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^ 2 ^ /rsy 
 
 THE BOOK 
 
 CM&) 
 
 AND ITS STORY; 
 
 A NARRATIVE FOR THE YOTJNGr. 7 
 
 BY 
 
 L. N. R. 
 
 ON OCCASION OF THE 
 
 fubike of ijjc gritisb sub foreign gjible Sotieljr. 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTORY PREFACE BY THE REY. T. PHILLIPS 
 
 JUBILEE SECRETARY 
 
 SIXTY-FOURTH THOUSAND. 
 TENTH EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 .W. KENT AND CO., PATERNOSTER ROW; 
 THOMAS HATCHARD, PICCADILLY. 
 
 MDCCCI7II 
 
Unfv. of in 
 
 P" r-: 
 
 Li & 
 
 /iA 3 
 
 PRINTED BY 
 
 . Library 
 
 LONDON J 
 
 PETTER AND GALPIN, LA BELLE SAUVAGE YARD, 
 LUDGATE HILL. 
 
 Entered at Stattoners’ Hall, 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This volume needs no explanatory Introduction; its 
 object is fully expressed in its title-page; and tire reader 
 will find in tire perusal tliat it is what it professes to be. 
 
 The “ Story” of the Book, in all ages, countries, 
 and languages, is told with simplicity and truthfulness. 
 The w T ork contains the “ Story” of the Bible from the 
 first dawn of revelation to the completion of the sacred * 
 canon, with the interesting details of its translation and 
 circulation, from the earliest efforts until the present time. 
 To tell the Story of the Book in former days, a mul- 
 titude of curious facts have been culled from works of 
 difficult access; and its later progress is illustrated by an 
 abundant variety of statements drawn from numerous 
 authentic sources. 
 
 As the Bible Society is so identified with the Book 
 whose Story is here attempted, the origin, progress, and 
 remarkable prosperity of the Institution are given with 
 
 801828 
 
IY 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 some minuteness of detail, and this little volume will be 
 found to contain simple and interesting information about 
 the Society’s actual operations. 
 
 It professes to be a Narrative for the Young; but we are 
 greatly mistaken if it be not regarded as a book suited 
 to all ages, and perused with interest by all who love 
 the Book whose Story it gives. We are, indeed, anxious 
 that the younger members of our families should look 
 upon it as a volume intended for them, and peculiarly 
 their own ; and we are sanguine enough to expect a large 
 circulation. It is our earnest desire that parents and in- 
 structors of youth should be so fully convinced of the 
 value of the Bible Society, as to lead them to embrace 
 every opportunity to make its claims known ; and the re- 
 commendation of this volume may be regarded, we think, 
 as a likely means, under the Divine blessing, to interest the 
 young in the great and glorious work of Bible-circulation. 
 In this simple way they may be the means of raising up 
 a multitude of “ fellow-helpers” to the truth. If it is a 
 satisfaction to be instrumental in causing the grass to 
 grow, flowers to bloom, and trees to yield fruit, where all 
 was barrenness and sterility before, how much greater the 
 privilege to be the means of leading others, not only to 
 possess the Bible themselves, but to labour and contribute 
 towards its universal dissemination ! 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 V 
 
 The occasion of preparing this volume, as will he seen 
 in the title-page, is the J ubilee of the Bible Society , 
 — an occasion fraught with solemn reflections, and ac- 
 companied with weighty responsibilities. 
 
 The Narrative now introduced has peculiar claims upon 
 the friends of the Society — claims which no other unoffi- 
 cial publication can possibly possess. It has been written 
 by request, and solely with a view to promote the objects 
 of the Institution. Great pains have been taken to render 
 its varied contents as accurate as they are interesting. 
 The Annual Beports, the Monthly Extracts of Correspon- 
 dence, the History of the Society so far as written, and 
 many other documents have been studied with care, while, 
 to ensure correctness, the technical facts and figures have 
 been submitted to the best authorities. 
 
 It will be observed that the Book is published at an 
 unusually low rate, with a view to more extensive cir- 
 culation. We arc persuaded that its perusal will spread 
 a large amount of information in families and schools, the 
 value of which cannot be told in gold and silver. 
 
 It is our heart’s desire that the readers of this volume 
 may be led to value the Sacred Scriptures more than ever, 
 to feel grateful for the possession of the inestimable trea- 
 sure, and for the liberty and opportunity to engage with 
 out let or hindrance in labours of Christian usefulness. 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE* 
 
 Finally, we pray, that all who possess the Bible may 
 become more sensible of their obligations to impart to 
 others — to millions still destitute — the privileges and 
 blessings they so abundantly enjoy , — remembering the 
 words of the Lord Jesus , — -“It is moke blessed to 
 GIVE THAK TO RECEIVE.” 
 
 T. R 
 
 London, 1853. 
 
 PREFACE TO THE TENTH EDITION. 
 
 The friends of the Bible will be gratified to find that arrange- 
 ments are made to bring ‘‘The Book and its Story” into still 
 farther circulation. It has already passed through nine editions, 
 numbering forty-three thousand copies, and has been translated 
 into the Dutch, German, and French languages. The testimonies 
 to its usefulness, in directing attention to the Bible itself, and in 
 awakening an interest in behalf of the Bible Society, are both 
 numerous and striking. It is believed, however, that a large 
 class of persons may yet be benefited by its perusal ; and hence 
 the issue of another and a cheaper edition. The children in 
 our schools, and the operatives in our manufactories, may now 
 become possessed of the “Story” of that wondrous ‘‘Book” to 
 which we o we our personal hopes, domestic comforts, and national 
 blessings. 
 
 The series of Coloured Diagrams, illustrative of “ The Book 
 and its Story,” together with “Aids to Lectures,” may be had 
 from the Publisher, and at the Depository of the “Working Men's 
 Educational Union.” {See page viii.) 
 
 T P. 
 
 London, December, 185G. 
 
AUTHOR’S 'PREFACE. 
 
 In issuing the Eighth Edition of this volume, the Author 
 thankfully acknowledges its kind reception by the friends 
 of The British and Foreign Bible Society. 
 
 The work was undertaken at the request of the Rev. 
 T. Phillips, Jubilee Secretary of the Society, with the 
 desire of blending scriptural information, in a form which 
 should be interesting even to young children, with a 
 compendious History of the Sacred Books, in ancient and 
 modern times, and the detail of their universal circulation. 
 
 For the zealous assistance of competent friends, and for 
 the valuable and unremitting aid of the Jubilee Secretary, 
 whose access to the archives of the Society enabled him 
 to verify the continual references to its history, acknow- 
 ledgments are gratefully rendered. 
 
 For the beautiful Frontispiece, the Author is indebted 
 to the kindness of George Harvey, Esq., r.s. a., the 
 accomplished painter of the original, and to Robert 
 Graves, Esq., a.r.a., the talented engraver of it. 
 
 While thus expressing gratitude for human aid, all 
 ability to tell the Story of the Book, is humbly and thank- 
 fully traced to its Divine Author. May He be pleased 
 to extend still further the usefulness of this labour of love 
 in the cause of Bible-distribution ! And if many a reader 
 should yet arise from its perusal, and say, u I, too, must 
 search the Book of God ; I, too, must help to give it to 
 the world,” — to God alone be all the glory ! 
 
 1855. 
 
 L. N. R. 
 
%, Series of Cotortb fiapms 
 
 HAS BEEN PREPARED TO ILLUSTRATE THE LITERARY HISTORY OF THE 
 BIBLE, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO 
 
 “THE BOOK AND ITS STOR Y.” 
 
 The Diagrams are executed in a hold attractive style , and are intended for the use 
 of Lecturers. They are printed upon calico, and provided with 
 frame and eyelets for convenient suspension. 
 
 UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE WORKING MEN’S 
 EDUCATIONAL UNION. 
 
 LIST OF THE DIAGRAMS. 
 
 Stone Boors. 
 
 PICTURE WRITING-, at Karnak, Thebes. 
 
 WRITING- ON STONE : the Rosetta Stone. 
 
 HPtTT? TW A ■VTTQPT?TT> r r A nr C2 
 
 ANCIENT MANUSCRIPTS AND WRITING MATERIALS. 
 MULTIPLICATION OF COPIES : the Scriptorium and Scribe. 
 THE DEATH OF THE VENERABLE BEDE. 
 
