 
 to hear the instructions of the prophet Eze- 
 kiel, and of whom the Lord said, that they 
 heard his words and did not do them, listen- 
 ing to them as if they were only “ a lovely 
 song.” 
 
 For many months Papeiha continued to 
 labour among these people, but with very 
 little success : yet he was not discouraged ; 
 
140 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES- 
 
 he loved Christ, and was happy in seeing 
 him; the result he left to his will; and it did 
 please the Lord to grant him finally great 
 success, which commenced in the following 
 way. The Rarotongans were under an ap- 
 prehension that if they destroyed their idols, 
 they would come in the night and strangle 
 them. Fully impressed with this dreadful 
 idea, even when they were convinced of the 
 folly of worshipping idols, they were afraid 
 to burn them. Now there was in the island, 
 a man, who after long reflection, had come 
 to the determination of worshipping only the 
 true God, yet he could not but think his life 
 was exposed to much danger in consequence. 
 However willing he might be to meet the 
 danger himself, he had a little son, whom no 
 doubt he loved very much, and he could not 
 endure the thought of his being strangled in 
 the night, so he brought him to Papeiha’s 
 house, and having placed him where he 
 thought he was out of the power of the idol, 
 he brought the latter also to Papeiha to be 
 burnt. This proceeding drew a number of 
 people round him, who showed the greatest 
 concern and alarm ; the man, however, was 
 not to be moved by their entreaties, and he 
 laid his idol at the feet of the Christians. 
 Papeiha took a saw, and began to saw it in 
 pieces ; the moment the terrified people per- 
 ceived the saw applied to the head of the 
 idol, they fled from the spot, and even 
 the new convert plunged for concealment 
 among the bushes. After a little while'. 
 
RAROTONGA. 
 
 141 
 
 however, they returned, and in the presence 
 of the whole crowd, the pieces of the idol 
 were set on fire and burnt to ashes. When 
 this was done, Papeiha roasted some bana- 
 nas among the ashes, and he and the other 
 Christians eat them, in order to prove to the 
 people, that the idol had no power to hurt 
 them. Day after day passed away, and as 
 neither Papeiha nor his friends were stran- 
 gled, the Rarotongans became convinced of 
 what he had told them, that the idols had 
 indeed, no power; great numbers followed 
 the example thus set them, and within ten 
 days, fourteen idols were destroyed. Among 
 the rest, Tinomana, the chief, who was so 
 anxious to learn how to pray, set fire to his 
 idols, their altars, and temples, and entpated 
 Papeiha henceforth to instruct him in the 
 knowledge of the truth. 
 
 From this time, the Lord blessed the in- 
 structions of Papeiha, and the light of the 
 gospel spread rapidly amongst the Raroton- 
 gans. A vessel that touched at the island 
 brought the missionary Mr. Williams, intel- 
 ligence of their increase in piety, knowledge, 
 and devotedness to God ; and Papeiha also 
 sent letters to Mr. Williams, begging him to 
 come and pay them a visit. 
 
 Accordingly, Mr. Williams, accompanied 
 by his wife and some English friends, who 
 intended to remain as missionaries there, set 
 sail for Rarotonga, where he was received 
 with great joy by the inhabitants, their king 
 Makea, and their teacher Papeiha. 
 
142 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 A few days after their arrival, a procession 
 of the people came to them bearing a number 
 of idols, which they cast at the missionary’s 
 feet to be destroyed: some of them were 
 adorned with strings of pearl shells, which 
 they called the soul of the idol, some with 
 red feathers or cloth, and all were of a very 
 large size. 
 
 On the following Sunday, nearly four thou- 
 sand people assembled to hear the mission- 
 aries preach, and as a very few of that num- 
 ber could get into the house, one of the first 
 things the missionary thought of was to build 
 them a place of worship, which was com- 
 menced the following week. The people 
 were all delighted to help, and to watch the 
 skill the English showed, which appeared to 
 them most wonderful. One day, Mr. Wil- 
 liams, having forgotten one of his tools, wrote 
 a line to Mrs. Williams, on a chip of wood, 
 asking her to send it to him. The chief who 
 carried it to Mrs. Williams, finding that it 
 made known what Mr. Williams wanted, 
 never having seen writing before, w^as in a state 
 of ecstasy of surprise and delight ; he leaped 
 out of the house, and ran among the people, 
 to display the wonderful “ chip that could 
 talk,” and for many days he wore it sus- 
 pended round his neck. 
 
 During the whole of this time the mission- 
 aries were also engaged in instructing the 
 people ; in translating parts of the gospel into 
 their language, and teaching them to read. 
 Many a pleasant Sabbath, too, did the Chris- 
 
sarotonga. 
 
 143 
 
 tians pass in prayer and praise; many a Sab- 
 bath sun, as it slowly set over their beautiful 
 island, beheld them sitting under the banana 
 and plantain trees, which encircled the dwel- 
 ling of their beloved missionary, and listening 
 to his instructions from the word of God. 
 
 Things went on for a long time in this 
 pleasant manner, until the missionary, who 
 had only intended to stay at Rarotonga for a 
 few months, began to wish to return to his 
 own settlement. Month after month went by, 
 and no vessel approached that remote island, 
 nor had he any means of leaving it : so, at 
 last, he set to work, with the assistance of the 
 natives, to build a ship for himself, in which 
 he also intended to visit more remote islands, 
 which had never heard the gospel. There is 
 a very amusing account of how Mr. Williams 
 built his ship, and how the natives helped 
 him ; how the rats eat the bellows in the 
 night, all but the bare boards ; and how King 
 Makea was so delighted at the sight of the 
 pump, that he had his favourite stool carried 
 on board, and amused himself for hours in 
 pumping. At last the vessel was finished, 
 launched, and called the “ Messenger of 
 Peace.” Mr. Williams, before trusting his 
 little ship on a long voyage, sailed to a neigh- 
 bouring island to try it, and King Makea 
 went with him. They reached the island in 
 safety, and remained there a few days. They 
 collected for their return a cargo of pigs, 
 cocoa nuts, and cats, of which last Makea 
 obtained a good many, for, as I have told. 
 
