wmrmr* - ' fSj,. - !. ' j THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY From the collection of Julius Doerner, Chicago Purchased, 1918. 220 C\^a5 AFRICAN LIGHT THROWN ON A SELECTION OP SCRIPTURE TEXTS. BY THE REV. JOHN CAMPBELL, LATE MINISTER OF KINGSLAND CHAPEL, LONDON, AUTHOR OB' “TRAVELS IN AFRICA,” ETC. FIFTH EDITION. WITH A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP THE AUTHOR, fkrkitt : GEORGE & ROBERT KING, 6T. NICHOLAS STREET. 1859 , *D ABERDEEN : PRINTED BY A, KING & CO., BROAD STREET. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. < The history of this little W ork may he briefly given. Mr Campbell, shortly after his return from Africa, was desirous to publish in his native £ city short notes of such scenes and incidents ci in his travels as tended to illustrate particular r passages of Scripture. The manuscript was ac- cordingly sent to the Rev. William Innes, with permission, as will he seen from the following characteristic extract from the letter which ac- companied it, to make alterations, if necessary , before publication : — “ The manuscript is sent for your inspection. It has cost me a deal of labour ; but so did the pvramids of Egypt and the tower of Babel; and what was the use of them after they were finished ? Should you think that, with a little culling, they might suit the Scotch taste, you are at p rfect liberty to prune as you please, for I had not taste in view while writing, but, as far as I was able, to throw light on some passages of IV PREFACE. Scripture. At the same time, I confess I aimed at excluding heaviness, and make it as entertain- ing to the reader as I could, to make it palatable to the young as well as the old. It is all origi- nal — nothing stolen from other writers, — so that I alone am responsible for all its contents.” Mr Innes found little to alter, as his corres- pondent had written in his happiest style, and with special reference to the instruction of the young, — a class whose sympathies Mr Campbell, from long experience in the editorship of a juve- nile periodical, was peculiarly qualified to interest. A new edition being called for, the Publisher has availed himself of the opportunity to introduce a Biographical Sketch of the Author, — an addi- tion which will not probably be deemed the less valuable, that this devoted servant of the Lord has now entered on his reward. The Indices have also been re-arranged, and will be found to faciliate more easy reference to the volume. Edinburgh, March 1842 . CONTENTS. Page Abraham dwelling in tents . • .172 Angry God, none can deliver from an . .122 Arrows poisoned . . . .114 Ass, wild, snuffetli up the wind . .158 Babylon, certain destruction to . .136 Babylon, description of its destruction , 144 Birds, emigation of . . .118 Black man, can he wash himself white ? . 196 Blessing, showers of . . . .179 Bread cast upon the waters • . .151 Brooks, deceitful . . • .116 Brooks, drinking of the . . • 179 Bow, a deceitful . . . .201 Bullock unaccustomed to the yoke • .192 Burials — Ananias and Sapphira • . 41 Cain, his fratricide . . . ,119 Canaan, description of . . . .165 Cane, no sweet, bought . . .64 Cattle, loss of . . . . .137 Cedar exalted by rivers . . .181 Cisterns preferred to fountains . . 54 Children borne on their mothers’ sides . 125 VI CONTENTS. Pago Christian, future glory of, not apparent in this life . . . ' . . 130 Countries without paths to cities or wells of water . .... 84 Deep, Jehovah’s wonders in the . . 56 Desolate and waste ground, to satisfy . . 66 Drunkards devoured .... 203 Dying at sunset . . . .92 Ends of the world turning to God . . 220 Enemy coming up as clouds . . .170 Ethiopian petitioners .... 209 Fiery serpents, scorpions, and drought . 102 Fire burneth the wood, and setteth the moun- tains on fire ..... 142 Flowing fountains not to be forsaken . . 98 Gardens, well watered . . . .169 Glass, when one looks into, he straightway for- gets his face ..... 204 Goats leaders of flocks . . . .112 God a wall of fire to Jerusalem . . 85 God made known by his works . . 187 God, can he furnish food in the wilderness? 194 God, effects of his rebuking the sea . . 202 God and Israel, frightful meeting between 210 Gog given to ravenous birds . . .146 Going from strength to strength . • 88 Green pastures, and still waters . . 71 Heathens without natural affection . . 44 Heathens, the belly their god . . .50 Heathens, their original apostasy from God 189 CONTENTS. vii Papre Herbs and trees smitten by hail * . 146 Hobab asked to be eyes to Israel . . 228 Honey, sucking from a rock . . .79 Inns, none anciently in Canaan . . 89 Israel without good water . . .131 John the Baptist’s dress and food . .117 Kings judging at the gate . . .90 King, a, searching for water and grass . 148 Lamb, sending a, to the ruler . . . 106 Land, a thirsty . . . .127 Land unfit for culture . . .163 Law, remnants of, in heathen hearts . . 191 Law, requirements of the . . .207 Lights of heaven for signs and seasons . 68 Lion, coming up like a 149 Lion treading down and tearing to pieces flocks of sheep . . . . .55 Lions devouring a carcass . . .126 Locusts, ravages of . . .159 Lot, his politeness and hospitality . . 223 Man, his fear in every beast . . .85 Man, a wonderful work of God . . 212 Mischief, boasting of . . • . 157 Moabites compelled to wander . .152 Mountains rent asunder . . .182 Mourning like doves in the valley . .182 Nest, the covetous, sitting on high . .139 Ointment, precious . . . .178 Pasturage in ancient countries free to all . 74 Pits, a land of . . . . .104 vm CONTENTS. Pago Predatory expeditions • 150 Raiment, double use of . 111 Rain falling moderately . 65 Rain makers, impostors . 133 Rivers, crossing 43 Rivers, effects of the presence and absence of 63 Rivers all running to the sea . . 12 Rivers, broad, influence of 129 Rivers made a wilderness 141 Rock, shadow of, in a weary land 107 Rock of refuge 138 Saints, washing the feet of 171 Salt land not inhabited 76 Sea, quick lulling of . 80 Seed, watering, with the foot . 42 Serpents climbing trees 51 Serpents, enmity between them and men 52 Serpents, treading on . 72 Shepherds, careless 176 Shunamite, two armies in the . 109 Sinners, glory of, hastily passeth away 183 Smoke from the north 99 Sowing beside all waters 134 Springs and fountains of water, leading to 39 Springs, salt . 60 Stars sealed .... 69 Streams, gladdening . 62 Tent, lengthening stakes and cords 83 Traditionary facts, probable method of handing down 37 CONTENTS. IX Page Tree must lie where it falls . • .140 Trees, effects of, planted by rivers • • 156 Vine and fig-tree, sitting under • • 81 Viper fastening on Paul’s hand • • 70 Unicorn, the . . . . .46 Untempered mortar, danger of daubing with 124 Walking by the footsteps of the flock . 48 Wars, origin of . . . .213 Warlike weapons of the Africans • • 218 Water, cup of, to a disciple . • .101 Water, drinking bitter . . .73 Water free to all travellers . . .115 Water, Hagar and her son relieved by • 87 Water, lapping . . . .67 Water, walking by rivers of . . • 118 Waters failing trom the sea . • .99 Waters, living, for the thirsty • .163 Waters of Sihor . . . .157 Waters that fail • . • .106 Watchman bird • • • .71 Wells of salvation • • • .101 Wells, quarrels about . . . .185 Wicked men like the troubled sea • • 221 Wilderness and deserts . . .93 Wilderness, a howling • . .103 Wilderness, help in the . • .128 Wilderness, a way in the . . . 143 Willows love water . . . .133 Wife bought . . . . .110 Wild beasts prevented multiplying in Canaan 66 X CONTENTS. Page Wild beasts, city surrounded by . « 105 Wild beasts, habits of . . 142 Wild beasts, preventative to increase of . 168 Wild man, a . . . . . 215 Windows of heaven, blessings descending from 206 Women, conduct of, on return of army from Philistine war . . . .184 Zion, asking the way to, with faces thitherward 154 Zion’s wilderness made like Eden • .166 INDEX TO PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE EXPLAINED. Gen. Page i. 14. 6S Psalm ii. 8. Pag® 220 iii. 15. 52 33 xxii. 27. 220 » •) iv. 13, 14. 119 33 xxiii. 2. 71 ix. 1, 2. 85 33 xlvi. 4. 62 jj xii. 8. 172 33 xlviii. 12, 13. 37 53 xiii. 1-3. 74 33 lxxviii. 19. 149 53 xiii. 3, 18. 172 33 lxxxiii. 14. 142 33 xvi. 11, 12. 215 33 Ixxxiv. 6, 7. 88 J3 xix. 1, 3. 223 33 xciv. 22. 138 M xxi. 87 99 civ. 20-22. 142 xxi. 25, 29, 30. 185 33 cvii. 4, &c. 84 33 xxvi. 19, 20. 185 33 cvii. 23, 30. 56 Exod. iii. 8. 165 33 cvii. 33. 63 5) ix. 25. 146 33 cx. 7. 179 55 xv. 22, 23. 131 33 cxxxvi. 25. 194 55 xxii. 26, 27. 111 33 cxxxix. 14. 212 55 xxiii. 29, 30. 66 33 cxliii. 6. 127 Numb. v. 24, &c. 73 Prov. xxx. 18, 19. 51 55 x. 31. 218 Eccles. i. 7. 112 Deut. vii. 22. 168 33 vii. 1. 178 55 viii. 15. 102 33 xi. 1. 151 55 xi. 10. 42 33 xi. 3. 140 55 xxix. 23. 163 Song i. 8. 48 55 xxxii. 10. 103 33 vi. 13. 109 55 xxxii. 13. 79 33 # Isaiah viii. 5. 128 Judges vii. 5, &c. 67 x. 13, 14. 157 35 xix. 15. 89 33 xii. 3. 101 1 Sam. xviii. 6, 7. 184 33 xiv. 31. 99 2 Sam. xv. 2, 3. 90 33 xvi. 1. 106 55 xix. 8. 90 33 xix. 5. 99 1 Kings xviii. 5, 6. 148 33 xxv. 4, 5. 80 2 Kings ii. 19. 60 33 xxxii. 20. 134 2 Chron. xviii. 33, 34. 92 33 xxxii. 2. 107 Job iii. 9. 69 33 xxxiii. 21. 129 35 vi. 4. 114 33 xxxv. 1-9. 93 55 vi. 15-17. 116 33 xliii. 2. 43 35 ix. 7. 69 33 xliii. 19. 143 „ xxxviii. 25, &c. , 66 3> xliii. 24. 64 „ xxxix. 9, 12. 46 33 xliv. 4. 133 Xll PASSAGES OP SCRIPTURE EXPLAINED. Job Page Page xlix. 10. 39 Hosea iii. 2. 110 99 1 . 2. 141 99 V. 15. 222 if li. 3. 166 99 vii. 16. 201 99 liv. 2. 83 99 xiii. 3. 183 99 lv. 1 . 115 Joel i. 3. 37 99 lvii. 20. 221 99 ii. 1 - ■11. 159 99 lviii. 11. 169 99 ii. 23, 24. 65 99 lxvi. 12, 13. 125 Amos v. 12, 15, 19. 210 Jer. ii. 6 . 104 Micah iv. 4. 81 )) ii. 14. 54 99 V. 8. 55 99 ii. 18. 157 Nahum i. 4. 202 99 ii. 24. 158 99 i. 10. 203 99 iv. 13. 170 Hab. ii. 9. 139 99 iv. 25. 118 Zeph. iii. 10. 209 99 V. 6 . 105 Zech. ii. 4, 5. 85 99 xiii. 23. 196 » viii. 16. 90 99 xiv. 22. 133 99 xiv. 4, 5. 182 99 XV. 10. 106 Mai. iii. 10. 206 99 xvii. 6 . 76 Matt. iii. 4. 117 99 xvii. 7, 8. 156 99 x. 42. 101 99 xviii. 4. 98 99 xvi. 18. 91 99 xxxi. 9. 118 Mark xii. 29- ■31. 207 99 xxxi. 18. 192 Luke X. 9. 72 99 xlvi. 9. 218 John xiii. 13, 14. 171 99 xlviii. 12. 152 Acts V. 5, 6. 41 99 xlix. 19. 149 99 xxviii. 3. 70 99 xlix. 28, 29. 137 Rom. i. 19, 20. 187 99 xlix. 31, 32. 150 99 i. 21- 23. 189 99 1 . 5. 154 99 i. 31. 44 99 1 . 8. 112 99 ii. 14, 15. 191 99 1 . 9. 136 99 vii. 12. 109 99 1 . 17. 126 Eph. vi. 18. 71 99 li. 42, 43. 144 Philip. iii. 19. 50 Ezek. vii. 16. 152 Heb. xi. 9. 173 99 xiii. 10, 11. 124 James i. 23, 24. 204 99 xxxi. 3 j 4, 12. 181 99 iv. 1 . 213 99 xxxiv . 4- 6. 176 1 John iii. 2. 130 99 xxxiv. 26, 27. 179 Rev. vii. 17. 40 99 xxxvi. 35. 167 99 xxii. 17. 163 ' 99 xxxix. 3- 5. 146 AUTHOE. John Campbell was born at Edinburgh in 1766. His father, who was a native of Killin, and an indi- vidual of great piety, died when John, the youngest son, was only two years old. Thus deprived of the care of one parent, the children, three sons, were thrown upon the sole charge of their widowed mother, who, however, survived her husband only four years. On the death of their mother, the three orphan chil- dren went as boarders into the house of their uncle, Mr Bowers of Edinburgh, “a pious and judicious Christian, who was an elder or deacon of the Belief Church.” Placed under such guardianship, the ut- most attention was paid, not merely to the domestic comfort, but to the religious training of the young Campbells. John was educated along with his bro- thers at the High School, then under the rectorship of Dr Adams, and he appears to have made consider- able proficiency in the acquisition of classical know- ledge, though, from failing to pursue such studies in after years, his acquaintance with the languages of 14 biographical sketch antiquity was by no means such as might have been expected from his early advantages. From his child- hood he was characterised by habits of enterprise, and he was often accustomed to tell that his uncle thought him an unpromising scholar, because he was fonder of rambling about the Salisbury Crags, or of building turf huts, like the Africans, in the garden. The same disposition continued with him through life. He delighted in travelling, and the ample scope which he afterwards found for this propensity in the wilds of Africa, seemed to give fresh vigour and force to his active mind. Under his uncle’s roof, young Campbell was reared with a peculiar view to the formation of a decidedly religious character. He was apprenticed to a goldsmith and jeweller in Edinburgh, and in this situation he conducted himself with the most exemplary fidelity and conscientious- ness. Still, by his own confession, though he had enjoyed many religious advantages in his uncle’s house, he was addicted in his boyish days to profane swearing. This, however, never settled into a habit; and, by the blessing of God upon the pious instruc- tions and example of Mr Bowers, he was led to for- sake the company and the practices of those wicked associates who strove to ensnare him. The death of his uncle appears to have made a deep impression upon his mind. He began to be more in earnest upon the subject of religion, and he strenuously en- deavoured to acquire such a state of holiness as would recommend him to the Divine favour. In all this, he OF THE AUTHOR. 15 was seeking to establish a righteousness of his own, while he was neglecting to submit himself to the righteousness of God. He now set himself to study Dr Doddridge’s " Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul.” At the same time, he read Bunyan’s “ Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.” Neither of these well-known treatises produced the desired effect upon his mind. He imbibed erroneous conceptions of the salvation of God, and lie was kept in a most unhappy state of mind for nearly two years. As he advanced in the knowledge of the Scriptures, his views became clearer and more completely in accordance with Divine truth. For a long period, however, he was unwilling to recognise a crucified Saviour as the only ground of his hope. From this condition of legal bondage he was gradually delivered, chiefly by a careful and prayerful study of the Bible, and inter- course with pious acquaintances. Amid the severe conflict to which Mr Campbell was subjected, he was held in high esteem by many emi- nent Christians, and spent most of his leisure hours in visiting the sick and dying poor. At length, in 1789, he began to think of dedicating himself to the service of God, in the work of the ministry. On this subject he consulted the Rev. Thomas Scott, the commentator, who gave his advice in the following terms : — u Chapel Street, 24th Sept . 1789. “Dear Sir, — I should have written a line in an- swer to your last very friendly letter, but that neces- sary engagements so much engrossed my time, that I 16 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH had not leisure and spirits for the purpose. I have been very poorly of the asthma, &c.; but, I bless God, I am much recovered, though I cannot yet bear my former degree of application. However, I find it very good to be made sensible how frail I am, and how vanishing all things here below are, so that I am satisfied the Lord hath done all things well. But I know you will excuse me not entering copiously upon any subject, as I have so much writing; and, there- fore, I shall only drop a few hints upon the subject of the latter part of your letter. I thank you for your confidence, but I am a poor counsellor. I cannot, upon the view I now have, see any material objection to your prosecuting your intention. The requisite qualifications, so far as human learning can supply them, may abundantly be attained, with moderate application, in the terms of years you mention, which seems to me needlessly long. Natural talents, I am persuaded, you do not want; and spiritual gifts for the worK God will not withhold from those who de- sire the ministry as a good work, and in a proper manner. Faithful and diligent ministers were always wanted; and whilst we daily pray the Lord of the harvest to send them forth, we cannot, consistently, discourage those who seem likely to prove such; so that the whole seems to turn upon the internal con- sciousness of vour own mind respecting the motives and principles of this choice. He who counts all but loss for an interest in the unsearchable riches of Christ, and the whole of his salvation; and who is willing to renounce, venture, or engage in any thing, rather than give up that hope, is prepared for the general calling of a Christian. He who hath that love to Christ, and to the souls of men, that he desires to be an instrument in promoting his glory in their salvation, in preference to more easy, lucrative, or creditable employments; and who is willing to endure hardship, to labour, and, if called to it, to suffer, in promoting this work; who counts the cost, feels the OP THE AUTHOR. 17 importance and difficulty of the undertaking, but trusts in the Lord to assist, and support, and carry him through; and who does not willingly allow of the desire of popularity, praise, &c, as the motives of his choice, but is willing, if the Lord please, to labour in obscurity, in poverty, and under reproach, so he may be but useful; — I think this man is prepared for the calling of a minister, and is moved by the Holy Ghost to take this office upon him, and may fairly conclude himself to be so, provided the Lord, in his providence, open a door for his admission, in a way consistent with his judgment and conscience. I have nothing to add to these loose hints, but to desire that you would remember me in your prayers. Mrs Scott desires her respects. — I am your sincerely affectionate friend, &c., “ Thomas Scott.” Mr Campbell did not act upon this advice for seve- ral years subsequent to the date of this letter; but he still continued to do all the good in his power. About this time he became acquainted with the Rev. John Newton, with whom he regularly corresponded for a long period. On all the stirring points of the day, whether ecclesiastical or political, he communi- cated his views to this excellent man; and the ad- vices and judicious counsels which he received in return, he felt to be peculiarly valuable. From one of the letters which formed a part of this correspon- dence, we quote a passage, descriptive of the great change which, at length, after many years’ hard con- test with conflicting doubts and fears, took place in Mr Campbell’s views of the gospel scheme of salva- tion : — “ A light shone upon the Scriptures quite new to me. Passages, which formerly appeared hard to be B 2 18 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH understood, seemed plain as the A, B, C. Earthly crowns, sceptres, and thrones, appeared quite paltry in my eyes, and not worth desiring. I felt a com- plete contentment with my lot in life. I trembled to think of any abatement of my faith, love, and sensi- bility : it required resolution to be resigned to remain long in the world. Indeed, I could scarce admit the idea of long life : I feared the trials and vicissitudes connected with it; but was completely silenced with that noble saying of our reigning Redeemer, — ‘ My grace is sufficient for thee.’ I saw I was fully war- ranted to mind the things of to-day, leaving the con- cerns of to-morrow to His wise disposal. I felt it easy to introduce spiritual conversation wherever I was, and to recommend Christ wherever I went. I saw that every thing acceptable to God, or comfort- able to ourselves, was the product of Divine power. I saw the folly and criminality of being too much in company, though composed of the best people in the world. I feel nothing more conducive to internal peace and prosperity than a regular, meek, even, walk.” The suddenness of this gracious deliverance may appear startling to many readers; but we ought ever to remember, that the Spirit is regulated by no cer- tain and definite modes of acting. He gives no account of any of his matters. Some, as in the case of the Phi- lippian jailor, are suddenly, and in a moment, called out of darkness into God’s marvellous light; while others are gradually and imperceptibly led to see and to embrace the truth as it is in Jesus. Mr Campbell from this period felt that he had become a partaker of that glorious liberty wherewith Christ makes his people free. He had now received the Spirit of adop- tion, whereby he could cry, Abba, Father. Mr Campbell was naturally of a humane and bene- OF THE AUTHOR, 19 volent disposition. He delighted to search out, and, as far as possible, to relieve cases of distress, and, for this purpose, often did he repair to the dark and dirty hovels of the poor, warning, reproving, exhorting, or consoling, as the circumstances seemed to warrant. That he might be the means of doing good more ex- tensively, he published and distributed tracts, thus diffusing the truth as widely as possible. It is inte- resting to learn from his own pen the origin of his efforts in tract distribution. The description which he gives of it is as follows : — “ I think it was while looking over a bundle of pamphlets at a book- stall, that I observed one of a religious cast, entitled, * The Life and Experience of F. S.’ (or, as I afterwards heard, Fanny Sydney), published by some bookseller in England. It was only eight pages, stitched in a blue cover, which I purchased for twopence. On reading it, I was so pleased with the simplicity and piety of the narrative, that I got an edition printed; part of which was sold, and the rest circulated gratis. While on a visit to London, having fallen in with the fine old story of Poor Joseph, in verse, I printed an edition of it on my return to Edinburgh, which I circulated among friends. The next I published was Mr Newton’s second anniversary of Mrs Newton’s death; a print- ed copy of which he sent me in a frank, which I re- printed, and presented copies to friends. During the three succeeding years he sent me, in manuscript, the third, fourth, and fifth anniversaries of the same event, all poems; which I gave away also among friends — presenting also a portion of them to the author. Acting in this little way, as a tract circula- tor, for a few years from 1789, it occurred to some friends that something more effectual might be done 20 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH in this way, by forming a little society for the express purpose of printing and circulating religious tracts. When the matter was mentioned to me, I highly approved of it, and was one of about a dozen who formed ourselves into a Religious Tract Society. This, as far as I know, was the first society of the kind that ever existed in the world.” His next scheme for the advancement of religion, was the establishment of Sabbath Schools, of which very few then existed in Scotland. He accordingly opened one of these schools in the old Archer’s Hall, on the south skirts of Edinburgh; and, as the plan succeeded to a wish, giving the highest satisfaction to all concerned, he opened another in the hall be- longing to the Edinburgh Dispensary. The teachers selected by Mr Campbell were, in both these cases, plain, sensible, pious men, who understood their Bible well, and instructed the children in the es- sential truths of the gospel. Encouraged by his success, Mr Campbell established a Sabbath school in Loanhead, a village a few miles distant from Edinburgh. This school, which was attended by about 200 scholars, he taught himself. The ex- ample soon spread. Schools were opened in the village of Bonnyriggs, in Dalkeith, Penicuick, and other places. In all these exertions to do good, Air Campbell received both counsel and encouragement from the venerable Countess of Leven, and indeed the whole Balgownie family, and others of the Scotch nobility. But while Sabbath schools were thus be- ginning to be planted, and to prosper in and around Edinburgh, they were almost entirely unknown every OP THE AUTHOR. 21 where else in Scotland. To suggest the idea in other places, Mr Campbell set out on a week’s tour, accom- panied by his friend and coadjutor, Mr J. A. Haldane. Setting out one Monday morning, they travelled to Glasgow, distributing tracts to rich and poor as they proceeded along the road. In Glasgow, Paisley, Greenock, and other towns in the west, they succeed- ed in calling public attention to the peculiar impor- tance of the institution of Sabbath schools; and they had the high gratification of learning, in three months afterwards, that the result of one week’s exertion in itinerating for this great object, had been the forma- tion of sixty Sabbath schools. The next philanthropic plan to which Mr Campbell devoted his energies, was the introduction of the preaching of the gospel into villages and districts which had long been destitute of Divine ordinances. The first place of this description which attracted his notice was the village of Gilmerton, in the neigh- bourhood of Edinburgh. Here he succeeded in estab- lishing a regular Sabbath* evening service, which was supplied by students of divinity and lay- preachers. Mr Joseph Rate led the way in this good work, and was followed by Messrs Aikman, Haldane, and Camp- bell, who commenced their exertions as lay-preachers in Gilmerton. From this small beginning arose very important results, which, in fact, gave rise to a new era in the religious history of Scotland. That such varied and exciting labours should have affected Mr Campbell’s health, is not at all surprising. Besides attending to his business as a hardware mer- 22 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH chant — visiting the poor, the sick, and the dying — preaching in the surrounding villages — teaching and superintending Sabbath schools~he carried on, at the same time, an extensive correspondence with the leading religious men and philanthropists of the day* In vain did his venerated friend, the Countess of Leven, warn him to beware of overtasking his mind and body. He was young, ardent, “"and zealous in the good work, and he could scarcely be persuaded to spare himself. At length, however, painful necessity compelled him to pause in his exertions for a time ; but no sooner did he regain his strength, than he set out anew, with redoubled efforts, on his work and labour of love. He soon saw the itinerating system, which he had been the first to introduce, assume a prominence in the public eye which he had not anticipated ; and he never failed to speak in the warmest terms, even in his old age, of the unwearied labours of the Messrs Haldane in preaching the everlasting gospel throughout the whole extent of Scotland. Interested as Mr Campbell felt in all that concerned the progress of Christ’s cause, his sympathies were strongly drawn forth by the accounts which he had accidentally heard of the revivals of religion in Wales, under the ministry of the truly apostolic Mr Charles of Bala. He opened a correspondence with Mr Charles upon the subject ; and the letters received from him, as well as the narrative of the Welsh revivals, Mr Campbell circulated throughout Scot- land, and awakened a spirit, in many places, which OF THE AUTHOR. 23 led to great searchings of heart and eager inquiry after the truth as it is in Jesus. But while Mr Campbell was thus evincing a lively concern about the progress of religion in other places, he did not relax his efforts in endeavouring to do good at home. About this time, indeed, he was mainly instrumental in forming the Philanthropic Society; which was the commencement of what is now known as the Magdalene Asylum of Edinburgh. To this highly useful and benevolent institution, Mr Campbell acted as secretary ; being the first who occupied that office in connection with the society. In a few years, however, he resigned the office, and removed to Glasgow. While there, he was again honoured of God to be one of the first originators of the Magda- lene Asylum in that city. It was at this stirring period that the subject of missions to the heathen began to occupy a prominent place in the attention of the religious world. The formation of the London Missionary Society, com- posed, as it was, of Christians of all denominations, seemed a new era in the religious history of Britain. Mr Campbell tells us, in his usually happy and homely manner : — “ It had a most electrifying effect on the Christians of the north. ‘We were like men who dreamed.* From the days of George Whitefield till then, the Christians on both sides of the Tweed had been fast asleep. The Christians of different names were busy repairing and adding to their walls of separation, and now and then throwing squibs at each other from their battlements ; but the news of the above society was 24 BIOGRAPHTCAL SKETCH like the bursting forth of a bright meteor in a dark night, — it attracted every eye, and became a text at every tea-table ; and those who had not heard of it for a week were looked at as persons who had been living in a coal-pit ; many of which pits are in the neighbourhood ot Edinburgh.” The example of London was speedily followed by the northern metropolis ; and, on the formation of a similar institution in Edinburgh, Mr Campbell was chosen one of the Directors. Sierra Leona, in Africa, was selected as the first scene of their operations, but the unhealthiness of the climate put an end to the mission. This disastrous result led to the following plan, which we explain in Mr Campbell’s language : — "Musing on the unhealthiness of the climate to European constitutions, one morning, when stepping out of bed, this thought occurred, — Might we not bring oner Africa to England; educate her; when some, through grace and gospel, might be converted and sent back to Africa ; if not any converted, yet they might help to spread civilization; so all would not be lost. The amount of which was, — To try to bring over 20 ro 30 or more boys and girls from the coast of Guinea, through the influence of Governor Macauley; educate them in Edinburgh, and send them back to their own country, to spread knowledge, especially Scripture knowledge.” This plan he communicated to several friends, and among others, to the Countess of Leven, — through whose kindness he procured an interview with the late Charles Grant, Esq., chairman of the East India Company, who had just before returned from India. Mr Grant approved of the scheme, and also Mr Wil- berforce ; but the London Antislavery coterie, who OF THE AUTHOR. 25 were consulted on the subject, advised, that the exe- cution of the scheme should be postponed till peace with France, which they hoped would not be far off ; and because the war-taxes pressed hard upon the people, they urged that it would be difficult to obtain subscriptions to defray the expenses. Mr Campbell yielded with reluctance to the proposal for delay. About a year and a-half after this, however, having mentioned the subject to Mr Haldane, the scheme took strong hold of that benevolent and devotedly Christian man, and after revolving the matter in his mind, he sent for Mr Campbell, when the following conversation took place : — “ ‘ What is the real reason why you were advised to defer commencing the institution?’ ‘Entirely the dreaded difficulty of obtaining funds to defray the expense of the institution.’ ‘Have you calculated the probable amount of those expenses V ‘Yes; the probable expense of bringing over 30 children, lodg- ing, supporting, and educating them for five years, and their passage back to Africa, will cost from £6000 to £7000.’ ‘Supposing you were to write to the Governor of Sierra Leone, stating that you had sufficient funds for supporting such an institution, and requesting him to collect 30 or 40 of the sons and daughters of the African chiefs over whom he had influence, and send them over to you ; do you think he would have sufficient confidence in you to fulfil your commission V ‘I think he would.’ ‘ On what do you ground that expectation ?’ ‘When the French destroyed the settlement or free-town, Gover- nor Macauley came to London to lay the state of things before the Company. After finishing the business there, he visited Scotland to see his rela- tions. On coming to Edinburgh, he called upon me c 26 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH with a letter of introduction from the Rev. John Newton (which would be a sufficient passport to any Christian in Scotland, so highly were his works prized). The Governor had four sisters in Edinburgh living together, and as they had no particular friend to advise with, he requested me to engage to be their adviser, to which proposal I readily consented. In the course of a year after they came under my wing, I was bridegroom’s man to three out of the four.’ On hearing this statement, Mr Haldane was satisfied, and voluntered to be responsible for the whole ex- pense of the scheme, and gave me a letter to that effect. Accordingly, I wrote by that day’s post to Governor Macauley, Sierra Leone, requesting him to obtain 30 or 35 African boys and girls, and send them to Edinburgh, as I had obtained funds to defray all expenses. I sent it to the care of Henry Thornton, M.P., Treasurer to the Sierra Leone Company ; and that day week sent a duplicate to the care of the Messrs Anderson of Philpot-lane, who had a large slave establishment on Bance Island, in the neigh- bourhood of Sierra Leone.” Two years elapsed without receiving intelligence from Africa. At length a letter arrived from Gover- nor Macauley, dated Portsmouth, and stating that he had brought over 20 boys and 4 girls. Mr Campbell hastened to London to receive his young charge ; but before taking them to Scotland, it was judged pru- dent that they should be innoculated, and, for that purpose, they were all received into the Small* pox Hospital at St Pancras. While waiting for their recovery, Mr Campbell was asked to supply Kings- land Chapel, which was then vacant. He did so for a few Sabbaths, a circumstance which, in the myste- rious arrangements of Providence, led to his appoint- OF THE AUTHOR. 27 ment as minister of that cliapel. Whilst the African children were still in the hospital, some difference of opinion arose among the patrons about their educa- tion. This annoyed Mr Campbell much; but a so- ciety was formed in London, which took them off his hands, and he returned to Edinburgh without them. Thus failed an experiment which he had much at heart, and which promised, by the Divine blessing, to prove a signal benefit to poor, enslaved, degraded Africa. During his residence in Edinburgh, Mr Campbell was indefatigable in his efforts to promote the cause of the Redeemer. He visited the sick — examined into and relieved, as far as he possibly could, the des- titute and friendless — established and superintended Sabbath schools — preached in the surrounding villages — distributed tracts — wrote small books, for the in- struction of the young. " Soldiers and sailors/’ says his biographer, "wrote to him for advice ; the needy and greedy, for money; the reclaimed outcasts, for prayer and counsel ; dark villages, for itinerants ; and chapel builders, for help ; besides those who ordered their missionary magazines, books, and Scott’s Commen- tary, and paid their accounts through him.” While thus actively employed in advancing the interests of true religion, Mr Haldane having projected the for- mation, at his own expense, of a mission to Bengal, applied to Mr Campbell to accompany them on their Christian enterprise. At first his decided conviction was, that it was his duty to go ; but the arguments of his friends, particularly Mr Newton and the Countess 28 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH of Leven, were effectual in leading him to abandon the design. “I have no doubt,” said the former, with his characteristic naivete, “ but Satan would be glad to see you shipped off to India, or any where, so he might get rid of you ; for you stand in his way where you are.” Mr Haldane was not convinced by Mr Newton’s reasonings, and urged the matter upon Mr Campbell with increasing earnestness, but without success. This decision, however, though opposed to Mr Haldane’s wishes, did not alienate the two friends from each other in the slightest degree, — they still moved with the utmost harmony in all their schemes for the promotion of the truth as it is in Jesus. The acceptance which Mr Campbell met with as a village preacher, led him to think of devoting himself wholly to the good work. He had been accustomed to associate with the godly ministers of every evan- gelical denomination in Edinburgh, and he was in intimate correspondence with the leading ministers both in England and Scotland. When Mr Campbell had at length formed his reso- lution to serve God in the work of the ministry, he repaired to Glasgow, where he studied under the Rev. Greville Ewing, who had shortly before left the Estab- lished Church and joined the Independents. Here Mr Campbell’s mind found ample scope for its exer- tion. Not only did he diligently prosecute his theo- logical and classical studies, but “during all the time he was at Glasgow,” we are informed by his bio- grapher, “ he was absorbed with the cause of Home and Foreign Missions, and keeping up his extensive OF THE AUTHOR. 