 WYCLIF CITED BEFORE ARCHBISHOP COURTENAY. 
 
 Bible Translators. 
 
 THE BIBLE CHAINED. 
 
 LUTHER FINDING- THE BIBLE. 
 
 LUTHER TRANSLATING THE BIBLE INTO GERMAN. 
 The New Era. 
 
 MULTIPLICATION OF COPIES: the Printing Press. 
 
 Enmity to the Bible. 
 
 THE BURNT ROLL ; or, the Scriptures Destroyed. 
 
 SEARCH FOR NEW TESTAMENTS, at Oxford and Cambridge. 
 BIBLE BURNING AT PAUL’S CROSS. 
 
 The Bible Free 
 
 ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL; the Jubilee Sermon. 
 
 THE BIBLE HOUSE AND WAREHOUSE. 
 
 Price of the set of Fifteen Diagrams , to Subscribers, 1Z. 7s. 6 d.; to Non- Subscribers, 
 l L 175. G d. With Frame and Eyelets for suspending Diagrams, 2s. 6d. extra. 
 
 The pages of the “ Book and its Story,” referred to in these “ Aids,” are those ot 
 the Seventh Edition. 
 
 LEAVES FRGPfl THE BOOK AND ITS STORY, 
 
 OK 
 
 AIDS TO LECTURES ON THE FIFTEEN DIAGRAMS. 
 
 Price One Shilling and Fourpence. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 
 THE BIBLE IN PAST AGES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. page 
 
 The Book and its circulation by means of the Bible Society. 
 
 — The ages without the Bible. — Voices from Heaven. — Patri- 
 archal tradition. — The flood. — Renewed corruptions. — Early 
 idolatries. — Ancient Egypt. — The pyramids. — The oldest 
 coffin. — Thebes, Karnak, hieroglyphics, Rosetta stone. — 
 Inscriptions on tombs. — The bondage. — Moses. — Arabia.— - 
 The Arabs. — The book of Job. — The Pentateuch, how writ- 
 ten. — The Exode. — -Number of the people. — How supported. 
 
 — Commencement of the age of miracle. — Amalek. — Wady 
 Mokatteb . 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Mount Sinai. — The covenant, the giving of the Law. — The 
 Jebel Mousa. — Jehovah. — Seven sins and their punishments. 
 
 — Eleven months at Sinai. — The unknown thirty- eight years. 
 
 — The last year of the wandering. — Mount Hor. — The death 
 of Aaron. — The law as made known to the people. — Fiery 
 serpents. — The death of Moses 20 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Entrance to the land. — Joshua. — The Canaanites. — Joshua’s 
 victories. — Ebal and Gerizim. — The Judges. — The six ser- 
 vitudes. — The times of the Kings. — David. — Solomon. — Divi- 
 sion of the kingdom. — Shishak. — The prophets, their rolls. 
 
 — Table of prophets. — The lost ten tribes. — The lost roll, 
 
X 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 the burnt roll. — Captivity and return. — Ezra’s ministry. — 
 Review of the history and prophecies concerning the fall of 
 Israel, Nineveh, Judah, Tyre, Petra, Thebes, and Babylon . 32 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 The Jewish Bible complete. — The Apocrypha. — The Septua- 
 gint. — Daniel’s two pictures. — Antiochus Epiphanes. — The 
 Maccabees. — Judas Maccabeus. — The Roman power. — Pom- 
 pey. — Caesar. — The Druids. — Their Hebrew origin. — Ser- 
 pent-worship. — Druidical remains. — Greek philosophers. — 
 Herod. — The temple. — The synagogues. — Traditions of the 
 Pharisees. — Targums. — Pharisees and Sadducees. — The 
 faithful few. — The rabbins. — John the Baptist. — His minis- 
 try. — Our Lord’s advent. — His mission. — Books of the New 
 Testament. — The first century. — Its apostles and elders. — 
 
 The Last Supper. — Violent death of all who partook of it, 
 except John. — First and second pagan persecutions. — De- 
 struction of Jerusalem 61 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 Gradual circulation of the New Testament. — Earliest heresies. 
 
 — Uninspired teachers. — Progress of the gospel. — The Book 
 becomes the guide. — Eight more pagan persecutions. — Par- 
 ticulars of these. — Dioclesian’s medals. — Reign of Constan- 
 tine, his mistaken zeal. — The rise of monasteries. — Progress 
 of the papacy. — Alaric. — Versions of Scripture. — The Alex- 
 andrine version. — First protests. — Vigilantius. — Nestorius. 
 
 — The Nestorian Christians. — The Armenian church. — The 
 Paulicians. — The Abyssinian church. — The British church 
 in Wales, in Scotland, in Ireland. — Succat. — Columba. — 
 
 Iona . 86 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 The fail of England’s Protestantism. — Augustine’s mission. — 
 Bede. — King Alfred. — General ignorance. — The Yaudois 
 church. — Early protests. — Claude of Turin. — Yaudois col- 
 porteurs. — Waldo. — His translation of the Bible. — Sketch of 
 the Yaudois people. — Their knowledge of Scripture. — Inno- 
 cent III. — The inquisition. — Torments. — Steadfastness. — 
 
 The vows of Luzerna. — The Bohemian Christians . .112 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 fhe earthquake council. — John Wiclif. — The law made at 
 'Toulouse. — Romish revenge on Wiclif. — His translation of 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 X] 
 
 PAGE 
 
 the Scriptures. — Lollard martyrs. — Sawtre. — Lady Jane 
 Boughton. — Lord Cobham. — Black-friars’ monastery. — Site 
 of Bible-house. — Printing. — Anger of monks. — Use of mo- 
 nasteries. — Beading and writing of the Scriptures at Clugni. 
 Translations preparing. — Gift of the Vaudois church to 
 France. — Olivetan’s version. — De Sacy’s version. — Colpor- 
 teurs. — Translations of the Bible extant up to the sixteenth 
 century. — Particulars concerning each . . . .124 
 
 CHAPTEB VIII. 
 
 Tyndal. — Erasmus. — Tonstall. — More. — Wolsey. — Search for 
 Testaments in London, Oxford, and Cambridge. — Scenes 
 in St. Paul’s cathedral, and at Paul’s cross. — Deaths of 
 Tyndal and of Wolsey. — Description of frontispiece, with 
 martyrdom of Ann Askew. — Luther. — List of languages 
 before 1804. — Summing up of the narrative . . .148 
 
 PAKT II. 
 
 THE BIBLE SOCIETY’S HOUSE. 
 
 THE FEINTING AND BINDING OF THE BIBLE. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 The Bible-house. — Its library. — Wiclifs Testament. — Tyndal’s 
 Bible. — Coverdale’s Bible. — The Geneva Bible. — The Bi- 
 shops’ Bible. — Authorised version. — Welsh Bible. — Euro- 
 pean languages. — Swedish Bible. — Polyglots. — Dutch Bible. 
 
 — Luther’s Bible.— Bohemian Bible. — Eastern languages. — 
 Persian Testament. — Pali, Hinduwee, Bengalee,, etc. — 
 Separate translations of the Bible into Chinese. — The 
 Lord’s Prayer in all languages. — The Douay version. — The 
 Society’s departed friends. — The manuscript library. — The 
 Breton Bible. — Wales and Brittany. — Syrian, Persian, Chi- 
 nese, Ethiopia, and Amharic manuscripts. — The Amharic 
 Bible. — Mr. Jowett’s account of it. — How the Society 
 obtains its translations. — Their revision. — The general com- 
 mittee-room. — The case of Bibles. — The Bible for the blind. — 
 
 The sub -committee-room , — Portraits. — The Bible- warehouse 177 
 
xii 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Bible -printing at Shacklewell. — Ancient printing-office. — The 
 compositor. — The reader. — Stereotyping. — Binding. — Num- 
 ber employed 201 
 
 PART II L 
 
 THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY’S RISE, 
 PROGRESS, AND PRESENT OPERATIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Rev. T. Charles. — Particulars of his youth. — His missionary 
 spirit. — His usefulness to the young. — Scarcity of the Scrip- 
 tures in Wales. — Circulating schools. — Committing the 
 Bible to memory. — Grown-up scholars. — Meeting of twenty 
 schools. — The little girl who had no Bible. — The twelve 
 peasants. — Mr. Charles’s visit to London. — Tract committee. 
 