144 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 you, the rats were very troublesome in Raro- 
 tonga. They were always running about all 
 day, as well as all night, and were so very 
 audacious, that when the missionaries were 
 having their meals, they were obliged to em- 
 ploy two or three persons to keep them away. 
 Once before, a cat was taken to Rarotonga, 
 but frightened at the sight of so many strange- 
 looking people, poor puss escaped from her 
 mistress, and took refuge in an idol’s temple. 
 Now the Rarotongans had never seen a cat, 
 so when one of the natives entered the temple, 
 and puss greeted him with a loud mew, he 
 tied back in terror, shouting that there was in 
 the temple, a “monster from the deep.” Upon 
 this, a party of some hundreds assembled, 
 who put on their war caps, and daubed 
 themselves with charcoal, and brought their 
 spears, clubs, and slings, to make battle with 
 puss. Puss, by her agility, escaped that 
 time; but it was not long before being again 
 found, she fell a victim to their terror, and 
 was beaten to death. The Rarotongans, 
 however, were grown wiser since this, and 
 Makea was delighted with his present of 
 cats. On their voyage back to Rarotonga, 
 the wind was unfavourable, and Makea was 
 seized with an alarm, that they would never 
 be able to find the island again. When the 
 storm howled, and the waves struck against 
 the ship, the chief came in terror to the mis- 
 sionary, to know whether it would be broke 
 to pieces. Being assured there was no dan- 
 ger, he, was pacified; but not sufficiently to 
 
RAROTONGA. 
 
 145 
 
 suffer the missionary to be out of his sight 
 for one moment. Every time during the 
 night that he went on deck, he was followed 
 by the anxious chief. As day after day 
 passed without their reaching his beloved 
 isle, he expressed again his fears that they 
 had lost it, and were sailing into the “wide 
 gaping space.” At last, on the third evening, 
 the missionary begged him to go to sleep, till 
 the moon rose, when Rarotonga would be iu 
 sight. “Can I sleep, friend I” said the melan- 
 choly chief ; so he remained on deck until the 
 moon rose, when, to his surprise and joy, his 
 beautiful island appeared to his eyes. 
 
 Soon after Mr. Williams’ arrival, he re- 
 ceived letters from the natives at his own 
 settlement, begging him to return. “Your 
 premises,” said they, “are overgrown with 
 weeds ; your large boat is being eaten by ther 
 worms, and your cattle are running wild, for 
 the people you left in charge of them are 
 neglectful.” The Rarotongans were very 
 sorry to part with Mr. Williams and his fami- 
 ly. Not only had they dwelt among them as 
 the people of God, instructing and comforting 
 them in the truths of the gospel, and the 
 knowledge of Christ, but they had also at- 
 tended to their bodily wants, and strove to 
 render them in every respect better, wiser., 
 and happier. In return, the Rarotongans 
 loved them with grateful affection. For 
 more than a month previous to their depar- 
 ture, groups would assemble in the cool of 
 the evening, and sitting under the shade of 
 13 
 
146 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 their golden bananas, would sing, in a soft 
 voice, verses expressive of their sorrow in 
 losing their friends. On the evening of their 
 departure, thousands assembled on the beach, 
 and, as the “ Messenger of Peace” unfurled 
 her sails, and slowly receded from the shore, 
 they sang, with one voice, one of their own 
 sweet songs, 
 
 Ria ora e Tama ma 
 
 I te aerenga i te moana e ; 
 
 which means, in English, “ Blessing on you, 
 beloved friends, blessing on you in journey- 
 ing on the deep !” The sounds became 
 fainter and fainter, till they were lost in the 
 distance, and the beautiful Rai'otonga once 
 more disappeared from their eyes. 
 
 “ Go and do thou likewise,” little child ! 
 “ What !” say you, “ can I find out a heathen- 
 ish land, and send people to teach them the 
 gospel? can I show the savages how to build 
 houses and ships, and to make furniture, to 
 work at the forge and the sugar-mill, or the 
 women to sew, make bonnets, cut out clothes, 
 and dress like civilized people ?” No, you can 
 do none of these things, it is true, but if you are 
 a child of God, you can watch your opportu- 
 nity of doing many little kind offices to others. 
 It is not in great services that the spirit of 
 Christianity consists; happy is the mission- 
 ary, who, among the distant heathen, can 
 prove his love to Christ, by the benefits, tem- 
 poral as well as spiritual, which he labours 
 to be the instrument of conferring on his fel- 
 
RAROTONGA. 
 
 147 
 
 low creatures; and happy is the little child 
 who in her own quiet and comfortable home, 
 endeavours to show her love to her Saviour, 
 by loving, and helping, and caring for eveiy 
 one, according to his most blessed command- 
 ment. 
 
THE JEWS AT SHIRAZ. 
 
 The prophetical words of Moses to the peo- 
 ple of Israel, when- he was about to part from 
 them, on the borders of the promised land, 
 contain an outline of their history to the pre- 
 sent day. He told them of those troubles 
 which they would have to endure if they 
 disobeyed, and which they are enduring, 
 even to the present time. Amongst other 
 things, he told them that they should be 
 driven away from the beautiful land of which 
 they were just going to take possession, and 
 be scattered among all the nations of the 
 earth. “ Thou shalt be removed into all the 
 kingdoms of the earth;” again, “the Lord 
 shall bring thee and thy king which thou 
 shalt set over thee, unto a nation which 
 neither thou nor thy fathers have known.” 
 Not only so, but, in addition to this, their pro- 
 phet further tells them, that even then they 
 shall have no peace. “Among these nations 
 shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole 
 of thy foot have rest; but the Lord shall give 
 thee here a trembling heart and failing of 
 148 
 
THE JEWS AT SHIRAZ. 
 
 149 
 
 eyes, and sorrow of mind. And thy life 
 shall hang in doubt before thee, and thou 
 shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none 
 assurance of thy life. In the morning, thou 
 shalt say, “ Would God it were even, and at 
 even thou shalt say, Would God it were 
 morning !” These words were spoken to the 
 Jews, at the time they were just going to 
 enter the promised land. How long they 
 lived there, and continued to disobey God 
 and rebel against Him, the Bible tells us. It 
 is now nearly eighteen hundred years since 
 they left their own country, and they are still 
 scattered among other nations, despised and 
 persecuted. 
 