20 correspondence, as well as preaching or teaching almost every day.” In the course of his studies at Glasgow, Mr Camp- bell occasionally itinerated, along with Mr Haldane, for the purpose of preaching the gospel in destitute parts of the country. He was requested, in 1802, by some of his attached friends in London, to visit the metropolis during the summer, that he might supply at Kingsland Chapel. It will be remembered that several years before, when in London, he had preached in that chapel, and tbe impression which he then made had not been effaced. Many of the congrega- tion looked forward to him as their spiritual guide. While at Glasgow, in 1799, Thomas Reyner, Esq., had written to him in these terms: — “We have been expecting and waiting for a minister to watch over us. Several have been proposed, but our way has never been clear hitherto. We are now of one heart and mind, and believe that the Lord has work for you here. We therefore say, ‘Come and help us; and may the Spirit and presence of the Lord come with you!’” In prosecuting his journey to London, to gratify the congregation of Kingsland Chapel, he spent a month in preaching the gospel in different counties of England. As soon as he reached the metropolis, he renewed his acquaintance with his friends and correspondents, Mr Newton and Rowland Hill. He preached frequently for the latter, and helped him to correct some of the proof-sheets of his “ Vil- C 2 80 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH lage Dialogues/* The religious society in London he enjoyed much, more particularly during the May meetings, which afforded him an opportunity of be- coming acquainted with many of the most eminent ministers from all parts of the country. On the 1st of June, he left London and returned to Glasgow, spending some time by the way in investigating the religious state of Cumberland and Westmoreland. After his return from the excitement of London in May, Mr Campbell resumed his studies under Mr Ewing, his teaching in Sabbath schools, and occasional preaching in the suburbs, particularly at Ruther- glen. In the spring of 1803, he set out on a long preaching tour in the Highlands with Mr James Haldane; and in the autumn of the following year he prevailed on Mr Haldane to visit, along with him, the northern counties of England. Whilst the one preached in the large towns, the other went to the large villages, alternately. Their labours were ac- companied with an evident blessing. A few months after this tour, Mr Campbell again visited London, and after supplying Kingsland Chapel for two months, a call was presented to him to take the pastoral charge of the congregation. He was ordained in the beginning of 1804, and soon after he returned to Scotland, to settle his affairs before taking up his residence finally in the metropolis. No sooner had Mr Campbell entered upon the new sphere of duty to which he was now called, than he set himself to devise plans for the spiritual benefit of OF THE AUTHOR. SI his people. His attention was first directed to the instruction of the young. For their improvement, he set on foot “ The Youth’s Magazine;’’ a publica- tion which has been blessed to the diffusion of much useful knowledge among a large mass of juvenile readers. Mr Campbell was editor of the first ten volumes; it was then committed to the charge of a committee, who still continue to superintend it. In the year 1805, though he had only been a few months in his new charge at Kingsland, Mr Camp- bell spent four months in a preaching tour throughout various parts of Scotland. Long as this journey was, he made another into the Western Highlands in the summer of the next year. The period at which Mr Campbell settled in Lon- don was one of peculiar activity in the religious world, and he was therefore called upon to take a part in the formation of various associations for Christian and philanthropic purposes which were then formed. He was one of the favoured few who were privi- leged to be the founders of the British and Foreign Bible Society, of the London Hibernian Society, and of the Female Penitentiary. In every one of the religious movements of the time he took an active part. But while thus busily employed in promoting the best interests of his fellow-men, he had to be- take himself to the drudgery of keeping a school at Kingsland, in order to procure a subsistence for his own support. The income derived from his congregation was small, and he found it necessary to 32 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH resort to this expedient for the purpose of enlarging his income. While thus discharging, at one and the same time, two laborious offices — those of a pastor and an in- structor of youth — he was suddenly, and almost un- expectedly, called upon to occupy a very important work in connection with the London Missionary So- ciety. That useful institution had been deprived, in the mysterious arrangements of Providence, of one of their most efficient agents in South Africa — the laborious and devoted Vanderkemp; and, in conse- quence of this melancholy event, both the Hottentot and Caffre Mission had been reduced to a very criti- cal state. In these circumstances, the society re- solved to send out a representative to inspect the actual condition of their missions in South Africa, and make such arrangements as might be deemed most prudent. Mr Campbell was fixed upon to dis- charge this responsible office; and, after mature de- liberation, and earnest prayer for Divine direction and counsel, he consented to undertake the mission. Supply having been procured for his church at Kings- land and for his school, he was set apart to his new ministry in Mile’s Lane Chapel. The venerable Dr Waugh presided on the occasion, and the charge which he delivered produced a most electrifying effect upon the audience. Mr Campbell set sail for Africa on the 24tli June 1812, in a ship bound for Calcutta. After a somewhat tedious voyage, he arrived at Cape-Town, Cape of OP THE AUTHOR. 33 Good Hope. It is unnecessary for us to detail the particulars of this visit to Africa, a narrative of which has been long in the hands of the public. Suffice it to say, that he minutely examined the various mis- sion stations in South Africa, travelling about 3000 miles, in a savage country, amid dangers and diffi- culties of every kind. In the good providence of God, Mr Campbell was preserved in perfect health and safety, and arrived in London in the beginning of May 1S14, after an absence from England of scarcely two years. No sooner had he returned to London, than he re- sumed his labours both in the chapel and in the school. In all the public societies he took a warm interest, striving, by his exertions and his prayers, to advance the great cause in which he so much delighted. Little more than four years elapsed, however, when he again set sail for Africa on a similar errand as his former, accompanied by Dr Philip, an active and influential Independent minister from Aberdeen. This second visit to Africa seems to have been peculiarly gratify- ing to the mind of our traveller. The influence of missions in promoting the progress of civilization and refinement had become quite apparent. Where he bad formerly found ignorance, and^ immorality, and savage cruelty, he was now refreshed with the sight of an educated, industrious, and happy people. After an absence from England of about two years and a-half, Mr Campbell reached London in time for the May meetings of 1821. He was quite the lion of 34 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH the day, and both in the metropolis and throughout the provinces his presence at missionary meetings created a great sensation. Multitudes flocked to hear his racy, humorous anecdotes of the Hottentots and Bushmen in South Africa. Even in his sermons occasional allusions were made throughout the whole of his future life to his African travels. His popu- larity, however, produced no injurious effect upon him; he still continued the same modest, unpretend- ing man he had always been. Shortly after he had resumed his duties at Kings- land Chapel, he entered into the married state. This step, to all his friends, afforded much gratification, promising, as it did, to enhance his domestic happi- ness. He had hitherto lived with an aunt and a niece, who had been both of them remarkably atten- tive and kind. His aunt, however, having died, and his niece being comfortably married, he felt himself compelled to take refuge in the matrimonial state. When Mr Campbell had gratified the country at large by his African visits, he was applied to by the Missionary Society to visit in the same way their Polynesian Missions. This proposal, however, he declined, at least for the present. Now settled at home, he set liii^self to an abridgment of his African Travels, in two small volumes, for the Tract Society, adding to them a similar volume, giving an account of his voyages. Notwithstanding the laborious life through which he passed, Mr Campbell enjoyed remarkably good OP THE AUTHOR. 35 health until he was nearly 70 years of age. At that period, however, he began to decline. His medical attendant recommended a visit to Scotland. This was productive of much good; and lie returned so improved in health, as to resume his usual duties. A change was now perceptible in his pulpit discourses, as well as in his private conversation. He was evi- dently ripening for heaven. An account of his death is thus given by his colleague and successor, the Rev. T. Aveling : — “ At a quarter past six in the evening of Saturday, it was evident that life was ebbing fast, and his friends were summoned to his bedside to witness his depar- ture. It was a sacred scene; the spirit of a good and truly great man was about to bid farewell to its earthly abode, and return to the God who gave it. To all, such an hour must be one of deep solemnity and mo- mentous interest; to him, it was the hour of trium- phant joy. The sun had just set, and the last gleams of light, struggling through the window, fell upon his bed. There was a sweet smile passing over his coun- tenance as the curtain was removed; and as the at- tendant bent down over him, he drew two or three short and rapid breaths, and then lay motionless and silent. Again he breathed quickly and smiled; then heaved a gentle sigh, and all was still once more. It was the stillness of death. In the hush of evening his happy spirit had passed away. 6 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.’ ” Thus died this excellent and useful minister of Christ, on the 4th April 1840, at the advanced age of 74. His loss was deeply felt by his congregation, his friends, and family. Pew men have been honoured 36 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE AUTHOR. to be more extensively useful in their day and gene- ration. Most disinterested and generous, he kept his eye singly fixed on the promotion of his Redeemer’s glory. To accomplish this grand object, he counted no sacrifice too great to be made — no trials too heavy to be endured — no expense of time, of money, or of personal exertion, too costly to be surrendered. He lived for Christ, and having finished his work, he sweetly fell asleep in Jesus. AFRICAN LIGHT. PROBABLE METHOD OF HANDING DOWN TRADITION- ARY FACTS. Walk about Zion mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. — Psalm xlviii. 12, 13. Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. — Joel i. 3. These two passages enjoin attention to oral tradition, or the keeping up the remem- brance of ancient facts in the world, for the benefit of future ages. The book of Genesis contains a collection of facts which took place from the commencement of creation until the death of Joseph. The account of creation was necessarily a matter of revelation to Adam, as it all happened before he had an existence. When his children came to the age of under- standing, it was his duty to give them an exact narration of the facts which God had made known to him, and to make use of every suit- able means for impressing them upon their memories. It then became the duty of Adam’s immediate descendants to communicate this in- D 38 METHOD OF HANDING DOWN formation to their children, and they to their children, and so on from age to age. Before the invention of writing, all this must have been done by speech. On my first visit to Lattakoo, in the interior of Africa, it happened to be the time of their annual circumcision. One day, when the king and a few of his chiefs came into my tent, I asked him why they circumcised their young people? Because, said he, our forefathers did it. I then asked w r hy their forefathers did it ? Having evidently never once thought why it was done, he looked stupid, and, turning about to his chiefs, asked their help; but they were silent, only smiled as in some measure ashamed * of their ignorance. I then gave them an account of its original' institution by God, in a country far to the north of them; and explained its design, mentioning, of course, the names of Abraham, Ts^ac, and Jacob. As far as I could judge by therK coun- tenances, when the interpreter was relating sentence by sentence, as I communicated them to him, they seemed to credit my statement. On my finishing my account, the king said, Give me the first man’s name? I said, Abra- ham. He immediately repeated, Abraham, Abraham, Abraham, Abraham, Abraham, Abra- ham. The clii^f next him then took it up, saying, Abraham, Abraham, six or seven times, and so did all the other chiefs in rotation. On their having finished, the king asked me the second man’s name ? On saying it was Isaac $ TRADITIONARY FACTS. 39 the king repeated Isaac, Isaac, six or seven times, and so did all the others as before. They all did the same with the name Jacob . While witnessing this novel scene, my mind was carried back to antediluvian ages, seeing exemplified the family evening employment of Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methusaleh, Lamech, Noah, and many other worthies, who lived before, and for a long time after the flood. Indeed, it was by something in this way that the poems of Ossian w r ere kept in remembrance for many centuries by the Scotch Highlanders. When Adam's family came home in the even- og from the labours of the day, he would give ^an account of what was created on the first day, Epbably Eve w r ould repeat it verbatim; ould do the same, then Abel, and so on, ti#^HT r present had repeated the same account. Then, next evening, attend in the same way to the ci Jpaptances of the sec6nd day. Perhaps thfc j^featmg might go round the family a dozen of times during an evening, in order to rivet the facts more completely on their minds. Moses must have collected all the traditions that had come down to the age in which he lived, and, by inspiration, would be able to select what was correct, leaving out what was incorrect, for in their transit through ages, no doubt, addi- tions must have been made. LEADING TO SPRINGS AND FOUNTAINS OF WATER. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them : for he that hath mercy 40 LEADING TO SPRINGS OF WATER. on them shall lead them ; even by the springs of water shall he guide them. — Isaiah xlix. 10. The lamb, that is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them; and shall lead them unto living foun- tains of water. — Rev. vii. 17. The sun shall not smite them, or they should not be subject to what we call a stroke of the sun, which is generally mortal. The tender mercy of God to African nations living within and near the tropics, to prevent their being smit- ten by the powerful heat of a vertical sun, is conspicuous, though they know Him not. Their heads are covered with wool, the threads of which are so closely interwoven, that it becomes as solid a substance as that of which our hats are composed, and sometimes grows to more than an inch in thickness, which forms a won- derful protection to the brain. O Lord, how great is thy goodness, and thy wonderful works to the children of men ! In both texts they are supposed to be ignorant where springs and fountains of living, or running waters are to be found, but to these God gra- ciously leads them as their kind friend. This simile would come with peculiar force to those who travel in lands where they are often obliged to search for water by digging, as in the valley of Baca, and often without success, especially if long after the rainy season is past. I often experienced the value of a guide to water, but especially on one occasion, in which I could not but notice a special Providence. On crossing the boundery of the Cape colony, EARLY BURIALS. 41 and entering the wild Bushman country, we met a Bush family. One of them, a young man, expressed a strong desire to see other countries, and asked permission to travel with us, with the consent of his father ; to which request we agreed. As none of my Hottentots had ever been out of their own country before, none of the party knew where rivers, or brooks, or springs of water were to be found ; of course the young Bushman was a valuable acquisition. We had not seen a blade of grass as we proceeded during the day, and night was fast approaching, while ignorant where either grass or w T ater could be found. On telling the Bushman what we wanted, he immediately led us out of the track in which we were travelling, along a narrow pass between hills, to a small sequestered valley, where there was a fountain of good water, and also grass for the cattle, with abundance of firewood. When I beheld those treasures, wdiich came so unex- pectedly, and so completely supplied all our wants, I looked to the wild Bushman as Elijah may be supposed to have looked to the ravens that fed him in the wilderness — as God’s instrument for fulfilling his benevolent will to us ; — and the poor lad seemed as unconscious of the greatness of the service he had rendered us as Elijah’s ravens were. EARLY BURIALS ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. And Ananias hearing these words, fell down, and gave up the ghost. And the young men arose, D 2 42 WATERING SEED WITH THE FOOT. wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him. — Acts v. 5, 6. In three hours after his death, Peter expected the young men to return from his funeral ; his wife, also, was buried as expeditiously. Why his wife was neither informed of his death nor his funeral, I cannot tell ; but early interment, in hot climates, is common, because putrefaction commences much earlier than in colder. They had both been interred in the dress in which they died, as is the common mode in South Africa, for we read of no coffin to make, nor coroners inquest to impede the burial of either Ananias or his wife Sapphira. WATERING SEED WITH THE FOOT. For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs. — Deut. xi. 10. In the gardens in Africa, into which they can lead water for irrigation, they have small trenches between each row of plants, made by a rake or hoe. The water being let into the first trench, runs along it until it reaches the other end, when a slave, with his foot, removes any mould which might have slid into the little trench, that it may have a free unobstructed course; then again clearing a way for it with his foot round the end of the second row of plants, the water freely runs into the next trench ; and in this way I have CROSSING RIVERS. 43 seen a slave lead the little stream from one trench to another, zigzag, over the whole garden ; which is much easier done with the foot than by stooping down and doing it with the hands. The first time I witnessed this operation, it cleared up, to my satisfaction, the meaning of the above text. CROSSING RIVERS. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee Isaiah xliii. 2. In a country such as Britain, where there are bridges over all the rivers at proper parts, the importance of this promise, in its literal sense, cannot be fully appreciated ; but in countries where bridges are unknown, it can. When travelling by coach, or otherwise, in this country, w T e never overhear passengers saying, “How shall we get across such a river ? — we hope we shall find it low, — is it reckoned generally to be a safe ford, like Ox-ford, Hereford, Camel-ford, &c? — we hope the late rain has not swelled the river.” No ! such remarks and questions we never hear, because rivers are no obstructions in this country; for in the sense that Euphrates was to be dried up, our rivers are dried up ; we often cross them asleep, in coaches. It is very different in a bridgeless country. I remember, while crossing a river, when twilight was almost gone, and likely soon to be very dark, my w r aggon- wheels stuck fast in the mud when 44 WITHOUT NATURAL AFFECTION. about half across. The twelve oxen that were yoked to it could not stir the waggon an inch, nor could the addition of twelve more oxen effect a movement, owing to a sudden rise at the op- posite side, which prevented their drawing unit- edly. After a council held by the Hottentots, respecting the best means to be used for extri- cating my waggon and self from our awkward position, they untied the oxen from the fore part of the waggon, and fastened them to the hinder part, and by that ingenious method the waggon was drawn backwards out of the river. At another time I was stopped nine or ten days at the side of the Great Orange river, before I was able to get across, being about a quarter of a mile over. If ever I coveted any thing in my life it was then, for I earnestly wished at least the loan of Westminster bridge. Even after discovering a ford, we were two hours hard at work before all the waggons, men, loose oxen, sheep, goats, and dogs, were got safely over. To prevent my grumbling at being detained ten days by that formidable river, I was told of some who had been detained six weeks by the same ob- struction, and that many oxen and men have been carried down by the force of the stream, and perished, when attempting to cross it. HEATHENS WITHOUT NATURAL AFFECTION. The heathens are described as “ without natural affection.” — R om. i. 31. Even bears and lions, when bereaved of their WITHOUT NATURAL AFFECTION. 45 whelps, show natural affection, being peculiarly enraged and fierce, which makes it very danger- ous to approach them while in such a state ; and we all know the boldness of the house-hen when she has chickens, to protect them : though at other times very timid, yet then she will attack a man. Among many human beings in South Africa, there appears far less affection for their children than brutes have for their young. The wild Bushmen, in times of scarcity, frequently murder their children. When at the kraal of Kok, a Griqua chief, I saw two Bush-girls, the eldest was ten, and the youngest two and a-half years of age. On the death of their mother, the grandmother insisted that the two children should be thrown into the same grave with her, and buried alive, because, she said, she had nothing to give them ; but this was prevented by the interference of Kok. Being thus disappointed in her cruel purpose, she threatened to murder them herself; but Kok threatened her with severe punishment if she did so; which made her de- sert the kraal, leaving the children to be sup- ported by any who might choose to do it. A Bushman was pointed out to me, who had been boasting to some Griquas of his having shot his own brother through the heart, while he was asleep, in order to gain his point. I knew another Bushman, whose wife, about a fortnight before I met him, had dragged her aged mother, in the evening, to a little distance from the kraal, and, dashing her among stones, left her to be 46 THE UNICORN. devoured by the wild beasts during the night, which indeed she was, for only part of her bones were found in the morning. Should a poor, starving, emaciated dog, in Africa, be observed by other dogs, they will all rush upon it, and worry at it until they have driven it from the town. This is an exact picture of the natives, in their hatred to the aged and infirm. They will even tauntingly say concern- ing their aged parents, — “ What is the use of them when they can neither travel nor hunt ! ” The gospel completely alters the horrid habits of such Africans, when cordially received ; old things pass away, and new principles and habits succeed. Through the long residence of the gospel among the Griqua nation, they generally are not only kind to their parents and other rela- tives, but also to the aged and infirm, who take refuge amongst them from other tribes. THE UNICORN. Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee, or abide by thy crib ? Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the furrow ? or will he harrow the valleys after thee ? Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great ? or wilt thou leave thy la- bour to him ? Wilt thou believe him that he will bring home thy seed, and gather it into thy barn ? — Job xxxix. 9-12. The existence of the unicorn has been doubted and disputed by writers for more than a thousand years. Some scientific authors have supposed, and justly supposed, that it might be a species of the THE UNICORN. 47 rhinoceros, which had either become extinct, or confined to some part of the world at present unknown. Such an animal must have existed, and been known in the days of Moses, Job, David, and Isaiah, ali of whom mention it as a known animal. About 1200 miles up, in the interior of Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope, we shot a large animal, evidently a species of rhinoceros, with a strong horn projecting from its forehead about three feet. Its horn is not like that of the cow, which is hollow within, but is to the very heart composed of a solid, horny substance, and is capable, from its own strength, and the great weight of the animal (perhaps two tons), with facility to pierce through the most powerful animal known, yea, even a brick wall. I brought home the crea- ture’s skull, with the horn and massy teeth in it. The skull, &c., was thrice examined by the late Sir Everard Home, who was reckoned one of the first naturalists in Britain, to whom I gave all the information in my power concerning the animal. He afterwards composed an essay upon it, which he read to the Royal Society, which they printed. He, in the first place, considered all the animals found in a fossil state that ap- proached to the unicorn ; then those that were known ; and last, the skull I had brought from a latitude in Africa where no European had been before, except one party who were all murdered a little higher up. After stating various arguments, and particu- larly attending to the description given of the 43 THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE FLOCK. unicorn in the 39th chapter of the book of Job, Sir Everard gave it as his opinion, 44 That this animal was the unicorn of the Bible.” A party of gentlemen, from India, when view- ing the skull at the Cape of Good Hope, com- pared its horn, as an offensive weapon, with the offensive weapons of all the animals they were acquainted with in India, and likewise with such as they had read off. After much conversation, they were unanimously of opinion, that this animal had the most powerful offensive weapon of any animal at present known in the world. His skin is about an inch in thickness, like that of the African rhinoceros, which cannot be penetrated by a musket-ball, except immediately behind the ear, or above the head of the foreleg, where the skin is thinner than in the other parts of the body. The fanciful unicorn, in the British arms, is simply a horse with a horn in its forehead, which is too feeble an animal to answer Job’s descrip-* tion of the unicorn. WALKING BY THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE FLOCK. Go thy way by the footsteps of the flock. — Song i. 8. Hottentots are remarkably acute in tracing both men and cattle by their foot-marks. I re- - member, when crossing the African continent, losing some sketches, on a hill strewed with rocks rising from its surface, which I was anxious to recover ; but my searching for them was fruitless, THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE FLOCK. 49 and, giving them up for lost, returned to the waggons. On mentioning my loss to the Hot- tentots, they asked me from what point I had left the waggons, which I showed them. On discovering my footsteps, one of them set out to follow them, on which the others said, “ He will find your papers.” Having traced out all my irregular movements among rocks and bushes, he came back, and with seeming indifference put the papers into my hands, and walked off, as if he had only brought my hat from the tent. A similar feat was almost daily performed by one or other of them. When dinner was ready, the cook would desire a lad to go in search of me, who would walk round the encampment till he discovered my latest foot-marks ; by them he would trace me to the middle of thickets of trees, or bushes, or rocks, and simply say, “ Mynheer, kom eet,” and then walk off. When an ox, or oxen had strayed, I have known Hottentots trace them for ten or twenty miles (though he might meet many footsteps of other oxen, or of wild beasts), as accurately as if they had had the scent of wild dogs. . Perhaps this practice of the Hottentots may throw light also on Heb. vi. 1 2, where we are exhorted “ to be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” That we should follow their track, as if they had called to us from the suburbs of heaven (pointing to their track) saying, “ This is the way, walk ye in it; it is a tried way, and by it we have reached the heavenly Jerusalem.” E so GLUTTONY OF THE HEATHENS. THE BELLY IS THE HEATHEN^ GOD. Whose god is tlieir belly. — Philip, iii. 19. During a journey of two months beyond the city of Lattakoo, many natives travelled with me for no other reason but the hope of some- times having good eating, when, by our muskets, we should shoot a rhinoceros or elephant, which they knew none of my people would eat. The joy arising from seeing a rhinoceros fall was excessive. If next day happened to be a halting day, they would be cooking and eating literally from morning to night. Should they have had to walk a hundred yards to a river or fountain for a drink, they would carry a bone with meat on it to eat by the way, that no time might be lost. One day during that journey, two of the prin- cipal chiefs came to my tent, bringing with them the interpreter, as they wished to make some in- quiries. I was glad at the circumstance, as it was the first time they had spontaneously come to obtain information of any kind. The questions and answers were : Are there any rhinoceros in your country ? No. Are there any elephants ? No. Are there any camel-leopards ? No. On hearing that my country had none of those large animals, they shook their heads, smiled to each other, and walked off, evidently thinking it was not worth their while to make any more inquiries respecting so wretched and forsaken a land. Were any of the natives of those interior parts SERPENTS CLIMBING TREES. 51 of Africa, like Mahomet, to invent a fanciful heaven beyond the grave, I have no doubt hut they would describe it as a land swarming with those ponderous animals, and so tame and friendly that they would lie down at your side, begging to have their throats cut, that you might have a good dinner ; also that the sheep were as large as oxen, and the oxen as elephants; and that milk ran in rivers as wide and deep as the Mol- lopo. Indeed, I believe their chief happiness in living arises from the prospect of feasts, and enjoyment when they come. They do not eat to live, but live to eat. Oh what the gospel of salvation by Jesus Christ is fitted to do for such a people ! SERPENTS CLIMBING TREES — PLANS OF BIRDS TO PREVENT THEIR ROBBERIES. There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not : the way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, &c. — Prov. xxx. 18, 19. One of four things which Solomon, with all his wisdom thought too wonderful for him to com- prehend was, 44 THE WAY OF A SERPENT UPON A rock” That a creature resembling a smooth rod, without feet, should be able to move along on the surface of the ground, with considerable velocity, is very wonderful ; but its being able to climb rocks and trees, is altogether^incomprehen- sible. Indeed, I have often wondered at the velocity of their movement among grass, that by 52 ENMITY BETWEEN their serpentine motion they could proceed nearly as fast as I could run. We killed about thirty during one journey, hut there were many we pursued, without being able to overtake them be- fore they reached their holes, or thick bushes, or other refuges. But their capacity to climb trees surprised me much more, which they are so ac- customed to do in search of bird’s eggs, that they have put the African birds to much additional trouble in forming their nests; for the birds seem to be perfectly aware of this enemy, and not only of his capacity, but also of his incapacity; where- fore they build their nests in such a manner as to render it in most cases almost impossible for the serpent to reach them. With great ingenuity the birds form a cord, about a yard in length, which they firmly fasten to the extreme end of a hanging branch, and to the end of this cord they suspend their nests, and for greater security they form the entrance to the nest at the bottom, so that unless the serpent has sagacity enough to watch on some neighbouring branch for the wind driving the nest thither, and getting entangled, there seems no possible way for such a depredator to succeed in his nefarious attempt to plunder the nest. ENMITY BETWEEN MEN AND SERPENTS. I will put enmity between thee [the serpent] and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. — Gen. iii. PSC Literally there seems to be an irreconcilable MEN AND SERPENTS. 53 enmity between the descendants of Eve and the serpent, which is felt in every human breast, whether they have or have not heard of the devil’s having selected that animal to be his in- strument, to effect the ruin of the first parents of the human family. The instant any Africans of any tribe hear that a serpent is seen, all seize sticks or stones, and hasten to. kill it. I never heard the least sympathy expressed by an indi- vidual for the creature, while they were stoning or beating it to death; but when any of them escaped, general regret was expressed, as if they had missed the destruction of an animal that might afterwards destroy themselves. The ser- pents we killed seemed all aware that the head w^as the most vulnerable part, for, with great dexterity, they tried to elude the strokes directed^ against it, especially by putting it under the thickest part of their bodies ; while the head is the chief part to w T hich the Africans direct their strokes. I remember an uncle of the king of Lattakoo, when on a journey with me, was sleeping under a bush at the side of my w r aggon, wrapt up in several skin cloaks. He had just awoke and got on foot as I was descending from the waggon, and commenced lifting up the cloaks, one by one, in which he had slept. On lifting up the first, a serpent was found lying very comfortably, having slept under him during the night, dry, and enjoying the heat from his body. On seeing it, he immediately made a certain kind of sound, which his servants at a distance heard, and un- e 2 54 THE VALUE OF FOUNTAINS. derstood the meaning of, for they came running with sticks to kill a serpent. There is a fowl in South Africa which, in the colony, they call the Secretary, about the size and shape of the peacock, that swallows many of the smaller serpents daily, and does not seem at all affected by the poison that is thus taken into the stomach. Because of the usefulness of these fowls in destroying those noxious creatures, no man will harm them, but all rather view them with affection. Many serpents have a sparkling appearance in the dark, and most of them hiss when a supposed enemy is near. By means of those two provi- dential appointments, many lives of men have undoubtedly been preserved. The rattlesnake also, which is one of the most poisonous in those parts of the world where it is found, makes a noise with its tail, as if intended to warn all around of their danger, that they may have time to escape. The care of Providence over the lives of men is thus remarkably evident. CISTERNS PREFERRED TO FOUNTAINS. My people have committed two great evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. — Jer, ii. 14. In Africa, a pool is never called a fountain ; it is only that which runs over and produces a rivulet, stream, or river. Living water, is water in motion, or that runs, which is always better, A LION AMONG SHEEP. 55 and preferred by all to standing water, or pool. If any tribe or people take up their residence near a good fountain, they will not for unim- portant reasons remove from it. The total consumption of grass around a fountain will tempt them to relinquish it ; but to remove, without such a sufficient reason, to where there is no fountain, but where water can only be obtained by artificial means, such as the con- struction of tanks, &c., would be viewed as strange conduct, especially if the means used failed, by the bursting of the water enclosures. Infinitely more destructive is it to give up seeking happiness from the Creator, and instead thereof, seeking it from the creature, from ter- restrial enjoyments. A LION TREADING DOWN AND TEARING TO PIECES FLOCKS OF SHEEP. A young lion among the flocks of sheep; who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. — M icah v. 8. It would be rather a frightful sight to see a lion pursuing a flock of sheep, and on reaching them, to see him make a spring, and fall plump down into the midst of them, and while treading upon some, tearing others to pieces with his powerful tusks. In such a case, not one of a thousand would have fortitude to venture near, in order to attempt a rescue, as most likely he should be immediately attacked by the infuriated lion. 56 Jehovah’s wonders in the deep. jehovah’s wonders in the deep. They that go down to the sea in ships, that do busi- ness in the great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep. — Psalm cvii. 23, 30. The works and wonders of the Lord, which those who traverse the mighty deep are said to see, refer, in the text quoted, to storms and suc- ceeding calms, and both as effected by the mighty power of God. The wind is God's instrument in producing those wonders. By powerfully or violently blowing, the storm rages ; and by ceas- ing to exert its power, the waves gradually de- crease, till they may be said to have died away. It is very difficult to form an accurate concep- tion of a storm, without seeing one; not from shore, but from a ship at sea, in a storm. What sailors call mountain waves, cannot he seen from land, from the shallowness of the water near the land. The largest waves which I have seen, even so far north as from the shores of Caithness, or the Orkney islands, could but little assist me in conceiving the magnificence of the ocean in a storm off the Cape of Good Hope, or in the middle of an ocean. I remember being in a storm near the tropic of Cancer in April 1814, while sailing in a fleet consisting of 21 sail, chiefly Indiamen and South Sea whalers, under convoy of a 64 -gun ship. About sunset of the second day of the storm, the captain called me to come on deck, there was JEHOVAHS WONDERS IN THE DEEP. 57 something he wished me to see. On reaching the deck, he hastily desired me to catch hold of a cannon, which we had both no sooner done, than a ponderous wave broke over the vessel, carrying away part of the bulwarks, and drench- ing us all over. He said he did not call me to receive that wave, hut to witness the agitated state of the sea, which, from the present aspect of the heavens, was seen to advantage, the whole being black except a bright stripe along the bottom of the western horizon. By looking along the sur- face of the ocean towards that brightness, clouds of spray, driven hither and thither by the fury of the blast, were observable for miles from the ship. The captain then desired me to observe that we were in the middle of the fleet, and all the ships near us, whose main-masts were nearly as high as Bow- Church steeple. Now, said he, wait till the vessel sinks down to the trough of the sea, or bottom of the wave on which we were sailing. On reaching it, and looking round to the fleet, there was not one topmast, even of those nearest us, visible while we remained between the waves. He then said, what must the height of those waves be that are able to conceal from us every mast in such a fleet ! In two storms I happened to witness off the Cape, one of which lasted three days and nights, the waves of which appeared superior in bulk to those I have been describing, a stranger to storms might have fancied that it would at least require a month to lull the waves ; yet in four and twenty hours the surface became smooth, except what 58 jehovah’s wonders in the deep. is called a heavy swell, after the fury of the wind had abated. It is indeed marvellous that such sublime agi- tations of the ocean should be effected by an element which no man ever saw, or possibly can see, the instrument being invisible. Though the wind be both heard and felt, yet it is invisible. The whole passage in the psalm contains an admirable and inimitably concise description of those on board during the tempest. Innumerable waves are passed over, the people are uneasy, they reel to and fro, both upon and below deck, stag- gering like drunken men ; and during the pro- gress of the storm, every thing having been done to sails, &c., that human skill could devise, yet the vessel sadly labours ; they are at their wit's end what more to do to ease her ; they c annot retire by a back door, and wait till the stor m be over; no, whoever they are, they must abide the consequences. Then they are said to cry unto the Lord in their trouble. In a tremendous gale of wind off the Cap e, we were in the very state so strikingly describ d by the pen of inspiration. About nine o’clo ck at night, all was blackness and darkness abov e and around, except some kind of phosphoric light proceeding from waves dashing across the deck. At this time I proposed to the captain and cabin passengers to hold a meeting for prayer to the Lord of the sea for preservation from the fury of the raging elements, which seemed as if co nspir- ing to effect our destruction; to which pr posal all consented, and spent some time in prayer in JEHOVAHS WONDERS IN THE DEEP. 59 the cabin. Some hours afterwards, God heard our prayer, and brought us out of our distresses, by rebuking the winds and waves, so that they shrunk back, becoming perfectly still, and we were permitted thereby soon to reach our desired haven. Besides storms, there are many other wonders to be seen by those who go .down to the sea in ships. There is the preservation of human beings moving over its surface for thousands of miles, often amidst conflicting elements, in a kind of wooden house, perhaps seldom more than an inch and a half or two inches thick, and finding their way to their destined port with the utmost exact- ness, through the provisions that Providence has taught men to discover, for facilitating intercourse between nations far distant from each other ; also beholding, in some parts of the ocean, the whole surface of the water, in every direction, as far as sight can reach, covered with luminous matter, as if spread over with innumerable millions of spark- ling diamonds, or as if the sun had been grinded down to small pieces, and these strewed over the face of the deep ; also the innumerable and varied inhabitants of the water, particularly flocks of flying fishes rising out of the water, and moving past with considerable velocity; at other times whales, almost equal in length to the ship in which they sail, diverting themselves, and spout- ing up streams of water to the height of the ship's main-mast; and multitudes of lovely sea-fowls, who seem quite at home though hundreds of miles from any land, and, though destitute of 60 SALT SPRINGS AND BARREN GROUND* compass, quadrant, or chronometer, can, at will, find out an island or even a rock on which to deposit their eggs and bring up their young : while a ship, destitute of the foregoing instruments, might search for 20 years even for the island of St Helena without finding it. These and many other wonderful things are to be seen by those who go down to the sea in ships. To him who can survey them as the works of his heavenly Father, the sight must afford a rich repast. SALT SPRINGS AND BARREN GROUND CURED. And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my Lord seeth : but the water is naught, and the ground barren. — 2 Kings ii. 19. After Elijah’s translation, his companion and successor, Elisha, repaired to a seminary ©f the prophets, where young men seem to have studied divinity, and perhaps other branches of know- ledge. While tarrying there, the male popula- tion waited on him in a body, and through their representative or chairman, stated to him the naughtiness of the water of the spring which sup- plied the city, and pointed out the barrenness of the ground around. The water of the spring seems to have been what is now termed brack-vrater, which is saltish, in consequence of the soil, through which the water from the heavens has to pass before reach- ing the spring, being mixed with salt or saltpetre. It is this mixture of salt which renders the ground SALT SPRINGS AND BARREN GROUND. 