 — Wants of Wales, and of the world. — Formation of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society. — Collections in Wales. — 
 Influential friends and supporters. — Objects and constitution 
 of the Society, formed alike for home and the world. — Its 
 principle. — Union and co-operation of all parties. — Rev. J. 
 Owen. — Rev. J. Hughes ... . . *221 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Arrival of Bibles in Wales. — Answer to prayer for Mr. Charles. — 
 
 His visit to Ireland. — His funeral. — Want of the Scriptures 
 in Scotland and in France. — -Revocation of the edict of Nantes 
 and its results. — Sufferings of the Huguenots and Yaudois. — 
 Reaction of infidelity. — Desire of England to circulate the 
 Bible in France. — Oberlin and the Ban de la Roche. — Scrip- 
 ture-readers. — Bible Societies atWaldbach and Nuremberg. — 
 Scarcity of the Scriptures even in Europe. — Their circula- 
 tion among French and Spanish prisoners of war. — Bible 
 t Society at Berlin. — Willingness of a priest to distribute the 
 New Testament. — The field of labour in Asia. — Chinese 
 gospels in the British Museum. — India and the Tamil language. 
 
 — Africa. — America . . , . .236 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Xlll 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Bible Society’s “Reports” not dull boohs: what it is that they 
 contain. — The sway of Great Britain and its purpose. — The 
 world’s inhabitants, in five classes. — The work of the Bible 
 Society amongst each. — The way it is accomplished, by divi- 
 sion of labour, and by various agents. — The Bible Society 
 like the banian tree, its fibres taking root in the Protestant 
 countries, first in England, by the auxiliaries and Bible Asso- 
 ciations. — The system gradually matured. — Arrangement 
 of districts. — Ladies’ committees. — The results of co-opera- 
 tion. — Objections to the Society. — Lord Teignmouth’s an- 
 swer. — Mr. Dealtry’s. — Mr. Ward’s. — Operations at home. 
 —Extracts from reports of collectors. — The dying child. — 
 
 The old woman and the wool. — The Bible-bees. — The gun 
 and the Bible. — Mr. Dudley’s review. — Death of Mr. Owen. 
 
 — Distribution of the Scriptures in Ireland. — Anecdotes 249 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 The Bible Society in Holland. — Ali Bey’s Turkish Bible. — 
 Prayer for Bible Societies. — Germany. — Its religious state 
 previous to the existence of the Bible Society. — Dr. Schwabe’s 
 tour. — Mr. Owen’s letters. — Prussia. — Royal patronage. — 
 Switzerland. — Antistes Hess. — Dr. Steinkopffs report. — 
 Lausanne Bible Society. — Sweden. — Norway. — Iceland. — 
 
 Mr. Henderson s letters. — Denmark. — The United States of 
 America ... ..... 272 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 The Jews, after their dispersion, in Rome, Spain, Portugal, 
 France, Germany, Turkey, and England. — Their sufferings, 
 and the remission of these. — Their numbers all over the world. 
 
 — What the Society did for them in its first twenty-five years. 
 
 — Letters of Dr. Pinkerton from Russia. — Jews of Thessa- 
 lonicaand Constantinople. — Jewish converts. — The Society’s 
 work among the Syrian Christians in the Armenian church, 
 in the Nestorian, and in the Abyssinian. — Letters from Mr. 
 Pearce. — Grants to the Yaudois church. — Its gratitude . 290 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 The work of the Bible Society among Roman Catholics. — 
 
 The Greek church. — Distribution of the Bible by Roman- 
 Catholic priests. — General willingness of the Roman-Catho- 
 lic laity to receive it. — Anecdotes. — Leander Yan Ess. — 
 France. — Professor Kieffer. — The prayer of the dying sister, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XIV 
 
 PAGE 
 
 and its answer. — Austria and Belgiur^. — The Homan -Catho- 
 lic portions of Germany, Prussia, Poland, and Switzerland. 
 
 — Italy, Spain, and Portugal. — Russia: the Bible Society 
 there; its extinction, — The tribe of Buriats. — Turkey, Eu- 
 ropean and Asiatic.; its mixed population. — The Turks. — 
 Foreign agency. — Mr. Barker. — Greece. — South America. 
 
 — Dr. Thomson. — A few words on the Apocrypha. — The 
 Mahomedan countries. — The Heathen countries . . .313 
 
 CHAPTER FIX. 
 
 Death of Lord Teignmouth, and of Mr. Hughes. — Bible colpor- 
 tage upon the continent. — Osee Derbecq. — Characteristics of 
 colporteurs. — The young Bible-collector in Jersey. — Juve- 
 nile Bible Associations. — Individual efforts to distribute the 
 Scriptures. — The Testament among the fishing-people of 
 Boulogne. — A tract the pioneer of the Bible. — Statistics of 
 infidel publications 349 
 
 CHAPTER YIII. 
 
 Jubilee review of the heathen countries of the world. — The 
 Bible in India. — In China : extraordinary religious movement 
 there : Sew-tseuen, the leader of the insurgents. — Japan, in 
 all probability without a Bible. — Loochoo islands . .371 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Jubilee review continued . — Circulation of the Bible in Austra- 
 lia, Borneo, Tahiti, Rarotonga, Mangaia, Hew Zealand, and 
 South Africa. — The Bible among Mahomedans, in Roman- 
 Catholic countries, in Austria, in Spain and Portugal, in 
 Switzerland and Italy, and in France .... 405 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The old fountain restored in Assyria. — The Xestorian church. — 
 American missions. — Mr. Bayard’ s testimony. — The Ar- 
 menian, the Coptic, the Abyssinian, and the Waldensian 
 churches. — The Jews. — Jerusalem. — Nazareth . . . 430 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Protestant countries : Holland, Germany, Denmark, Nor- 
 way, and Sweden. — State of the Continent. — Lord Bexley. 
 
 — Mr. Brandram. — Wales. — Scotland. — England. — Ireland. 
 
 — Home colporteurs and collectors. — Final appeal. — Motives 
 for renewed exertion 455 
 
 Addenda to the Seventh Edition » 483 
 
THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 PART I 
 
 THE BIBLE IN PAST AttEa 
 
THE 
 
 BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS CIRCULATION BY MEANS OF THE BIBLE SOCIETY. 
 — THE AGES WITHOUT THE BIBLE. VOICES FROM HEAVEN. PA- 
 TRIARCHAL TRADITION. THE FLOOD. RENEWED CORRUPTIONS. 
 
 EARLY IDOLATRIES. ANCIENT EGYPT. THE PYRAMIDS. THE 
 
 OLDEST COFFIN. THEBES, KARNAK, HIEROGLYPHICS, ROSETTA 
 
 STONE. INSCRIPTIONS ON TOMBS. THE BONDAGE. — MOSES. 
 
 ARABIA. THE ARABS. THE BOOK OF JOB. THE PENTATEUCH, 
 
 HOW WRITTEN. THE EXODE. NUMBER OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 HOW SUPPORTED. COMMENCEMENT OF THE AGE OF MIRACLE. 
 
 AMALEK. WADY MOKATTEB. 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 In almost all the houses in England, may now be found 
 One Book, — the oldest and the most wonderful book in 
 the world. 
 
 This Book, the Bible, is a Revelation from God. The 
 word revelation means the rolling back of a veil; so the 
 Bible unveils to man what otherwise he could not know 
 of the Great God, of man, and of Jesus Christ, who is 
 God and man “ in one person for ever.” 
 
 God caused holy men to write on these subjects that 
 which He taught them; and, being written, He meant 
 it to be known throughout all the world, by every hu- 
 man creature. 
 
 2 
 
2 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 But this Book did not always lie upon almost every 
 table in England. It is only within the last fifty years 
 that it entered into the minds of some good men to seek 
 the union of all denominations of Christians, for the pur- 
 pose of translating this Holy Bible into every language, 
 and then of printing and sending it forth into every land 
 and every family ; and when they had effected this union 
 for so great a work, they took the name of The British 
 and Foreign Bible Society. 
 