 But you must not think that, because they 
 are suffering the punishment of their sins, 
 God is less displeased with those who are 
 cruel towards them. Our Saviour says, “ it 
 must needs be that offences come : but woe 
 to that maaby whom the offence cometh !” 
 There was a nation — the Edomites — whose 
 country was next to that of the Jews; and 
 when God was angry with the Jews, and cause 
 armies to come against them and carry them 
 away captives, this cruel people rejoiced in 
 their destruction, and assisted in it, but this 
 drew down upon them the displeasure of 
 God, who said to them, “ Thou shouldest not 
 have looked on the day of thy brother, in the 
 day that he became a stranger ; neither 
 shouldest thou have rejoiced over the chil- 
 dren of Judah, in the day of their destruction ; 
 neither shouldest thou have spoken proudly 
 13 * 
 
150 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 in the day of distress As thou hast done, 
 
 it shall be done unto thee; thy reward shall 
 return upon thine own head.” The w'ords 
 of the Lord have been fulfilled; that coun- 
 try is now desolate; and of their chief city,* 
 then rich, beautiful and flourishing, only a 
 few ruins now remain, and the desert around 
 is so infested with dangerous and barbarous 
 people, that even the wild Arabs can scarce- 
 ly be induced, by any reward, to guide travel- 
 lers to the spot, wdiere they may behold the 
 few yet mighty remains of its former gran- 
 deur, now the abode of snakes, owls, and the 
 creatures of the wilderness. Thus, we see 
 that cruelty to the Jews, is displeasing to 
 God; nor only to the Jews; all sort of un- 
 kindness or want of sympathy towards others 
 is displeasing to Him. It was one of the 
 crimes of the Edomites — they stood “ on the 
 other side,” — that is, they did not help those 
 that wmre in trouble. So, if yo« remember 
 our Saviour’s parable of the good Sama- 
 ritan, the Priest and Levite did not do any 
 harm to the wounded man, they only “passed 
 by on the other side ;” that is, they did not 
 assist or take any notice of him. My little 
 reader, do you never “pass by on the other 
 side I” Yes; whenever you see a person in 
 trouble, and do not endeavour to comfort and 
 assist them. If you cannot help them, you 
 can be sorry for them, and let them feel that 
 you are so. Do you ask me how '! have you 
 
 * Petra. 
 
THE JEWS AT SHIRAZ. 
 
 151 
 
 never seen a little sister crying, or an elder 
 sister unhappy, whom your kindness and af- 
 fection might comfort 1 Have you never seen 
 your mamma sorrowful ? And do you not 
 know that your love and your sympathy, 
 even if you are but a very little child, would 
 be pleasing to her? And besides our own 
 family, we should pity and feel for every hu- 
 man being who we know is unhappy ; as it 
 is said in the Bible, “ weep with those who 
 weep.” If this is the case, how wicked must 
 it be, for a child to be glad of any thing 
 which displeases, or irritates another ! Some 
 children will laugh when others are vexed, 
 and look pleased at that which made them 
 so. Let such children remember the words 
 which God spoke to the Edomites. 
 
 In former times, the Jews who lived in 
 England, and the other countries of Europe, 
 were tormented in various ways. If they 
 had money, they did not dare let it be known, 
 lest it should be violently taken away from 
 them, and they, perhaps, killed for the sake of 
 it. Their houses, if they were comfortable in- 
 side, were obliged, on the outside, to be made 
 to look mean, poor, and dirty : even then the 
 people would, sometimes, break open the 
 door and burst in, plundering and destroying 
 every thing. Once, when a contagious dis- 
 order, something like a plague, raged, the peo- 
 ple took it into their heads that it was occa- 
 sioned by the Jews having poisoned the water 
 in the wells, and upon this false and wicked 
 
152 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 accusation, great numbers were cruelly put 
 to death. 
 
 They were driven about from one country 
 to another, finding no where a home, and no 
 where a rest. Though Europeans have be- 
 come too humane to persecute them in that 
 cruel manner now, yet, in the eastern coun- 
 tries, they are still treated with extreme bar- 
 barity, and are, of course, in consequence, 
 poor, miserable, and dejected. A missionary, 
 himself a Jew, but a Christian Jew, and a 
 minister of Christ, has devoted his life to visit- 
 ing his people scattered about in the difl’erent 
 kingdoms of the earth, and endeavouring to 
 instruct them in the gospel of Jesus, their 
 own Messiah. This missionary is Mr. Wolff. 
 He gives a sad account of the state to which 
 he found the Jews in the east reduced, 
 and mentions, among other places, their la- 
 mentable condition in the town of Shiraz, in 
 Persia. 
 
 Before Mr. Wolff went to Shiraz himself, 
 he made some inquiries concerning the Jews 
 there. He was told — First, that every house 
 at Shiraz, with a mean entrance, is a Jew’s. 
 Secondly — Every man with a dirty woollen 
 turban is a Jew. Thirdly — Every coat much 
 torn and mended about the back, is a Jew’s. 
 Fourthly — Every one picking up old broken 
 glass, is a Jew. Fifthly — Every one search- 
 ing for dirty robes, and asking for old shoes 
 and sandals, is a Jew. Sixthly — That house 
 into which no quadruped but a goat will en- 
 
THE JEWS AT SHIRAZ. 
 
 153 
 
 ter, is a Jew’s. All these things describe, 
 of course, their miserable and persecuted 
 situation ; for their misery was occasioned 
 by the persecutions they endured. This ac- 
 count did not deter Mr. Wolff from going to 
 Shiraz, to visit them. When he arrived, he 
 inquired for the street in which they lived; 
 for in many cities the Jews are not permitted 
 to reside where they please, but are obliged 
 to confine themselves to one particular part 
 of the town, where they are sometimes locked 
 up at night. Mr. Wolff, on entering the 
 place, found that the tale of their misery had 
 not been exaggerated. Old men and women 
 were sitting on the ground, stretching out 
 their hands, and crying, with a melan- 
 choly voice, “ Only one pool !” (which means 
 penny.) “ Only one pool! I am a poor 
 Israale ! I am a poor Israale I” Mr. Wolff 
 gave them some money, and one of the 
 Jews said to him, “We have heard that 
 you are a son of Israel, and have brought 
 us the gospel in Hebrew — give us the gos- 
 pel 1” 
 
 He entered the houses of his poor brethren, 
 and was shocked at the misery which every 
 where presented itself. They were all of 
 dwarfish stature, and pale and yellow in 
 countenance, the effects of dirt and starva- 
 tion — They are, indeed, poor, poor Israel; 
 their only song is now, “ Only one pool ! 
 only one pool! I am a poor, poor Israale !” 
 The poor starving mother, with her starving 
 
154 
 
 MISSIONAEY TALES. 
 
 baby in her arms, cries, “ Only one pool ! I 
 am a poor Israale !” 
 