6 i barren and the water naught, as stated by the people of Jericho to Elisha. Elisha went with the people unto the fountain- head, into which he cast a little salt, which some might think calculated to render it worse instead of better. When in the act of throwing it into the spring, he audibly said, u Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters ; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land/’ So the waters were healed, not by the salt, but by the power of the Lord ; and the spring continued afterwards to send forth pure, sweet, and healthy water. The means of salvation can do no more in healing the souls of men than this salt did in healing the waters of Jericho; the virtue is from God ; then is the gospel the power of God unto salvation. The following relation may assist in under- standing the cause of bad water in many parts of the world. Before setting out on my first jour- ney to Africa, a medical gentleman in London kindly sent me a small volume, written by him for the benefit of our armies abroad, in reference to the best means for preserving health, a portion of which was devoted to bad, or brack-water, and proposing a method for purifying it, which was his chief reason for sending the book. He ad- vised to dig a hole so many inches from the mar- gin of the pool of bad water, which, by passing through the intervening ground to the hole, would be rendered purer and more wholesome. Had I had a portion of good English earth with me, to F 62 GLADDENING STREAMS* have placed between the hole and the pool, per- haps the water passing through it might have been somewhat benefited; but it was the African soil that spoiled the water; consequently, on mak- ing the experiment, I found the w r ater in the hole salter than that in the pool, because in passing through the soil it carried the saline particles which it contained with it into the hole. It w 7 as, indeed, like Elisha, throwing more salt into the wuter, but it had not a similar effect. Had the water been merely filthy, the passing through a little good soil might have improved it. Elisha's method with the Jericho spring has sometimes reminded me of our Lord’s applying clay to a blind man's eyes, which he designed to open, a thing more likely to injure than recover his eyes; but, as the old Puritans used to say, “ God sometimes works by means, without means, and contrary to means.” GLADDENING STREAMS. There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of our God. — Psalm xlvi. 4. No doubt this passage has a spiritual meaning, alluding to the river of the water of life ; but it also has an allusion to what then existed at Je- rusalem — perhaps to the waters of Siloam, which ran gently by Jerusalem, from which water might have been led out by pipes, or by little streamlets, or what might be termed cuts, to different parts of the city, which is the allusion. These stream- VALUE OF RIVERS. 6’ 3 lets would be very refreshing to the inhabitants, spreading a coolness over those streets along which they ran. Indeed, the sight as well as the taste, of running water, is reviving in a sultry climate, which is elegantly expressed by their being made glad ; indeed, during the oppressive season, they must have felt cheered by a draught of its cooling contents. EFFECTS OF PRESENCE AND ABSENCE OF RIVERS. He [the Lord] turneth rivers into a wilderness, and the water-springs into dry ground. — Psalm cvii. 33. He doeth the reverse, verse 35. He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into water-springs. He often does so in Africa. Crossing that continent in 1813, in the dry season, the beds of all the rivers were dry, and no spring sent forth any water ; the grass that remained was all withered, the bushes sickly, game had all forsaken it, only a solitary zebra appearing now and then; but when God sends a plentiful rainy season, which he does not do annually, then the water- springs break forth and descend to the forsaken river course, and by their contributions re-create a river, which by-and-by causes the lovely and useful grass to spring up, the bushes to send forth their beautiful flowers of varied hues, the trees to look gay, lively, and healthy, and the game to return and browse peacefully in every direction. The natives who had, with their cattle, removed to more favoured spots, also return, and rear their 64 A PRESENT OF SWEET CANE. huts, which renders that part no more to he a wilderness and solitary place, hut a land where men pass through, while others become stationary residents in it. Formerly, it appeared as if God frowned upon the land, hut that now he smiles and blesses it, and makes it a goodly heritage, a desirable habitation. Such moral changes are effected by the introduction of the gospel of sal- vation into heathen countries; then the Sun of Righteousness may be said to have arisen upon them with healing under his rays. BOUGHT NO SWEET CANE. Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices ; but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniqui- ties. — Isaiah xliii. 24. On approaching and entering first the city of Mashow, and afterwards that of Kurreechane, the two highest up towns which I visited in Africa, various of the inhabitants who, like all the rest of their countrymen, had never seen waggons nor white men before, were charmed with the sight, and, as a proof of it, they presented me with pieces of sugar, or sweet cane, about a foot in length, and in such numbers, that the bottom of that part of the waggon where I sat was covered with sweet cane. It was an act of kindness. This occurrence explained to me this passage in Isaiah, where God is evidently charg- ing his ancient people with want of affection or RAIN FALLING MODERATELY. 65 unkindness ; which expression they would under- stand, having probably the same custom which I found in Africa, which the Hebrews may have learned while they resided in Africa, viz., in Egypt. RAIN FALLING MODERATELY. Be glad, then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God : for he hath given you the for- mer rain moderately, and the [barn] floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats [or vats] shall over- flow with wine and oil. — Joel ii. 23, 24. In southern climates, rain comes at particular seasons, which are generally termed the rainy seasons. The rain seldom continues to fall long, at one time, even then, but rather falls in what may be called thunder showers, and in torrents. If the ground happens to be hard, which it gene- rally is, such a short, though plentiful fall of rain does little service to the land, as it runs off imme- diately, not having time to soften and sink into the ground ; afterwards the powerful heat of the sun, soon breaking forth from behind the clouds, draws up the little damp that has been left, which soon re -hardens the surface of the ground, and renders it as impervious as before, so that succeed- ing showers are rendered almost useless ; but rain falling moderately, as promised in the text, gradually penetrates the ground, and prepares it to retain future showers, which process produces fertility. f 2 66 DESOLATE GROUND SATISFIED. SATISFYING DESOLATE AND WASTE GROUND. To convince Job of his ignorance, God proposes a number of qestions for him to answer. Among these he asks, Who hath divided a water-course for the overflowing of waters, or a way for the lightning of thunder; to cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is; on the wilderness wherein there is*no man; to satisfy the desolate and waste ground; and to cause the bud of the ten- der herb to spring forth ? — Job xxxviii. 25, &c. To rain in a wilderness wherein there is no man, proves that rain is not the production of man, but of God. The object of God in sending it to such a forsaken, solitary land is beautifully expressed, viz., to satisfy the desolate and waste ground, &c., which, from its sickly and faint appearance, seems as if crying earnestly for water, that it might produce something that might be of some use, if it were only to feed a few reptiles or insects, which cannot live with- out some food. This longing desire God is repre- sented as benevolently satisfying, accommodating the displays of his goodness to the inanimate, as well as the animate, part of his creation. WILD BEASTS PREVENTED MULTIPLYING IN CANAAN. God said to his ancient people, previous to their tak- ing possession of the country of Canaan, I will not drive them [viz., the inhabitants of Canaan] from before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little will I drive them out LAPPING WATER. 07 from before thee, until thou be increased, and [be capable to fill up or] inherit the land. — E xod. xxiii. 29, 30. Uninhabited or desolate parts of the earth are generally possessed by wild beasts; and countries on a continent, which, by wars or pestilence, might become desolate, would very soon be taken possession of by the beasts of the forest, or raven- ous animals, which w T ould afterwards require a long time to clear away. No ravenous animal increases fast, which is a mercy; and though troublesome to man, yet they are useful in keeping down the number of those animals which multiply so fast, if unmolested, as would soon become a serious nuisance to the world : such, for example, as rabbits, one pair of which would soon become 1000, and these in a few years 10,000, and so on. Even one pair of cats, were all their progeny permitted to live for half a century, they would hardly find standing room in the whole county of Rutland. LAPPING WATER. Gideon brought down the people unto the water, and the Lord said unto him, Every one that lappeth of the water with his tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set by himself; likewise every one that boweth down upon his knees to drink [set him also by himself]. And the number of them that lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, were three hundred men : but all the rest of the people bowed down upon their knees to ^drink water. — Judges vii. 5, &c. The 300 men that lapped as a dog lappeth, 68 SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS. putting their hand towards their mouths, were the approved persons for the intended enterprise. A dog lappeth by means of forming the end of his tongue into the shape of a shallow spoon, by which he laves or throws up the water into his mouth. The Hottentots have a curious custom, resem- bling the dog and the 300 chosen men of Gideon’s army. On a journey, immediately on coming to water, they stoop, but no farther than what is sufficient to allow their right hand to reach the water, by which they throw it up so dexterously, that their hand seldom approaches nearer to their mouth than a foot; yet I never observed any of the water to fall down upon their breasts. They perform it almost as quickly as the dog, and satisfy their thirst in half the time taken by another man. I frequently attempted to imitate this practice, but never succeeded, always spilling the water on my clothes, or throwing it against some other part of the face, instead of the mouth, which greatly amused the Hottentot spectators, who then, per- haps for the first time, perceived that there was some art in it. LIGHTS OF HEAVEN FOR SIGNS AND SEASONS. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years. — Gen. i. 14. # “ For signs : ” they are eminently so to persons travelling in the wilderness and unknown regions. STARS SEALED. 69 The rising sun is a sure sign or token that the direction in which it lies is east ; at mid-day on the north side of the tropics, or torrid zone, it is a sign of south, and on the south side it is a sign of the reverse ; and sun- setting is a sure sign of the west. In the same way is the moon a sign to travellers in the night-time ; and when the moon is absent, the stars supply her place. On the going down of the sun, we fixed on some large star tying in the same direction in which the sun had set ; and when that star set, we fixed on another above where it set, and so on. When one direction is known, the other three are easily ascertained ; because when your face looks to the east, your back must be towards the v^est, your right hand to the south, and your left to the north. By these signs we generally travelled as accurately in the night time as in the day. The approach of the sun is not only the cause, but the sign that summer is nigh; and the moon drawing nearer is as certain a sign of the approach of winter. The appearance of certain stars are signs to many of the savages in Africa that certain roots are ripe, which grow in different parts, which they then visit to dig for them. The appearance of other stars inform them that lamb time is near. THE STARS SEALED. Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark. — Job iii. 9. Sealeth the stars. — ix. 7. Expressions referring to the stars being ob- scured by clouds, thereby rendering night travel- 70 THE VIPER. ling, which is common in hot climates, both gloomy and dangerous. For five months, while travelling high in the interior of Africa, the stars were rarely ever sealed up by clouds. A VIPER FROM THE FIRE FASTENING ON PAUL’S HAND. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. — Acts xxviii. 3. Paul’s employment, on this occasion, was often mine while travelling, viz., gathering sticks, or branches of trees or bushes, to make a fire on halting, either for cooking or for warming our- selves. Were we hungry or cold, all who could be spared from attending to the oxen, erecting of tent, &c., naturally assisted in collecting fuel. Some hazard was attached to this necessary em- ployment, particularly so in the dark, for on lay- ing hold of a bush to tear it up, or to break off a branch from it, we were in danger of grasping a serpent, scorpion, or some other venomous animal. Should any of those creatures have happened to be in the bushes when laid upon the fire, as the fire approached them, they w r ould naturally retire from it, and make a spring to escape from it. Probably this was the case when the poor viper, to escape destruction, lighted on Paul’s hand, while in the act of laying a branch or bush upon the fire. A viper is of the serpent species, but the one that fastened on Paul’s hand seems to have been of a well-known poisonous kind. WATCHMAN BIRD. — GREEN PASTURES. 71 THE WATCHMAN BIRD. Watching thereunto with all perseverance. — Eph. vi. 18. A bird in Africa, which I often saw, gives a fine exemplification of the conduct recommended in the above passage. It is well known by the name of Watchman. It rises from the bushes to about six or eight yards perpendicular height into the air, with much flapping of its wings, something resem- bling the rising of a lark. On reaching a certain height, it seems to rest in the air for about a quar- ter of a minute, looking round about as if ex- amining whether all be safe. Seeing no enemy approaching, it descends direct down, with a chirp, as if informing its companions that all was safe. In the same manner it rises and descends almost every two or three minutes. GREEN PASTURES AND STILL WATERS. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures ; he leadeth me beside still waters. — P salm xxiii. 2. This is descriptive of the most cheering and animating situation in which a wayfaring man can be placed in desert countries, especially after the eye has long been wearied with beholding nothing but w 7 hat deserves to be called a withered, scorched, sickly wilderness. Indeed, the sight of green pastures for his flocks, and a river gently and smoothly gliding along to refresh them and himself in such a country, would make him almost 72 TREADING ON SERPENTS AND SCORPIONS. forget the toils that are past, and would recruit, by its enjoyment, the exhausted strength of his beasts of burden, and prepare them for proceed- ing on the journey with fresh vigour. On going forward, to find the same verdant grass and still stream continuing to lie in his track, would greatly increase his pleasure and satisfaction ; but when it terminates, he will leave it with re- gret — often look back to it as he goes along the parched ground upon which he now travels — and, after losing sight of it, will often talk of it as a land of Goshen. TREADING ON SERPENTS AND SCORPIONS. Jesus said unto his disciples, before sending them forth to preach the gospel all over the world, — “ Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” — Luke x. 9. Jesus first sent out upon a preaching tour twelve disciples, then seventy. On their return, they expressed their astonishment at the power which attended the use they made of the name of Jesus, especially the flight of devils from those possessed by them, at the very mention of this name. On this, and seemingly in view of the long journey over the world which lay before them, Jesus gave unto them the above address. Serpents generally are timid, and run from men. The chief danger from serpents in the day time, arises from treading on them among grass, DRINKING BITTER WATER. 73 which conceals them from the notice of the pedes- trian, or in the night time on roads; in both which cases they bite directly. A scorpion is but a small animal, only a few inches long, but extremely poisonous. Little danger can arise from treading on them, to a person wearing boots or shoes; but in eastern countries, where sandals are worn, which only cover the soles of the feet, it must frequently have been mortal to tread on the scorpion also, especially among grass. From being exposed to those dangers, distant journeys must have appeared very hazardous; and the caution necessary in guiding their foot- steps, especially when walking among long grass, which must have been during many parts of their journeys, when wheel carriages were not in general use, must have greatly impeded their pro- gress. Apostolic journeys, for rousing a perishing yet sleeping world, demanded expedition. The pro- mise of Christ was undoubtedly believed by them, and would assist in expediting their movements. Such speed was enjoined, that they were to salute no man by the way, but intently to hasten for- ward to cities and towns, where many were daily perishing for lack of the knowledge of those glad tidings they had to proclaim from their great Lord and Master. DRINKING BITTER WATER. Trial of certain kinds of guilt was commanded, by the law of Moses, to be made by making the sus- G 74 PASTURAGE FREE. pected person to drink bitter water. — Numb, v.24, &c. Among the Jews, it was a direct appeal to Heaven. But though the practice still exists in Africa, it is used to express the decision of the judges. The same custom is to be found in Western Africa. The person tried must drink a certain quantity of poisoned water (called red water), prepared by his judges. If they consider him guilty, they make it so strong that they know it must prove fatal ; if they design to spare the life of the person, they dilute it, and thereby weaken the force of the poison ; so the person not dying is pronounced innocent. PASTURAGE IN ANCIENT COUNTRIES FREE TO ALL. And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south; and Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the south, even to Beth-el, unto his place where his tent had been at the beginning, be- tween Beth-el and Hai, &c. — Gen xiii. 1-3. Abraham and Lot left Egypt, with their fami- lies and numerous flocks, and sojourned in the country of Canaan, where neither of them pos- sessed a single acre of land. In consequence of disputes arising among the herdsmen, we find these two friends agreed to separate, when Abra- ham said to Lot, 46 Is not the whole land before thee ? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me : if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to PASTURAGE FREE. 75 the right ; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.” Lot chose the vici- nity of Jordan, and Abraham Canaan. Were foreigners to come over to England, with numerous flocks of cattle, sheep, &c., and one half of the company to select Kent, and the other Essex, for grazing their cattle, without asking and obtaining the consent of the proprietors, it would be considered as a trespass, consequently the cattle would be seized. The state of coun- . tries then must have been very different from that of European countries now, for we find even in highly civilized Egypt, Abraham and Lot acted in a similar manner. Southern Africa, beyond the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, appears to be now exactly in the same state. Any stranger might drive 10,000 oxen, cows, and sheep, into any of the countries in that quarter, and might feed them as long as he pleased, without any of the natives considering it an intrusion, if he kept away from the immediate neighbourhood of towns. They know nothing of landed property extending over a country. If my Hottentots needed a new drag, or piece of timber about eighteen inches long and six inches thick, to put under the waggon- wheels when descending a mountain, they were not at the trouble to climb a tree in order to cut down a large bough, but thinking it less trouble, they cut down the whole tree. Should any of the natives happen to be present, instead of being offended, they were diverted by seeing the tree fall, in the same way as the boys in London are by looking 76 A SALT LAND NOT INHABITED. at Punch. They did not view it as their pro- perty. While travelling more than two years in the interior of Africa, I never paid the value of one penny for the feed of the cattle. I have seen a Hottentot, by throwing away the tobacco from his pipe when it got red-hot, burn down I dare say at least 20,000 acres of fine ripe hay, which he viewed as such a trifle, when told of it, that I remember on one such occasion he was only at the trouble to turn his head round once to look at the country in flames, and the effect the sight had upon him was only a momentary smile, without a particle of regret. Had a native been present, he would only have laughed, and said, the fire would do much good, for it would kill many a serpent, scorpion, and millepede; and the grass will grow again. A SALT LAND NOT INHABITED. He shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land, and not inhabited. — J er. xvii. 6. Many parts of South Africa may justly be termed salt land, because impregnated with salt, or saltpetre, which renders the soil good for no- thing, producing neither grass nor any thing con- ducive to the support or comfort of man or beast ; and what renders it still worse is, that all the water found in it is salt as the sea. From this passage it appears, that great part of that desert, lying between Egypt and Canaan, through which the Israelites passed, was a salt A SALT LAND NOT INHABITED. 77 land, or impregnated with saltpetre, which shows the absolute necessity there was for God furnish- ing a miraculous supply of that indispensable article, water, and the fitness of its being brought from a rock rather than from the ground, which, being mixed with salt, would have required a second miracle to prevent the water becoming salt by passing through it. A salt land is said in the passage to he not inhabited ! How can it he inhabited ? All vegetation is destroyed by the over-abounding of salt : bushes which, in good soil, would reach the height of five or six feet, and be decked with green leaves and flowers in the season, in a salt land will not be higher than twelve or eighteen inches, without a single green leaf, — all a dull brown, approaching to the colour of a rock, and all the pools, from their saltness, unfit for the use either of man or beast. Should an animal of any description, tame or ferocious, unwittingly get into such a land, he will endeavour with speed to get out of it, otherwise he must perish : the same also applies to men. It is worth noticing, that a great part of Africa, lying nearly in the same latitudes south of the equator as the Israelitish desert lies north of it, viz., lat. 30° and 31°, contains also many salt districts. In unison with the account given of the bar- renness of those lands impregnated, and thereby spoiled with salt, is the threatening denounced against the country of Canaan, should the Heb- rews, to whom God gave it, forsake the com- G 2 78 A SALT LAND NOT INHABITED. inandments and ordinances of their God, ag recorded in Deut. xxix. 23, that such should be the wretched state to which God shguld reduce it, that strangers afterwards visiting it, should thus describe it: “That the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which he overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath.” Some modern travellers in what is called the Holy Land, have expressed great surprise at its gloomy and extreme sterility; and have enter- tained doubts of its ever having been capable to sustain the immense population which the Scrip- tures record it had in ancient times. But what occasions their doubts is a confirmation of the truth of Scripture testimony, for we know the Jews did forsake the law of their God, and did imbrue their hands in the blood of his Son, wherefore God has faithfully executed the above threatening, in changing that country into a barren wilderness, which, when their ways pleased the Lord, appears to have been one of the most charming countries under the sun, for God him- self describes it in few words, but words big with meaning: he calls it a land that Jloweth with milk and honey , Levit. xx. 24. Abounding with milk, proved the soil to be rich, producing nutri- tious pasturage, and the Hebrews were a pastoral people ; abounding in honey, proved the beauty of the country, for unless it had abounded in flowers, it could not have abounded with honey. HONEY FROM THE ROCK. 79 The same latitudes south of the equator remark- ably abound with flowers to this day, consequently with honey also. SUCKING HONEY FROM A ROCK. In Deut. xxxii. 13, it is said of the Israelites in the wilderness, that God made them to suck honey OUT OF THE HOCK. In Africa, the bees deposit their honey on the trunks of trees and on rocks. Trees in some countries being scarce, the honey in most parts is found upon the front of rocks or cliffs, plastered on the outside, having a covering of wax to pro- tect it from intruders. This outside coating, after a short exposure to the weather, assumes nearly the same colour as the rock, which, at a little distance, cannot easily be distinguished from the rock, so that a person making an incision with a knife, and putting his mouth to it to suck it, were a person a little way off to notice some of the honey dropping from his chin, would believe that he saw a man sucking honey from a rock ; so that the Scripture method of expressing it is very beautiful. There is an allusion to the same thing, Psalm lxxxi. 16 : “He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat, and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.” I remember seeing in a boor’s house in the Cape colony, the greater part of the gable at the end of his garret plastered over with honey by 80 Cooling of heated land. the bees. When the boor required a portion of honey for his table, he cut away, perhaps, a square foot of the hive, when the bees immediately set to work to fill up with fresh honey the vacuum he had made. In this way, he said, he kept them always at work. It appears from 1 Sam. xiv. 25-27, that the bees in Canaan were accustomed also to deposit their honey on the trees, as in Africa, much of which had then dropped upon the ground before the bees had time to secure it with a covering of wax ; and Job speaks of brooks of honey, chap. xx. 17. THE QUICK LULLING OF THE AGITATED SEA, AND COOLING OF THE HEATED LAND. Thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall. Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud : the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low. — Isaiah xxv. 4, 5. Should a stranger to the workings of God on the mighty deep witness the amazing height to which the sea is raised by a gale of wind off the Cape of Good Hope, or, in other words, the magnitude of the waves, he would suppose the sea could not be- come smooth for a month; yet in four and twenty hours after the wind has been lulled, a calm will SITTING UNDER TIIE VINE AND FIG-TREE. 81 be produced. Exactly so on the land: to feel the intensity of the sun’s heat when travelling between scorched mountains, and stoop down to touch the heated ground on which you tread, a person might suppose the place would continue hot like an oven for a week. But lo, a thick cloud covers the heavens, and the power of the heat is almost instantly arrested, and in a short time the ground becomes cool, and the traveller feels as if translated into a new world. How beautiful does the comparison between this occurrence in nature appear, and that of the sudden overthrow of the man or set of men that made the earth to tremble ! In our own day, we have had an exemplification of the very thing to which the passage refers. Think of the convulsed, agitated state of Europe through the ambition of one man — Napoleon. But he was no sooner overturned and shipped off to an African island in the Ethiopic Ocean, than Europe became like the sea after the storm has subsided, or like the wilds of Africa when the sun has retired, or ceased to emit his rays. The storm ended, the winter was over and gone, and the time of the singing of birds came. SITTING UNDER THE VINE AND FIG-TREE. They shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree, and none shall make them afraid.— Micah iv. 4. The foliage of the fig-tree and vine, especially in warm climates, is very abundant, and no trees 82 SITTING UNDER THE VINE AND FIG-TREE. are more suited for shade and shelter, particularly the former. My favourite walk, while residing at Stellenbosh, a lovely town about six and twenty miles from Cape-town, waiting, during my first visit to that country, for waggons to proceed into the interior, was under the shade of a row of fig- trees in the garden of my friend, under which ran a streamlet of pure water. At all times of the day I felt agreeably cool in that esteemed retreat. Should a country, however, be disturbed by the din of war, and the ravages of cruel armies, the minds of the peaceable inhabitants would be too much agitated to enjoy the beauties and com- forts of their gardens. But when the rage of contending nations is assuaged by the powerful dissemination of gospel truth, they shall become fully convinced of the sin of disturbing each other s tranquillity, and love each other too well to do it. Then shall they beat their sw T ords into plough- shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks, and then the husbandman shall retire with pleasure to enjoy the cooling shade ox his vine or his fig- tree. As old men walking and children playing on the streets of a city, are signs of its peace and prosperity; so men sitting quietly and comfortably under their own vines and fig-trees, is a pleasing sign of the peaceful and happy state of the coun- try in which they live. The nations far in the interior of South Africa have not yet had the gospel sent unto them. They can never be said to sit under their vine and fig-tree, and none to make them afraid. They are constantly in terror of being attacked, though LENGTHENING THE CORDS OF A TENT. 83 their towns be all built on the tops of mountains, to prevent being attacked by surprise. The king of Marootzee complained that they could seldom get a sound sleep during the night, because they did not know but they should be attacked before morning. He said he was glad when he heard that white men had come to Lat- takoo to teach the nations to live in peace. LENGTHENING THE CORDS AND STRENGTHENING THE STAKES OF A TENT. Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations : spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. — Isaiah liv. 2. As great additions were certainly to be made to Zion, or the Church of God, according to his purpose, she was ordered to make room for the reception and accommodation of the new comers, in this very expressive and intelligible language. The true Church is here addressed as dwelling in tents, like Israel in the wilderness. When tents are enlarged, or increased in size, additions must be made to the length of the cords attached to the canvass of which the tents are composed ; and as the extending of the canvass must increase the weight to be sustained by the stakes or pins to which the cords are fastened, stronger ones must be provided. In Africa, when we expected an increase of hearers, the Hottentots moved the pins all round, a yard or a yard and a-half farther from the tent 84 COUNTRIES WITHOUT PATHS. towards which they stretched the canvass, and fastened it, which considerably increased the room inside. COUNTRIES WITHOUT PATHS TO CITIES OR WELLS OF WATER. They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way; they found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses; and he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation. — Psalm cvii. 4, &c. This passage is truly beautiful, as descriptive of forlorn travellers, wandering hither and thither in a wilderness, discovering no path leading to town or city ; no inhabitant to inquire the way of, either to a city or to a well of water, — of course they are depressed, and begin to dread the conse- quences. In their extremity, they supplicate the assistance of the God of heaven, who is spoken of as coming to them, supplying all their wants, and kindly taking them by the hand, and leading them to the right way, and giving such directions as, by following them, they cannot miss reaching the desired city. For travellers in such circumstances to meet with a native of the country, inclined to treat them in such a manner, w r ould be considered as one of the most memorable occurrences in their journey, and would make an indelible impression on their minds. GOD A WALL OF FIRE TO JERUSALEM. 85 The passage is almost an epitome of the “ Pil- grim’s Progress/* The sinner, in his natural state, unhappy, ignorant of the way of peace, — impelled to cry for mercy, — God stepping forward and leading the blind, by a way he knows not, to wells of salvation, and ultimately to heaven. GOD A WALL OF FIRE TO JERUSALEM. Jerusalem shall be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of men and cattle therein : for I, saith the Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the midst of her Zech. ii. 4, 5. The promise of God’s being to Jerusalem, or his Church, a wall of fire, seems to be spoken in allusion to the manner in which travellers in desert parts of the earth defend themselves in the night-time from the attacks of ferocious animals. They place fires in various directions round their encampment. This was our constant practice in the wilds of Africa, when timber to burn could be obtained. While the fires kept burning, we were in perfect safety, as no undomesticated ani- mal, however ferocious, will approach near to fire* Something in its brightness seems to give alarm. THE FEAR OF MAN IN EVERY BEAST. God promised to Noah and his sons to put the fear of man in every beast of the earth. — Gen. ix. 1, 2. That this promise has been fulfilled I have no H 86 THE FEAR OF MAN IN EVERY BEAST. doubt. The lion is called the king of beasts, be- cause of his noble appearance, great strength, and boldness, yet the eye of man disarms him. So long as a person has fortitude to look directly in the lion’s face, his advance is arrested ; while, should the person happen to look behind, to see if assistance be coming — which is very natural while in so eminently hazardous a position as having a feibcious lion vrithin two or three yards of him — the lion will advance, while the return of the eye towards him will check his progress. Repeated instances of this occurred during my first journey in Africa. Some have supposed that the animal’s eye so magnifies the size of man as to cause his intimidation. But if so, he would he as much afraid of a sheep or a cow as he is of man, which he is not. I remember one of my people, a Gonaqua, — a nation now extinct as such, having been reduced by murders, and the remainder having intermixed with Caffres on the one hand, and Hottentot tribes on the other, — I remember that Gonaqua, being a-head of the waggons, suddenly came upon two lions, who were arrested by the power of his eye for several minutes, till the waggons drew near; the sound of which, dragging over stones, in a still evening, intimidated the lions, so that they quietly took themselves off. This I witnessed. At another time a Hottentot came upon three lions, among bushes, near our waggons — his eyes arrested them — he held up his musket, that his companions might see it and come to his assistance, which they did ; and thinking it was game he HAGAR RELIEVED BY WATER. 