 This Bible Society has a Story, and they have wished 
 their Story written for those who weie not born when 
 their Society arose. Before, however, we begin to tell 
 you the Story of the Bible Society, which is a true and 
 glorious tale that will certainly stir all the young hearts 
 that listen to it, to desire to work in its service, it will be 
 necessary for you that we go back for awhile to the Story 
 of the Bible itself, and that we inquire what that Book is, 
 and whence it came. 
 
 And now, while we attempt to lead you to retrace the 
 times of its beginning, we have one request to make, that 
 you will read, with your Bible by your side, and turn to 
 the references made to Scripture as they occur. You have 
 not to search through u houses of rolls,” and long files of 
 ancient manuscripts, to see if the Story be true ; for all 
 the wonders that will be told you, concern a small volume 
 that can be held in the hand of the )T>ungest child ca- 
 pable of understanding it. 
 
 May the Holy Spirit of God lead us reverently to seek, 
 throughout our lives, for “ all truth” contained in his 
 high and holy word, which is able to make us “ wise,” 
 and “ wise unto salvation” ! 
 
 THE AGES WITHOUT THE BIBLE. 
 
 You know, perhaps, that this world existed for 2500 
 3 r ears or more after the creation of mankind, without a 
 
THE AGES WITHOUT THE BIBLE. 
 
 3 
 
 written revelation ; and Moses tells us, that, during that 
 period, the wickedness of man was “ great upon the 
 earth,” — so that a just and holy God swept the whole 
 human race away, and washed out their remembrance* 
 with the exception of one family, saved in the ark, to be 
 the founders of new nations. 
 
 Did you ever think of the way in which the Almighty, 
 in the midst of this abounding wickedness, preserved 
 amongst the few, the knowledge of his Name? He held 
 immediate intercourse with one patriarch after another, 
 by voices from heaven, and he had spoken much with 
 Adam. Adam lived nearly 700 years after the birth of 
 his grandson En<^, when it is said men “ began to call 
 themselves by the name of the Lord.” With Adam, 
 during the days of his long life, all who desired it might 
 converse. Enos lived far into the days of the holy 
 Enoch, of whom it is said that he “ walked with God, 
 and was not, for God took him.” Enoch would certainly 
 teach the truth to his own son Methuselah, with whom 
 he lived 300 years : in giving him his name, he uttered a , 
 prophecy, for the word means, “He dies, and it is sent”; 
 and Methuselah died in the year of the flood. Noah, 
 born 400 years after Methuselah, might have talked with 
 him for 600 years before the flood, so that in a line of 
 only five persons, all that Adam, who was made in God’s 
 own image, “knew of his Creator” would be handed 
 down from tongue to tongue ; and doubtless Adam, 
 Enoch, and Noah, at least, were actual “ preachers of 
 righteousness” to all who would hear them. 
 
 Shem, then, the son of Noah, who lived 500 years 
 after he. came out of the ark, and of whom it is said, 
 “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem,” would, with the 
 other patriarchs, convey all that was known of God, to 
 the people fast growing up around them ; and this know- 
 ledge would at first, in all probability, be carried, at the 
 dispersion of mankind, into the different districts in which 
 they settled. It is thought, that Noah being “a husband- 
 
4 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 man,” never removed far from the regions where the ark 
 rested ; that Ham went forth into Africa, J apheth into 
 Europe, while Shem, who was the favoured son, remained 
 in Asia. 
 
 But with this possible knowledge of the true God, we 
 know that very soon there was mingled the “ corruption” 
 of a former world : men began to adore, in God’s stead, 
 the sun and moon, which they did, because they observed 
 them to be moving bodies, and thought them living ones, 
 in the heavens. 
 
 The Egyptians named their kings Pharaoh , from Phra , 
 the sun, arid worshipped them, when dead ; and very 
 early, as we learn from the picture-writing, or hierogly- 
 phics on the walls of their ancient temples, mixed up 
 their true and noble notions of God, and of the past, and 
 of the future, with base idolatries, not only of sun, moon, 
 stars, and men, but of brutes, reptiles, plants, and even 
 insects. They bowed down to bulls, crocodiles, lily- 
 flowers, onions, and beetles; yet they were men of mighty 
 thoughts, and their ideas of building were so vast, that at 
 this day we should say the records of their structures 
 were fables, did not the immense remains exist, to witness 
 to the truth of history. What child has not heard of the 
 pyramids, now believed to be older than Abraham? Many 
 think that Job spoke of them when he referred to “ the 
 men who build desolate places for themselves.” 
 
 Three of these astonishing buildings stand eleven miles 
 west of the Nile. The largest is built of hewn-stones, 
 some of them thirty feet long. A French engineer has 
 calculated that the stones of that huge pile, called the 
 44 Great Pyramid,” would suffice to build a wall all round 
 France, measuring 1800 miles, — a wall one foot thick, 
 and ten feet high. These vast mountains of stone appear 
 to have been intended as tombs for the kings of Egyot. 
 Since the year 1834, we have been sure of this, for in the 
 third pyramid of Ghizeh has been found the stone coffin 
 of the king for whom it was built, the coffin of King 
 
THE AGES WITHOUT THE BIBLE. 
 
 5 
 
 Mykerinus. On the floor of its sepulchral chamber was 
 discovered a mummy-case, or rather its broken lid (for the 
 pyramid had been rifled hundreds of years before by the 
 Saracens), which proved to be, from the picture-writing 
 upon it, the mummy-case and coffin of the builder.* 
 
 That ancient lid, perhaps 4000 years old, is now in the 
 British Museum; you can go and see it there; and the 
 far-off time to which it belongs, and the certainty of the 
 occupant, throw an awful interest round this relic of the 
 first Pharaohs. 
 
 These ancient and extraordinary Egyptians, whose 
 thoughts seem always to have been occupied with their 
 temples and their tombs, believed that the spirit, when it 
 left the body, -wandered on, never resting, giving life to 
 some beast of the field, some fowl of the air, some fish of 
 the sea, — waiting for the redemption of the original body; 
 therefore they took great pains to preserve their bodies 
 after death, in time-proof mansions. They had no writ- 
 ten revelation to which to refer, to set them right -when 
 they were wrong ; and after the death of the patriarchs, 
 they derived their knowledge from tradition, or that 
 which one told another; for God never spoke to them hy 
 a voice from heaven. 
 
 Before we leave them, and with Israel “go up out of 
 Egypt,” under the care of Moses, “ learned in all the 
 wisdom of the Egyptians,” you would like to follow with 
 us for a little while the steps of recent travellers into this 
 region. You must take nineteen days’ journey up the 
 Isile, to the ancient Thebes, which was Egypt’s old metro- 
 polis, long before Israel was settled in the land of Goshen. 
 
 Thebes or Theba means the ark; and the chief tem- 
 ple there seems to have been built in commemoration of 
 the deluge; — a boat-like shrine was the most sacred ob- 
 ject in the ancient Egyptian temples. 
 
 * Herodotus had said that the third pyramid was built by King 
 Mykerinus. — Book 2, p. 133. 
 
6 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Thebes is a city that was thought worthy of mention' 
 in Scripture: it is there called, “ No- Ammon, ” “popu- 
 lous No,” perhaps from No-ah. Its acres of ruins remain 
 to this day. Belzoni says, that among them he felt as in 
 a city that had been built by giants. Its situation is 
 grander than even that of the seven-hilled city of Rome. 
 “ The whole valley of the Nile was not large enough to 
 contain it, and its extremities rested on the bases of the 
 mountains of Arabia and Africa.” 
 
 It stood upon a vast plain describing a circuit of thirty 
 miles, and was called, “ the City of the Hundred Gates,” 
 and the whole extent is still strewed with broken columns, 
 avenues of sphinxes, colossal figures, obelisks, porticoes, 
 
 A Sphinx. 
 
 blocks of polished granite; and above these, in all the 
 nakedness of desolation, tower the amazing pillars of the 
 ancient temples. The largest and the oldest among these 
 ruins is called “the Temple of Karnak”; and 134 of its 
 pillars are still standing in rows, nine deep. There is no 
 other such assembly of pillars in the world: they are 
 covered with paintings of gods, kings, priests, and war- 
 riors : the walls and roof are still glowing with the richest 
 colours. Some parts of this temple, at least, are older than 
 the days of Moses, — 1600 years before the birth of Christ. 
 