 And are these the people who were once 
 the favoured of the Lord 1 whose city was 
 the glory of the w'hole earth — whose land 
 abounded with the precious fruits brought 
 forth by the sun — whose temple was built of 
 cedar and gold — whose streets were filled 
 wdth the multitude of them that kept holy- 
 day 1 It is, indeed ! and how is it they are 
 so changed? Because they disobeyed God, 
 and rejected the Lord Jesus Christ. My lit- 
 tle reader, you and I have lost a better in- 
 heritance — a more glorious land than that 
 which was possessed by the children of Is- 
 rael. It w'as paradise, the Garden of Eden ! 
 that lovely place where there was every 
 ihinfT which was pleasant and beautiful, and 
 which Adam lost, both for himself and us, 
 because he disobeyed God. Jesus once stood 
 • in the temple at Jerusalem : it had not now 
 its golden doors; its partitions of chains of 
 gold: its walls adorned with palm-trees and 
 open flowers, all glittering with gold, as in 
 the davs of King Solomon, but still it was a 
 rich and splendid edifice. The Lord knew 
 that the hour was coming, when not one 
 stone would be left standing upon another, 
 and the Jews would be scattered abroad in 
 poverty and destitution, such as I have de- 
 scribed to you, and He pitied their future 
 sufferings, and said, “ O Jerusalem, Jerusa- 
 lem, how olten would I have gathered th^i 
 
TME JEWS AT SHIRAZ. 
 
 155 
 
 children together, even as a hen gathers her 
 chickens under her wings, and ye would 
 not !” No, they would not ! they rejected the 
 Lord. The same tender and compassionate 
 voice is now calling to us. Paradise we have 
 lost, but Christ has promised to those who 
 are willing to become his disciples, to save 
 them frorn the destruction which hangs over 
 us all, a destruction as certain, and tar more 
 dreadful than that which threatened the city 
 of the Jews ; and to give them a mansion, 
 better than paradise itself, in the house of 
 his Father. “ See that ye refuse not him that 
 
 speaketh.” , /• nr 
 
 The Jews at Shiraz had heard ol Mr. 
 Wolff, and of his intention of visiting them ; 
 when therefore the principal people amongst 
 them were informed that he was arrived, 
 they assembled together in the house of one 
 of their rabbies. Their high-priest was just 
 dead. There had been a dreadful earth- 
 quake at Shiraz. An earthquake is a terri- 
 ble scene. Thousands of persons are some- 
 times crushed to death in the ruins of their 
 dwellings, and some are swallowed up in 
 the heavings of the ground. But even when 
 that terror is past, the distress of those who 
 survive is generally very great ; their habi- 
 tations are thrown down, their property is 
 destroyed, and they are driven out to wandei 
 in the fields, often without sheltei and with- 
 out food. The poor Jews who dwelt at Shi- 
 raz, were very miserable before this misfor- 
 
156 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 tune happened to them, but it greatly in- 
 creased their wretchedness. Their high- 
 priest, who loved his people, grieved for 
 them so much that he died. His death was 
 much lamented and deplored by them. At 
 the time of Mr. Wolff’s arrival, his son was 
 high-priest; and he, with fifteen other Jews, 
 assembled to receive him. 
 
 They sat down on the ground in a circle, 
 to listen to what he had to say to them; and 
 he sat with them, and thus addressed them : — 
 “ On account of the abundance of our sins — 
 on account of the abundance of our sins, in 
 what a miserable state do I find you hero — 
 and after what an awful time ! So poor, de- 
 jected, and wretched a people, as I have not 
 seen, my brethren, all the days of my life. 
 Many of our brethren at Shiraz, have apos- 
 tatized from the faith, and have forgotten 
 Moses and the prophets altogether, and turned 
 to the Gojim, the Mahommedans, who have 
 been your enemies of old. You are here in- 
 deed a poor, poor Israale !” 
 
 Then the high-priest, who, on account of 
 sickness, could scarcely breathe, said: “Tell 
 us the reason of our misery.” And another 
 of the Jews said, with tears in his eyes, 
 “ Tell us the reason of our affliction.” Then 
 Mr. Wolfi' preached to them Jesus. Do you 
 think they received the good news of pardon 
 joyfully ? No — they listened to the mission- 
 ary whilst he spoke that time, but the Rab- 
 bles refused to let the people meet him again. 
 
THE JEWS AT SHIRAZ. 
 
 157 
 
 Thev were unwilling to become Christians, 
 and rejected the instruction which was oflered 
 them. 
 
 Mr. WolfF deplored the fate of his poor 
 brethren at Shiraz; but, since they would not 
 listen to the gospel, he was obliged to leave 
 them to their wretchedness. He felt much 
 for them, for he was himself a Jew, and God 
 having blest him, by bringing him to the 
 knowledge of Christ, he earnestly desired to 
 make known the good news of salvation to 
 his unhappy countrymen. For this purpose, 
 he sought them out in remote and dangerous 
 places — particularly in the east, where the 
 Jews are very much oppressed, and treated 
 with great cruelty. Mr. Wolfl himself, often 
 met with persecution, and even with ill-treat- 
 ment. Once he was seized, and severely bas- 
 tinadoed, and then carried away on a mule. 
 In consequence of this usage, he was very ill, 
 for some weeks. As soon as he was suffi- 
 ciently recovered, they brought him before 
 the divan, and he was asked, “Who are 
 you V’ he replied, “ I am Joseph Wolff, a Jew, 
 who believes in Jesus, and I go about to 
 teach this book (the Bible) I carry, and to 
 preach his name.” He was then asked, “ Is 
 that -all you wish to do I” “That is all,” 
 was his reply. So they let him go, and 
 when he was free, he distributed about forty 
 Bibles, where one had never before been 
 seen. 
 
 We look for the time to come, when all 
 the Jews shall become Christians, and God 
 
 14 
 
158 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 has promised, that when they will obey his 
 voice, he will have compassion upon them, 
 and gather them from all the countries 
 whither they have been driven, and “ re- 
 ioice over them for good, as he rejoiced over 
 their fathers,” Deut. xxx. 9. 
 
THE RECHABITES. 
 