87 had discovered, they hastened towards him ; but, on passing some bushes, they found that they also, with him, were in front of three lions; they durst not flee, but stood along with him, holding firm their muskets. These three Hottentots stood for some time with fixed eyes on the three lions, till the animals got tired, and quietly walked off, to the great joy of the Hottentots. Though I did not witness this exploit, I w r as as sure of its truth, from the character of the men, as I was of that which I saw with mine owm eyes. Some may ask, Is not night the most danger* ous time for meeting wild beasts, when the eye of man cannot be seen by them ? how has God then fulfilled his promise, of putting the fear of man in them ? No animal can produce fire but man ; God has therefore put the fear of fire in every ferocious beast, so that by kindling fires around w 7 here he halts, he is completely protected from their attacks, as has been noticed. HAGAR AND HER SON RELIEVED BY WATER. In the 21st chapter of Genesis there is an account of Hagar and her son leaving the family of Abraham, on account of a family squabble, and retiring to a vulderness. Both being greatly fatigued by travelling under a scorching sun, and the water they carried being exhausted, and find- ing no fountain from whence they could obtain a fresh supply, they lay down hopeless among some shrubs, almost despairing of life. But in the time of their extremity, an angel providen- 88 GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH. tially appeared, who directed them to water at a little distance, by drinking of which their lives were preserved. It may seem surprising to some, that neither Hagar nor her son found out this well, or pool, themselves. The ground being covered with bushes or shrubs must have caused the difficulty. In searching, unless they had come to the very spot, they would not have observed it, from the intervention of the shrubs. I remember being in the same predicament when crossing the wild Bushman country. I had travelled the whole day without water, and halted among bushes after sunset, without find- ing water. In the morning we found we had been spending the night in thirst, within a few hundred yards of abundance of good water. GOING FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH.* In Psalm lxxxiv. f>, 7, are described the jour- neys of the Israelites to their feasts at Jerusalem from distant parts of the country. It mentions their digging wells in the valley of Baca, which, in the rainy season, were filled with excellent water, and became a great convenience to suc- ceeding travellers. In reference to them, the travellers are said to have gone from strength to strength till they arrived at Mount Zion in Jeru- salem, to appear before God there, which was the object of their journey. When a weary traveller arrives at a well in the wilderness, his strength is nearly gone, but on NO INNS IN CANAAN. 89 drinking of its water, he is revived and strength- ened for another stage ; and, on falling in with another well, he receives fresh vigour for again proceeding on his journey. So that going from strength to strength may literally mean from well to well ; though some understand by this, going from company to company. NO INNS ANCIENTLY IN CANAAN. And they [the Levite and his wife when on a jour- ney] turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah [a town in Benjamin] : and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city : for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging. — Judges xix. 15. This circumstance happened a short time after the death of Joshua. It shows that there were no inns for the accommodation of travellers in those days, whose comfort, therefore, depended on the hospitality of the inhabitants; which seems to have given rise to the numerous exhortations in Scripture to hospitality, or kindness to strangers. The same custom as what was practised by the Levite, prevails in African cities to the present time. Every district or ward in their towns has a square enclosure, to one of which strangers generally repair, and sit down in it, as the Levite did in the street. If any ask them to their house, which seldom occurs, it is well; if not, they must sleep on the ground, which in warm and dry climates, is, of course, not such a discomfort H 2 00 JUDGING IN THE GATE. as it would be in colder and damper ones. Dur- ing our Lord's visit to Jerusalem, he and his dis- ciples generally retired at night to the Mount of Olives, where they slept under the trees, or among the bushes. Many thousands of those strangers who attended the feasts must have done the same, as there could not possibly be accommodation in the city for so extraordinary an influx of strangers as were accustomed to attend the passover. Per- haps sometimes it might greatly exceed 1,000,000, as appears from the immense multitude found in it at its final destruction by the Emperor V espasian, of whom 1,100,000 are stated to have perished, though it appears that many of those came by particular invitation at that time, to assist in de- fending their city against the Romans. KINGS JUDGING IN THE GATE. And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate : and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou ? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And Ab- salom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right ; but there is no one deputed of the king to hear thee 2 Sam. xv. 2, 3. Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the gate. And all the people came before the king ; for Israel had fled every man to his tent.— 2 Sam. xix. 8 . Execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates. — Zeoh. viii. 16- JUDGING IN THE GATE. PI Upon this rock (said Christ) will I build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. — Matt. xvi. 18. It appears from the above, and other passages of Scripture, that the king of Israel distributed justice, or sat in judgment to decide causes that might be brought before them at the gate, — that the gate of the city was the place where these causes came before them, and where they pro- nounced their decision, — that the king held his councils at the gate, or where the elders or chiefs met the king, to consider the affairs of the nation, — and that, in fact, all their principal assemblies were held at the gates of the city. This Jewish custom still exists high in the interior of South Africa. While in Kurreechane, a city about 1200 or 1300 miles up from the Cape of Good Hope, I was told that a cause was going to be brought before the king. Being anxious to witness it, I was led in haste to the gate, where I saw the king sit down at the right side of it, with his secretary on his right hand, and the prosecutor, or complainer, on his left, who stated his case across to the secretary. Dur- ing his narrating his case, the king was looking about as if not attending to what was said; but I saw from his eye, that he was attending to what, for form’s sake, was addressed to the secretary. When the party had finished what he had to say, the secretary repeated the whole to the king, as if he had been entirely ignorant of the matter. The king immediately gave judgment. In consequence of a visit from the king of 92 DYING AT SUNSET. Doughooboone, a city about 20 miles to tbe S.E. of Kurreechane, they bad %.feast ou an ox which was a present from tbe royaT Visitor, and the feast was kept at tbe gate, which I had an opportunity also of witnessing, — so their legal and festival meetings are evidently held at the gate. The gates of hell, in the passage quoted above, must refer to councils, policy, or plans of devils, not being able to effect the ruin of the Church of God. DYING AT SUNSET. And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel (Ahab) between the joints of the harness : therefore he said to his chariot- man, Turn thine hand, that thou mayest carry me out of the host ; for I am wounded. And the battle increased that day ; howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the even : and about THE TIME OF THE SUN GOING DOWN, HE DIED. — 2 Chron. xviii. 33, 34. When crossing the continent of Africa in the year 1813, one evening after sunset, one of my Hottentots was wounded by a wild Bushman's arrow, which was poisoned. He was extremely ill the whole night. About ten o’clock next morning, a tame Bushman who belonged to my party told me that -when the sun was there, pointing to the bottom of the western horizon (meaning at sunset), his breath would come out here, pointing to his mouth, or, that he should die. In the evening I watched the sunsetting, DESERTS IMPROVED. 93 at which time he immediately expired. A ser- pent being cut in t&g at any time in the day, retains life in botlT parts till sunset, but no longer. Perhaps Ahab was shot by a poisoned arrow of a similar kind, for he also died on the going down of the sun. WILDERNESSES AND DESERTS GREATLY IMPROVED, OR GREAT CHANGES EFFECTED BY THE GOSPEL. The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them ; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abun- dantly. — Isaiah xxxv. 1, 2. Considering this chapter as describing the blessed effects of the Gospel on entering a dark or heathen country, the description is inimitably fine. The country is compared to a dreary, deso- late, and dangerous wilderness, where there is nothing to amuse, gratify, or refresh the miserable inhabitants, or the passing traveller. Every wil- derness w r ears the aspect of gloom, grief, and mourning; and viewing it raises corresponding feelings in the mind. It is hardly possible for a person in such circumstances to be cheerful, unless his happiness be derived from mental resources, or invisible objects which he conceives of ; — in fact, it very much resembles being on board of ship in a dead calm, when, to witness a person laughing, surprises all on board. This same wilderness and solitary country is 94 IMPROVEMENTS EFFECTED represented as rejoicing and blossoming like the beautiful, fragrant, youthful, opening rose, which the most gloomy mind can hardly behold for a moment without experiencing pleasant sensa- tions, and being exultingly disposed to say, “ Lo, the winter is past, and the time of the singing of birds is come.” To find only one solitary rose in the desert, instead of dispelling, would increase the traveller’s depression, when his first excitement on unex- pectedly meeting so lovely a stranger had sub- sided. To see there a solitary bird, or a solitary pair, or a single hill in a plain, or a single tree standing by itself, adds to the gloom ; but a flight of birds, a group of hills, or clumps of trees, always give liveliness to the scene. Hence in this chapter the wilderness is represented as blossoming abundantly , and consequently as re- joicing w r ith joy, and with singing, as the natural expression of that joy. These scenes are represented as strengthening the weak hands . When the body is greatly fatigued by traversing deserts of sand, and consequently the animal spirits depressed, the feelings of the person are significantly expressed by the position of the arms, which then spon- taneously hang straight down, dangling at his sides, as if divested of power and inclination to exert them in any way. No man, in these cir- cumstances, requires to be taught to act thus ; whatever be his colour or country, he does it naturally. In such circumstances, I have some- times snatched up a pebble, merely to vary the BY THE GOSPEL. 95 feelings in the hand, but the fingers insensibly choosing, like the arms, to hang direct down, of course the pebble dropped to the ground. The Scriptures are the dictation of God ; we must therefore admire the infinity of that Mind w r hich notices these little occurrences in his creature, man. Great things every mind will notice, but it requires greater minds suitably to notice small things, and to make a wise use of them. The sixth verse is truly beautiful : The lame shall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: [wherefore ?] for in the wilder- ness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. Lameness and dumbness are the uniform effects of long 'walking in a desert : the sand and gravel produce the former, fatigue the latter. In such cases, some of us have walked hours together without uttering a sentence; and all walked as if crippled, from the sand and gravel getting into the shoes ; but the sight of water, especially if unexpected, unloosed every tongue, and gave agility to every limb ; men, oxen, goats, sheep, and dogs, ran with speed and expressions of joy to the refreshing element. It is not uncommon for springs of water to arise in such countries where they had not been before, which produces verdure and fertility where bar- renness formerly reigned. The introduction of the Gospel to the nations of South Africa has af- forded sources of joy and delight utterly unknown to the forefathers of this generation. Formerly, this country contained nothing to comfort the 86 IMPROVEMENTS EFFECTED immortal spirit while enduring the miseries of life, or when perceiving the approach of a dying hour ; but now many of them know and love the only fountain of life, and the foundation of all good hope. The breaking out of waters in the wilderness is not merely to produce wells or pools, but their blessings shall follow the traveller, by sending forth streams in the desert . The breaking forth of water from the rock Meribah in the wilderness was a great comfort to the thirsty Hebrews at the time, but following them during all their wan- derings, rendered the blessing inexpressibly more valuable. Ver. 7. — The parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. This is extremely descriptive of some parts of the western side of Africa, where the ground appears as if it had been scorched by fire ; so that not a blade of grass nor a bush is visible, and appears to defy all human means to improve it. The north sides of some mountains near Pella, in Namacqua-land, which, of course, face the sun, may well be called parched and thirsty ground; nothing but the production of springs and streams could possibly render them, and the regions around them, in the least degree fertile. They seem ca- pable of drinking up a deluge of rain, without sending forth a single streamlet. Id the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. BY THE GOSPEL. l>7 Dragons are considered to be a species of ven- omous serpent, fond of lurking in ruinous build- ings, or dry rocky parts of a country. Grass’ cannot grow without a considerable quantity of water ; as for reeds and rushes, they cannot exist without a great quantity, so as to stand in it. They require water more than either swans or ducks; so in Job viii. 11, it is asked, “ Can the rush grow up without mire? can the flag grow without water V 9 Every botanist would answer, No; it is impossible. So here water is spoken of as bursting forth, and flowing in such copious streams as to fertilize the most sterile lands; or the Gospel, bringing the water of life, is capable not only of humanizing or civilizing, but of evan- gelizing the most ignorant and barbarous of mankind. It has done this already in African regions, and will continue to do so, till all the nations of the earth shall voluntarily submit to the government of Jesus, and be thankful to do it. Ver. 8. — And an highway shall be there ; the way- faring men, though fools, shall not err therein. To travel in a country where there are no roads is very irksome and unpleasant, and much time is lost by interruptions from rocky parts, bushes, long grass, &c. Afterwards to revisit the country, and find an highway leading to the different towns, and so visible that the silliest traveller could never be at a loss to find it, and keep in it; this alteration would make the journey pleasant and expeditious. No halting to consult whether I 98 FOUNTAINS NOT TO BE FORSAKEN. to go over or round such and such mountains, how or where to cross such a forest, over such a river, across such a valley, strewed with rocks. In countries where revelation is unknown, the people may be said to be walking or groping in the dark, as to the interests of the soul and eter- nity ; but on the gospel entering, attended by the effectual teaching of God, the road to heaven and happiness is as visible as the sun. Ver. 9. — No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, &c. The safety of travellers in this new way is spoken of, by the assurance that no lion shall bo there, nor any ravenous beast, — a wonderful relief to the timid, unguarded, or defenceless traveller. FLOWING FOUNTAINS NOT TO BE FORSAKEN. Shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken ? — Jer. xviii. 4. Israel had forsaken God, the chief good, and gone after the worship of idols, in preference to the worship of God. In hot climates, good water is invaluable; and those who enjoy it feel it so refreshing, and otherwise so useful, that so long as the fountain continues to discharge its waters, they will not forsake the stream ; yet Israel had forsaken the fountain of living [or running] waters! For what? for cisterns that could hold no water — for gods that had no existence but in the foolish fancies of wicked men. London will A SMOKE FROM THE NORTH. 99 not willingly forsake the river Thames, which has been her friend for perhaps 2000 years; nor Glasgow the Clyde. A SMOKE FROM THE NORTH. Howl, O gate, cry, O city; thou, whole Palestina, art dissolved : for there shall come from the north a smoke. — Isaiah xiv. 31. 0 gate, or rulers! because, as in African cities, the rulers, as we have seen, chiefly held the sit- tings of their councils at the gate. “ There shall come from the north A smoke/' This may be in allusion to smoke arising from distant conflagrations, caused by an advancing desolating army, the sight of which would greatly alarm the inhabitants of Palestina. I have seen the smoke from mountains whose grass and bushes were on fire, at the distance of 40 or 50 miles. Or it may refer to clouds of sand or dust raised by troops rapidly advancing to attack them. By this means I have observed the advance of tra^ veiling parties, long before they reached us, from the cloud of sand raised by the movement of the oxen. Game is also frequently discovered by the same means. WATERS FAILING FROM THE SEA. And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord. And the waters shall fail from the 100 WATERS FAILING FROM THE SEA. sea, and the rivers shall be wasted and dried up. — I saiah xix. 5. Egypt is an African country, and these threat- enings are denounced against it. “ The waters,” viz., of the river Nile, “ shall fail from the sea.” One says it means that, in consequence of the Nile being dried up, the Egyptian vessels would not be able to reach the sea. Another says, that the sea refers to the river Nile, which was called the sea, but does not add why. However, if the river Nile was dried up, it must have been caused by waters failing from the sea. The sea is the great reser- voir of all water — it feeds the fountains of all rivers — water from it is exhaled in vapour, and moves in clouds from the Indian Ocean into the interior of the African continent, and falling down in rain upon the mountains, gives supplies of wafer to the fountains of those rivers which pro- ceed from them. Were this supply from the sea to cease, the Nile and other African rivers would soon become dry, for the fountains can give no more than they receive. Thus rivers and broolcs would fail from the sea discontinuing its supplies : what was sown in their vicinity would wither and die. Hence, from the wind chiefly blowing from the south-east, there are three rivers for one on the eastern side of South Africa that there is on the western side of that part of the continent; and, from the geographical position of the sources of the Nile, there can be little doubt of their having their supplies from the same direction. * WELLS OF SALVATION. 101 WELLS OF SALVATION. With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of sal- vation Isaiah xii. 3. Crossing an extended sandy desert under a burning sun is at all times hazardous and dis- tressing. No pardon put into the hands of a criminal on a scaffold, or efficacious medicine given to a dying patient, can be viewed more as a savi- our of life than falling in with a fountain of water in such circumstances. The sight of it immedi- ately revives the drooping spirits, removes gloom from every countenance, producing a smile of satisfaction, and with joy shall the weary travel- ler drink of its water, yea drink abundantly, and retire, with renovated life and vigour, to talk of its refreshing effects. It deserves to be called a well of salvation, for had he not found it, or some other, soon, he must have perished ; but having reached it, and partaken of its contents, he lived, — his life was saved. The imagery of Scripture is most expressive, and the better it is understood, the more will it be admired. A CUP OF COLD WATER GIVEN TO A DISCIPLE Our Lord says, Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones [his disciples] a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his re- ward. — Matt. x. 42. Of this Scripture I often thought, in parched t 2 102 FIRRY SERPENT& parts of Africa, when a cup of good water would have been an invaluable present, far preferable to the finest wine on earth. For a person in such a situation, possessing only two cupfuls of water, freely to part with one of them to another per- son, merely because be was a Christian, would be a mark of the sincerest friendship ; it would be hazarding his own life to preserve that of a friend of Jesus. Such an act, from such a prin- ciple, could only be done by a genuine disciple of Jesus Christ. FIERY SERPENTS, SCORPIONS, AND DROUGHT. [The Lord God j who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where 'there was no water. — Deut. viii. 15. In five and twenty words the sacred historian gives here a most accurate and luminous descrip- tion of an African desert. Itisnot only descriptive of that desert at the north end of Africa, in which the Israelites sojourned for forty years, but equally so of those at the southern end, on its western side, the greater part of which, for about 2000 miles along the coast, is covered with deep sand. A desert is great when it is extensive; and such a desert may be called terrible, from the anxiety, dread, or fear which it causes to the persons tra- velling in it, from what they experience, and from their doubts as to the result. He comes to pools, but he finds that they are like broken cisterns, which, though they once contained water, con- A HOWLING WILDERNESS. 103 tain none now ; it has sunk into the ground. He observes two rows of trees and bushes at a dis- tance, which raises hope in his mind, expecting there to find a river. He hastens to the spot ; but on reaching the banks, he finds the stream is dried up ; not a drop of water is visible, for it only runs after rains. He then digs a few feet under the surface, in the bed or channel of the river, in hopes of reaching some remnant of its waters, but finds his labour is fruitless; the water has either sunk beyond his reach, or has been exhaled into the heavens. He has no expecta- tion of relief from a shower falling that evening, or week, or month, for it is a land of drought, as no rain has fallen for the preceding six, twelve, or eighteen months. Would it be surprising to hear the traveller’s assistants express themselves thus : — “ This is, indeed, a great and terrible wil- derness, a land of drought, where no water is ! " There were also fiery serpents and scorpions. It is believed in Africa that the most poisonous serpents w r ere in the most arid parts, and where the heat was greatest. In such parts I uniformly found the scorpions most numerous. The know- ledge of this being the case, might render the wilderness through which the Israelites travelled more terrible to them. A HOWLING WILDERNESS. He found him in a desert land, and in a waste howl® ing wilderness. — D eut. xxxii. 10. The cry of the wolf is howlwg $ and no animal 104 A LAND OP PITS. is more frequently found in very desert parts than the wolf, and no creature whose cry I heard ap- peared to me to have so melancholy a sound as it. Howl is also sometimes applied to human beings in horror, as in Isaiah xiii. 6 : “ Howl ye ; for the day of the Lord is at hand ; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty/' A LAND OF PITS. Where is the Lord that brought us out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt. — Jer. ii. 6. In the wild Bushman country, dangerous pits are very general. They are not natural pits, but are dug by the natives to ensnare wild animals for food. They are from four to six feet deep, many of them having a sharp pointed stake firmly fixed in the bottom. The mouth is slightly covered with twigs, or small branches from the trees, which are strewed over with grass, to pre- vent animals observing it. The instant they hap- pen incautiously to tread upon it, they sink into it head foremost, and dash against the stake at the bottom, from which they cannot extricate themselves. Such pits are not only dangerous to beasts, but equally so to man, if he does not walk very circumspectly, and particularly so when travelling in the night-time. The passage may perhaps refer to the existence DANGER FROM WILD BEASTS. 105 of similar pits in the wilderness through which the Israelites had to pass on their journey from Egypt to Canaan. u A land of the shadow of death.” If we walk upon the shadow of a mountain, we must be near it, or tread on the shadow of a man, we must be near him ; so a land of the shadow of death must be a hazardous or dangerous land, w r here travel- lers take their lives in their hand,- — where no man passes through, — where there is neither road nor accommodation, no settled inhabitant, — a land completely forsaken. A CITY SURROUNDED BY WILD BEASTS. Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities : every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased. — Jer. v. 6. The lion prowls about in the day, which I have often witnessed in Africa ; but the habits of the w r olf are different, as it seldom makes its appearance before sunset, after which it comes forth, like other thieves of the night, in search of prey. I never, when moving about in Africa, saw more than one wolf stalking about in day- light, and that was in a most forsaken part, where, to a great extent, the land was absolutely paved w 7 ith flag- stones, the same as the side pavements in our streets ; but when night came, they were constantly howling and hovering around our encampment. IOC A LAMB SENT TO THE RULER. The habit of the leopard, also, is to be slum- bering in concealment during the day ; but the darkness rouses him, and he comes forth seeking what he may devour. It is of the tiger species, and rather smaller. The wolves and leopards should have the boldness to prowl about their cities, as the wild beasts did about our waggons in the wilderness, so that it should be most hazar- dous for man or beast to venture outside their walls. SENDING A LAMB TO THE RULER. Send ye the lamb to the ruler of the land from Selah to the wilderness, unto the mount of the daughter of Zion. — Isaiah xvi. 1. Mateebe, king of Lattakoo, before I went to some nations beyond him, would not consent to my visiting Makkabba, king of the Wanketzens: his reason w r as, because he had never sent him the signs of friendship and peace, which should have been a present of some cattle. The signs or confirmations of peace among the interior na- tions of South Africa are the exchange of pre- sents of cattle. Perhaps this is a custom of great antiquity, and may assist in throwing light on the above passage. Some tribute may have been withheld. WATERS THAT FAIL. Wilt thou be altogether unto us as a liar, and as waters that fail, or be not sure ? — Jer. xv. 10. Crossing a desert on the western side of Africa, A GREAT ROCK IN A WEARY LAND. 107 nearly 100 miles broad, in which there was no water, — after leaving the first spring of water on the margin of the desert, we travelled, chiefly over deep sand, for fifteen hours. To rest the oxen, though there was neither grass nor water, we halted five hours ; after which we went forward, for eighteen hours more, without a halt, during which time the groans of the oxen, from thirst and fatigue, were most distressing to hear. About the commencement of the nineteenth hour, the cry of “ Water ! water! water!” was raised by the Hot- tentots, on perceiving the oxen giving signs that they smelled it. After some consideration, by smelling in every direction, they hastened towards a corner at the bottom of a low hill, where, indeed, there was a considerable pool, but the water had failed, or sunk into the ground, evidently not more than one or two days before, as the ground was still damp over the whole bottom. This pool might be called a liar, for by its scent it raised expectations of relief from it, which hopes were blasted on reaching it, and finding it empty. From this disappointment we should not after- wards have trusted to it for relief in similar cir- cumstances. A GREAT ROCK IN A WEARY LAND. A man shall be an hiding-place from the wind, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. — I saiah xxxii. 2. Well does the traveller remember a day in the 108 SHADOW OF A GREAT ROCK. wilds of Africa, where the country was chiefly covered with burning sand ; when scorched with the powerful rays of an almost vertical sun, the thermometer in the shade standing at 100°. He remembers long looking hither and thither for something that would afford protection from the almost unsupportahle heat, and where the least motion of air felt like flame coming against the face. At length he espied a huge loose rock leaning against the front of a small cliff w r hich faced the sun. At once he fled for refuge under- neath its inviting shade. The coolness emitted from this rocky canopy he found exquisitely exhilarating. The wild beasts of the desert were all fled to their dens, and the feathered songsters were all roosting among the thickest foliage they could find of the evergreen trees. The whole creation around seemed to groan, as if their vigour had been entirely exhausted. A small river was providentially at hand, to the side of which, after a while, he ventured, and sipped a little of its cooling water, which tasted better- than the best burgandy or the finest old hock ~in the world. During all this enjoyment, the above dpiropos text was the interesting subject of the travellers meditation; though the allusion, as a figure, must fall infinitely short of that which is meant to be prefigured by it. A soul wounded by the strokes of a roused conscience, stricken by the terrors of a broken fiery law, with a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation of the Great Lawgiver, ready to consume his adversaries, — at such time, THE TWO HEARTS. 109 through grace, to be enabled to flee for refuge to the hope exhibited in the Gospel, or the everlasting righteousness, including the death of the Lamb of God, must be attended with a peace, satisfac- tion, and enjoyment, that surpass all conception and all description by the tongue or pen of men. A weary land, no doubt, refers to a desert wilderness country, where there is great heat and little water. Such a country must greatly weary or fatigue both the body and animal spirits of every traveller. They must weary long, or be impatient to get out of it. In such circumstances, to rest under a rock must produce sensations the most delightful. TWO ARMIES IN THE SHUNAMITE. What will ye see in the Shunamite ? As it were the company of two armies. — Song vi. 13. I find then a law, that when I would do good, evil is present with me. — R om. vii. 12. Muhameets, uncle to the king of Lattakoo, travelled with me for about two months in the regions beyond that city. Towards the end of that journey, during which he had heard the Gospel twice a-day, he one morning came to my tent, bringing the interpreter along with him, £fnd sat down ; after which, with great serious- ness, he informed me that he had got two hearts, one there, and another there, pointing to his right and left sides. On inquiring what made him think so ? He said he felt one heart say, “ Do K no A WIFE BOUGHT. this that these people tell you from the Word of God/' when immediately the other heart says, “ No ! you mus^not do it.” The above reminds me of a singular way of expressing covetousness, used by Moeelway, son of the former king of Marootzee. He came one morning to my tent, while in Kurreechane, and said to me, “ I have lost my heart, it is quite gone.” “ How or where did you lose it ?” “ It is gone into that dog,” pointing to a large dog, belonging to one of my Hottentots, which he held in his hand by a cord he had put round the ani- mal's neck. I then understood that he coveted the dog. I told him that it was not mine, but that he might be able to purchase it from the owner. Immediately he went to him with the interpreter, and offered a fine ox for it, which the Hottentot most readily accepted. A WIFE BOUGHT. So I bought her to me [viz., to be a wife] for fifteen pieces of silver, and a homer and a-half of barley. — Hosea iii. 2. This was giving a dowry for, instead of receiv- ing a dowry with, the wife. The same custom is universal among the interior nations of Southern Africa at the present time. A negotiation is carried on with the father of the female, as to the number of oxen for which he will give up his daughter to him who is desirous of having her for a wife. Perhaps amongst unprincipled DOUBLE USE OF RAIMENT. Ill heathen the custom secures better treatment to the females after marriage, seeing it is so expen- sive to obtain them. DOUBLE USE OF RAIMENT. If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down : for that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin ; wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when hecriethuntome,tliat I will hear; fori am gracious. — Exon. xxii. 26,27. In all parts of Southern Africa, the skin cloak is the covering of males and females by clay, and that in which they sleep by night ; they have no other bed-clothes. The Hottentot cloak is composed of sheep skins, retaining the wool on the inside of it, in which he sleeps comfortably under a bush or tree wherever he goes. Deprive him of that covering, and he would find himself most uncomfortably placed. It vrould be a cruel act. The nations farther into the interior have cloaks made from hides of oxen or cows, which they have a method of rendering soft and pliable, and use exactly for the same purposes as the others, viz., for clothing and for sleeping in. The Israelites sleeping in the wilderness in this simple manner would be always ready to remove when the trumpet intimated the moving of the pillar of fire ; like the dogs, when they shook themselves, they might be said to be dressed and ready to march. 112 RIVERS RUNNING TO THE SEA. The God who gave such a humane, consider- ate law to the Israelites, might well be called a gracious God. ALL RIVERS RUNNING TO THE SEA. All the rivers run into the sea ; yet the sea is not full: unto the place from whence the rivers came, thither they return again. — Eccles. i. 7. This is a general law of the Creator, to which he himself has made some exceptions, at least apparently. Such as in the river Krooman (or Koorooman), which, after satisfying the wants of thousands while gently passing the towns of Lattakoo, Hamapery, Hokkooro, Matchatchanai, and Patannee, — having done its work by supply- ing these towns, it enters the great southern Zahara desert, and is immediately lost in its sands, which extend for about 600 miles to the Ethiopic Ocean ; from which desert, however, it may be exhaled, or drawn up by the sun’s heat, formed into clouds, and these carried by the winds to water other lands ; in this way the waters of that river may at length reach some sea or ocean. GOATS, LEADERS OF FLOCKS. Bemove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks. — J er. 1. 8. From this passage it appears that it was cus- GOATS, LEADERS OF FLOCKS. 113 tomary with the ancient Israelites to have he- goats among their flocks of sheep, and that in travelling the goats went foremost. The same judicious custom exists in South Africa to this day. The goat possesses much more fortitude than the sheep, and is more forward in advanc- ing through difficulties, especially in crossing rivers ; and the sheep, who are not fond of such exploits, implicitly follow them. While travel- ling in Africa, I was obliged to have a small flock of sheep, to secure food when game was scarce ; and as instigators to bold and rapid travelling, I w r as necessitated always to have a few goats in the flock. They always took the lead, especially in crossing rivers, one of which, the Great Orange River, w r as about a quarter of a mile across, and there the goats behaved nobly. Had they been rational creatures, I should have returned them public thanks. The goats, always taking the lead among the sheep, seem as if sen- sible of possessing superior mental powers. Perhaps, were the drovers to our markets thus to employ goats instead of dogs — if English goats have the same dispositions as those in warmer climates — their flocks would proceed with more speed, and it would save the harmless sheep many severe strokes from the drivers, and bites from the dogs. While speaking of sheep, it may not be un- suitable to notice an ancient custom in some ori- ental countries, viz., that the shepherd had no occasion to walk behind the flock in order to force them forward, but he w’ent before them, making K 2 114 POISONED ARROWS. a sound, which sound became so familiar to them, that they followed him wherever he chose to lead them ; but they would follow none but him. To this custom our Lord evidently refers, John x. 3-5 : “ The sheep hear his voice : and he calleth liis own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep fol- low him : for they know his voice, and a stran- ger they will not follow, but will flee from him : for they know not the voice of strangers.” POISONED ARROWS. For the arrows of the Almighty are within me, the poison whereof drinketh up my spirit. — JoBvi. 4. From this it is probable that the invention and the custom of using poisoned arrows existed so far back as the ancient days of Job, and that this passage is an allusion to such a custom. The practice of using poisoned arrows is uni- versal among the interior nations of Southern Africa, to whom the Gospel has not reached. The strongest of all the poisons used is that which has been discovered by the most uncivilized of all the nations — the wild Bushmen ; a wound from which is attended with great pain and thirst, while the poison is working throughout the sys- tem, and attended with great depression.* * I brought some of the poison with me to Englaud to see if any antidote against it could be discovered. WATERS FREE TO ALL. 115 WATERS FREE TO ALL TRAVELLERS. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. —Isa. lv. 1. While travelling in a wilderness part of the >vild Bushman country, thirsty, and without any knowledge where water could be found, darkness fast approaching, all were anxious to come to water, where we might comfortably rest for the night. Though Hottentots were looking out for water on both sides of the caravan as we went along, yet neither pool, nor brook, nor river It has exactly the appearance of black wax, and is found deposited in sheltered corners of rocks, but how it came there is yet unknown. A medical gentleman, who had devoted much at- tention to the different kinds of known poisons, after delivering some lectures in London on that particular subject, heard of the Bushman poison, and applied to me to furnish him with some of it, that he might analyze it, and endeavour to find out an antidote. I rejoiced that the matter had fallen into such good hands, and immediately forwarded it by post. I received different letters containing various experi- ments, but all had failed. I remember the first trial he made of the power of the poison was, by wetting the point of a needle, and, after dipping it into the pow dei’, pricking a bird with it, which died almost immediately. The same experiment was made on a second bird, while some antidote was immediately applied to counteract the t ffects of the poison. After a short time it also died. Various antidotes were tried in the same way, but all proved equally ineffectual. 