 The interest of these ruins is unspeakable, because 
 
HIEROGLYPHICS. 
 
 7 
 
 those who are acquainted with the subject know that the 
 ancient history of' Egypt is to be read in these vast old 
 books of stone. Men have only lately acquired the power 
 to read them. The picture-writing (or hieroglyphics) on 
 their pillars and tablets is thought to have been known 
 only to the priests, and has for more than 2000 j^ears 
 been a mystery to the world. Moses probably understood 
 it, for “ he was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyp- 
 tians’" (Acts 7. 22). 
 
 Mr. Gliddon, formerly the American consul in Egypt, 
 and who devoted his attention for many years to the 
 study of hieroglyphics, has, we think, made clear even to 
 a child how this kind of writing arose. 
 
 He says, “ Suppose we wished to write the word 4 Ame- 
 rica’ in our language, in hieroglyphics, as the Egyptians 
 did, we should draw a figure beginning with- — 
 
 A, for instance, an asp, the emblem of so^ 
 reign ty ; 
 
 M, of military dominion, a mace; 
 
 E, the national arms, an eagle; 
 
 K, sign of intellectual power, horns of a ram; 
 
 I, the juvenile age of the country, an infant; 
 C, civilised religion, sacred cake; 
 
 A, Tau, or Egyptian emblem of eternal life; 
 
8 . 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 44 To show that by this we mean a country , I add the 
 sign , in Coptic 4 Kah,’ meaning a country. 
 
 44 We thus obtain — 
 
 A M E K I C A ; 
 
 COUNTRY.” 
 
 These are called pure hieroglyphics, and are found on 
 the oldest monuments and papyri. % 
 
 The pure hieroglyphics afterwards became linear, or 
 line-like, as reduced from the rude pictures — 
 
 Pure. Linear. 
 
 A reed , used for letter A. 
 
 
 
 A jackal, symbol of a Priest . 
 
 A goose , used for letter S, figuratively 
 the bird goose — symbol of offspring . 
 
 The pure class was always sculptured or painted, and, 
 in general, both sculptured and painted were employed 
 on public edifices. The linear was preferred in ordinary 
 life and writing. 
 
 This writing became known to the moderns through a 
 slab of black marble, with inscriptions upon it, in three 
 different characters, but all meaning the same thing, dug 
 
ROSETTA STONE. 
 
 9 
 
 up by a French officer of engineers, on the western bank 
 of the Nile, in August 1799, at Rosetta, not far from the 
 mouth of the Nile. It is called the “ Rosetta Stone/’ and 
 is now in the British Museum. 
 
 We have given you a drawing of it for those who 
 cannot go and see it, and a specimen of the characters in 
 which the three languages are written. Learned men 
 found they could read the last inscription in ancient Greek ; 
 and then, letter by letter, and with much pains-taking, 
 they found the alphabet of the two others; and so this 
 stone, more valuable to them than the wonderful Koh-i- 
 noor, has enabled them to read the histories of those 
 grand old dead kings, on their tombs. 
 
 The event recorded on the stone is not so wonderful in 
 itself : it concerns the coronation of King Epiphanes, 
 which took place at Memphis, 196 years before Christ; 
 
10 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 but whatever be the inscription, it has proved the key to 
 many more. 
 
 One of the most remarkable inscriptions on the tombs 
 at Thebes is the balance scene , which is laid in the world 
 of spirits. Osiris, the chief god of the Egyptians, is 
 seated on a throne of judgment, with Isis his consort by 
 his side : a soul is conducted into his presence. Anubis, 
 painted with the head of a jackal, superintends the 
 balance, in which the good and bad actions of the soul 
 are laid; and Thoth, a kind of recording angel, having 
 the head of a hawk, stands by, with a tablet and pen in 
 his hand, to record the judgment given. 
 
 There are also upon the wails of Thebes, inscriptions a 
 thousand times more interesting than this, to the readers 
 of the Bible, because they serve as proofs of the events 
 which it records. The bondage of the children of Israel, 
 in Egypt, is thus confirmed by a tablet representing them 
 on the tomb of Bekshare. Bekshare is known to have 
 been the chief architect of the temples and palaces at 
 Thebes, under Pharaoh Moeris. The physiognomy of 
 the Jews it is impossible to mistake: and the splashes of 
 clay with which their bodies are covered, — the idea of 
 labour that is conveyed — the Egyptian taskmaster seated 
 with his heavy baton, whose blows would certainly visit 
 some weary slave, resting a moment from his toilsome 
 task of making bricks, and spreading them to dry in the 
 burning sun of Egypt, — all give proof of the exactness of 
 the Scripture phrase, u all their service that they made 
 them serve was with rigour.” 
 
 The inscription at the top of the picture to the right 
 reads, “ Captives brought by his majesty, to build the 
 temples of the Great God.” This probably means, that 
 the family or gang of Israelites, here represented, had 
 been marched up from Goshen, and attached to the 
 building of the temples at Thebes. We know, from 
 Exod. 1. 11, 12, that they were compelled to build “ for 
 Pharaoh, treasure-cities, Pithom and Baamses.” 
 
ARABIA. 
 
 11 
 
 But the time of that bondage had an end, and the 
 “ sigh” and “ cry” of the oppressed people came up unto 
 God. They had not forgotten that they were the chil- 
 dren of a Mighty Promise ; and God, too, looked down 
 upon them, and heard their groaning, and remembered 
 his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 
 
 He had so ordered it, that eighty years before, one of 
 the Hebrew babes doomed to destruction had, by its ex- 
 ceeding beauty, won the favour of Pharaoh’s daughter ; 
 and the child, separated from its people, had grown up 
 beneath the shadow of the Egyptian throne ; yet, nursed 
 by its mother in its early days, and taught, while she 
 nursed him, all she knew of the dealings of God with 
 his people in the ages before the flood and after it, Moses 
 had treasured her sayings in his heart. He could not be 
 ignorant of the future prospects of his race ; and it seems 
 that he considered he was raised up to deliver them at 
 once, in the hour when he smote the Egyptian for their 
 sake ; but they rejected his help, learned though he was, 
 and “ mighty in words and in deeds.” 
 
 He was then only forty years of age ; and God had 
 lessons for him to learn for forty years more, in the soli- 
 tudes of Midian, of a very different kind from those which 
 he had learned in Egypt, but equally necessary to fit him 
 to be the leader of this chosen people. 
 
 Here, by a long process of quiet teaching, the ardent 
 zeal of his youth was mellowed by that spirit of humility 
 and patience which the Divine Being poured out upon 
 him. This fresh “ wisdom” was given to him in Arabia; 
 and with Arabia we must begin a new section. 
 
 ARABIA. 
 
 The three great nations of remote antiquity • are the 
 Egyptians, the Arabians, and the Jews. 
 
 The Arabs are a people who can bring monuments 
 of their history almost from the very deluge. For the 
 
12 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 nature of their country, its three divisions, its three evils, 
 its three animals, and its three productions, we advise you 
 to search in that beautiful book, called “ Far Off,”* which 
 is, or ought to be, in all our school-rooms ; and to the 
 information you will there find, we will add a few more 
 particulars, as we wish you to realize Arabia, especially 
 the north-western part of it, as it was in the days of Moses. 
 
 Arabia has been called “ Africa in little.” It was, as 
 it is now, a country without a navigable river — the camel 
 its ship of commerce, and its horses the finest in the world. 
 u An Arab, on a mare unrivalled for speed and endurance, 
 is his own master,” says Mr. Layard, “ and can defy the 
 world. Without his mare, money would be of no value 
 to him ; he could only keep the gold by burying it in 
 some secret place ; and he is himself never two days in the 
 same spot, but wanders over three or four hundred miles 
 in the space of a few months. Give him the desert, his 
 mare, and his spear, with power to plunder and rob for 
 the mere pleasure and excitement it affords, and he will 
 not envy the wealth or power of the greatest of the earth.” 
 