 Few children know how dearly they are 
 beloved by their parents ; but they may, 
 generally speaking, be sure, that they are 
 their fondest and kindest friends, and should 
 not only be sincerely loved, but affectionately 
 treated. “ But if they are loved, they will 
 be affectionately treated,” perhaps you say. 
 I think so myself, but I have known many 
 children who would be shocked, if they 
 were told they did not love their parents, 
 and who yet make them very unhappy, 
 by their disobedient and ungrateful conduct. 
 “Ah, but mamma is often very cross,” 
 whispers to herself, the child whose heart 
 accuses her of havina; often behaved ill to 
 her mother. Suppose she were cross, nay, 
 more, unjustly cross, that is never any ex- 
 cuse for your failing in your duty towards 
 her : the child who speaks a disrespectful 
 word, either to its father or its mother, com- 
 mits a sin in the sight of God which nothing 
 can excuse: it is written, “the eye that 
 mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey 
 his mother, the ravens of the valley shall 
 
 159 
 
160 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat 
 it.” Disobedience to parents, is reckoned, 
 in the New Testament, among the number 
 of dreadful sins practised by the wicked, 
 who are under the wrath of God. If the 
 threatenings of the displeasure of God, lie 
 so heavily against those who are disobedient 
 children, the promises of His mercy are given 
 to those who keep His commandment, “ to 
 honour their father and their mother.” We 
 are told to do it, “ that it may go well with 
 us,” and if we obey, it shall go well with 
 us, for the promises of God shall not fail. 
 “ Heaven and earth shall pass away,” says 
 our Saviour, “ but my words shall not pass 
 away.” There is a history in the Bible, so 
 much to this purpose, that I think I must re- 
 late it to you, although it has nothing to do 
 wuth our present subject. There was a 
 family among the Jews, called Rechabites. 
 Jonadab, one of them, had commanded his 
 children, that they should neither drink 
 wine, build houses, nor plant fields, but 
 dwell in tents. This injunction was repeated 
 from one to the other, and all the children 
 obeyed, in their turn, the direction of their 
 father. Their obedience pleased the Lord. 
 In the days of the prophet Jeremiah, God 
 commanded him to call the family of the 
 Rechabites together, and take them into one 
 of the chambers of the temple, and offer them 
 wine. Jeremiah did as God commanded 
 him. He invited the Rechabites, took them 
 into a chamber of the temple, and setting 
 
THE EECHABITES. 
 
 161 
 
 the cups of wine before them, begged them 
 to drink. But though the prophet requested 
 them, they would not disobey the command- 
 ment of their father. They said, “we will 
 drink no wine; for Jonadab, the son of Re- 
 chab our father, commanded us, saying, “ ye 
 shall drink no wine, neither ye nor your 
 
 sons for ever that ye may live many 
 
 days in the land, where ye be strangers.” 
 The last part of the verse alludes, probably, 
 to the promise of God: — “ Honour thy father 
 and mother, that thy days may be long in 
 the land.” It was but a small thing of itself, 
 their not drinking the wine ; but it was their 
 obedience to their father, which was pleasing 
 in the sight of God, and he desired Jeremiah 
 to give them the following promise: “ Thus, 
 saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel ; 
 because ye have obeyed the commandment 
 of Jonadab your father, and kept all his 
 precepts, and done according to all that he 
 hath commanded you : therefore, thus saith 
 the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel; Jona- 
 dab, the son of Ilechab, shall not want a man 
 to stand before me for ever.” Such w'as the 
 promise of God. Two thousand years and 
 more have elapsed, since that time, for you 
 know it was long before our Saviour came 
 upon earth. Jerusalem has been razed to 
 its foundation — not one stone is left to 
 stand upon another — the Jews are scat- 
 tered among all the nations of the world, 
 and for nearly eighteen hundred years, 
 their country has been in the possession 
 14 * 
 
162 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 of strangers; yet the descendants of Re- 
 chab are still found dwelling in their native 
 land. They were seen there by a traveller,* 
 who visited those remote places, about the 
 year 1540; and this account of them was 
 confirmed, of very late years, by the mis- 
 sionary, Mr. Wolff. If any little child shall 
 learn to check one angry tone, or one impa- 
 tient word addressed to a parent, I shall be 
 glad that I have given you the history of the 
 Kechabites, and you will find more concern- 
 ing them in the Bible. But there is another 
 still better and holier example set before you, 
 even that of our blessed Saviour himself, for 
 we are told, that he “was subject” unto his 
 parents. 
 
 * Benjamin of Tudela, 
 
SKENANDO, 
 
 THE WHITE man’s FRIEND. 
 
 Many hundred years ago, some English peo- 
 ple, who were persecuted in their own coun- 
 try, thought, that they should like to go and 
 build themselves a village or town in Ame- 
 rica, where they might live in peace. Ac- 
 cordingly, they came, and though they suf- 
 fered great hardships, of which numbeisdied, 
 yet the remainder kept possession of their 
 new colony, and prospered. Seeing this, 
 more English people came out to them, and 
 their numbers increased so rapidly, that they 
 began to build other towns, and form other 
 settlements. The Indians, at first, offered 
 them no interruption; but when they saw 
 them cutting down their forests, and clearing 
 away their woods, and taking possession of 
 such a quantity of land, they began to get 
 frightened, and to think they intended to take 
 away their country altogether. Now, the 
 Indians said, that those woods were theirs, 
 that their Father, the Great Spirit had given 
 them to his “ red children,” meaning them- 
 selves, for their skin is red; and that the pale 
 
 163 
 
164 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 faces, that is the English, should not liv^e 
 there. But this resolution was made too late, 
 for the “ pale faces” had got possession. 
 The dwellings of the white people, were not 
 all in one place, or the Indians could not 
 have ventured to attack them. They were 
 scattered about. A few families, perhaps, 
 would agree together, and travel hundreds 
 of miles through the pathless forest, directing 
 their way, I suppose by the stars, as people 
 do when they sail across the ocean : when 
 they came to a place they thought they 
 should like, they stopped there, unpacked 
 the goods they had brought with them, and 
 built themselves log houses, cutting down the 
 trees all round, and leaving an open space, 
 which they called a “ clearing.” Thus they 
 were alone in the desert, suri’ounded on all 
 sides by a black and gloomy forest, where 
 lived their fierce enemies, who were watch- 
 ing for opportunities to destroy them. The 
 Indians were extremely cunning and artful ; 
 they crept about unseen, and unknown, 
 among the dark shades of the forest, and 
 when the English people thought them many 
 miles away, they were suddenly startled, per- 
 haps in the middle of the night, by a terrific 
 scream, called the war-whoop, which was 
 the signal that the Indians were about to 
 rush upon them. Then they poured by hun-'' 
 dreds, into the clearing, burning down the 
 houses, and murdering the people ; the chil- 
 dren they sometimes carried away, and 
 brought them up, to be heathen and savages 
 