116 DECEITFUL BROOKS. could be found ; of course, we expected to be obliged to go forward the whole night. All at once, however, while passing a clump of bushes on the left, a fowl of the crane species darted up- wards into the heavens, ascending in a direct line, like a spire, uttering a loud cry. This cry put fresh life and vigour into the whole party, raising a smile in every countenance, and all ran to the spot from whence the fowl was observed to as- cend. As we expected, a charming pool of sweet water was found among the bushes. That animal is always found living near to water, and God has given it the habit, when alarmed, of ascending in a perpendicular line into the air, with a scream that can be heard to a con- siderable distance ; and to all who understand it, it sounds like the words of the above Scripture^ “ Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters.” DECEITFUL BROOKS. My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook, and as the stream of brooks they pass away. What time they wax warm, they vanish : when it is hot, they are consumed out of their place. — Job vi. 15-17. In desert parts of Africa it has afforded much joy to fall in with a brook of water, especially when running in the direction of the journey, expecting it would prove a valuable companion. Perhaps before it accompanied us two miles, it became invisible by sinking into the sand ; but two miles farther along, it would reappear and JOHN BAPTIST'S DRESS AND FOOD. 117 run as before, and raise hopes of its continuance ; but after running a few hundred yards, would finally sink into the sand, not again to rise. In both cases it raised hopes which were not realized ; of course it deceived. Perhaps it is to such brooks that Job refers in the 15th verse. There are many rivers in Africa, which are de- scribed in verse 17, which run in the winter, or rainy season; but the return of the hot season completely dries them up, which prove often great disappointments to stranger travellers. The promises of a faithful God will never dis- appoint the expectations of a humble believer, nor will the cross of Christ ever cease to be a source of everlasting consolation. JOHN THE BAPTIST’S DRESS AND FOOD. ■h John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat [or food] was locusts and wild honey. — Matt. iii. 4. The dress of John greatly resembled that of tne interior nations of South Africa, only substi- tuting a skin for one of camel’s hair; and his food that of the wild Bushmen during the locust season. Locusts resemble gigantic grasshoppers fur- nished with wings. When they come, like in- numerable armies, they certainly destroy all vege- tation; but their carcasses are sufficient for the support of human life. The wild Bushmen kill millions of them, which they gather together, dry 118 EMIGRATION OF BIRDS. them in the sun, and then grind them into pow- der, which they mix up with wild honey, or what the bees deposit upon rocks, trees, and bushes, and on this compound live a part of the year; so that the locusts, which are the greatest scourge of more civilized people, are considered as welcome visitors by the wild Bushmen, who hail their ap- proach. Indeed, the crocus and locust seasons are called their harvests ; thus showing that what is a judgment to one nation is a mercy to another. EMIGRATION OF BIRDS. I beheld, and lo there was no man, and all the birds of the heaven were fled. — Jer. iv. 25. Jeremiah said this in reference to what he saw when viewing, with a prophetic eye, the desola- tions coming on the land of Judah. It is a curious fact, that birds are not so plentiful far from, as near to, the habitations of men. They seem to have a bias in favour of the vicinity of towns and villages. The desolating Judea of its inhabitants would cause the voluntary emigration of the birds, which would render the appearance of the coun- try truly desolate. WALKING BY RIVERS OF WATER. They shall come with weeping, and with supplication will I lead them; I will cause them to walk by the rivers of water, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble. — Jer. xxxi. 9. In a hot sultry climate, and in countries where FRATRICIDE OF CAIN. 119 good roads do not frequently occur, sucli as in Africa, nothing can he more grateful and cheer- ing to a traveller than a smooth and straight road before him, and a river of sweet water running parallel to the road. It relieves him* from various anxieties, being sure of good grass and water for his beasts of burden, as well as good water for himself and his people; and what is also a great comfort, he can make his stages long or short as he feels inclined, or thinks best. The recollection of these things will assist in discovering the beauty of the simile or metaphor by which the happiness promised is expressed. FRATRICIDE BY CAIN, AND TOE EFFECT ON HIS MIND. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth ; and from thy face shall I be hid ; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth ; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me. — Gen. iv. 13, 14. The state of the first murderer’s mind shows the value that God attaches to human life, and that he will not allow any man to take his pre- rogative out of his hand without painful punish- ment, viz., of numbering a man’s days. This Cain did by murdering his brother Abel. Murder made Cain a coward; he became a timid, nervous man. Having acted as an enemy to his brother, he suspected that every one was equally an enemy 120 FRATRICIDE OF CAIN. to him, and had murderous intentions against him. Herod, after murdering John the Baptist, expe- rienced a similar state of mind ; for when he heard of the fame of J esus as a preacher, he was hor- ribly afraid, and was persuaded it could be no other than John the Baptist, whom he had mur- dered, risen from the dead, — which showed his conscience greatly troubled, and no doubt produced many a sleepless night. I found the same painful state of mind among natives far in the interior of Africa, who knew nothing of the true God, or of Cain’s case. In travelling fromLattakoo to Kurreechane I had an opportunity of witnessing this. Upwards of 60 natives joined my party, in the expectation of feasting upon the rhinoceros and other ponderous animals which we might shoot, having heard that neither I nor my Hottentots would eat them. When any fresh natives joined us, I generally endeavoured to discover if they had any deep scars on fleshy parts of their bodies, and how many they had. Except about five or six, every one of them had those murderous marks. Every scar means one person murdered by the bearer of it ; if there be four scars, he has murdered four persons. These murders are generally perpetrated during their plundering expeditions ; and such scars, in the estimation of the public, are most honour- able marks, like stars worn on the breasts of our dukes. On halting in the evening after a day s journey, these people divided themselves into little bands of six or eight, seated around fires, engaged in FRATRICIDE OF CAIN. 121 cooking, eating, talking ; and noisy beyond any thing ever heard in a London tippling- house. I found it impossible to sleep while their boisterous talk continued, till I became accustomed to it. I begged of them to go to sleep, when I thought they had eaten enough to satisfy any reasonable person ; but they assured me, that should they fall asleep, they would be attacked by SybenelFs people, who, pointing to the right, were not far off from us there, — “ These people would come and murder us all ! ” So they continued their roaring revels till about break of day. Some days' journey after this, I reminded them that, we had got beyond Sybenells country, and that surely now they might safely go to sleep at a proper time. “ Oh ! no, no ! ” said they, “ that we dare not do, for there is a much worse man on our left, Makkabba, king of the Wanketz ; he is watching us, and were we to sleep he would fall upon us, and murder every one of us." Of the cause of their tremour they were igno- rant, but it evidently arose from the same cause as Cains — the murders they had perpetrated. While these people remain at home, the^ seem not to be affected with tremour; but wh^ like Cain, they leave home, it seizes upon them. The consciences of Joseph's brethren seem to have been troubled in the same way, when they came to Egypt for corn, from remembering their cruelty to their brother, in first attempting to murder him by casting him into a pit, and then selling him to foreign slave merchants. My Hottentots, none of whom were murderers, though hundreds 122 HORROR PRODUCED BY MURDER, of miles beyond their homes, slept every night as sound as wolves. I have met with an affecting instance of the misery of murderers in Pringle’s African Sketches, lately published, extracted from a letter the author lately received from an enlightened Dutch- African farmer, in the colony of the Cape of Good Hope. I was travelling,” he says, “ some little time ago over the dreary wastes near the northern frontier, in company with , field-cornet of . I found this man very rational, candid, and liberal, until Dr P.’s name happened to be mentioned; he immediately broke out into a strain of angry invective. I allowed his indignation full scope to vent itself, knowing the subject of cruelty to the natives to be a sore point ; but as soon as he became calm, I remarked to him, that it must, nevertheless, be admitted that abominable cruelties had been committed against the natives. c Who denies that ? ’ rejoined he, — 4 God forbid that I should deny we have much to answer for ! ’ “ 6 I still often shudder ,’ he continued, 4 when I think of one of the first scenes of the kind which I was obliged to witness in my youth, when I commenced my burgher service. It was upon a commando, under Carl Krotz. We had sur- prised and destroyed a considerable kraal of Bush- men. When the firing ceased, five women were still found living. The lives of these, after a long discussion, it was resolved to spare, because one farmer wanted a servant for this purpose, and another for that. The unfortunate wretches were ordered to march in front of the commando ; but HORROR PRODUCED BY MURDER. 123 it was soon found they impeded our progress, not being able to proceed fast enough. They were therefore ordered to be shot. The scene which ensued often haunts me up to the present hour . The heipless victims, perceiving what was in- tended, sprung to us, and clung so firmly to some of the party, that it was for some time impossible to shoot them without hazarding the lives of those they held fast. Four of them were at length despatched ; hut the fifth could by no means be torn from one of our comrades, whom she had grasped in her agony ; and his entreaties to be allowed to take the woman home were at last complied with. She went with her preserver, served him long and faithfully, and, I believe, died in the family. May God forgive the land 1 ’ 44 This was said with much feeling ; and a chill of horror held us both silent for some minutes. I then said, 4 Dr P. never published any thing half so bad as this/ 4 But what is the use of ripping up old sores?' was the rejoinder : 4 This happened ■when I was young, and I am now old and grey/ 99 I have no doubt but similar feelings are expe- rienced by British murderers on our highways, in duels, &c., as well as by African ones, though many of those ruffians, especially such as move in the higher ranks of society, would he ashamed to acknowledge it. I remember a case in point that I witnessed: it was a young officer in the army, who sailed in the same ship with me. On one occasion, he greatly alarmed all the cabin pas- sengers, by jumping out of his bed about mid- night, and pointing to the floor, he called out, 124 USING UNTEMPERED MORTAR. “ There’s the blood ! there's the blood ! ” While he did so, he was asleep, and quite unconscious what he was about. We awoke him, and got him again to bed. We found out the cause in the morning, — that he had killed a brother officer in a duel, which so disturbed his rest, that if a bedstead had a post, he always tied one of his legs to it with his handkerchief, to prevent his rising during the night. DANGER OF DAUBING WITH UNTEMPERED MORTAR. Because, even because they have seduced my people saying, Peace, and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with un- tempered mortar : say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall : there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. — Ezek. xiii. 10, 11. In countries destitute of coal, bricks are only either sun-dried, or very slightly burnt with bushes and branches of trees, laid over them and set on fire. Such are ready to moulder if exposed to moisture, and entirely to melt away if exposed to heavy rain dashing against them. To prevent such a catastrophe, all the houses in the Cape colony are daubed or plastered over with fine mortar, made from ground sea-shells. Should only a small hole remain unnoticed in the plaster, a powerful rain will get into it, and probably soon be the destruction of the whole building. Well do I remember one deluge of rain that turned a MODE CP CARRYING CHILDREN. 125 new house of three floors absolutely into a mass of rubbish, and brought down the gable of a parish church, besides injuring many other buildings. CHILDREN BORNE ON THEIR MOTHERS* SIDES. For thus saitli the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream : then shall ye suck, ye shall be bo x rne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother com- forteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. — Isaiah lxvi. 12, 13. Here God promised to send great prosperity to Zion (or his Church), when he should treat her like an affectionate mother suckling and carrying her children on her sides. The native females of South Africa, when at home, literally carry about their children on their side, putting one leg of the child behind, and the other before her, and resting on the upper part of the hip. The child clings to her side; and from the prolongation of her breasts, the mother can conveniently suckle it, without moving it from its place. When I saw this done, it had always a very affectionate appearance. When they tra- vel, or are fleeing from an enemy, they carry their children on their back, under their cloak, — their heads only being visible. The females in the South Sea Islands have the same custom. Whether that part of the passage has an allu- sion to a similar practice existing among Jewish females, I know not ; but this I know, that on l 2 126 DESTRUCTION BY LIONS. witnessing the African custom I thought of the above text, which refers to a peaceful and pros- perous period, when God should act in the kind- est manner towards his ransomed people. To me, when I saw it, it had the appearance of peace, security, and affection. LIONS DEVOURING A CARCASS, AND BREAKING THE BONES. Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away : first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Baby- lon hath broken his bones. — Jer. 1. 17. This verse contains the regular process of com- plete destruction by lions. First we have the terrifying of a flock of sheep by the roar of those animals, then their consequent flying hither and thither, — the whole of them thus becoming an. easy prey. They are next devoured, or the flesh of their carcasses greedily eaten up. On being well satisfied with their repast, the lions walk to their lurking-places to digest the food they have gorged ; others, more ravenous than they, break in pieces and swallow the remaining bones, so that not a vestige shall be left behind. This seems to be the allusion in the text. The interior nations of Africa leave nothing of an animal's carcass unconsumed. When they come to bones, these they actually grind into powder, and use it as food, from which they derive nourishment. A THIRSTY LAND. 127 A THIRSTY LAND. My soul thirsteth for thee as a thirsty land. — Psalm cxliii. 6. All the similes that God employs must, of course, be the best and fittest that could be se- lected. This is a peculiarly happy one. Nothing in nature indicates greater longing for rain than a land that has not received a drop for 12 or 18 months. Every thing that ever stood erect is bent down like a person carrying a load of 90 years ; every thing that was green is pale, languid, and dying ; the trees, once decked with lovely, lively, verdant leaves, have lost the greater part of them ; such as remain are dangling hither and thither, as if hanging by a hair, and ready to lose their hold ; the bed of every brook is dry, every pool is empty, the birds are languid and dumb, the beasts are fled to other lands : perhaps a single ostrich or a zebra may be seen, but even these are dissatisfied with their position, and labouring to get out of it. Though not a word be expressed by one thing that is seen, yet every thing has a voice in the estimation of a rational inspector; who would immediately say — Every thing I see cries for rain ; how lively a good shower w r ould make every thing appear ! if they have not rain soon, every thing must die ; even lizards and wild mice must perish. Though the cry for water be not heard proceeding from the land, the cry is seen written upon every thing, so that the beholder puts it down to be a thirsty 128 HELP IN A WILDERNESS. land ; and it is certainly most expressive of a languishing soul thirsting for, or ardently desiring, renewed communications of grace from God. nELP IN A WILDERNESS. Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved ? — Song viii. 5. To walk in a wilderness of sand, in a hot cli- mate, is truly oppressive ; it overwhelms with fatigue. If one party he stronger than the other, the w r eak will apply for help to the strong, if possible to get safely out of the wilderness. He will offer his arm to his fainting friend, who will readily lean at least part of his weight upon him. It is indeed an act of special friendship for the strong, in such circumstances, to help his feeble and fainting companion. Christ is a brother born for this kind of adver- sity, and many a weary traveller in this wilder- ness world is leaning their whole weight on the great Captain of their salvation ; and, when safely landed on the heavenly shore, will look back with unspeakable gratitude to all the w r ay their Lord had led and supported them. They shall praise him for ever for helping them through, and bringing them out of such a wilderness — a journey they shall never retravel. I remember one of my Hottentots, of the name of Keyser, nearly lost his life from fatigue and vrant of water, when searching for some strayed cattle in a desert. He felt as if fire had been lodged about the middle of his back ; he fre- INFLUENCE OF BROAD RIVERS. 129 quently thrust his head into the middle of a bush, to smell any damp that might be there, while those who were with him dug up cold sand, and applied it to his back, which they were obliged to continue doing from bush to bush, till they reached the Great Orange River, when water soon revived and restored him. INFLUENCE OF BROAD RIVERS. But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams ; wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby. — Isaiah xxxiii. 21. Here God, in his conduct towards his people or Church, is likened unto broad rivers ; refer- ring to the abundant and refreshing influence he conveys to them. In such a highly- cultivated country as England, and where great drought is almost unknown, we have not an opportunity to observe the fertilising influence of a broad river ; but in South Africa, where almost no human means are employed for improving the land, the benign influence of rivers is most evident. The Great, or Orange River, is a remarkable instance of this. I travelled on its banks, at one time, for five or six weeks ; when, for several hundred miles, I found both sides of it delightfully covered with trees of various kinds, all in health and vigour, and abundance of the richest verdure ; but all the country beyond the reach of its influence was complete desert. Every 130 FUTURE GLORY NOT SEEN. thing appeared struggling for mere existence ; so that we might he said to have had the wilderness on one side, and a kind of paradise on the other. Broad rivers have another excellence which, perhaps, is hinted at in the text, — they can spare streams to be led from them, to fertilise distant parts, to which the influence of the parent river does not extend. In the African country of Egypt, the Nile is by such means rendered a more extensive blessing than otherwise it would be. Some broad rivers, while they are a blessing to countries through which they pass, scattering their favours in all directions, yet they render the inhabitants near them more exposed to the pre- datory attack of enemies, since they afford an opening to galleys and gallant warlike ships to pass to them ; but the Orange River is so con- structed near to its entering the ocean, that ships cannot ascend above a mile or two, in consequence of rocks and rapids. FUTURE GLORY OF THE CHRISTIAN NOT APPARENT IN THIS LIFE. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and It doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know, that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. — 1 John iii. 2. On my return from Africa, I made presents of some bulbous roots to different friends. By looking at them, none of us could conjecture what kind of flowers they should produce. They ISRAEL WITHOUT GOOD WATER. 131 were planted, and we had to wait till they sprang up and grew to perfection, before the colour, shape, or smell of the flower could be ascertained. We had many conjectures, hut none of them were correct. In the same way, it cannot he ascertained what believers shall be, till they have died and their bodies have been committed to the grave, and remained there for a time, fixed by the Lord, when they shall spring up at his coming, to ever- lasting life, glory, and blessedness. Then, and not till then, shall their glory be full known. ISRAEL WITHOUT GOOD WATER. So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur ; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter ; therefore the name of it was called Marah. — Exod. xv. 22, 23. This was a most distressing situation for such a multitude to be placed in. During these three days they must have exhausted all the water they had brought with them. Weary and faint they must have been, and their annoyance from the children, especially those with whom they could not reason, must have been great and painful. No doubt they w r ere placed in such circumstances for the trial of their faith and trust in God. It is likewise good to bear the yoke in our youth, or to encounter the greatest difficulties in the 182 ISRAEL WITHOUT GOOD WATER. early part of any undertaking. I have repeatedly found it so. On leaving Liverpool, in the gloomy month of November, for the Cape of Good Hope, so perseveringly was the wind contrary, that in a fortnight we had not proceeded 150 miles on our voyage, during which time, according to our log-book, we had crossed the channel between England and Ireland sixty times. But what was still more trying was, that after having cleared the Irish Channel, and got into the open sea, with a fair wind, we were obliged to return to Liverpool for a new main-mast, on discovering the other to be rotten to the heart, after being out seventeen days ; but this very occurrence gave a zest to the whole future voyage. At length the Israelites came in sight of the waters of Marah, a more cheering sight than mountains of gold or silver. All who saw or heard that water was at hand, would rush towards it with intense interest ; but what a disappoint- ment when the first tasters called out, “ That the water was undrinkable ! ” that it was not only brack, but bitter in the extreme. Now their hopes, which had been raised by the sight, perish- ed by the taste. Relief now could only come from one quarter, and to that quarter Moses, the typical mediator, had recourse — a throne of grace. God immediately answered him, by desiring him to cast part of a neighbouring tree into the water. On doing which the water became sweet and fit for use, by the power of Him who gave the com- mandment. Then all the murmurings of the tried travellers ceased. WILLOWS LOVE WATER. 133 ALL WILLOWS LOVE WATER. They shall spring up among the grass, as willows by the water courses. — Isaiah xliv. 4. In many parts of South Africa, no trees are to be found but near rivers. The trees are of various kinds ; the most plentiful was the lovely mimosa ; but willows, when there were any, always stood in front of the others, on the very margin of the water, which was truly a river of life to them. Like those in Isaiah’s days, they required much water — they could not prosper without it, there- fore near it they were alone found ; — a loud call, by a silent example, to Christians to live near the throne of grace, word of grace, and ordinances of grace, if they wish to grow in wisdom, knowledge, faith, and holiness. NO REAL RAIN- MAKERS. Are there any among the vanities [or idols] of tho Gentiles [or heathens] that can give rain ? — Jer. xiv. 22. There are persons among the South African nations who pretend to have power to bring rain in times of drought, and who are called rain- makers. A nation seldom employs their own rain-maker, but generally think those at a distance have more power to produce it than those at home. A rain-maker from high up the country once travelled with my party for a few weeks. I asked him seriously, if he really believed that he M 134 SOW] tNG BESIDE ALL WATERS. had power to bring rain when he pleased ? His reply was, that “ he could not say he had, but he used means to bring it such as rolling great stones down the sides of mountains, to drawdown the clouds. A rain-maker at Lattakoo, who was unsuccessful first, said it was because he had not got sufficient presents of cattle. After getting more, he was still unable to bring it. He then desired them first to bring to him a live baboon : hundreds tried, but could not catch one. He next demanded a live owl, but they could not find one. No rain coming, they called him rogue, impostor, &c., and ordered him away. SOWING BESIDE ALL WATERS. Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass. — Isaiah xxxii. 20. The emigrants that went from England, some years ago, to the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, were chiefly located in a district called Albany, on the confines of Caffraria. Many of them were ruined by not literally attending to the contents of this text. They were not suffi- ciently aware of the indispensable necessity of water, or at least moisture underground, to ren- der fields at all productive in a hot and dry climate. They ploughed land, and dug a deep ditch round each field, as they were accustomed to do in England ; with the mould dug from it they formed a mud wall, which made all look very pretty and farmer-like. SOWING BESIDE ALL WATERS. 135 Dutch boors from a distance came to see what they were about. They told them their fields were too far from the river ; that unless they could lead water upon them, they must not ex- pect to have any harvest. Looking at the neat ditch that surrounded the field, they inquired what this was for ? For defence, was the reply. “ Yes,” said the boors, “ it will defend your field from receiving any moisture from the surrounding ground;” and, shaking their heads, said, “ That is a bad defence.” From the high ideas they had of their own supe- rior knowledge of agriculture, they only smiled at the remarks made by the African farmers. The rainy season came, when the grain sprang up, and made rapid progress while that season lasted ; but lo, the sun returned from its north- ern circuit, dispelled the clouds, and darted forth its unimpeded fiery rays, which soon caused the surface of the ground to become as hard as a brick, consequently the grain withered and died, and cleanness of teeth, for want of bread, was in all their hamlets for that season ! But had there been plenty of water to lead over their fields, the crops would probably have been most abundant. The expression, u sending forth the feet of the ox and the ass,” seems to refer to the practice said still to prevail in the East, where these animals are employed to tread the thin mud when satu- rated with water, to fit it for receiving the seed. Should there be a river there, a fountain here, and a pool elsewhere, it is far wiser to have the fields near than at a distance from any of these. 136 CERTAIN DESTRUCTION TO BABYLON. Sometimes God gives peculiarly happy spiri- tual seasons to countries, or districts in countries, causing the river of life abundantly to flow, and streams from it extensively to spread its influence; then the wise husbandman will hasten to scatter his seed, in cities, towns, villages, hamlets, and among individual families, in expectation of a rich harvest, from the well watering of the garden of plants. CERTAIN DESTRUCTION TO BABYLON. For, lo, I will raise, and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country ; and they shall set themselves in array against her : from thence she shall be taken ; their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in min. — Jer. 1. 9. Babylon had long been employed as a scourge to other nations, now she was to be signally punished herself. Her scourge was to come from the north, viz., theMedes and Persians, who were to the north of Chaldea. Of the arrows shot by them, none shall return in vain , or without ful- filling the purpose for which it was designed. The interior African nations fight with assagais, or long spears, and with bows and arrows. The former they never throw unless when they think they are sure of hitting their object, and also of recovering their spear. There w r as a man living at Lattakoo, who had once been a slave in the colony, from whence he had brought an iron LOSS OF CATTLE A GREAT AFFLICTION. 137 musket-bullet, which he valued above its weight of gold. He had killed a number of animals with it. While he travelled with me, I saw him shoot two or three with the same bullet, which he always recovered from the body of the animal. The first he shot, I remember, was a knoo, about the size of a small horse; which was no sooner cut open than he began to search for his bullet, which he soon found. Thus it had never returned to him in vain; it had always accomplished his object in firing it off. Perhaps this may also explain Isa. lv. 11: 44 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth ; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing where- to I sent it/' This much accords with Psalm xlv. 5 : 44 Thine arrows,” the arrows of conviction sent by the Messiah by his word, 44 are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies.” LOSS OF CATTLE TO A PASTORAL PEOPLE A GREAT AFFLICTION. God is represented as saying to Nebuchadnezzar, his scourge to various nations, — Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. Their tents and their flocks shall they take away . — Jer. xlix. 28, 29. It is very difficult for a manufacturing or com- mercial people fully to conceive the greatness of such a catastrophe as this to a pastoral people, to be deprived of their flocks. Such might justly say, in the language of Micah, 44 Ye have taken M 2 138 A ROCK OF REFUGE. away my flocks, and what have I more ? ” De- prive an African nation of their cattle, and they must rob others, or perish. All the grain they raise would be consumed in a month : on the milk of their cows is their chief dependence : some wild roots might prolong their miserable lives for a few days. A nation far remote from Lattakoo had been robbed of their cattle by a people who lived be- yond them. In desperation they marched south, attacking nation after nation to obtain their cattle; thereby spreading misery over a vast extent of country. To a people dwelling in tents, the judgment would deprive them of a home and all means of support. A ROCK OF REFUGE. The Lord is my defence, and my God is the rock of my refuge. — Ps. xciv. 22. Table-Mountain, which stands immediately behind Capetown, seems to be composed of one solid mass of rock, 4000 feet high, and 12 miles in circumference at the base, and a perpendicular cliff, hundreds of feet high, all round, which is only accessible at two or three points. To this mountain or rock, many slaves, tired of bondage, and from a natural love of liberty, have fled for refuge from their taskmasters, though it be in sight of their masters dwelling, nay, almost hangs over it. There they dwell in perfect safety, baffling all attempts to recapture them. They frequently descend from it in the night- time to SETTING HIS NEST ON HIGH. 139 pilfer what they can for their support, or to re- ceive supplies from their black brethren. Such a state must be very distressing, truly uncomfortable; so that when the intelligence reached the Cape that slavery had been abolished by British philanthropy, the inhabitants of that rock had good reason to sing, yea, to shout from the top of that mountain. SETTING HIS NEST ON HIGH. .Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil. — Hab. ii. 9. Instinct teaches birds to place their nests where their eggs, and afterwards their young, shall be most beyond the reach of depredators. Thus the eagles build on the uppermost branches of the loftiest trees, or on projections from inaccessible cliffs, — others suspend their nests by a cord fastened to the extreme end of the most project- ing branches of trees, to be safe from the inroads of serpents, — others unite as a colony to form a huge nest, about the size of a nine-gallon cask, of such thickness and strength as to be impregnable to their common enemies; and the gates or holes leading to their different apartments for security they place in the bottom of the nest, to render it inaccessible to serpents, and more difficult to birds of prey. Many, like the king of Babylon, by nefarious practices, by the accumulation of wealth, and the forming powerful family connections, might be 140 A TREE LIES WHERE IT FALLS. aiming at securing themselves in the unlimited enjoyment of their earthly comforts, viewing their wealth as their strong city. — Prov. x. 15. Pro- vidence can easily bring them down, as he says to the king of Edom, by Obadiah (verse 4) : u Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.”* WHERE THE TREE FALLETH, THERE IT LIES. If the tree falletli to the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falletli there it shall lie. — Eccles. xi. 3. Passing across a wood or forest in Africa, I passed some of the loftiest trees I had before seen, and all composed of the hardest timber, indeed many of them were the iron tree. Their circum- ference was very great. Several near me had been broken by the stump, and fallen to the ground, as I conjectured, two or three centuries ago. There they continued to lie, and will lie, till they gradually crumble into dust, which, from their solid consistence, may be several more cen- turies to come. On viewing them, I could not but recollect the above text, which reminds me of a late noble and pious lady, who, in her younger years, w r as walking alone in her ow r n domains during a gale of wind, when she observed a large tree so shaken that her attention was attracted to it ; and, while looking, down it came with a crash * See this admirably illustrated under the article Idumea, in Keith’s Evidence from Prophecy.— Ed. RIVERS MADE A WILDERNESS. 141 to the ground. While there it lay, perfectly still, the above passage was impressively brought to her recollection ; and this circumstance, she after- wards acknowledged, was the first thing that led her to seek an interest in the salvation of God while time continued; for if she died, she thought, uninterested therein, she should remain, like the tree, in the same state through eternity. RIVERS MADE A WILDERNESS. Behold, at my rebuke, I make the rivers a wilder- ness; their fish stinketh, because there is no water, and dieth for thirst. — I sa. 1. 2. TheKrooman (or Koorooman) river, in Africa, which is a considerable stream, used to run in an oblique direction across the great southern Zahara desert, till it emptied itself into the Great Orange River. Now it sinks out of sight into the sand almost immediately on entering the desert, only a few miles after the junction of the Macklareen River with its waters. As a proof that it had once run in the desert, I travelled ten or fifteen miles on its hard dry channel, along which it had run after entering the desert, having a steep bank on both sides, beyond which there was nothing but deep sand. The aged natives told me that in their young days there v T as a considerable river in that channel, and sometimes rose so high that it could not be crossed for a long time. They first blamed the Matslaroo people for drying it up by means of witchcraft, but afterwards acknowledged it must have been done by the hand of God. 142 THE MOUNTAINS ON FIRE. On its ceasing to run, all the fish it contained must have died for thirst, or want of water, as stated in the text; and the bed and banks have become a wilderness, as I found them on our way to Turreehey. Thus rivers run while God per- mits them, but they will dry up at his rebuke, when it pleaseth him. FIRE BURNETH THE WOOD, AND SETTETH MOUN- TAINS ON FIRE. As the fire burneth the wood, and as the flame set- teth the mountains on fire. — P salm lxxxiii. 14. Trees in very dry and sultry weather have been set on fire by friction, or two trees shaken by the wind, rubbing against each other, have taken fire, which has consumed whole forests. The flame of a candle or taper put to the grass or bushes on a mountain, in the winter season, when all in Africa is dry, will soon make the mountain ap- pear to be on fire ; and, to a stranger to such sights, has, in the night-time, a magnificent ap- pearance. In the day-time it appears like a smoking volcano. HABITS OF FEROCIOUS ANIMALS. Thou makes t darkness, and it is night; wherein all the beasts of the forest do creep forth. The young lions roar after their prey, and seek their meat from God. The sun ariseth, they gather themselves together, and lay them down in their dens. — Psalm civ. 20-22. This contains a true and brief history of the HABITS OF FEROCIOUS ANIMALS. 143 habits of ferocious animals. They do not love the light, which disposes them to court retirement during the day, as if unwilling to hinder the law- ful occupations of men. But no sooner is the curtain of darkness spread over the heavens than they shake off their torpor, and move from their secrecy on the mountains or in thickets, and prowl about in search of prey. If very hungry, the lions roar, — a sound in the wilderness which pierces the heart of man and beast. Every time my waggon-oxen heard the lions roar they became quite unmanageable, furiously dragging the wag- gon over stones and through bushes, or whatever came in their way. Whether his roar assists or hinders, upon the whole, his obtaining prey, I know not, though sometimes I am persuaded it assists, by scattering flocks of animals through their terror, some of whom may heedlessly run to him, instead of from him. No sooner, how- ever, does the sun make his appearance in the east than all hasten back to their dens and covers. Licentious characters act in a similar way; they seize the darkness as the best time for pro- secuting their wickedness. And many of our fashionables follow the example of those savage animals in slumbering away the day, but being active and full of spirit during the night. A WAY IN THE WILDERNESS. I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. — I saiah xliii. 