 Such was and such is the Bedouin of the deserts — the 
 Saracen of the middle ages — who has never by any con- 
 quest been driven out of his country — a vast space of 
 winding sands, where those who travel now, declare that 
 not even a wolf can live three days unless he feeds on 
 stone and granite. Perhaps, because it is such a country, 
 the Arab has of necessity reaped the harvests of surround- 
 ing lands, — “ his hand against every man, and every man’s 
 hand against him.” His fathers have been the conquerors 
 of all modern eastern nations, and his language is spoken 
 more or less from India to the Atlantic. The Arabs say 
 that they are sprung from two sources, that a part of 
 them are the sons of Ishmael, and are the naturalised 
 Arabs, but that the pure Arabs, “ Arab-el-Arab,” are 
 the sons of Joktan, the great-great-grandson of Shem. 
 
 * By the author of “ Line upon Line, 1 ’ and “ Hear Home.” 
 
THE BOOK OF JOB. 
 
 13 
 
 We shall only notice, among their tribes, the Jobaritae, 
 who are said to claim descent from Job of the Bible.* 
 Now, it is by almost all learned men admitted, that the 
 book of J ob is of extreme antiquity. The Syrian Chris- 
 tians place it as the first book in their Bibles. It may 
 give you a new and very interesting view of this book if, 
 after reading the first ten chapters of Genesis, the account 
 of the creation and the flood, you read the history of this 
 patriarch, before commencing the life of Abraham. Job 
 is believed, by some of the most eminent eastern scholars, 
 to have been an Arabian emir, or chief; and his story 
 casts, we think, “ a flood of light on an otherwise dark 
 part of the world’s history.” f 
 
 We can imagine Moses, in Midian, which was a neigh- 
 bouring district to that in which Job had lived, centuries 
 before, as finding in some written character, which he- 
 from his Egyptian wisdom understood, the records left of 
 this great man, before whom “ princes and nobles had 
 been silent,” and, under the immediate inspiration of 
 God, casting these records into the form of a Hebrew 
 poem, as a picture of patience and impatience, for the 
 benefit of his suffering brethren. The book of Job is 
 generally considered to have been written or translated 
 by Moses. Possibly he also wrote in Midian, in the long 
 days of his secluded shepherd life, and also by God’s 
 teaching, the book of Genesis. 
 
 We must give you a few reasons why it has been sup- 
 posed that the book of J ob is so old : 
 
 His long life of certainly two and perhaps three or four 
 hundred years. 
 
 The absence of any reference in the book to God’s 
 dealings with Abraham or his children; and of any 
 notice of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. 
 
 The worship of the sun and moon, being the only 
 species of idolatry mentioned in the book (Job 31. 26). 
 
 * Forster’s “Geography of Arabia.” 
 t Smith’s “Patriarchal Age,” p. 416* 
 
14 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 The manners and customs described, which are those 
 of the earliest patriarchs. 
 
 And Job’s religion, which is exactly and purely patri- 
 archal. 
 
 The learned men above referred to are of opinion that 
 there is sufficient proof that Job lived between the deluge 
 and the call of Abraham,* so that God never left the 
 world at any period without a witness to his truth. The 
 magnificence of the thoughts uttered both by Job and 
 his friends, and, above all, by God, when he answered 
 Job out of the whirlwind, you will perceive more and 
 more as you grow older ; and, as you are reading, you 
 will indeed be ready to say, “ Plow much these ancient 
 Arabians knew of God!” The patriarch Job and his 
 friends, notwithstanding the mistakes they made, are men 
 who seem to have conversed with the Invisible, to 
 have read him reverently in the vast volume of his works, 
 and also to have received, from of old, the prophecies of 
 the latter-day glory (Job 19. 25); while, as concerning 
 worldly knowledge, — the art of mining (ch. 28); the art 
 of weaving (ch. 7. 6); the conveyance of merchandise by 
 caravans (ch. 6. 19); the refining of metals (ch. 28. 1); 
 the coinage of money (ch. 42. 11); the use of musical 
 instruments (ch. 21. 12), — all were understood and prac- 
 tised. 
 
 It may be, you never thought of this state of things 
 as existing before the giving of the Law on Sinai. We 
 are now passing into the age when the Pentateuch began 
 to be written. Perhaps you will like to think of the 
 material it was written upon, and the character in which 
 Moses wrote it. This is a piece of ancient Hebrew — the 
 language in which the law was written — 
 
 itfbihNyb&bfcV’tyjri 
 
 * Job alludes to the deluge, ch. 9. 5, 6; also ch. 12 15. 
 
THE PENTATEUCH. 
 
 15 
 
 The Bible was written by degrees, and by different 
 persons: it took 1600 years to write. The first five books 
 were written by Moses in the wilderness, as well as the 
 book of Job; viz. 
 
 Genesis, Numbers, 
 
 Exodus, Deuteronomy, 
 
 Leviticus, 
 
 called, by the Grecian Jews, “The Pentateuch.” The 
 rest of the Old Testament books, thirty-three in number, 
 were written by different inspired leaders, prophets, 
 priests, and kings, of Israel, but all by Israelites, — -the 
 people whom God had chosen, and was now about to 
 separate from the heathen nations, to be the keepers of 
 his holy oracles: and as they were written, God Him- 
 self made laws that they should be read, by the Levitts, 
 to the people continually. 
 
 But at that time there were no books like our books. 
 The time of Moses was 1550 years before Christ our 
 Saviour came into the world. Our mode of printing or 
 of making paper had not then been discovered. The 
 old Egyptians made linen, in which they wrapped their 
 mummies, and so prepared it, that they could trace hiero- 
 glyphics upon it. They also wrote upon rolls made of 
 their rush-papyrus, that is, of the coats which surround 
 its stalk. The largest papyrus roll now known, is ten 
 yards long: many of these are found in the tombs of 
 Egypt, though not often of so great a length. A very 
 valuable one has been taken from these tombs to the 
 museum, at Turin, containing the names of King Myke- 
 rinus, the builder of the third pyramid, and Rekshare, 
 the architect of Thebes ; but the Pentateuch of Moses is 
 not supposed to have been written on this rush-paper. 
 
 It is thought that he must have used goat-skins, pre- 
 pared and fastened together : the very oldest manuscripts 
 of his five books known, are written on leather. There is 
 one in the public library, at Cambridge, which was dis- 
 covered by Dr. Buchanan, in the record-chest of a syna- 
 
16 the book and its story. 
 
 g’ogue of the Black Jews, in Malabar, in 1806 : it measures 
 sixteen yards in length; and, though not perfect, consists 
 
 of thirty-seven skins dyed red. 
 There is another in the library 
 of the British Museum, which 
 we have seen. That is a large 
 double roll of this description. 
 It is written with great care, 
 on forty .thick brown skins, 
 in 153 narrow columns: the 
 writing is, of course, in He- 
 brew. We looked upon it 
 with great reverence, for it 
 was, most probably, in this 
 form that the world received 
 the first part of the word of 
 God, — his written voice from heaven. 
 
 It was while feeding his flock among the mountains 
 of the desert, that Moses was first made sensible of the 
 visible and miraculous presence of God, by the voice out 
 of the burning bush, and entered upon that wonderful 
 life of actual converse with the Divine Being, which was 
 like the life of no other mortal man, before or since his 
 time. 
 
 The opening of this intercourse took place at Horeb, 
 — a name now applied to the mountain at whose base 
 stands the convent of St. Catherine. The token of 
 his mission given to Moses was, that “ when he had 
 brought the people out of Egypt, they should serve God 
 upon that mountain. ,, Here, therefore, they actually 
 encamped ; and the same place, with all its mighty 
 memories, was the retreat of Elijah, 600 years after- 
 wards, from the threats of Jezebel. 
 
 We need not detail to you the rapid succession of 
 plagues showered upon the oppressors of the Israelites, or 
 speak at any length upon what happened between the 
 going up out of Egypt and the giving of the Law upon 
 
THE EXODE. 
 
 17 
 
 mount Sinai. There were great miracles comprised in 
 this six weeks’ history, and you will find them recorded, 
 from the 14th to the 17th chapters of Exodus. 
 
 From this time the history of this wonderful people 
 was marked by miracle : and, going forth into the desert 
 through those wondrous walls of water, formed by the 
 Red Sea, they had no sooner experienced hunger, than 
 bread was rained from heaven for them, and the bitter 
 spring of the wilderness was sweetened for their sake. 
 This spring is yet existing, and is called Ain Howard , 
 the bitter well. 
 