SKENANDO} THE WHITE MAn’s FRIEND. 165 
 
 like themselves. There are many interest- 
 ing stories told of those times, and of the 
 patience and courage, with which the set- 
 tlers preserved their little dwellings from the 
 savages. There w^as once a man of the 
 name of Dustan, who lived with a few other 
 people in the wilderness ; a large and popu- 
 lous town with streets, and roads, and fine 
 houses, now stands in that place ; but at the 
 time, I am speaking of, it was a desolate spot 
 where a few solitary families lived, surround- 
 ed by a gloomy forest. Dustan was absent 
 from home at his usual occupations, when 
 he heard the alarm given that the Indians 
 had attacked the settlement. He immediately 
 flew to his house which the Indians had not 
 yet attacked ; he had seven children, and not 
 knowing in what other way to provide for 
 their safety, he ordered them to run away 
 in an opposite direction to that in which the 
 Indians were approaching, and he himsell 
 ran to the room where his poor wife was ill 
 in bed, but before she could get up, the In- 
 dians were upon them. Despairing of being 
 able to save her, he next thought of his little 
 children ; he flew to the yard, mounted his 
 horse, and rode off in the direction he had 
 told them to take : he could not carry them 
 all on his horse, so he determined he would 
 take the one he loved best. When he came 
 up with them, however, he could not decide 
 which that one was, therefore he resolved to 
 endeavour to save them all, or else to die 
 with them. He made them run on as fast as 
 
166 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 possible, and he rode behind them. They 
 had not gone very far, when the Indians were 
 heard yelling and shouting behind them, and 
 when they came near enough they fired at 
 them, but they were not hurt, for their father 
 placed himself between them and the Indians, 
 and w'hen they fired, he turned round, and 
 fired also. In this way, he and his little com- 
 pany retreated, till they reached a distant 
 house, where they were once more lodged in 
 safety. 
 
 The Indians were divided into tribes, and 
 Skenando, whose history I am about to re- 
 late to you, was chief of a tribe, called the 
 Oneidas, a proud and warlike race of men, 
 to whom a large tract of the country be- 
 longed. Many years had now passed, and 
 the English who had come to America, began 
 to think that they ought to endeavour to in- 
 struct the heathen in the faith of Christ, and 
 when missionaries were found who were 
 willing to go and live amongst them, they 
 w'ere sent to the diflerent tribes. Mr. Kirk- 
 land w’as the name of the one, who went to 
 the Oneidas. I have no doubt that Skenando 
 received him kindly, for the Indians are very 
 polite to the strangers, whom they do not 
 consider as their enemies. They address them 
 by the terms of “ Father,” and “ Brother,” 
 always listen very attentively to W'hat they 
 have to say, and reply with respect and pro- 
 priety. 
 
 It pleased God to bless his instructions, 
 and Skenando, at that time sachem of the 
 
SKENANDO, THE WHITE MAN’s FRIEND. 167 
 
 Oneidas became a Christian, and many others 
 of his people. They endeavoured in turn to 
 instruct their countrymen under Mr. Kirk- 
 land’s direction, and they displayed a degree 
 of sense and intelligence rarely found among 
 savages : which you will see if you read the 
 following address, made by a Christian Oneida 
 to the rest. “What, my brethren,” said he, 
 “ are the views which you form of the cha- 
 racter of Jesus ? You will answer, perhaps, 
 he was very benevolent : that he proved this 
 by the nature of the miracles he wrought, 
 which were all kind in the extreme : he 
 created bread to feed thousands — he raised 
 to life the son of a poor woman who was a 
 widow. Are these your only views of the 
 Saviour? I tell you they are lame: when 
 Christ came into the world, he threw his 
 mantle around him, but the God was within.” 
 Skenando at this time was about fifty years 
 old. When he became a Christian, he pro- 
 tected the English from the cruel attacks of 
 his countrymen, so that he was known 
 amongst them by the name of “the White 
 Man’s Friend.” His care and watchfulness 
 once preserved the inhabitants of a whole 
 settlement from being murdered. He was 
 warmly attached to Mr. Kirkland, and seems 
 always to have looked upon him as the best 
 of friends and benefactors. He lived sixty 
 years after he became a Christian, and during 
 the whole of that time, never returned to his 
 former wicked practices. He lived to be a 
 very aged man, one hundred and ten years 
 
168 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 old : he said once to a friend who went to 
 visit him, “ I am an aged hemlock,* the winds 
 of an hundred winters have whistled through 
 my branches — I am dead at the top. The 
 generation to which I belonged have run 
 away and left me — why I live, the Great 
 Good Spirit only knows. Pray to my Jesus 
 that I may have patience to wait for my ap- 
 pointed time to die.” 
 
 Mr. Kirkland died, and was buried at a 
 place called Clinton, and Skenando had a 
 great desire to be laid in the same grave with 
 his beloved Christian teacher ; and, for this 
 purpose, during the last years of his life he 
 came often to Clinton, to die, longing that 
 his spirit might be with Christ, and his body 
 in the grave. A person w'ho visited him at 
 the approach of death, found him calm and 
 serene, listening to the prayers which were 
 read at his bedside by his great grand-daugh- 
 ter. Thus he remained cheerful and resigned 
 to the last, and died, after having proved by 
 an altered life, during the length of sixty 
 years, the sincerity of that conversion to the 
 faith of Christ, with which God was pleased 
 to bless, in his case, the labours of the mis- 
 sionary. He was a great warrior, the sachem 
 of his tribe, and the place of his residence 
 where he died, was called Oneida Castle. 
 The “pale faces” now have got possession 
 
 * The hemlock is a sort of pine tree, which grows to 
 a gigantic height in the American forests. Dr. Dwight 
 says, a white pine has been found on the Connecticut 
 rirer, two hundred and forty-seven feet long. 
 
SKENANDO, THE WHITE MAn’s FRIEND. 169 
 
 of the country of the Indians ; those mighty 
 woods which were their hunting grounds, 
 and under whose shadow their wigwams 
 stood, have been for the most part cut down 
 and carried away by the whites ; and the 
 towns and villages of America occupy the 
 place where they stood. The very ground is 
 called by another name. The Indian name of 
 a river or a stream, which still may be heard 
 occasionally, is almost the only recollection 
 left of them in many parts of the country 
 which belonged to their fathers. Poor, 
 miserable, and forlorn, they hide themselves 
 in distant tracts of the country which was 
 once their owm. 
 