19. From Lattakoo to Kurreechane, which is about 144 A WAY IN THE WILDERNESS. 300 miles, might, when I travelled it, be justly called a wilderness, for there was not a single mile of any visible path or road. The ruts made by the wheels of my waggons on going up the country were so visible, that on returning, I was delighted to find natives travelling with loaded oxen along those ruts ; and as other natives would probably do the same, it would soon become a beaten visible highway, which most likely was the manner of the formation of all original roads. A visible road in a wilderness saves much trouble and anxiety to travellers, even when they have travelled over the same ground before. In general they must be guided by landmarks, such as hills, clumps of trees, fords, &c.; but in plains, or across forests, where no hills can be seen, they must often be puzzled what course to follow. But where there is a visible path, however bad, tra- vellers are relieved from all this trouble, anxiety, and uncertainty, as if they constantly heard a voice behind them, saying, “ This is tlyfway, walk ye in it ” / In a heathen land the inhabitants are ignorant of the way to true happiness, either here or here- after; but when gospel light enters, publishing what the Son pf God has done and suffered for sinners, then a highway may be said to be in that land, which, by the blessing of God, will greatly increase the comfort of the population. DESCRIPTION OF BABYLON’S DESTRUCTION. TJie sea is come up upon Babylon; she is covered • M DESCRIPTION OF BABYLON'S DESTRUCTION. 145 with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, a land wherein no man dwelletli, neither doth any son of man pass thereby. — J er. li. 42, 43. The cup of Babylon's iniquity was now full, and Jehovah was ready to pour out the vials of his wrath upon her. Every thing was ready at his nod, to be the executioners of his vengeance. The sea was to be his chief instrument on this occasion, and would effectually accomplish his pleasure. It was to come up with irresistible force and fury, covering the city with its waters, and overturning its strong and stately buildings, by the dashing of its ponderous and powerful waves ; carrying also away all its lovely gardens, rich orchards, towering and ancient trees; sweep- ing away the fine soil of its fertile farms, and leaving the whole land covered with a deep sur- face of sand, rende^fig it a proper wilderness, uninhabited by man or beast. We can conceive of various methods by which Goff could lock up the finest land, preventing the possibility of its producing any thing bene- ficial to man, such as by causing volcanic erup- tions to cover the vineyards, fields, and even the cities, with ashes, cinders, or lava, so that all should be blotted out, and nothing be seen but universal gloom and desolation. Likewise, by the mouldering of sandstone mountains, and the particles composing them, carried by winds or rains to the low ground, the country would be changed into a desert of sand, which process seems to be the origin of all the deserts on the N 146 HERBS AND TREES SMITTEN BY HAIL. western coast of Africa. The same thing might be effected by the wind blowing up the sand from the beach of the sea, oyer the contiguous land, which would render the ground as completely useless as by any of the other methods ; also by inundations of the sea over the dry land, as men- tioned in the text. Constant drought, or constant Wet, would be equally destructive of all useful vegetation ; or annual visitations by armies of locusts, &c.; so that God has many arrows in his quiver, by any of which he can accomplish his will. HERBS AND TREES SMITTEN BY HAIL. The hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. — Exod. ix. 25. The hail sometimes falls so large and heavy in South Africa as to kill even the ostrich. I remember crossing a wood of mimosa trees, which were evergreens, and was surprised to find all the trees stript of their leaves, many of the branches broken off, and strewed over the ground, and all the grass completely trodden down. There were no natives of whom we could inquire the cause, but learned afterwards that a single shower of hail produced the desolation. GOG GIVEN TO RAVENOUS BIRDS. I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou GOG GIVEN TO RAVENOUS BIRDS. 147 and all tliy bands, and the people that is with thee : I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. Thou shalt fall upon the open field ; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. — Ezek. xxxix. 3-5. The armies of Gog were to attack the Church of God ; but God had promised that no weapon formed against her should prosper. Accordingly, when their army should come to the field of battle, called “ the mountains of Israel,” and held the bow in their left hand, and with their right were placing their arrows on the bow-string, the custom of all who use those weapons except left-handed persons ; while in the act of preparing to destroy, they should be seized with such a panic and trembling, that bows and arrows should fall to the ground, as if smitten out of their hands. Being thus disarmed, a terrible slaughter of them should take place, being unable to make any re- sistance; then they should become a feast to ravenous birds and devouring beasts, which should soon discover their carcasses. It is wonderful to observe the distance from which ravens, &c., can smell a dead carcass in Africa, and from what a height in the air they can distinguish it, though lying among bushes ; for such is their height where they are seen hovering directly above a dead animal, that they appeared to me not larger than sparrows. The first thing that a v r ild Bushman does on awaken- ing in the morning, is — not to look up to the God of heaven for the bread of life — but to look up and survey the heavens, to discover if any 148 SEARCHING FOR WATER AND GRASS. ravens are hovering over any particular spot. If any are seen, the sight is a joyful one, for he is certain to find food ; he hastens to the spot immediately underneath the ravens, where he at least finds part of a buffalo, antelope, wild ass, or some other animal that has been killed during the night by the lion, tiger, or wolf. He obtains fire by rubbing two pieces of stick together, com- mences cooking, and enjoys a feast on what the lion has left. So the scent of the slaughtered Gogites would attract ravenous birds and beasts to a great dis- tance from all the regions around. A KING SEARCHING FOR WATER AND GRASS. And Ahab [the king] said to Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks ; peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they divided the land between them, to pass throughout it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. — 1 Kings xviii. 5, 6. Brooks were generally the most likely places to find grass in a time of drought, though far from being places where they might be certain of succeeding ; for in such seasons, herbaceous ani- mals generally stop near fountains of water, and feed in the vicinity till all the grass be consumed. Thus travellers are often greatly disappointed, who naturally expect to find grass where they find water ; but on reaching the spot they find that COMING UP LIKE A LION. 149 the game has consumed every blade of grass. However, as the cattle could not graze long where there was no water, it was the wisest method Ahab could pursue. The circumstance shows the simplicity of ancient manners, that a king and one of his prin- cipal governors should go at the head of such expeditions. It is the same in Africa at this present time ; for no king there, nor any of his principal chiefs, w T ould think they were at all lessening their dignity by engaging in an expedi- tion either in search of water or grass. Indeed, it would be viewed by the people as one of the most important affairs in which their rulers could be engaged, and, did they succeed, few things would be likely to render them more popular. COME UP LIKE A LION. Behold he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong. — Jer. xlix. 19. This refers to Nebuchadnezzar’s coming with fierceness and fury to attack the Edomites. Jordan, like the Nile and many other African rivers, during or after the rainy season, overflowed its banks and inundated the level lands in the vicinity. This would greatly annoy those lions whose dens were near the river, and force them to remove up the country. Full of rage at being deprived of their ordinary haunts, and some of them rendered still more furious in consequence of having been bereaved of their whelps, they 150 PREDATORY EXPEDITIONS. would break through the strongest fences and tear in pieces every opposer. PREDATORY EXPEDITIONS. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, being frequently employed by God to chastise the nations for their crimes, was directed to attack the inhabitants of Hazor in the following words : — “ Arise, get you up into the wealthy nation that dwelleth without care, saith the Lord, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone. And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil.” — Jer. xlix. 31, 32. This exactly answers the description T received at Lattakoo of a remote nation, called Mampoor, against whom a numerous expedition went to capture their cattle, for the very reasons men- tioned above. They said they were a quiet un- suspecting people, which appears to have been NelDuehadnezzar’s inducement to attack the Ha- zorites, persuaded he would make an easy con- quest of them. From the relation which the commander of the African expedition gave me of the Mampoors, it appears that they live on the western coast of Africa, and near the sea, — a sight which none of the party had ever seen before, — a sight which both astonished and alarmed them ; for on reach- ing the summit of a hill, he said, they saw Mam- poor, and a great water, across which they could see no land, and in which they saw a great many suns, and saw the sun set in it. At length they BREAD CAST UPON THE WATERS. 151 ventured to approach the side of this great water, but it appeared angry at them, for it rose up ever so high, and chased them away, — evidently re- ferring to its waves. They also saw people go on the water in bowls or dishes, by which they no doubt meant boats; and had pieces of timber which they put into the water and pushed them- selves forward, referring to their oars. After relating this — to him — wonderful tale, with as great coolness and indifference as any European marshal could, he said, “We murdered a great many of the people, and carried off their cattle, which, after a journey of five moons, we brought to Lattakoo.” BREAD CAST UPON THE WATERS. Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou slialt find it after many days. — Eccles. xi. 1. Perhaps the word rendered bread here pro- perly means bread-corn. The mode of expression here quite corresponds with the method of sowing rice in some fields. The ground is covered with water, and the rice scattered upon its surface ; when the water sinks into the earth, the rice is left sticking in the mud, from whence it soon springs up, and produces generally a plentiful crop. Charity rightly bestowed may appear to some as money lost or thrown away; but God will not forget it when done in faith, and benefit shall accrue from it by and by. Ilis people can trust Him for that. 152 COMPELLED TO WANDER. COMPELLED TO WANDER BY WANDERERS. Therefore, behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles. — Jer. xlviii. 12. The Moabites, by wanderers, were compelled to wander. A nation far in the interior of the African con- tinent, formerly mentioned, had been attacked by a nation beyond them, who captured all their cattle, which deprived them of their chief means of subsistence, and this obliged them to become wanderers. On thus being reduced to a state of desperation, they directed their course south, at- tacking nation after nation, robbing them of their cattle, scattering and obliging them to become wanderers also. The original wanderers fought desperately, seeing to them it was — capture cattle or starve, conquer or die. Thus they proceeded, making wanderers of nation after nation, till they reached a land of muskets, when their progress was stopped, and they were compelled to wander in some other directions. In this way the original wanderers made many others to wander. MOURNING LIKE DOVES IN THE VALLEYS. But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity. — Ezek. vii. 16. The sins of Israel had now accumulated to a MOURNING LIKE DOVES IN THE VALLEYS. 153 dreadful degree, — their cup was full, — God's pa- tience was worn out, and he was come out of his place to take signal vengeance. Famine and pes- tilence were raging in their city, merciless troops were slaying in the fields such as attempted to escape the desolations within the walls. Finding that their destroyers would not be induced by money to let them escape, they are represented as casting away their silver and gold as useless en- cumbrances. Such as succeeded in escaping, after many perils, to the nearest mountains, are there in a most painful plight, — their hands so ener- vated that they cannot even hold their weapons of defenee, far less use them, and their knees so enfeebled that they cannot flee a step farther from their ruthless enemies. Their minds are dis- tracted with horror and despair; their guilt pre- sents itself before them as the cause of their wo ; they lie down under the lashes of a condemning conscience, and vociferate the loudest lamenta- tion, without intermission, like the turtle-dove in the valleys. This is a most strikingly apt simile to all who have heard the sound made by. the turtle-dove. In the woods of Africa I have often listened to the sound of the turtle-dove's apparent mourning and lamentations, uttered incessantly for hours to- gether, — indeed without a moment’s intermission. In a calm, still morning, when every thing in the wilderness is at rest, no sound can be more plain- tive, pitiful, and melancholy. It would cause gloom to arise in the most sprightly mind, — it rivets the ear to it, — the attention is irresistibly arrested. 154 ASKING THE WAY TO ZION. ASKING THE WAY TO ZION WITH FACES TOWARDS IT. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant, that shall not be forgotten. — Jer. 1. 5. This refers to the return of the Jews to Jeru- salem from the Babylonish captivity. As that captivity had lasted seventy years, the oldest men that returned must have been children when carried from Jerusalem to Babylon, consequently could not be acquainted with the way back; hence the whole company were in the circum- stances of a traveller exploring a country he had never before seen. Being desirous to reach the metropolis of the country, the traveller would not meet a native, nor pass a village, without inquir- ing the best way to their city; he would be care- ful to travel in strict conformity to the information received, with their faces thitherward, or in the direction in which it lay. It is delightful to observe the state of mind which those returning captives should discover; they would not ask the way to Jerusalem, but to the sacred spot on which the temple had stood, which had contained the symbols of the Divine presence, and to which spot they and all their countrymen were to direct their prayers from any part of the world in which they might be placed. If those of whom they inquired had never heard of Zion, which probably would be the case, no doubt they would next inquire for the way to Jeru- ASKING THE WAY TO ZION. 155 salem ; knowing, that if they found their way to the one they would soon find their way to the other. When they first came in sight of the much- longed- for city, wdiat must have been their feel- ings! how must they have feasted their eyes in viewing, reviewing, and re-reviewing the wonder- ful spot ! This brings to my recollection the interest with which I beheld the first African city I had ever seen, after travelling near a thou- sand miles into the interior of that continent. My feelings on surveying it from a height on the side of the valley which contained it, I cannot describe, — they w T ere peculiar to the situation in which I stood. The circumstances, however, in which the Jews were placed were very different )rom mine, for they had Jerusalem before them, a city that had long had a connection with God ; which w r ould render their feelings far more ex- alted than mine : the city I beheld never knew God, — never had an altar for God been raised in it, nor a single tree of righteousness, but it was a place where Satan reigned undisturbed. This part of the Jewish history is a fine repre- sentation of a sinner having left wdiat J ohn Bun- yan calls the City of Destruction, and anxiously inquiring the way to the heavenly Jerusalem. His joy in coming in sight of Calvary, and be- holding the Lamb of God, slain for the redemp- tion of a lost w r orld, especially w r hen through grace he is enabled to include himself, must indeed be great. Should such an one leap for joy, who could be surprised ! 156 TREES PLANTED BY RIVERS. EFFECTS OF TREES PLANTED BY RIVERS. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is; for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out his roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. — Jer. xvii. 7, 8. The man who lives near the Lord must have his mind’s eye much directed towards him, and have his hope and trust in him. The case of such resembles that of a tree growing on the margin of a river, whose waters fail not. The water will naturally soften the soil in its imme- diate vicinity, so that the roots shall easily make their way through it in all directions; while at a distance from the river, under a vertical sun, the ground being hardened to the consistence of a brick, no root can pierce it, except for a little while about the close of the rainy season ; hence such trees are dry, stunted, and almost leafless. While the midsummer heat almost entirely strips trees so placed of what leaves may remain, it makes no injurious impressions on those standing by the river. Their leaves, even at midsummer, will be found as green, healthy, and glossy as ever; and from this they are represented as caring neither for heat nor drought, for, from the river supplies, they would continue to yield their accustomed fruit at the appointed season. So will the faithful, watchful believer in Jesus bring BOASTING OF MISCHIEF. 157 forth the fruits of righteousness, in health or sick- ness, prosperity or adversity, riches or poverty. Uninterrupted communion with Jesus feeds, strengthens, and fructifies the soul ; fits and dis- poses to every good word and work. BOASTING OF MISCHIEF. I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants, like a valiant man; and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people; and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth. — Isaiah x. 13, 14. These are the sentiments and boastings of Sen- nacherib, a proud Assyrian monarch, who viewed and treated cities just as we in Africa viewed and treated ostrich nests when they fell in our way : we seized the eggs as if they had been our own, because we had found them, and because there was no power that could prevent us. So did Sennacherib seize and plunder cities with as little compunction as we seized the eggs of the absent ostrich ; never thinking of the misery for life which he thereby brought on many peaceable families, who had done nothing to injure or offend him. If war is to exist at all, private property should always be treated by the contending par- ties as sacred and inviolable. HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE WATERS OF SIIIOR. What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink 158 THE WILD ASS SNUFFING UP THE WIND. the waters of Sihor [or the Nile]? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river [Euphrates]? — Jer. ii. 18. In a speech by Lintua, chief of the town of Patannee, to Munameets, uncle to Mateebe, king of Lattakoo, in which he wished to acknowledge that he and his people occupied that part of the country by the sufferance of Mateebe, he express- ed himself in the following words, to show that he was willing to receive missionaries : — “ I know Mateebe to be the friend of these teachers. W e consider ourselves the servants of Mateebe, for the country around is his, — the Koorooman river, on which we live, is his; its waters which we drink comes out of the king's ground, so that the very water which we use is his : on this account we wish to follow the ex- ample of Mateebe, and therefore we should be very glad to have missionaries to come and reside amongst us.” THE WILD ASS SNUFFETH UP THE WIND, AND IS FOUND IN HER MONTH. A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure ; in her occasion, who can turn her away ? all they that seek her will not weary themselves ; in her month they shall find her. — Jer. ii. 24, The quacha, in South Africa, is a species of wild ass. It snuffeth up the wind probably to smell out water ; on smelling w r hich, if very thirsty, it would not be easy to turn it from its RAVAGES OF LOCUSTS. 159 purpose, — it would press forward to the river or pool at the hazard of its life. High in the interior they migrate periodically, and are punctual as to the time of their coming. In returning to the south from Kurreechane, I passed large droves of them on their migrating march, travelling in the same direction with myself. In a few days after passing them, I found wild Bushmen were ex- pecting them, for they eagerly inquired if we had seen them coming ; so that they seemed to keep their month. RAVAGES OF LOCUSTS. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread up- on mountains; a great people and a strong, there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it. The land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilder- ness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the win- dows like a thief. The sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shin- ing. — Joel ii. 1-11. These verses evidently refer to the judgment of locusts. I have heard of many locust visitations in Africa, but none to the extent threatened here; 160 RAVAGES OF LOCUSTS. indeed, verse second speaks of it as a non- such judgment of the kind. Those in Africa were the same in kind, though inferior in extent. The people speak of them, when on the wing, in the very language of Joel, as clouds of locusts ; the multitude of which is so great as to intercept the sun’s rays from reaching the ground, the same as when black clouds cover the whole heaven. By this the sun and moon may be said to be dark, and the stars to withdraw their shining, as in verse tenth. They are said here to be great and strong ; not that it is difficult to kill them, but their multitude is so immense, that to attempt destroying them, would be looked upon to be as foolish as to see a man place a pump at the side of the Atlantic, in order to pump that ocean dry. Hence they are as irresistible as an army composed of millions of iron men, whose bodies were impenetrable to arrows, spears, or bullets. On their march nothing can prevent their pro- gress. Were a ditch to be dug in front of them, having perpendicular sides, thousands after thou- sands would tumble headlong into it, until filled to the brim ; over whose carcasses those behind would march, as over a bridge, and heedlessly press forward, as if there had been no incum- brance in their way, and the multitude lost in the ditch would never be missed.* * We find a literal illustration of these remarks in a visitation of locusts which occurred in Africa, and is mentioned in the Excitement for 1834. It is con- tained in a letter from the Rev. Dr Philip, the well- RAVAGES OF LOCUSTS. 101 Though the land they entered might be as richly covered, and beautified with every kind of vegetation, as Eden was when presented to Adam by his God, yet when they had gone over it, and known agent of the London Missionary Society at the Cape, and is as follows : — “ I never saw such an exliibiton of the helplessness of man as I have seen to day. While we were sitting at dinner, a person came into the house quite pale, and told us that the locusts were coming. Every face gathered darkness. I went to the door — I looked above, and all around, and saw nothing. 1 Look to the ground,’ was the reply, when I asked where they were. I looked to the ground, and there I saw a stream of young locusts without wings, covering the ground at the entrance of the village. The stream was about five hundred feet broad, and covering the ground, and moving at the rate of two miles an hour. In a few minutes they covered the garden wall, some inches deep, and the water was imme- diately let into the channel, into which it flows to water the garden. They swim with the greatest ease over standing water, but the stream carried them away, and after floating in it about a hundred paces, they were drowned. All hands were now at work to keep them from the gardens, and to keep them from crossing the streams. To examine this pheno- menon more nearly, I walked about a mile and a-half from the village, following the course of the stream. Here I found the stream extending a mile in breadth, and like a thousand rivulets, all flowing into one common channel. It appeared as if the dust under my feet was forming into life, and as if God, when he has a controversy with his people, could raise the very dust of the earth on which they tread in arms against them. Men can conquer the tiger, the ele- phant, the lion, and all the wild beasts of the desert, o 2 162 RAVAGES OF LOCUSTS. left it behind, every eatable substance would be as completely removed from the surface as if burning lava had passed over it. Not one morsel would be left for man or beast ; it would be truly a naked land, and frightful to behold. It is justly said, that the people whose fields, gardens, and granaries they were approaching, would be in great pain, whose faces vrould not merely be pale from fright or fear, but black through despair and horror, for no wall can be raised to such a height that they shall not climb over, — no house so closely shut up but they shall find an entrance. God alone can remove this frightful judgment, by raising a furious wind, and blowing them off the land into his mighty ocean, making it their watery grave. — he can turn the course of the mighty rivers, he can elude the violence of the tempest, and chain the wind to his car, — he can raise the waters into clouds, and by the means of steam, create a power that is yet beyond human measurement, — he can play with the lightnings of heaven, and arrest the thunders of heaven ; — but he is nothing before an army of locusts. Such a scene as I have seen this afternoon, would fill England with more consternation than the terrific cholera. One of the people here informs me, that he had seen a stream that continued ten days and nights flowing upon his place. During that time, every person in the place was at work, to preserve his gar- den; as to the corn-fields, they were obliged to give them up. They continued to the fifth day defending their gardens ; on the evening of the fifth day, the locusts were between five and ten feet deep, and the mass by this time became terrible, and literally fell in pieces over the garden walls.” — Ed. LAND UNFIT FOR CULTURE. 16*3 A LAND UNFIT FOR CULTURE. And the whole land thereof is brimstone, and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth, nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow < f Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah andZeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath. — Deut. xxix. 23. This contains a threatening of what God would turn the fine land into that once flowed with milk and honey, — that it should become brimstone, salt, and burning, or complete desolation. Many parts of the western side of South Africa appeared in a similar state of dry desolaiien, espe- cially those sides of the mountains exposed to the fiery heat of a northern sun, and where the ground was so heated that no one could stand upon it, without constantly moving the feet to prevent their blistering. As Abimelech sowed or spread over with salt the ground on which the city of Shechem stood, to render it barren and desolate (Judges ix. 45), so many extensive districts in that part of Africa did not yield a blade of grass, — vegetation being entirely destroyed either by the copious mixture of salt, or the scorching rays of a nearly vertical sun. LIVING WATER FOR THE THIRSTY. Let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. — Rev. xxii. 1 7. In certain circumstances in which a traveller 164 LIVING WATER FOR THE THIRSTY. in the desert may be placed, no proclamation referring to temporal things, no intimation or invitation that can he uttered by human tongue, could afford such joy and such relief from anxiety as these words literally understood. Look at the state of Hagar and her son in the wilderness, when the sympathizing angel pointed them to a pool of water. They would require no reasoning to induce them to run to it. No ; Hagar, with sparkling eyes and smiling lips, would spring to v her feet, — her faintness and fatigue would be for- gotten, — and she would feel nimble as the roe ; and knowing the pool was public property, they would freely drink of its water, asking no ques- tions. Indeed, they would think they were suffi- ciently warranted to partake of its contents by the invitation of the angel. And why will not men, with equal freedom, partake of the blessings of salvation, in compliance with the invitation of the Holy Ghost ; even as in our own country, when, at contested elections, open tables are kept for the entertainment of voters, who, being invited, go and freely partake of what they find on the table, persuaded that the candidate is perfectly able to pay the expense? God has abundantly provided for a hungry and thirsty world every thing necessary for jus- tifying, sanctifying, and glorifying perishing men. His invitations are addressed to all, to every creature. Even to hesitate complying is an insult to the Inviter, for all need a justifying righteousness, an atoning sacrifice, an enlighten- CONCISE DESCRIPTION OF CANAAN. 165 ing and sanctifying Spirit, and an interceding High Priest. CONCISE DESCRIPTION OF CANAAN. And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land, unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey. — E xod. iii. 8. Here is a brief description of the country of Canaan: a good land — a large land — a land flow- ing with milk and honey. This is the shortest, most comprehensive, and most satisfactory description of a country that ever was or can be given. It strikingly bears the impress of inspiration. It is a good land; or convenient, salubrious, and healthy. A large land; of sufficient extent fully to ac- commodate the nation, having sufficient room for their cities, fields, and vineyards. — But the beauty and brevity of the description are most to be admired in the last part of it, viz., a land flowing with milk and honey . Flowing with milk , proved the soil to be rich, and producing rich, nutritious pasture, which alone could render milk plentiful ; and so plen- tiful, that the country, with propriety, might be said to flow with milk. Flowing with honey . This proved that it was a lovely, or beautiful country, for honey cannot be plentiful except where flowers are very abundant. 166 zion’s wilderness made like eden. Many parts of tlie southern continent of Africa may, with propriety, he said to flow with honey, for it is found plastered to rocks, around the trunks of trees, and deposited in hushes, as has been before mentioned. In the flower season, the land seems to be covered with the loveliest carpets, shining in all the varieties of prismatic colours. The display is frequently so admirable, that the traveller is arrested to the spot, admir r ing the scenery before him, and ready to say, “ O Lord ! how wonderful are all thy works ! in great wisdom and goodness hast thou made them all.” No part, however, of that continent flows with milk ; for the pasture being poor, the cattle give but an inconsiderable quantity. But Canaan was intended to be a type of the heavenly para- dise, wherefore it contained every thing necessary to the support, comfort, and gratification of its inhabitants ; and these, repeatedly rebelling against the God who gave them that fine coun- try, like Adam, they were disinherited, and driven out of it, and scattered among the nations. They killed the prophets that were sent unto them, and afterwards, like the original inhabitants of Ca- naan, filled up the cup of their iniquity by killing the Prince of life. zion’s wilderness made like eden. The Lord shall comfort Zion : he will comfort all her waste places ; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord ; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. — Isa. li. 3. zion’s wilderness made like eden. 1 G 7 And they shall say, This land that was desolate, is become like the garden of Eden. — Ezek. xxxvi. 35. When God presented this part of the world called Eden, or pleasure, as an estate to Adam, it must have been worthy of the donor. Its beauty and fertility must have been pre-eminent. God had made ample provision for effecting both, by appointing four rivers to run across it. It lies on the banks of the Euphrates, a little to the north of where it enters the Persian Gulf, after being joined hv the Hiddekel, or Tigris; after which it divides itself into two streams, the Pison and the Sihon. It is still considered the richest soil, and the most pleasant part of the Turkish empire, were it properly cultivated. In Ezek. xxxvi. 34, it was to be tilled, which would wonderfully alter its appearance, after lying as a waste. The Moravians got permission from the Dutch Government, at the Cape of Good Hope, many years ago, to commence a mission to the Hotten- tot natives at Genadendal (or Grace- Yale), then called Bavian’s or Baboon’s Kloof. The land consisted of a valley, the head of which was en- closed or bounded by a close crescent of stupen- dous perpendicular mountain cliffs, from whence . issued a most copious river. From the opposition of the Dutch boors, while they were going on with improvements, they were obliged to relin- quish it, after which it soon returned to its ori- ginal state of desolation. After fifty years sus- pension of the mission, they returned and got a fresh grant of their former valley for a missionary station. By their industry, the former desolation 1G8 PREVENTION OF INCREASE OF WILD BEASTS. has been conquered, and now it may be said to have become like the garden of Eden. Good houses have been erected, extensive fields culti- vated, many gardens formed, and trees planted and reared ; so that it is a miniature example of what God promised the land of Israel should become. PREVENTATIVE TO THE INCREASE OF WILD BEASTS. And the Lord God will put out those nations before thee by little and little ; thou mayest not con- sume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.- — Deut. vii. 22. Ferocious animals in the vicinity of towns being constantly molested by the inhabitants,^ their number is daily decreased, and the surviyjH ors generally retire to less frequented, or morH thinly inhabited spots, where they can roam with^B out interruption after their prey. So, in mercy ^ to the Israelites, God was not to assist them to drive out all the Canaanites at once, in order that those who remained might prevent the muH tiplying of the wild animals, so as to render fiefl labour and travelling dangerous before the IsralM ites should be sufficiently numerous fully to occup^l the whole country. In the case of ancient Babylon we see the effects of depopulation, in reference to the multi- plication of wild beasts that succeeded. Isa. xiii. 21, 22 : “ Wild beasts of the desert shall lie there ; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there; and satyrs WELL WATERED GARDENS. 1G9 shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces.” In conse- quence of this, history informs us, that, for many ages, it was reckoned dangerous to approach the ruins of that long and far-famed metropolis, from the number and ferocity of the wild beasts. Now that the houses and walls have been all swept away, and the region, rendered completely desolate, so that there remains nothing either for support or accommodation, the ravenous animals , have retired, and modern travellers are thereby L permitted to visit the site of that ancient city j| without the least molestation. WELL WATERED GARDENS. The Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones ; and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters fail not. — Isa. lviii. 11. This is an interesting simile ; God promising \ to render a soul so prosperous, as to resemble a I well- watered garden, from a spring that perpetu- al ally runs. In a hot climate where showers seldom fall, W except in what is called the rainy season, the 'C difference between a well and ill -watered garden is most striking. I remember some gardens in Africa where they could lead no water upon them; the plants were all stunted, sickly, or withering away, and others completely gone, only the hole left where the faded plant had P 170 THE ENEMY COMING UP AS CLOUDS. been. The sight was unpleasant, and caused gloom to appear in every countenance : they were pictures of desolation. But in other gardens, to which the owners could bring daily supplies of water from an everflowing fountain, causing it to traverse the garden, every plant had a green, healthy appearance, loaded with fruit, in different stages towards maturity, with fragrant scent pro- ceeding from beds of lovely flowers: and all this produced by the virtue which God hath put into the single article of water. The soul of man is naturally barren; the grace of God flowing from Jesus Christ, the Fountain of life, can alone fertilise it, causing it bring forth the fruits of righteousness, to be fruitful in every good word and work. The grace communicated to-day will not give health and fertility of soul to-morrow: there must be daily supplies from the great Fountainhead, or what grace has plant- ed in the soul will wither and decay; for the Lord said unto his disciples, “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.” THE ENEMY COMING UP AS CLOUDS. Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots as a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles. — Jer. iv. 13. This might not only refer to Nebuchadnezzar’s army marching in masses to attack them, which masses, viewed from a distance, would resemble WASHING THE SAINTS FEET. 171 clouds; but also the effect of their march in a sultry, and over a sandy soil, where each mass would raise a cloud of sand, which would be seen long before the army that produced them. “ Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness, like pillars of smoke ? ** — Song iii. 6. Thus have I expected to meet a waggon, or a flock of ante- lopes, or of buffaloes, or some other animals, long before they could be distinguished, from the cloud of sand which they had raised. WASHING THE SAINTS* FEET. Ye call me Master and Lord ; and ye say well; for k so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have I washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one ’ another’s feet. — John xiii. 13, 14, ^ The washing of the saints* feet seems to haye been attended to in the primitive age of the Church, from what Paul says, 1 Tim. v. 9, 10 ; for a deaconess was to be well reported of for good works, — to have brought up children, lodg- ed strangers, and washed the saints* feet, &c. It seems also to have been a still more ancient custom in Israel, for we find Abigail saying to David, during the persecutions of Saul (1 Sam. xxv. 41), “ Behold, let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my Lord.