 Have you ever thought of the numbers of the children 
 of Israel who thus went up out of Egypt? It was such 
 an emigration as the world never saw, save on this 
 occasion. There were between two and three millions 
 of people, twice as many as inhabit the Principality 
 , of Wales, or more than all the people contained in 
 London and its neighbourhood, with all their property, 
 goods, utensils, and cattle. No man, with merely human 
 resources at his command, could ever have arranged the 
 order of their march; but “the Lord went before them 
 by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way, and 
 by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by 
 day and by night” (Exod. 13. 21); — a pillar ever before 
 their eyes, high over the camp, where no mortal art 
 could have placed it. 
 
 At Repliidim, they were again distressed for want of' 
 water, and again it was provided for them by miracle. 
 The thirst of which they complained, and which they said 
 would “kill them,” is best understood by persons who 
 have travelled on foot, over a sandy desert, under a burn- 
 ing sun. The pillar of cloud led the way for Moses and 
 the elders, while the former went to smite the rock, in 
 Horeb, which is found to be a day’s journey from Re- 
 phidim, and so situated at the head of a valley, that a 
 stream of water from it would come flowing and rushing 
 down to the faint and weary host at Rephidim : but, mean- 
 
 3 
 
18 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 while, the hindmost of them, “ the feeble among them,” 
 had been attacked by Amalek, “ who feared not God.” 
 
 Up to this period, we had not heard anything of the 
 ancient Arabians, nor of what they felt towards the vast 
 host of Israelites making a sudden incursion into their 
 country. 
 
 The tribe of Amalek is mentioned in history as in- 
 habiting the deserts to the south of Palestine, and being 
 one of the most famous Arab tribes. They had probably 
 heard of the wealth of the Israelites — the spoils they had 
 brought out of Egypt; and as Bedouins (who in all ages 
 have been famous for committing robberies on merchants 
 and travellers) would do now, so these Amalekites then 
 resolved to attack Israel. 
 
 There were two descriptions of Arabs, — those who 
 dwelt in cities and towns, and those who dwelt in tents. 
 Job belonged to the former race, and these Amalekites to 
 the latter. He describes his wild brethren in the 24th 
 chapter of his book as “ wild asses of the desert, rising be- 
 times for a prey,” etc. Their desert is still their kingdom : 
 no travellers may pass through it without their leave, and 
 without purchasing their guidance and protection. Arabs 
 lead you up to the pyramids, and convey you to Sinai and 
 Petra. You must rest when they suffer you to do so, and 
 pass on when they please ; and many of them are terrible 
 looking fellows, with swarthy complexions, piercing coal- 
 black eyes, half-naked figures, enormous swords slung at 
 their backs, and rusty matchlocks in their hands. You 
 might travel with them for weeks, and never see one of 
 them wash his face, or know that he washed or changed 
 his clothes. What they live on, it would be difficult to 
 say, for they are seldom seen to eat; but they are active 
 and vigorous, and can walk thirty miles a-day, for week 
 after week in succession. 
 
 Against these wild people, the Israelites were directed 
 by Moses to go out and fight, while he held up his hands* 
 at the top of the hill, and prayed. 
 
WADY MOKATTEB. 
 
 19 
 
 Laborde, a well-known traveller in Arabia Petrea,* 
 tbe desert district where all these events occurred, says, 
 “We passed through the Wady Mokatteb, which means 
 written valley , and beheld the rocks covered with in- 
 scriptions for the length of an entire league. We after- 
 wards passed mountains, called Jebel-el Mokatteb, which 
 means written mountains ; and, as we rode along, per- 
 ceived during a whole hour, hosts of inscriptions in an 
 unknown character, carved in these hard rocks, to a height 
 which was ten or twelve feet from the ground : and 
 although w T e had men amongst us who understood the 
 Arabic, Hebrew, Greek, Syriac, Coptic, Latin, Armenian, 
 Turkish, English, Illyrian, German, French, and Bohe- 
 mian languages, there was not one of us who had the 
 slightest knowledge of the characters engraved on these 
 rocks, with great labour, in a country where there is 
 nothing to be had either to eat or drink,” 
 
 The meaning of these inscriptions was thus, like their 
 authorship, unknown. In a book lately published, how- 
 
20 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 ever, called “ The Voice of Israel, from the Rocks of 
 Sinai/’ the Rev. Charles Forster, an English clergyman, 
 and a man of much learning and patient research, has 
 suggested that these are the “ rock-tablet records ” of the 
 miracles wrought in the wilderness. 
 
 We have now concluded our brief review of the ages 
 that elapsed before the giving of the Law ; and with 
 something of the reverence felt by the chosen people, let 
 us realize the scenery of mount Sinai. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MOUNT SINAI. THE COVENANT, THE GIVING OF THE LAW. THE 
 
 JEBEL MOUSA. JEHOVAH. SEVEN SINS AND THEIR PUNISH- 
 MENTS. ELEVEN MONTHS AT SINAI. THE UNKNOWN THIRTY- 
 
 EIGHT Y'EARS. — THE LAST YEAR OF THE WANDERING. MOUNT 
 
 HOR. — THE DEATH OF AARON. THE LAW AS MADE KNOWN TO 
 
 THE PEOPLE. FIERY SERPENTS.— THE DEATH OF MOSES. 
 
 SINAI. 
 
 It seems to be the testimony of all modern travellers, 
 that the scenery of the mountain range of Sinai is of great 
 extent, and of wild and awful grandeur. 
 
 “ I stand,” says Mr. Stephens, “ upon the very peak of 
 Sinai, where Moses stood when he talked with the Al- 
 mighty. Can it be, or is it a mere dream? Can this 
 naked rock have been the witness of that great interview 
 between man and his Creator, on the morning that was 
 ushered in with terrible thunders and lightnings, with 
 the thick clouds resting on the mountain’s brow? Yes! 
 This is the holy mountain; and not a place on all the 
 earth could have been chosen, so fitted for the manifesta- 
 
MOUNT SINAI. 
 
 23 
 
 tion of Divine power. I have stood on the summit of the 
 giant Etna, and looked over the clouds floating beneath 
 it, — upon the bold scenery of Sicily, and the distant 
 mountains of Calabria. I have climbed Vesuvius, and 
 looked down upon the waves of lava, and the ruined and 
 half-recovered cities at its foot : but these are nothing 
 compared to the terrific solitude and bleak majesty of 
 Sinai.” Another traveller has called it “ a perfect sea of 
 desolation. Not a tree, or shrub, or blade of grass is to 
 be seen upon the bare and rugged sides of innumerable 
 mountains, heaving their naked summits to the skies-; 
 while the crumbling masses of granite around, and the 
 distant view of the Syrian desert, with its boundless waste 
 of sands, form the wildest and most dreary, the most ter- 
 rific and desolate picture the imagination can conceive.” 
 
 It was in this solemn region that God claimed Israel 
 for his own, and began to place the nation under a course 
 of instruction and discipline, to prepare it for its high 
 destiny. Here He called his chosen people into covenant 
 relation with Himself. He told them, through Moses, 
 that He had borne them on eagles’ wings out of Egypt; 
 and that if they would obey and keep his covenant, then 
 they should be a peculiar treasure to Him above all peo- 
 ple — a kingdom of priests and an holy nation. And all 
 the people answered together, and said, “ All that the 
 Lord hath spoken we will do.” No other such mighty 
 shout of promise ever arose from earth to heaven; u and 
 Moses returned the words of the people unto the Lord” 
 (Exod. 19. 8). 
 
 When God descended to give the Law to his people, 
 the Divine glory was revealed from Teman in the east 
 of Edom, to Paran or Serbal in the west. It literally 
 covered the heavens to this extent. Serbal has five 
 principal peaks, which, like the lofty pinnacles of some 
 stupendous temple, rise up into the calm, deep blue of 
 heaven, lone, silent, and sublime. 
 
 Let us read the description of Moses, — for who could 
 
22 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 describe like Moses tlie scenery of Sinai? “ The Lord 
 came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them ; He 
 shined fortli from mount Paran, and He came with ten 
 thousands of saints : from his right hand went a fiery law 
 for them. Yea, He loved the people; all his saints are in 
 thy hand : and they sat down at thy feet ; every one 
 shall receive of thy words” (Deut. 33. 2, 3). 
 