 And what can we do for them ? Much — 
 We can send them missionaries to teach them 
 about Christ, and tell them the good news of 
 salvation. If they receive it, it will be to 
 them a more precious gift than their own 
 country, even if we had the means of giving 
 it back to them again. “Ah,” says my little 
 reader, “ but I could not give to all the mis- 
 sionary societies — that would be quite impos- 
 sible, unless I were very rich.” The question 
 is not whether you give to all the missionary 
 societies, but whether you give all that you 
 can; whether you remember that Christ has 
 taught you to pray, that his kingdom may 
 come, and ask in your prayers that the hea- 
 then may become Christians. That glorious 
 day will come : blessed are they who shall 
 see it ! and blessed are they to whom God 
 has given the power and the means to assist, 
 15 
 
170 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 if ever so little, in that glorious work ! and to 
 whom has he not given it ? Do you not re- 
 member the poor widow who threw in a small 
 piece of money, less than a farthing, into the 
 treasury; and Christ saw the gift; and said it 
 was accepted ? And so he will accept now 
 the smallest contribution that is made, out of 
 love to him, and with a desire to keep his 
 commandments; and you know the last com- 
 mandment which he gave to his disciples, 
 was — “ Go ye into all the world, and preach 
 the gospel to every creature.” 
 
A TEUE STORY OF A YOUNG JEW. 
 
 There was once a young Jew, in whom God 
 raised up a spirit of inquiry, and a desire to 
 find out the truth; and, in consequence, he 
 determined upon reading the New Testament. 
 Here he found so many of the prophecies of 
 his own scripture fulfilled in Christ, that he 
 anxiously desired to learn more. He occa- 
 sionally attended church, and became more 
 and more convinced of the truth of Chris- 
 tianity, and that Jesus was indeed the Mes- 
 siah that should come into the world. His 
 parents and friends took great alarm, and 
 insisted upon his scrupulously fulfilling all 
 Jewish rites, and forbade him to have any in- 
 tercourse with Christians. Hoping to retain 
 him among them, they persuaded him to 
 marry a young Jewess, that, by her influence, 
 his conversion to Christianity might be pre- 
 vented. But, becoming more firmly rooted 
 in the faith, he prayed eai’nestly that his wife 
 might know and love the same Saviour as he 
 did. God answered his prayer; she also 
 read the New Testament with him, and 
 sought with him the salvation of her soul. 
 
 171 
 
172 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 God had now given them three children. 
 They could not bear the thought of bringing 
 them up in Jewisli darkness, and yet feared 
 openly to confess their faith. He loved his 
 parents tenderly, and it grieved him mhch to 
 distress them, beside bringing upon himself 
 their contempt and hatred, and, what he 
 knew would also follow, their bitter persecu- 
 tion. But he remembered what his Saviour 
 had declared, — that those who loved father 
 or mother more than him, were not worthy 
 of him; and he resolved publicly to confess 
 Christ and to be baptized. 
 
 Immediately afterwards, his sister came to 
 see him, and when she found that he had in- 
 deed been baptized, she loaded him with re- 
 proaches and bitter taunts, and was so over- 
 come by her feelings, that she was attacked 
 with several severe fits. Another sister, 
 whom he dearly loved, came the next day to 
 try to win him back. She sat for hours weep- 
 ing and entreating him to return; but he re- 
 plied that, painful as it was to part with them, 
 he must surrender them rather than reject 
 Christ, He felt it then to be his duty to see 
 his father, who bitterly reproached him, and 
 told him that his conduct was heart-breaking. 
 His aged mother wept, and implored him to 
 get the high-priest to make an atonement for 
 him, and impose such a penance as would 
 wash away his sin and restore him to them. 
 When they found he would not be persuaded, 
 they drove him from the house, forbidding 
 him ever to enter it again. 
 
A TRUE STORY OF A YOUNG JEW. 173 
 
 This was indeed a fiery trial of his faith. 
 Soon after, his wife had a severe illness, and 
 she longed for the kind care of his mother, 
 which she had always received before her 
 conversion to Christianity, and she wrote to 
 her. The only reply was a note sealed with 
 a black seal, to show that they were con- 
 sidered dead by the family, and must never 
 expect to receive any thing from them. All 
 his relations went through the Jewish rite of 
 mourning for the dead. J'hey shut themselves 
 up for a week, sitting all day upon the ground, 
 tearing their dress, and taking no other food 
 than hard eggs and salt. But the poor suf- 
 ferers trusted in God, who raised up many 
 kind friends to assist them from time to time. 
 
 From various circumstances, they removed 
 from place to place, and sometimes were 
 obliged to sell their furniture to buy bread. 
 One day in December, they placed their four 
 children in a cart, for not one of them could 
 walk from weakness. They wrapped them up 
 in the few warm clothes they had, and vyalked 
 behind them. When they reached their new 
 lodging, the carman asked so much that not 
 a penny was left for food or firing: in silent 
 sorrow they unpacked their things and ar- 
 ranged their little room, still trusting in God. 
 To their surprise, a loud knock was heard at 
 the door; it was the carman, who returned 
 with a loaf and a large piece of meat. The 
 Jew urged him to take it back, saying, if he 
 had not charged too much, all was right. 
 “No,” said the carman, “I cannot; I, too, 
 15 * 
 
174 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 have children.” It was God who overruled 
 the heart of the carman, for they had not 
 complained to him of want. 
 
 In January, the father tried to support 
 them by going about with a basket and selling 
 a few things. Sometimes he was successful, 
 but often returned without having gained 
 anything, and the labour of dragging about a 
 heavy basket all day, was very trying to one 
 who was so weak. Scanty meals, poor fires, 
 and little clothing brought them all to a very 
 distressed state. 
 