*’ Sandals were worn by the Jews, the same as at present in Africa, as appears from what the angel said to Peter when he came to deliver him from prison. “ Gird thyself,** said he, 44 and bind on thy sandals.’* Sandals covering only 172 DWELLING IN TENTS. the soles of the feet, the legs are exposed to the sun and sand; the latter getting between the sandals and soles of the feet, must have made the person, after a long pedestrian journey, very uncomfortable. On reaching the house where he was to lodge, from fatigue he must have felt indisposed to take the trouble to wash his feet, or put the family to the trouble to fetch him water for it, however much he knew he would be revived by it. Real Christianity, and fervent love, would save him all this trouble and anxiety ; the water would be brought without asking, and the master or mistress would cheerfully imitate the conduct of their Lord and Master, in washing the Christian sojourner s feet, and be glad to ob- serve his Spirits revive, and his tongue loosened, to tell them things that would amply repay them for their trouble. In such a climate as that of Britain, and where shoes and stockings are universally worn, this kind act is almost unnecessary. Were it gene- rally practised, it would be felt to be a trouble- some, useless form. ABRAHAM DWELLING IN TENTS. And he [Abraham] removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent. — Gejn 7 . xii. 8. And he went on his journeys from the south, even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre. — Chap. xiii. 3, 18. DWELLING IN TENTS. 173 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a 'Strange country, dwelling in tabernacles [or tents] with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise — Heb. xi. Abraham having, during the early period of his life, lived stationary in a town, must at first have felt a roaming or moving life, and dwelling in a tent instead of a house, somewhat incon- venient and irksome. His venerable father, Terah, whose habits, from age, must have been more confirmed, would naturally feel it still more so. They would remain no longer in any place where they had pitched their tents, than there was sufficient grass for pasture to their cattle; when that was eaten up, they would be under the necessity of shifting their quarters. It is said in the text, that he returned to his first encampment, no doubt expecting that the grass would be grown up again during his absence. I have no doubt but Abraham would be daily inquiring of his father, when they met in the morning, if he felt more reconciled to this wandering life. I think I overhear the good man reply, “ My son, this is not the kind of life I should have chosen for my- self, but as my God has chosen it for me, I cheer- fully submit; wherefore I have never once with desire or regret looked back to Ur. I shall enter upon a long rest by-and-by, when I shall reach a city of habitation. I feel that I am more than ever a stranger and a pilgrim upon earth.” I think I see a smile on Abraham’s lips on hear- ing his father say so, as he very probably felt exactly in the same way. Though they were p 2 174 DWELLING IN TENTS. then both raw travellers in a wilderness, yet they were happy ones. Perhaps the habits of man can be more easily altered than those of any other animal. Retrench- ment, while at home, is more difficult to effect than on setting out on a journey. The mind is then made up to expect and endure privations, so that we are not surprised at meeting them, as if some strange thing had befallen us. The first six or eight months to Abraham and his friends would be the most trying ; it would be like serving an apprenticeship to their new kind of life, but afterwards they would begin to feel at home every where. His tents were probably always pitched upon the same plan in every place, either arranged in a line, or in shape of a crescent, or a square. His cattle would leave their encampment about the same hour after sunrise every morning, and return before the going down of the sun every evening, as it would be necessary to attend to the same duties towards them. They would have regular hours for their meals; and, though they had neither clocks nor watches, they could easily fix what part of the arch of the heavens the sun was to reach, when they were to assemble for breakfast, and when for dinner. The interior nations of Africa can assemble with great accuracy upon this plan, and even know distances something in the same way.* When the distance is not great, with uplifted hand they quickly make part of an arch ; if considerably farther, they raise their hand higher, and more slowly draw it for- ward in the air, in the shape of a half-arch ; but DWELLING IX TENTS. 175 if the distance be very great, they stretch out their right arm as far as they can, and slowly make a complete arch ; while doing so, they, in a drawling manner, pronounce their word for far, while their arm is forming the arch. In that way those present can judge pretty well the distance of one place from another, according to the extent of the arch, and the time taken to form it. The Dutch colonists at the Cape have a different way of measuring distances, viz., by hours of travelling in a horse or ox waggon. If you ask, how far is Sneuberg? one man would sa}% Ten hours, horse waggon; while another, who is more accustomed to travel in waggons drawn by oxen, would say, Twenty hours, ox waggon. Necessity is the pa- rent of invention, for in such lands distances are neither marked by mile* stones nor mile-posts. The supposition of Abraham’s feeling a tra- velling life irksome at first, and that irksomeness gradually dying away, quite accords with the ex- perience of all missionaries, and with my own. The first time I left Capetown on a journey of eleven months, with a waggon * and tent, it seemed to me an odd sort of life ; but gradually I became reconciled to it, — indeed, so much so, that I preferred sleeping in my w r aggon to a good bed in a house ; for 1 remember coming to a missionary station, about the eighth month of the journey, where a good bed was kindly provided, that, after supper every night, instead of going to the bed in the room, I crept into the waggon, and slept soundly on the mattress among the * A waggon may he called a tent mounted on wheels. 176 CARELESS SHEPHERDS. boxes. Indeed, I remember at that time remark- ing, that I had no pity on Abraham dwelling in tents, and having no certain dwelling-place, tor I felt willing to continue a wandering life to the end of my days. No missionaries, then, about to set out for Africa, need shrink from it on ac- count of the long journeys to remote stations, nor of the lions and other wild beasts among whom they must sojourn, for they will gradually become accustomed to both ; and should they not be able to bring their lot to their mind, perhaps they will be able to bring their mind to their lot, as father Abraham evidently did. Then he looked for a city whose maker and builder was God, which, of course, he did not expect to find in this world. CARELESS SHEPHERDS. Neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd; and they became meat to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill; yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.— Ezek. xxxiv. 4-6. The allusion is to flocks of cattle in a wilder- ness, exposed to danger under careless shepherds. The flocks were scattered ; none were sent in search of them ; the consequence was, they be- came food for wild beasts. CARELESS SHEPHERDS. 177 When travelling in wilderness parts of the world, cattle are, on various accounts, apt to wander or to be scattered, and require attentive shepherds to w r atch their motions. Should the grass near the encampment of the traveller not suit their taste, or be scarce, they will gradually move to a greater and greater distance, till bushes or clumps of trees are between them and the waggons; then, perhaps, having the scent of water, or that of better grass, they will move off at great speed. The distant roar of a lion also will so alarm them, that they will start off like furious or frantic animals. I remember halting for a night about a hun- dred miles beyond Lattakoo. Knowing that lions w r ere numerous in that part, all the oxen were made fast by ropes to the waggons. During the night lions had roared within hearing of the oxen, when all, no doubt, had through terror endea- voured to break loose from their fastenings, but only three had succeeded, wdiich, having fled, were pursued by two lions, and one of them caught, and almost entirely devoured by those two voracious animals. .After they had fairly killed the one, they pursued the other two for upwards of two miles, when they gave up the chase, and returned to feast on the one they had secured. All this we knew from the foot-marks they had left on the ground. In the morning the Hottentots were sent in search of the other two, which they found feeding several miles off. The Jewish shepherds were condemned for not searching for the scattered sheep. When 178 PRECIOUS OINTMENT. men are fatigued by travelling, they become lazy and indolent, and feel indisposed to set off in search of strayed oxen many miles distant ; yet I never noticed our Hottentots unwilling to go in search of strayed oxen, however fatigued they might be, and rarely did they return without finding them, though, in some instances, they had to trace their foot-marks for upwards of twenty miles. PRECIOUS OINTMENT. A good name is better than precious ointment.— Eccles. vii. 1. It is the universal practice among the interior nations in Southern Africa to anoint or smear their bodies with the fat of animals mixed with red ochre. They must have some object in view in doing this besides ornament ; or at least those who introduced the fashion had. Perhaps it might be designed to produce some gratifying sensation, or to counteract some effect produced by the powerful beams of a vertical sun on their skin exposed to them ; or to protect them from the stings of various kinds of flies or mosquitoes. Probably the allusion is, that a good name, or to be well reported of, is of more use or service to a person than the most expensive oil or oint- ment with which they can anoint or smear them- selves. Give a minister a bad name, and his usefulness is marred ; let him have a good name, or be well reported of, and he will gain a hear- ing from most people. DRINKING OF THE BROOK. 179 DRINKING OF THE BROOK. He shall drink of the brook in the way; therefore shall he lift up the head. — Psalm cx. 7. Travellers greatly fatigued by the roughness or heaviness and length of the way, under a vertical sun, not only their hands but their heads will hang down ; but on reaching a brook or stream of water, they will cheerfully stoop down and drink of its welcome contents. On doing so, good effects will instantly be felt to follow ; they will feel revived and strengthened both in body and mind, and proceed on their journey comfort- ably and boldly, and with lively expectations of obtaining the object of their perilous undertaking. This is merely explanatory of the figure. Per- haps Phil. ii. 7-9 is a commentary upon it. If so, it must refer to our Lord's drinking of the waters of affliction, which led to his exaltation at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens. SHOWERS OF BLESSING. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season ; there shall be showers of blessing. And the trees of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land.— E zek. xxxiv. 26, 27. It is generally known that in tropical climates there is what is called the rainy season , which 180 SHOWERS OF BLESSING. lasts about three months in the year. Rain sel- dom falls except during those months, and the natives look forward to them for rain, the same as the Egyptians look forward to the periodical inundation of the Nile, to fertilize the level land on both sides of that noted river. Should the season pass without the clouds pouring down their accustomed treasures, it spreads universal gloom over the minds of the inhabitants, and desolation over the land. I remember an extensive district in the heart of Africa, where the rainy season had passed over without a single shower : all was desolation, every thing being burnt up, consequently deserted by the fowls of heaven and the beasts of the field. This state of things is beautifully described, Hab. iii. 17 : “ Although the fig-tree shall not blos- som, neither shall fruit be in the vine : the labour of the olive shall fail [by producing no olives], and the fields shall yield no meat [[or com] ; the flock shall be cut off from the stall for die for want of grass], and there shall be no herd in the stalls f from the same cause]. Should there be abundance of rain the succeed- ing season, the alteration would be great ; the showers would indeed deserve to be called showers of blessing , for they w r ould spread life every w r here. The dry and parched ground would send forth its beautiful and useful treasures ; grass, flowers, vegetables, shrubs, trees, &c., w r ould revive and proceed to their maturity. Springs, fountains, brooks, and rivers, would all be replenished, and A CEDAR EXALTED BY RIVERS. 181 all the human family, dwelling in that region, would rejoice. The first state resembles a country without the Gospel ; the latter, one to which it comes, not in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance of its truth and infinite importance. A CEDAR EXALTED BY RIVERS. Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high, with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. — Ezek. xxxi. 3, 4. In the wild Bushman country there are no trees except near rivers. The first time I crossed it, we were about a fortnight without seeing a tree : at length w r e came to some low stunted ones, but as we went forward they increased in height, which made us hope we were approach- ing a river ; by-and-by we came in sight of tall, stately trees, and on reaching them we found all their stateliness to result from standing on the margin of the Gariep river. The other parts of the passage may refer to irrigation, or leading out water from the river by little canals, to the plantations in the vicinity. Ver. 12: His branches are fallen, and his boughs are broken by all the rivers of the land, — Seems to refer to the effects of inundations, * Q 182 MOUNTAINS RENT ASUNDER. carrying off large branches of trees growing on the sides of the rivers, by the impetuosity and weight of the stream, after great falls of rain higher up the country. I remember having crossed a wide river, which, in two hours after leaving it, rose upwards of six feet higher, yet not a cloud was to be seen ; but the rain had fallen much higher up the country. MOUNTAINS RENT ASUNDER. Half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south; and ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains [or between the two halves of the mountains], for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal; yea, ye shall flee like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days ofUzziah king of Judah. — Zech.xIv.4, 5. No convulsion of nature is so dreadful as a great earthquake. The one referred to in the text divided a mountain to the westward of Je- rusalem into two parts, leaving a valley between about half a mile in breadth. Most countries have been visited by earthquakes at one period or another, but for many ages God has not visited any countries with very destructive ones, except some that are grossly Popish, as Sicily, Portugal, Calabria (near Pome, the seat of the antichris- tian beast), and South America ; to which may be added the island of Jamaica. Some time before my first visit to the Cape of Good Hope, there was a frightful, though not very destructive earthquake, which was preceded by GLORY OF SINNERS PASSETH AWAY. 183 sultry weather, that produced uncommon languor in the minds of many. At night the earthquake commenced by an awfully terrific sound, under ground, which resembled that of a thousand wag- gons running along the street, attended with light- ning. After dying away, the same astounding sound was repeated, when every thing above ground shook. The noise was terrific, not only from its loudness, but also from the nature of the sound, by its resembling a melancholy groan or howl. The very dogs and birds were evidently terrified, which added to the horror of the night. I met with two hills, one on the eastern, and the other on the western side of South Africa, which appear to have been divided into two parts, like the one mentioned in the text. They ap- peared as if a stupendous giant had, by one stroke of a mighty axe, cloven them into two parts. The two sides of the narrow valley or opening between, were composed of solid rock, and re- sembled each other like twin brothers ; so that spectators could have no doubt but that they had once been united, and had been forcibly separated by some dreadful convulsion of nature similar to that mentioned in the text. The sides appeared to be some hundred feet high. GLORY OF SINNERS HASTILY PASSETH AWAY. Therefore they shall be as the morning cloud, and as the early dew that passeth away, as the chaff that is driven with the whirlwind out of the floor, and as the smoke out of the chimney. — Hosea xiii. 3. What a cluster of transitory objects is found in 184. CONDUCT OF FEMALES. these few lines ! morning clouds — early dew — chaff — smoke. I cannot think of another to add to them that would strengthen the simile. In hot climates, clouds are frequently seen at sunrise, which appear as if lingering at the bottom of the horizon ; but the sun is no sooner fully up than they flee away, as if afraid to remain inter- cepting or preventing his rays from reaching any part of the land below. As for the dew that falls before sunrise upon the grass, and appears under his shining as if innumerable diamonds had been strewed over its surface; that which causes their splendour and glory soon effects their destruction, for they cannot stand before its heat. As for the chaff blown from the corn-floor in the open air, the wind carries it away in clouds, which are im- mediately so scattered hither and thither, that it soon becomes invisible among the grass. Smoke, also, we all know, however abundant on leaving the chimney, soon loses itself in the air, and does not again become visible. So shall the glory of Ephraim vanish away, because of his idolatry, or forsaking his God. THE CONDUCT OF FEMALES ON RETURN OF THE ARMY FROM THE PHILISTINE WAR. And it came to pass, as they came, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. — 1 Sam. xviii. 6, 7. QUARRELS ABOUT WELLS. 185 When leaving the city of Lattakoo, to visit the king of the Matslaroos, on the confines of the great southern Zahara desert, a party of men was re- turning from a distant expedition, after an absence of several months. The news of their approach had reached the town, and the women were has- tening to meet them. On joining the party, they marched at their head, clapping their hands, and singing with all their might, till they arrived at their homes in the town. On witnessing this scene, my mind was carried back three thousand years, to the very occurrence recorded in the above passage. The occasion, no doubt, was a joyful one to the females, some of whom had their husbands, and others their fathers and brothers, in the expedition, for whose safety they were interested, and had been anxi- ously concerned. The same must have been the case with respect to the Israelitish women, while Saul’s army were returning victorious from the Philistine war. QUARRELS ABOUT WELLS. And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech’s servants had violently taken away. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves ? And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me that I have digged this well. — Gen. xxi. 25, 29, 30. And Isaac’s servants digged in the valley, and found there a well of springing water. And the herd- er 2 2S6 QUARRELS ABOUT WELLS. men of Gerar did strive with Isaac’s herdmen, saying, The water is ours ; and he called the name of the well Esek ; because they strove with him. — Chap. xxvi. 19, 20. Some of the principal disputes in the days of the ancient patriarchs, seems to have been about wells or springs of water, which may appear strange to some European readers, though there have been bloody wars between nations in Europe, on much less important grounds than disputing to whom a well belonged. However rich the pasturage might be in some parts of Canaan, the cattle could not remain long if there was no water, so that the value of land greatly depended on the existence of wells. Caleb’s daughter had land allotted to her that had no water. She stated the case to her father, and earnestly peti- tioned him to add some land to her lot that had springs of water. At once he saw the propriety and reasonableness of her request, and gave her a spring both on the higher and lower parts of the land. The well dug by the servants of Isaac must have been particularly valuable, as it furnished them with springing or running water ; it must have run over the brim or mouth of the well, so as to form a brook, which would not only increase the fertility of the land on each side of it, but also furnish drink to the cattle when grazing at a distance from the fountain. Near the edge of the great southern Zahara desert, there is a village called Chopo, on the left bank of the bed of the river Nokannan, which GOD MADE KNOWN BY HIS WORKS. 187 has had no running water in it for many years. With great labour the natives had dug a well about 20 feet deep in the dry channel, at the bottom of which we saw water. As our oxen had not h^d a drink for 24 hours, we begged hard for a little to each, but they would not con- sent. We then offered them tobacco for some, which they refused. This was vexatious, as we could not reach water till the evening of the follow- ing day. This circumstance will show the value of water in such parts of the world. GOD MADE KNOWN BY HIS WORKS. Because that which may be known of God is mani- fest to them ; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead ; so that they are without excuse. — Rom. i. 19, 20. The sun, moon, stars, and other visible works of God, are his apostles to the heathen world ; their sound hath gone to all the earth, even to the world’s end. But the heathen are dull of hearing; these seem to teach them nothing God- ward, though they do sometimes muse a little on the heavenly bodies. Some with whom I con- versed, supposed they got a new sun every day, instead of that which died the evening before. Others thought the stars had roots, like trees, sticking in something behind, which kept them in the same place. These never thought of them 188 GOD MADE KNOWN BY IIIS WORKS. as the production of God, or as proofs of the existence of a powerful, though invisible Agent ; but when I explained and referred to them as proofs of a divine agency, it seemed to have some weight. For the sake of example, I may state that I once asked a king if he or his people had put up that pretty thing there ? pointing to the sun. * He smiled, and said, No ! no ; they could not. I then asked if any of his tallest men could touch it from the top of the highest hills? He said, No ; they could not. I then asked how it came there, — some being must have done it who had wisdom, power, and goodness, for we found it very convenient and useful ? His answer was, that he could not tell how it came there. I then assured him that it was made, put, and kept there by the power of that God whom I had come to make known to him and his people. I judged from his eyes that the remark made him thought- fill, as if there might be some truth in it. A lovely tree, covered with leaves and flowers, was standing near us : pointing to it, I asked if he or his people had made that beautiful thing ? Smiling he said, “No.” Was it any body under the ground that pushed it up ? “ He believed it was not.” Then, who did it; for earth being dead could not of itself do it ? “ He could not tell.” Of course I told him it was the same God who made the sun, and made him, who made. it. I observed that this also made some impression * They must be spoken to as if they were children, about any thing that requires thought. APOSTASY OF THE HEATHEN. 189 on his mind, and no doubt afterwards gave rise to much conversation between him and his chiefs who were present. How can men in such a state find out, under- stand, and believe the things of God without a teacher ? Well might they say, as the Ethiopian eunuch said to Philip, when he asked him if he understood what he was reading, — “How can we, except some man should guide us ? ” ORIGINAL APOSTASY OF THE HEATHEN FROM GOD. [The heathens] when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but be- came vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. — Rom. i. 21-23. All heathens, like ourselves, are descended from a preacher of righteousness — Noah ; hence their forefathers once knew the truth which God had revealed to men for their salvation. By-and- by they ceased to view the possession of it as a favour, and were not thankful for it, but became so vain and self-conceited, that they imagined they could invent a better religion than that which God had made known ; in which religion they foolishly and wickedly preferred worshipping the creature to the Creator, and changed His glory into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, beasts, and creeping things. 190 APOSTASY OF THE HEATHEN. The most northern African nation, the Egyp- tians, though anciently the most learned nation in the world, took the lead, in very remote anti- quity, in this monstrous, bestial religion, worship- ping as their chief deity a calf or bull, which they called the god Apis. After this, let not the wise men of the world glory in their wisdom. How far down Africa the Egyptian idolatry spread is not known, nor the extent to which the more modern delusion of Mahomet reached ; but it seems very probable that little of either ever crossed the equator. Among the highest up nations which I visited, which were under the south tropic, I never saw nor heard of the least vestige of either the one or the other. In- deed these nations, so far as I could discern, worship nothing any more than brutes or devils. The true God is entirely forgotten ; their fore- fathers not liking to retain the knowledge of revealed religion as it was transmitted to them, their children now suffer the consequences. I never heard of any act of worship, rational or absurd, performed by them, nor of any portion of time more sacred than another.* They may * While we have here the fair result of our au- thor’s observations, in so far as he had an opportunity of extending it, still some may be disposed to ques- tion how far the truth of the opinion stated could be ascertained by him, from the limited nature of his intercourse with these nations, and his having to communicate with them through an interpreter. We should be more inclined to entertain a doubt on this subject, as we believe hardly any nation, however barbarous, has been discovered elsewhere, who were THE LAW ON THE HEART. 191 be, therefore, viewed as waiting till the Church of God shall bring them something to believe ; for how can they believe without a preacher? and how can Christian men preach to them, un- less they be sent by a church or society ? REMNANTS OF THE LAW ON HEATHEN HEARTS. For when the heathen, which have not the [written] law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the [written] law, are a law unto themselves : which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another. — R om. ii. 14, 15. Few nations on earth have less traditionary glimmerings of revealed truth than the South African nations, yet the leading outlines of the law seem still to remain on their hearts. They seem all to know, or at least to feel, that murder is a crime (which has already been noticed), that robbery is wrong, and also adultery; but their ideas of right and wrong are very confused. A young man, a wild Bushman, about 25 years of age, with the consent of his father and young wife, travelled with us for a while to see other countries. I used, through an interpreter, to have conversations with him in the tent in the evenings. To try the extent of his moral prin- ciples, I inquired of him what he thought was not found to have some conceptions of a superior being, and of some object of worship, however gross or extravagant these might be. — E d. 192 THE LAW ON THE HEART. the best action a man could perform? He replied, that he did not know that one action was better than another. I then reversed the question, by asking what he thought was the worst action a man could do? His answer was similar to the former. I then said, “ Suppose you should run off with another mans wife, would you not con- sider that a bad action ?” “ No,” said he, “ that would be sport.” “ But should another man run off with your young wife, would you call that sport?” “No! no! that would be bad, bad!” From this it appeared that his notion of right and wrong depended upon how it affected him- self personally. But being a young man, I did not consider him as a proper specimen of the sentiments and feelings of older Bushmen, in reference to moral or immoral actions. I found afterwards that all the heathens knew that mur- der, robbery, &c., were wicked or bad actions. For example, I heard different persons at Lat- takoo say, before the arrival of any missionaries, that*Salakootoo, one of the king's uncles, was a bad man. Their condemnation arose from his frequently going, with his own dependants, on little robbing expeditions, and that he seldom went any where but complaints came of his hav- ing pilfered property from somebody. He had, what we call, a bad name every where, or was habit and repute a thief. A BULLOCK UNACCUSTOMED TO THE YOKE. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself A BULLOCK UNACCUSTOMED TO THE YOKE. 193 thus : thou hast chastised me, and I was chas- tised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke : turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. — Jer. xxxi. 18 . Ephraim rebelled against God, by giving the glory that was due to God to idols. Such was his attachment to idolatry, that he is said to have been joined unto his idols, or embraced them, or clasped them in his arms. For this, God punish- ed him, yet he persisted in his rebellion, — like Jeshurun, he waxed fat and kicked. Ephraim resisted the Divine admonitions, in the pride of his heart, determining to follow his own way, like Pharaoh, who said, "Who is the Lord that I should obey him? When brought to a sight and sense of his sinful conduct, and seriously to reflect upon it, he compares his behaviour to that of a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. The simile is a most apt one. I had frequent opportunities of witnessing the conduct of oxen, when for the first time put into the yoke to assist in dragging the waggons. On observing an ox that had been in the yoke for 700 or 800 miles beginning to get weak, or his hoofs to be worn down to the quick, by treading on the sharp gravel, a fresh ox was put into the yoke in his place. When the selection fell on an ox I had received as a present from some African king, of course one completely unaccustomed to the yoke, such generally made a strenuous struggle for liberty,- — repeatedly breaking the yoke, and at- tempting to make its escape. At other times such bullocks lay down upon their sides or backs, and K 194 FOOD IN THE WILDERNESS. remained so in defiance of the Hottentots, though two or three of them would be lashing them with their ponderous whips. Sometimes, from pity to the animal, I would interfere, and beg them to be less cruel. “ Cruel !” they would say; “it is mercy , for if we do not conquer him now, he will require to be so beaten all his life.” Some oxen would seem convinced of the folly of opposing the will of the Hottentots by the end of the first day ; some about the middle of the second; while some would continue the struggle to the third ; after which they would go on as willingly and quietly as any of their neighbour oxen. They seemed convinced that their resisting was as fruitless as kicking against the pricks, or sharp pointed iron, which they could not injure, hut that every kick they gave only injured themselves* CAN GOD FURNISH FOOD IN A WILDERNESS ? They [the Israelites] tempted God in their heart, by asking meet for their lust. Yea, they spake against God ; they said, can God furnish a table in the wilderness? — Psalm lxxviii. 19. Who givethfood to all flesh; for his mercy endureth for ever. — Psalm cxxxvi. 25. In asking the above question, there is evidently a doubt implied respecting the ability of God to do so, forgetting that nothing is too hard for the Lord, whose power is infinite. He did furnish to their forefathers a table for forty years in a desert, by daily raining down a crop of manna from the field of heaven ; and, ages afterwards, FOOD IN THE WILDERNESS. 195 fed Elijah the prophet, when in similar circum- stances, by voracious ravens. The great southern Zahara is certainly the most extensive desert in the world, yet it is in- habited by wild Bushmen. When travelling parallel to it for some weeks, I could not conceive how human beings could he supported in such a wilderness, till I came to a Koran village, where I found some of the men had penetrated several days’ journey into it. On asking by what means the inhabitants of the desert were supported ? they said, that all over the desert water-melons grew very abundantly, and these furnished them with both food and drink. The melons were full of seed, which they grind into meal between two stones. The pulp, which is inside, they take out and spread on the bushes till it is dry, which, as well as the ground seed, they use for food. They obtain water by covering the melons with the embers of their fire, before they go to sleep in the evening, and on opening them in the morning, they find a considerable quantity of water ready for their use. I remember meeting one of those water-melon plants, which sent forth branches to a great extent in every direction, spread over the surface of the sand. I think the ground which it covered might have measured the fifth or sixth part of an acre. The number of large melons attached to it was considerable. I forget if we counted them, but I should suppose there might be from sixty to an hundred; and God has given them the excellent quality to retain their freshness for two years. IDO THE ETHIOPIAN CANNOT CHANGE. Oh, how great is his goodness, and how wonder- ful are his works to the children of men ! CAN A BLACK MAN WASH HIMSELF WHITE ? Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots ? then may ye also do good that are ac- customed to do evil. — Jer. xiii. 23. Ethiopia in the Hebrew is Cush , which sig- nifies blackness , also I burn , which is most ex- pressive of the state of the whole continent of Africa. The population from the one end of it to the other are dark coloured, and by far the greatest proportion are jet black. The greater part of that continent is under a tropical sun, so that the inhabitants may literally be said to be sun-burnt ; and about the meridian of most days, it could not be considered as extravagant expres- sions to hear one man say, that he is almost burnt up with heat ; or another, that he feels as if walking in fire ; or a third, that he is almost roasted alive ; when the thermometer, in the shade, rises to near, or above, a hundred. Such are natural expressions of the feelings, and they, or something analagous, would spontaneously be uttered by most persons in similar circumstances. To give the reader some idea of the state of things when the thermometer stands about a hun- dred, I may mention, that on such a day I was seated in the tent, writing, which was placed under the thick foliage of an evergreen tree. The perspiration dropped rapidly from my chin, while INTENSE HEAT. 107 numerous flies were walking over my face, and three of their thirsty companions were employed drinking the ink at the point of the pen. These troubled me much by concealing the w T ord I was forming, w T hich obliged me frequently to drive them away ; but this turned out to be a useless expedient, as it only made room for other flies more thirsty than themselves. Being vexed by their perseverance and boldness in so hazarding their lives merely to obtain a drink, I unwittingly put my hand into my pocket in search of the snuff-box, which felt so hot, that supposing I had taken something from the fire, I threw it from me to the ground. The ravens -were walking in front of the tent door, picking up any thing left by the Hotten- tots at breakfast, as calmly as if we had been all dead ; and the dogs felt no disposition to drive them away ; for though they lay under the shade of trees, they were panting for breath, with mouths open and tongues extended, as if in a high fever. The Hottentots had dug graves under the trees, throwing out all the hot sand, — in these they silently lay while the intensity of the heat con- tinued. The intenseness of the heat chiefly arose from the lowness of the ground where we were, and its being covered with sand, and surrounded by hills, for, strictly speaking, it wanted a month of summer, being October. But the question in the text is, “ Can the Ethiopian change his skin” from black to white ? No, he cannot, any more than the habitual drunkard, or the covetous, or lascivious, can r 2 198 STRENGTH OF DEPRAVITY. change their acquired dispositions and habits. I remember a confession to this effect by a gentle- man in a mail-coach from York to London. To him I was an entire stranger, but he actually gloried in his lasciviousness, and boasted of the number of females he had ruined. After a long discussion on the impropriety and sinfulness of his confessed proceedings, we halted at a town on the road to sup. On returning to the coach, I said I should tell him a secret, — That I was secretary to the Edinburgh Magdalene Asylum, and had been thinking of a number of gentlemen in that city who were expending their money, time, and talents, in order to lessen the number of these acknowledged pests of society, viz., pros- titutes ; and here was he, and many others like him, doing all they could to increase their num- ber ; and confessed that I could not account for this difference amongst men, unless I traced it up to God, who maketh one man to differ from an- other. When we stopped to change horses, he privately said to me, “Sir, I know that my con- duct is wrong, but I have such a propensity to that kind of life, that I declare to you I cannot give it up ” I answered, that I knew he could not deliver himself from that propensity, and was aware that if men could save themselves from sin, God never would have sent his Son to do it, for God does nothing superfluous. When, at five o’clock in the morning, the mail- coach was passing through Kingsland, where I now reside (the name of which I did not at that time know), on its way to London, the gentle- THE AFRICAN HAS NO DESIRE TO CHANGE. 