 On one bitterly cold morning, before he 
 went out with his basket, he divided the only 
 morsel of bread he had among his children, 
 telling them to call on the Lord, and wait pa- 
 tiently till he sent them more. The whole 
 day passed and nothing was sold; and, al- 
 though he felt sinking with fatigue and 
 hunger, the thought of his wife and famished 
 children at home, without food or fire, 
 doubled his sorrow. On his way home, 
 passing a chapel, he went in, hoping to hear 
 something that might revive him. What 
 was his joy, when a friend, seeing his haggard 
 looks, gave him two shillings ! How small a 
 sum may often relieve the deepest distress ! 
 How many w’aste much larger sums unthink- 
 ing of the good they might accomplish ! 
 Upon his return home, he found all in dark- 
 ness; he called, but no one answered; he 
 rushed into the next room for a light, and 
 found his wife lying insensible on the bed, 
 quite pale, and the little ones asleep; he 
 
A TRUE STORY OF A YOUNG JEW. 175 
 
 hastily lighted a fire, and made some tea, im- 
 ploring his heavenly Father to restore his 
 wife. She gradually revived, but it was an 
 hour before she had strength to ask how God 
 had supplied their need. She told him that 
 she had tried to amuse the children, till, hun- 
 gry and benumbed with cold, she had put 
 them to bed, covering them with all she 
 could find ; and that, feeling ill from anxiety, 
 weakness, and hunger, she had thrown her- 
 self upon the bed, and had fallen into a state 
 of insensibility. The next morning, their 
 kind minister brought them money, which 
 paid their rent, and purchased fuel and food. 
 Another friend afterwards sent them a hamper 
 of provisions and some money; but, in the 
 bustle of unpacking, the little parcel of silver 
 was mislaid, and they knew nothing about it. 
 They had some debts to pay, which made 
 them uneasy ; and, sweeping their room the 
 following Saturday, they found the little 
 packet, which was just the amount they re- 
 quired. By these, and similar providences, 
 their faith was confirmed, and their gratitude 
 and love were increased. 
 
 Few are aware of the hardships to which 
 a Jew is exposed upon becoming a Christian. 
 He is rejected by all his old friends, cast out, 
 and left to starve. 
 
 Dear children, pray for those Jews who 
 are beginning to be persuaded that Jesus is 
 their Saviour, and their Lord, that they may 
 have courage to speak out, and suffer the 
 loss of all things for his name’s sake. And 
 
176 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 always help them when you can. In helping 
 them, you are helping Him, who will say, by 
 and by, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 
 one of the least of these my brethren, ye have 
 done it unto me.” 
 
9 
 
 JUSSIONAET CaVIiNG TRACTS. 
 
GIRLS’ SCHOOLS IN INDIA. 
 
 A MISSIONARY in India, on making his ac- 
 customed visit to one of the villages round 
 his station, found a poor woman who was 
 very ill, and in a shocking state. He sent 
 her to his own home by one of the men of the 
 village, requesting his wife to use some 
 means for her recovery. She looked at the 
 poor woman, who presented a sad spectacle 
 of disease and filth, and thought to herself, 
 “ If there was not a soul in that body, I never 
 could summon up courage, or self-denial 
 enough, to attend upon such a miserable 
 being.” But she did attend upon her — and, 
 beyond all expectation or hope, the woman 
 became well. And she came with a smile, 
 such as no one would have thought her poor 
 senseless fqce could ever have worn, and 
 made her salaam to the good missionary’s 
 wife, thanking her for what she had done for 
 her. 
 
 “ But, my good woman,” said the mission- 
 ary’s wife, “ suppose you had died during 
 that illness, where would your soul have 
 gone ?” 
 
 177 
 
178 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 “ My soul, my mother, — what soul have I ? 
 I am only a woman.” 
 
 “ Oh ! but you have a soul,” said the other. 
 “ No, my mother, no. lam only a woman” 
 was all she would reply. 
 
 Again she was assured that she had a soul, 
 that would live for ever; and again, with a 
 vacant laugh, she returned the same answer. 
 
 “ But indeed you have a soul, and what do 
 you think would have become of it V' 
 
 “What do I knowl” said the poor igno- 
 rant creature. “ / am only a woman. But if 
 I have, I suppose when my body was burnt, 
 and the ashes flew away, my spirit would 
 fly away with them.” 
 
 “ No,” said the missionary’s wife, “ you 
 will live for ever, either in joy or in misery. 
 Would not you like to know more about your 
 never-dying soul 1 W on’t you go and hear 
 master, when he preaches under the tree in 
 your village 1” 
 
 The poor creature looked perfectly as- 
 tonished, and exclaimed, “ How can / go ? / 
 am only a woman.” 
 
 And this is the condition of women in India. 
 Poor India ! Think of the good which Chris- 
 tian women do ! But Hindoo women can’t 
 do any good. They are despised and tram- 
 pled upon. They are nothing better than 
 wretched slaves. A wife is not allowed to 
 eat in her husband’s presence. If he were 
 seen talking to her, it would be thought a dis- 
 grace. If any visitors call, she must not sit 
 down with them ; but, if she is seen at all, she 
 
GIKLS’ SCHOOLS IN INDIA. 179 
 
 must stand up as a servant. Instead of the 
 father and mother, and children, all sitting 
 round the same table at meals, as they do in 
 our happy country, the father is served first, 
 then his sons, and the mother must not sit 
 while they are eating, but stand at a distance, 
 and look another way, taking care to listen, 
 if they should want her to wait upon them ; 
 then, after they have finished, they tell her to 
 take what they have left. 
 
 Don’t think that it is grown up women only 
 that are so badly treated. Little girls, when 
 they are babies, are often left at night, in 
 some lonely spot, to be carried off by tigers, 
 or other beasts of prey. If they are not thus 
 cast away, they are brought up like slaves, 
 in their father’s house, till they are ten or 
 eleven years of age. Then they are married 
 or betrothed, and taken to live in the house 
 of their husband, where they are often very 
 cruelly treated by their husbands’ relations. 
 
 Oh! it makes my heart sad to think of the 
 women of India — of the hardships they under- 
 go, and the dark cloud of ignorance that rests 
 upon their souls. What shall be done for 
 them? We must have schools for Indian 
 girls. We must take them while they are 
 young, and teach them better. We must 
 give them that knowledge that will change 
 their course of life in this world, and will 
 prepare them for life eternal. India will be 
 happy then, when it is full of Christian 
 women. 
 
 There are many girls’ schools in India, 
 
180 
 
 MISSIONARY TALES. 
 
 though not half enough. What I have been 
 trying to do now, is to show you how much 
 such schools are wanted. Dear little girls, 
 do what you can for your little Indian sisters. 
 Give all you can for the support of schools. 
 Perhaps, some of you, when you grow up, 
 will have an opportunity of going to India, to 
 teach Hindoo girls. If so, bless God for so 
 unspeakable an honour. Yes, I hope some 
 of xjou will be missionaries. Christ wants 
 labourers for his vineyard. The church 
 wants help in its work abroad. The ques- 
 tion is asked, “ Whom shall I send, and who 
 will go for us I” I hope that, by and by, 
 many of my little readers will be found among 
 tliose who say, “ Lord, here am I : send meP 
 
 THE END. 
 
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