199 man took from his purse two guineas and put them into my hand, saying, “ These I give as a donation to the Edinburgh Magdalene Asylum, to assist in lessening the number of these acknow- ledged pests of society ! ” “ But, sir,” said I, u you do not know that I am secretary to that institution ; you have only my own word for it.” He was pleased to say, 64 Take them, I can trust your word.” Should this meet the eye of any of the governors of that institution, they will find, by examining their books, such a donation entered about the end of last century, or the beginning of this one. On the mail reaching the post-office, then in Lombard Street, he called for a hackney coach ; and, while stepping from the one coach to the other, he shook hands, saying, u I hope the con- versation we have had in this mail-coach will be of use to me in after-life. Adieu ! ” * ■ The black Africans, at least while they remain in their own country, have no desire to change the colour of their skin, any more than the hard- ened, habitual, gross sinner has to change his manner of life; they are pleased with it, and the first time they see a white man, they think their own colour is much better. However, I have heard of instances of black men, after residing some time among whites, having been anxious to become like them, and have often washed their skin with soap and water, as they saw Europeans * Though this story be not African light , it will be excused, as only a little auxiliary light borrowed from England, ’ * 200 AFRICAN BOY WASHED. do, in order to effect it; but they soon found it was labour in vain. I have also heard of gross sinners coming in contact with the people of God, who have become desirous to resemble them, and have been led to wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and have thereby become altogether like the people of God. A Hottentot boy, about seven years of age, travelled for some time with the waggons, on his way to his father. As he never washed, I thought his swarthy colour might be improved if washed with soap and water ; but, after a fair trial, there was not the smallest visible alteration. The cir- cumstance immediately brought the above text to my recollection. Though the African cannot change the colour of his skin himself, or with the best assistance white men can give him, yet the Gospel, through the grace of God, has changed the hearts and lives of many of them, who formerly were accus- tomed to do evil ; now they have learned to do well ; old evil habits have passed away, and their general practice becomes new. A Hottentot of my company being offered by a boor a glass of Cape brandy, refused it, and said, in my hearing, u I was once a great drunkard, but ever since God opened my blind eyes, I have never tasted Cape brandy/' Africaner, the noted African chief, for many years, in the days of his ignorance, disturbed the peace of all the regions round about him; but when the Gospel came to his people and to him in power, he became a peaceable man, and a humble worker of righteousness. These A DECEITFUL BOW. 201 are not solitary instances, but are stated as samples of many similar proofs of the transforming power of the glorious Gospel of Christ. A DECEITFUL BOW. They return, but not to the Most High: they are like a deceitful bow. — Hosea vii. 16. Israel is here charged with ungrateful and hypocritical conduct, appearing as if they had repented of their idolatry and returned to the worship of the true God, when, in fact, it was only giving up one idol for another, having no repentance toward God, nor faith in divine truth; wherefore they are compared to a deceitful bow, which, though it looks well, is useless. The strings ol African bows are all made of the entrails of animals, a kind of catgut. Moist weather renders it so soft, that they cannot shoot with it: should they try it, the string would either instantly break, or it would stretch to such a length that it could not impel the arrow. In consequence of this being the case, I have heard the remark made in Africa, that the safest time to travel among the wild Bushmen is in wet weather, for then they cannot shoot you. Were people using such bows for defence, and unacquainted with this effect of moisture, in a time of danger to seize their bow for self-defence, they would be grievously deceived, by finding them useless when most needed. They would th ,:s prove deceitful bows. 202 GOD REBUKING THE SEA. EFFECTS OF GOD REBUKING THE SEA. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drieth up all the rivers ; Bashan languisheth, and Car- mel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. — > Nahum i. 4. God has a variety of ways of punishing nations for their guilt. The text states one way. God begins with that which is the origin or efficient cause of rain, rivers, and the fertility of all lands, viz., the sea, — the grand reservoir from whence all showers that water continents and islands are brought. Jehovah, as the Proprietor and Master of the sea, is beautifully represented as reproving it for sending its valuable treasures to countries in open rebellion against his authority, and orders it to cease sending forth any more till it receives fresh orders from him. The sea obeys without a murmur ; it becomes of no more use to the land than if it were dried up, while clouds with rain cease to proceed from it. Observe the consequence of this veto: it becomes like an act of parliament without the royal signa- ture attached to it — useless. The rivers become extinct, — their fish die, — their channels exist for no purpose, — that which was their glory is de- parted, — and the fond expectations of the way- faring man, on reaching them, are disappointed; likewise, thirsty harts, and other animals of the hills and plains, that panted for the water-brooks, stand at their sides full of amazement. Yea, even Bashan, once one of the most fertile countries DRUNKARDS DEVOURED. 203 under heaven, languished ; its trees, vines, shrubs, grain, become sickly, feeble, and ready to pine away. In short, every green thing withers. Even Mount Carmel, that so abounded with the richest vines and olives, begins to look like a wilderness and solitary place: the vine- dressers, grape and olive gatherers, are all fled; and fruit- ful and fragrant Lebanon shares the same fate. DRUNKARDS DEVOURED. For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they be drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry. — N ahum i. 10. This seems to refer to the inhabitants of Nine- veh, when their great city should be taken and destroyed by a besieging army. From drunken- ness, parties would be found lying on the streets, huddled together like swine, or confusedly like a heap of thorns bound in bundles for fuel. While they were in this dreadful condition, sudden de- struction would come upon them; indeed, so quickly should they be slain, that it would re- semble the rapidity with which fire destroys stubble or withered grass fully dry. I remember an exemplification of this in Africa. It was on a washing day, when the waggons were halting near water. A fire was kindled for the washers. A wind arose, which blew the flame of the fire upon some withered grass, near to which they had imprudently kin- dled the fire, which was soon in a blaze, and spread so fast that several articles of dress were 204 FORGETFUL GLASS-LOOKERS. burned oefore they could be removed. In less than two minutes, the blaze reached the spot where the waggons were standing, which created great alarm, as there was a quantity of gunpow- der in them. But the Hottentots, by beating the fire as it approached with their karosses (or sheep-skin cloaks), others with branches of bushes, or whatever they could immediately obtain, kept it from getting under the waggons. In a very short time the fire had spread a mile from us, and soon thousands of acres, which formerly looked like a field of ripe oats, were covered with the black remains of the conflagration. FORGETFULNESS OF GLASS-LOOKERS* If any man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what man- ner of man he was. — James i. 23, 24. A man is listening to a gospel sermon, — some remarks made in it convince him of various defects in his character and conduct, which he resolves to remedy ; but no sooner does he retire from the worship, than both the discoveries of his deficiencies and his resolutions of amendment evaporate, or are completely forgotten. Such hearers are said in the text to resemble a man who views his face in a mirror, and thereby dis- covers spots of dirt upon it, or that his face is foul, and resolves to wash it; but when he retires from the glass, something else engages his attention, FORGETFUL GLASS-LOOKERS* 205 so that he forgets the foulness of his face, and neglecting to wash it, it remains as it was. Many a time have I shown uncivilized Afri- cans their faces in a glass, by holding it up before them. But though in every instance that I recollect, they were displeased with something they saw in their countenances, and walked off disgusted, in a little space, when two or three who had seen themselves met together, they be- gan to smile and laugh at what they had seen ; and soon other matters attracted their attention, and the whole affair was forgotten. I remember, however, an instance of a more permanent im- pression being made by the same occurrence. It was a young wild Bushman who travelled for a short time with us. One day he came into my tent when the looking-glass happened to be at hand. On holding it up before him that he might see himself in it, he was first astonished, and then greatly disgusted, which he showed by shutting his eyes, shaking his head, moving his hands in a way that could not be misunderstood, and hastily running from the tent, and never after- wards would come near the glass. I overheard the Hottentots one day, for their own amusement, telling him what fine things he should get when he came to the white man’s town, meaning Capetown ; that he would get fine clothes, muskets, knives, tinder-boxes, &c., which greatly pleased him ; but knowing his an- tipathy to looking-glasses, they assured him with much merriment, that he would get looking-glasses the same as the one in the tent, so he should be S 206 THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN OPENED. able to see himself in it every day. The infor- mation shocked him ; he turned away from lis- tening to them, and told them he did not want any looking-glasses. I remember a similar case in this country, in reference to the Word of God, of a female whose mind was extremely uneasy, who declared to myself that she was done with the Bible, and had resolved to read it no more, for she never could look into it but she met something that condemned her, and only made her more unhappy. In such an unhappy state of mind, it is far wiser to say with Peter, “ Lord, to whom can we go but unto thee, who hast the words of eternal life ? ” for if the sacrifice of Christ which the Scriptures exhibit for the sinner’s reception, re- fuge, and resting-place, be rejected, there re- maineth no other sacrifice for sin which God will accept in the room of the sinner. BLESSINGS DESCENDING FROM THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN. Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. — Mal. iii. 10. In the days of Malachi, Israel seems to have lost all respect for the temple- worship, and to have taken no interest in the ordinances of it, though appointed by God, through his servant REQUIREMENTS OP THE LAW. 207 Moses, for the trial of their faith and submission to his will. It is true the temple-worship was expensive, from the multitude of sacrifices which, according to the law, were constantly to be offer- ed ; but as these were offered by the command of God, he would he debtor to no man ; accord- ing to his promises they could lose nothing by obedience to his precepts. Perhaps the time referred to was with them a time of great drought, which is a great affliction to any country, and especially so where the cli- mate is hot and sultry. Now try me (as if God had said) ; come forward and liberally contribute to the support of my worship, and I shall refund whatever you have contributed, by sending so plentiful a rain, as if heaven was full of windows, and pailfuls of water were thrown from all of them ; and in such abundance and continuance, that your lands shall be so completely saturated, that there shall not be a spot on the high lands or low lands that shall require a drop more to render them sufficiently fertile abundantly to supply all your wants. Can you not trust to my faithfulness, and proceed instantly to the perfor- mance of your duty ? What a lesson is here given to Christians, only to believe the promises, and obey the precepts, and they shall experience the salvation of God. REQUIREMENTS OF THE LAW. And Jesus answered him [the scribe], The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel, the Lord 208 REQUIREMENTS OP THE LAW. our God is one Lord; and thou slialt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength : this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other com- mandment greater than these. — Mark xii. 29-31. Were these two branches of God’s law univer- sally and cordially obeyed on earth, this world would be a minor heaven. From the want of obedience to the latter, the dark or ignorant and heathen parts of the world are full of the habita- tions of cruelty. The aged are murdered or cruelly treated, as if useless creatures ; and as for the poor or necessitous, they are despised and treated as cumberers of the ground. Had they a dictionary, I hardly think the word charity would have a place in it. The last time I was at Lattakoo, I saw an affecting instance of the truth of their cruelty to the indigent. As a wag- gon was going to the Griqua country, twelve natives turned out to accompany it, in hopes of obtaining food from the Griquas, whom Chris- tianity had rendered more tender-hearted than their heathen townsmen at Lattakoo. While they waited for the departure of the Hottentots and waggon, I had an opportunity of witnessing their miserable plight. Most of them were women, with some tattered skins about their shoulders, and bodies so emaciated by want of food, that they looked more like spectres than human beings. They were obliged to leave their native town and country because no one pitied them or gave unto SUPPLIANTS FROM ETHIOPIA. 200 them, and to seek help from strangers in a strange land. ETHIOPIAN PETITIONERS. From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia, my suppliants, even the daughter of my dispersed, shall bring mine offerings. — Zeph. iii. 10. The Nile and the Niger may be the rivers referred to. Probably part of the ten tribes fled beyond these rivers, and this may have given rise to the existence of so many Jewish customs among the nations of Africa, which continue to the present time, such as circumcision — kings sitting in, judgment at the gate — brothers taking the widow of a brother to raise up seed to the deceased — dancings at new and full moon— ablu- tion after associating with strangers, &c. In the days of Jeremiah the prophet, after the murder of Gedaliah, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor of the land of Judah, one Johanan led a multitude of Jews to Egypt, to escape the vengeance of the king of Babylon which they dreaded he would take upon them for the murder of his governor. Many of these refugees might leave Egypt on the predicted cala- mities coming on that country, which God had threatened by his prophet, and might remove farther into the interior of the African continent, and spread some of their customs among the tribes with whom they associated ; and, in pro- cess of centuries, these customs might circulate s 2 210 MEETING BETWEEN GOD AND ISRAEL. from nation to nation, till they reached even the remote southern extremity of that great continent. The descendants of these scattered children of Abraham, who introduced these customs, may yet be visited by the glorious gospel of the bless- ed God, to the enlightening of their minds and renovating of their hearts, and thus they may be disposed to bring to God the New Testament sacrifices of real, unfeigned prayer, praise and thanksgiving. FRIGHTFUL MEETING BETWEEN GOD AND ISRAEL. I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. — Hate the evil, and love the good, and es- tablish judgment in the gate : it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the rem- nant of Joseph. — The day of the Lord is darkness and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. — Amos v. 12, 15, 19. Israel at this time appears to have been greatly corrupted : their kings and grandees are charged with giving and taking bribes ; both parties equally acting in a manner both sinful and dis- graceful, — the giver as well as the taker of a bribe, — while they turned away the poor man in the gate. Of course this refers to the custom in Judea and Africa, of kings sitting in judgment, or to decide causes, at the gate of the city. In MEETING BETWEEN GOD AND ISRAEL. 211 a dispute between a rich and a poor man, though the poor man had the right in the question, the rich man, by bribery, was sure to gain the cause. If the poor man remonstrated against the unjust decision, he was forcibly driven away from the seat of judgment by those connected with the court, -which showed there was a combination to promote injustice. In the 15th verse, God, in the most friendly manner, counsels them to hate the evil and love the good, and they might expect that he would deal favourably towards them ; but if they did not repent, and act according to his counsel, de- solation should come upon them. Nothing would be heard in their vineyards but expressions of lamentation over their unproductiveness ; and if this state of things did not bring them to repen- tance and reformation, worse judgments would come upon them, one after another ; for God may be said to have many arrow's in his quiver, so that those who escaped the first judgment might be overwhelmed by the second; and those who might escape the second should be slain by the third. In this they would resemble a man who, on beholding a lion rushing towards him* fled into a thicket and escaped ; but on leaving it, he is alarmed by the sight of a bear advancing towards him, which he also escapes by taking refuge in an old building ; but owing to his tre- mour and fatigue, he incautiously leans his hand against the wall where the stones are loose and open, — the pressure disturbs a serpent that is lurking at the very spot, which, feeling incom- 212 MAN A WONDERFUL WORK OF GOD. moded, darts forward and bites his hand, and the poison communicated proves mortal. MAN A WONDERFUL WORK OF GOD. I will praise thee [viz., God], for I am fearfully and wonderfully made : marvellous are thy works ; that my soul knoweth right well. — Psalm cxxxix. 14. David here records the subject of his medita- tion upon some particular occasion. His text was himself, as a work of God. He contem- plated the mechanism and form of his frame as a marvellous display of the wisdom, contrivance, and power of the Creator, and cordially extolled him for it ; — which reminds me of the case of a pious Griqua in the interior of Africa, which I had from his own lips. Before missionaries came to that part of Africa, he said, they were grossly ignorant. The first thing that led him to think of religion at all, was meeting two Hottentots belonging to Zak-river missionary station, who, before eating a meal, offered up a prayer to some one. This led him to visit that station to hear what the white people taught. Accordingly, he travelled across the wild Bushman country, and remained a few days at the settlement, during which he heard many things about God, Jesus Christ, &c.; but feeling no in- terest in them, he returned to his own country. However,, some time after his return home, while lying alone at the foot of a hill in the field, he began seriously to think on God as the creator or maker of every thing. He looked to a mountain ORIGIN OF WARS. 213 that was before him, as a work of God, which was the first time he had ever viewed any thing in that way, as connected with God. He then looked to himself in the same way, and first examined his two hands, and for the first time noticed that there was the same number of fingers on each hand. On observing this, he asked himself, Why there were not five fingers on this hand, and three on that? pointing to them as he told his story. He immediately concluded it must be God that made them both alike. He then examined his feet, and wondered to find the soles of both flat ; on which he asked himself, Why was not the one flat and the other round? He concluded it must be God that did this also. In the same way he examined his whole body, which made a deep impression on his mind, and disposed him im- mediately to attend the instructions of the mis- sionaries on their arrival in his country, and to continue with them, he said, till he was brought to trust that J esus died for his sins. This man afterwards became a member of the Christian church at Gri qua- town. „ ORIGIN OF WARS. From whence come wars and fightings among you ? Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in all your members ? — James iv. 1. All the interior nations of South Africa ar- dently lust after the possession of more cattle. To obtain these from each other is the cause of 214 ORIGIN OP WARS. almost all their wars ; indeed I never heard of one that did not arise from this cause. One nation having made a successful attack upon another, by capturing many of their cattle, the injured nation watches for a proper opportunity to attack them in return, in order to recapture the cattle they had lost, and to seize and carry off as many more as they can. Perhaps there is hardly one nation that has not a grudge against some other nation, for having, in their time or that of their fathers, plundered them of cattle. Every chief that spoke at the peetso , or parlia- ment of the Marootzees, when I was present, began his speech by reminding them of some nation or tribe that had stolen their cattle, and urging the king, who sat as chairman of the assembly, to lead them against that nation, to be revenged upon them for the depredation they had committed. Liqueling, the king, told me, at the first inter- view I had with him, that he heard when white men came first to Lattakoo, and that they had come to teach the nations to live in peace, no more to go to war ; — when he first heard this, he said, he was glad to hear of it ; and that he had said the same to Makkaba, the king of the Wanketzens, who said he was sorry to hear it, for it would prevent his gain, and asked how the young men would be able to acquire cattle if war ceased ? Liqueling asserted that, as for himself, he did not fight to take cattle, but to retake what had been stolen from him and his people. A WILD MAN. 215 If the question in the text were to be asked of the African nations, From whence come wars and fightings among you ? come they not from your lusts? — the true answer would he, Yes, from our lust of cattle. In the days of Buona- parte, the French nation must have said, — From our lust of dominion ; the Spaniards, in their wars with Mexico, Peru, &c., — From our lust of wealth ; in the latter days of Alexander, the great depredator, he must have said, — From the lust of fame ; for after he had conquered all the nations that were capable of making any power- ful resistance to his attacks, he is reported to have wept because there were no more worlds to conquer ; so if he only had had a ladder to reach the moon, he would have tried to have led his unprincipled army thither, to have carried bloodshed and death into all its provinces. How- ever, when the Gospel of God has delivered men from the dominion of human depravity, wars shall cease to the ends of the earth, and men shall cease to learn the art of it any more ; they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. A WILD MAN. And the angel of the Lord said unto her [Hagar], Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a mid man ; his hand will be against every man ; A WILD MAN. 216 and every man’s hand against him ; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. — G en. xvi. 11, 12. Ishmael and his mother, on leaving the family of Abraham, took np their residence in the wil- derness of Paran, where he lived by hunting. Like Jacob, he had twelve sons, and like his sons, they became the patriarchs of twelve tribes, viz., of the Arabians, a portion of whose descendants are known to Europeans by the appellation of Wild Arabs, who literally answer the description given of them by the pen of prophecy in the text. They are constantly watching for, and attacking caravans while crossing the deserts, on their way to Mecca, India, &c., and likewise attacking towns and villages in the vicinity of their deserts. In consequence of this, all travellers in their deserts, and residents around, constantly, as in or near an enemy’s country, go armed. The pen of prophecy never errs, because it pro- ceeds from the perfect foreknowledge of Him who knows the end from the beginning ; so that, though heaven and earth shall pass away, yet one jot or tittle that God has ever spoken, shall not pass away till all be accomplished. No two sets of people in the whole world, so far as my information goes, resemble each other so much in their habits, dispositions, and prac- tices, as the Wild Arabs in Northern Asia, and the wild Bushmen in Southern Africa. Neither of them sow or plant, nor have they any settled residence, but roam about like the wild beasts in search of what they can obtain by fair means A BULLOCK UNACCUSTOMED TO THE YOKE. 193 thus : thou hast chastised me, and I was chas- tised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke : turn thou me, and I shall be turned ; for thou art the Lord my God. — Jer. xxxi. 18. Ephraim rebelled against God, by giving the glory that was due to God to idols. Such was his attachment to idolatry, that he is said to have been joined unto his idols, or embraced them, or clasped them in his arms. For this, God punish- ed him, yet he persisted in his rebellion, — like Jeshurun, he waxed fat and kicked. Ephraim resisted the Divine admonitions, in the pride of his heart, determining to follow his own way, like Pharaoh, who said, "Who is the Lord that I should obey him ? When brought to a sight and sense of his sinful conduct, and seriously to reflect upon it, he compares his behaviour to that of a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. The simile is a most apt one. I had frequent opportunities of witnessing the conduct of oxen, when for the first time put into the yoke to assist in dragging the waggons. On observing an ox that had been in the yoke for 700 or 800 miles beginning to get weak, or his hoofs to he worn down to the quick, by treading on the sharp gravel, a fresh ox was put into the yoke in his place. When the selection fell on an ox I had received as a present from some African king, of course one completely unaccustomed to the yoke, such generally made a strenuous struggle for liberty, — repeatedly breaking the yoke, and at- tempting to make its escape. At other times such bullocks lay down upon their sides or backs, and H 194 FOOD IN THE WILDERNESS. remained so in defiance of the Hottentots, though, two or three of them would be lashing them with their ponderous whips. Sometimes, from pity to the animal, I would interfere, and beg them to be less cruel. “ Cruel !” they would say; “it is mercy , for if we do not conquer him now, he will require to he so beaten all his life.” Some oxen would seem convinced of the folly of opposing the will of the Hottentots by the end of the first day ; some about the middle of the second; while some would continue the struggle to the third ; after which they would go on as willingly and quietly as any of their neighbour oxen. They seemed convinced that their resisting was as fruitless as kicking against the pricks, or sharp pointed iron, w r hich they could not injure, but that every kick they gave only injured themselvese CAN GOD FURNISH FOOD IN A WILDERNESS ? They [the Israelites] tempted God in their heart, by askingmeetfor their lust. Yea, they spake against God; they said, can God furnish a table in the wilderness ? — Psalm lxxviii. 19. Who givethfood to all flesh; for his mercy endureth for ever. — Psalm cxxxvi. 25. In asking the above question, there is evidently a doubt implied respecting the ability of God to do so, forgetting that nothing is too hard for the Lord, whose power is infinite. He did furnish to their forefathers a table for forty years in a desert, by daily raining down a crop of manna from the field of heaven ; and, ages afterwards, FOOD IN THE WILDERNESS. 195 fed Elijah the prophet, when in similar circum- stances, by voracious ravens. The great southern Zahara is certainly the most extensive desert in the world, yet it is in- habited by wild Bushmen. When travelling parallel to it for some weeks, I could not conceive how human beings could be supported in such a wilderness, till I came to a Koran village, where I found some of the men had penetrated several days’ journey into it. On asking by what means the inhabitants of the desert were supported ? they said, that all over the desert water-melons grew very abundantly, and these furnished them with both food and drink. The melons were full of seed, which they grind into meal between two stones. The pulp, which is inside, they take out and spread on the bushes till it is dry, which, as well as the ground seed, they use for food. They obtain water by covering the melons with the embers of their fire, before they go to sleep in the evening, and on opening them in the morning, they find a considerable quantity of water ready for their use. I remember meeting one of those water-melon plants, which sent forth branches to a great extent in every direction, spread over the surface of the sand. I think the ground which it covered might have measured the fifth or sixth part of an acre. The number of large melons attached to it was considerable. I forget if we counted them, but I should suppose there might be from sixty to an hundred ; and God has given them the excellent quality to retain their freshness for two years. 196 THE ETHIOPIAN CANNOT CHANGE. Oh, how great is his goodness, and how wonder- ful are his works to the children of men ! CAN A BLACK MAN WASH HIMSELF WHITE ? Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots ? then may ye also do good that are ac- customed to do evil. — J er. xiii. 23. Ethiopia in the Hebrew is Cush , which sig- nifies blackness , also I burn , which is most ex- pressive of the state of the whole continent of Africa. The population from the one end of it to the other are dark coloured, and by far the greatest proportion are jet black. The greater part of that continent is under a tropical sun, so that the inhabitants may literally be said to be sun-burnt ; and about the meridian of most days, it could not be considered as extravagant expres- sions to hear one man say, that he is almost burnt up with heat ; or another, that he feels as if walking in fire ; or a third, that he is almost roasted alive ; when the thermometer, in the shade, rises to near, or above, a hundred. Such are natural expressions of the feelings, and they, or something analagous, would spontaneously be uttered by most persons in similar circumstances. To give the reader some idea of the state of things when the thermometer stands about a hun- dred, I may mention, that on such a day I was seated in the tent, writing, which was placed under the thick foliage of an evergreen tree. The perspiration dropped rapidly from my chin, while INTENSE HEAT. 197 numerous flies were walking over my face, and three of their thirsty companions were employed drinking the ink at the point of the pen. These troubled me much by concealing the word I was forming, which obliged me frequently to drive them away ; but this turned out to be a useless expedient, as it only made room for other flies more thirsty than themselves. Being vexed by their perseverance and boldness in so hazarding their lives merely to obtain a drink, I unwittingly put my hand into my pocket in search of the snuff-box, which felt so hot, that supposing I had taken something from the fire, I threw it from me to the ground. The ravens were walking in front of the tent door, picking up any thing left by the Hotten- tots at breakfast, as calmly as if we had been all dead ; and the dogs felt no disposition to drive them away ; for though they lay under the shade of trees, they were panting for breath, with mouths open and tongues extended, as if in a high fever. The Hottentots had dug graves under the trees, throwing out all the hot sand, — in these they silently lay while the intensity of the heat con- tinued. The intenseness of the heat chiefly arose from the lowness of the ground where we were, and its being covered with sand, and surrounded by hills, for, strictly speaking, it wanted a month of summer, being October. But the question in the text is, “ Can the Ethiopian change his skin” from black to white ? No, he cannot, any more than the habitual drunkard, or the covetous, or lascivious, can r 2 198 STRENGTH OF DEPRAVITY. change their acquired dispositions and habits. I remember a confession to this effect by a gentle- man in a mail-coach from York to London. To him I was an entire stranger, but he actually gloried in his lasciviousness, and boasted of the number of females he had ruined. After a long discussion on the impropriety and sinfulness of his confessed proceedings, we halted at a town on the road to sup. On returning to the coach, I said I should tell him a secret, — -That I was secretary to the Edinburgh Magdalene Asylum, and had been thinking of a number of gentlemen in that city who were expending their money, time, and talents, in order to lessen the number of these acknowledged pests of society, viz., pros- titutes ; and here was he, and many others like him, doing all they could to increase their num- ber ; and confessed that I could not account for this difference amongst men, unless I traced it up to God, who maketh one man to differ from an- other. When we stopped to change horses, he privately said to me, “Sir, I know that my con- duct is wrong, but I have such a propensity to that kind of life, that I declare to you I cannot give it up” I answered, that I knew he could not deliver himself from that propensity, and was aware that if men could save themselves from sin, God never would have sent his Son to do it, for God does nothing superfluous. When, at five o’clock in the morning, the mail- coach was passing through Kingsland, where I now reside (the name of which I did not at that time know), on its way to London, the gentle- THE AFRICAN HAS NO DESIRE TO CHANGE. 199 man took from his purge two guineas and put them into my hand, saying, “ These I give as a donation to the Edinburgh Magdalene Asylum, to assist in lessening the number of these acknow- ledged pests of society ! ” “ But, sir,” said I, u you do not know that I am secretary to that institution ; you have only my own word for it.” He was pleased to say, “ Take them, I can trust your w r ord.” Should this meet the eye of any of the governors of that institution, they will find, by examining their books, such a donation entered about the end of last century, or the beginning of this one. On the mail reaching the post-office, then in Lombard Street, he called for a hackney coach ; and, while stepping from the one coach to the other, he shook hands, saying, u I hope the con- versation we have had in this mail-coach will be of use to me in after-life. Adieu ! ” * The black Africans, at least while they remain in their own country, have no desire to change the colour of their skin, any more than the hard- ened, habitual, gross sinner has to change his manner of life; they are pleased with it, and the first time they see a white man, they think their own colour is much better. However, I have heard of instances of black men, after residing some time among whites, having been anxious to become like them, and have often washed their skin with soap and water, as they saw Europeans * Though this story be not African light , it will be excused, as only a little auxiliary light borrowed from England. 200 AFRICAN BOY WASHED. do, in order to effect it; but they soon found it was labour in vain. I have also heard of gross sinners coming in contact with the people of God, who have become desirous to resemble them, and have been led to wash their robes in the blood of the Lamb, and have thereby become altogether like the people of God. A Hottentot boy, about seven years of age, travelled for some time with the waggons, on his way to his father. As he never washed, I thought his swarthy colour might be improved if washed with soap and water ; but, after a fair trial, there was not the smallest visible alteration. The cir- cumstance immediately brought the above text to my recollection. Though the African cannot change the colour of his skin himself, or with the best assistance white men can give him, yet the Gospel, through the grace of God, has changed the hearts and lives of many of them, who formerly were accus- tomed to do evil ; now they have learned to do well ; old evil habits have passed away, and their general practice becomes new. A Hottentot of my company being offered by a boor a glass of Cape brandy, refused it, and said, in my hearing, u I was once a great drunkard, but ever since God opened my blind eyes, I have never tasted Cape brandy.” Africaner, the noted African chief, for many years, in the days of his ignorance, disturbed the peace of all the regions round about him ; but when the Gospel came to his people and to him in power, he became a peaceable man, and a humble worker of righteousness. These A DECEITFUL BOW. 201 are not solitary instances, but are stated as samples of many similar proofs of the transforming power of the glorious Gospel of Christ. A DECEITFUL BOW. They return, but not to the Most High: they are like a deceitful bow. — Hosea vii. 16 . Israel is here charged with ungrateful and hypocritical conduct, appearing as if they had repented of their idolatry and returned to the worship of the true God, when, in fact, it was only giving up one idol for another, having no repentance toward God, nor faith in divine truth ; wherefore they are compared to a deceitful bow, which, though it looks well, is useless. The strings ot African bows are all made of the entrails of animals, a kind of catgut. Moist weather renders it so soft, that they cannot shoot with it: should they try it, the string would either instantly break, or it would stretch to such a length that it could not impel the arrow. In consequence of this being the case, I have heard the remark made in Africa, that the safest time to travel among the wild Bushmen is in wet weather, for then they cannot shoot you. Were people using such bows for defence, and unacquainted with this effect of moisture, in a time of danger to seize their bow for self-defence, they would be grievously deceived, by finding them useless when most needed. They would tins prove deceitful bows. 202 GOD REBUKING THE SEA. EFFECTS OF GOD REBUKING THE SEA. He rebuketh the sea, and maketh it dry, and drietk up all the rivers ; Bashan languisheth, and Car- mel, and the flower of Lebanon languisheth.-— Nahum i. 4. God has a variety of ways of punishing nations for their guilt. The text states one way. God begins with that which is the origin or efficient catise of rain, rivers, and the fertility of all lands, viz., the sea, — the grand reservoir from whence all showers that water continents and islands are brought. Jehovah, as the Proprietor and Master of the sea, is beautifully represented as reproving it for sending its valuable treasures to countries in open rebellion against his authority, and orders it to cease sending forth any more till it receives fresh orders from him. The sea obeys without a murmur; it becomes of no more use to the land than if it Were dried up, while clouds with rain cease to proceed from it. Observe the consequence of this veto: it becomes like an act o| parliament without the royal signa- ture attach^ to it — useless. The rivers become extinct, — their fish die, — their channels exist for no purpose, — that which was their glory is de- parted, — and the fond expectations of the way- faring man, on reaching t Jem, are disappointed ; likewise, thirsty hans, and other animals of the hills and plains, that panted for the water-brooks, stand at their sides full of amazement. Yea, even Bashan, once one of the most fertile countries