 King David refers to this hour, when, 500 years after- 
 wards, he says, in his 68th Psalm, verse 17, “The chariots 
 of God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: 
 the Lord is among them as in Sinai, on the holy mount.” 
 
 We will try and imagine this scene, — one of the most 
 awfully sublime in the annals of the world. 
 
 Moses “ had brought the people forth out of the camp 
 to meet with God”: their tents were spread on the skirts 
 of Horeb, where its narrow valleys widen gradually into 
 high, dreary, undulating plains, hemmed in by low 
 ridges of hills. Possibly these camping-grounds may 
 have included all the vast plains round about the moun- 
 tains El Eahah, Seba-iyeh, and El Leja — for two or three 
 millions of persons required a great extent of space. Be- 
 fore them all rose to the height of 2000 feet (being 7000 
 above the Red Sea) the Jebel Mousa, with its shattered 
 pyramidal peak, like a mighty pulpit, fenced off by a 
 range of sharp, upheaving crags, 200 feet in height, and 
 forming an almost impassable barrier to the Mount of 
 God itself, though Moses had likewise “ set bounds about 
 it, to sanctify it.”- 
 
 While the people stood thus “ at the nether part of the 
 mount,” let us imagine the effulgence reflected from the 
 whole of the Arabian desert, and listen to the sounds of 
 the trumpet, “ exceeding loud,” echoing round all the 
 mountains, preparing the way for the mighty angel- 
 voices of the holy myriads uttering the Law; and then 
 let us remember who teas this Jehovah upon Sinai, — the 
 Jehovah of the Jewish Church in the wilderness. The 
 martyr Stephen tells us, just before his death, that the 
 
SEVEN SINS AND THEIR PUNISHMENTS. 23 
 
 angel which spake to Moses in mount Sinai was none 
 other than the angel of the burning bush — the angel of 
 the Lord, who had said of Himself, “ I am the God of thy 
 fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the 
 God of Jacob,” before whom Moses “ trembled and durst 
 not behold” (Acts 7. 32) ; and also none other than the 
 Saviour, the afterwards crucified Redeemer of the world, 
 whose voice (says Paul, Heb. 12. 26) “ then shook the 
 earth: but now He hath promised, Yet once more I 
 shake not the earth only, but also heaven.” 
 
 Dear young friends, when you have thought of Jesus 
 taking upon Him the form of a servant, have you also 
 thought of that Jesus as one and the same with the awful 
 Jehovah of Sinai? At both times it is said of Him, “yet 
 He loved the people” (Deut. 33. 3), and “for his great 
 love wherewith He loved us” (Eph. 2. 4). 
 
 It is good to go back in thought to Sinai, and to 
 realize that the Great God has actually spoken with men 
 upon the earth. 
 
 Many of the travellers who have visited these regions 
 have enjoyed the privilege of opening their Bibles and 
 reading, on the summits of Sinai and Horeb, the ac- 
 counts which Moses gives, in the very scenes which they 
 concern. 
 
 SEVEN SINS AND THEIR PUNISHMENTS; OR, 
 
 THE WILDERNESS LIFE. 
 
 When God had thus spoken, in majesty and fire, to the 
 ear and eye of the favoured people, He did. not intend the 
 impression of that day to pass away : He had given them 
 a Revelation, — a Law that was to separate them from all 
 other people ; and his words to them were to endure for 
 ever. 
 
 We have not undertaken the task of reviewing the 
 whole history of Israel, except as concerns one particular, 
 which we wish you especially to observe. 
 
24 
 
 THE BOOK AXD ITS STORY. 
 
 From the time that they became, through Moses, the 
 keepers of the oracles of God, they were judged by them , 
 and they were expected to live by them ; they became 
 The Church of the Book. 
 
 They had subscribed to the covenant ; they had said, 
 “ All that the Lord hath spoken we will do.” They 
 were “under the Law”; and whenever they broke their 
 promise, they incurred punishment and suffering, and 
 this they continually did. 
 
 They remained, at their station in Horeb a few days 
 longer than eleven months. During this time, Jehovah 
 made them fully understand that He was their King, and 
 He established the regular service of his royal court by 
 the priests and Levites. He set apart more than a 
 fiftieth portion of the whole nation to this office. They 
 were to receive his Law from Moses, to copy it, and to 
 read it to the people, — not only the Ten Commandments, 
 as written by the finger of God upon the two tables of 
 stone, but the Book of the Covenant also, which Moses 
 had written (Exod. 24. 4), and read in the audience of the 
 people for the first time, “ by the altar under the hill.” 
 
 During these eleven months, their form of govern- 
 ment in all things was appointed, their institutions estab- 
 lished, and the Tabernacle fashioned and set up “ accord- 
 ing to the pattern shown to Moses in the mount,” for the 
 house or palace of their Divine King, who always visibly 
 dwelt among them in the glory that was between the 
 cherubim. 
 
 The same period witnessed their breach of the first 
 Commandment, “ Thou shalt have none other gods but 
 me,” in the worship of the golden calf, and its punish- 
 ment in the death of 3000 among the people. 
 
 The second sin was committed by the two disobedient 
 priests who offered the strange fire, and they also were 
 consumed. 
 
 The third transgression was against the third Command.- 
 ment : the son of an Egyptian father “ blasphemed the 
 
SEYEN SINS AND THEIR PUNISHMENTS. 25 
 
 Name, and cursed.’’ He was brought without the camp, 
 and stoned to death. 
 
 The fourth concerned murmuring about the manna, 
 of which they began to get tired. In this case, the 
 punishment was given by granting their desire : they 
 were to have flesh for a whole month, which, beginning 
 to eat greedily and ravenously, a great number of them 
 died, and were buried on the spot. 
 
 The fifth was upon Miriam, who was smitten with 
 leprosy, for bearing false witness against her brother 
 Moses. It is said, concerning this, that “ the Lord 
 heard.” 
 
 The sixth sin was that of the unfaithful spies: they 
 went up in the second year of the wandering to see the 
 land of Palestine, and in consequence of their search, dis- 
 couraged the people. They brought back glorious grapes 
 from it, but they said the men of the land were giants, 
 and that they should not be able to go up against them. 
 
 The Syrian vine is still famous for the size of its 
 clusters. There is one of these vines in the grounds of 
 the Duke of Portland, at Welbeck, near Worksop, from 
 which a cluster of grapes was gathered, in 1819, weigh- 
 ing nineteen pounds ; and intelligent travellers aver, that 
 those who have only seen the vines in France and Italy, 
 can have no just idea of the size to which the clusters 
 attain in Syria. 
 
 The evil part of their report was not probably in itself 
 incorrect, that they had seen people of great stature ; for 
 Moses verifies their statement in speaking of the “ Ana- 
 kim, great and tall,” and of other old gigantic tribes, with 
 a reference to the sons of Anak ; and in the prophecy of 
 Amos it is said (Amos 2. 9), “ yet destroyed I the Amo- 
 rite before them, whose height was like the height of the 
 cedars, and who was strong as the oaks.” Goliath, whom 
 David slew, was a son of Anak ; his stature may be taken 
 at about nine feet : but they forgot that He who had 
 dried up the Red Sea before them, and had overcome the 
 
26 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Egyptians with his mighty plagues, — if his pillar of 
 cloud and fire had pointed them towards the high-walled 
 cities of the tall Anakim, — would have given them vic- 
 tory in Palestine also ; but, as Moses afterwards says to 
 them (Deut. 1. 32), “ In this thing ye did not believe 
 the Lord your God.” 
 
 The most formidable conspiracy against the authority 
 of Moses and Aaron took place at Kadesh, soon after the 
 doom of forty years’ wandering had been pronounced. 
 They, or rather their sons, returned to this Kadesh only 
 after a period of thirty-eight years, during which we know” 
 nothing minutely of their proceedings. All that has been 
 related, the present conspiracy included, which makes 
 the seventh occasion of their punishment, occurred during 
 the first two years after their leaving Egypt. Moses says, 
 (Deut. 2. 14), “And the space in which we came from 
 Kadesh-Barnea, until we were come over the brook of 
 Zered was thirty and eight years ; until all the genera- 
 tion of the men of w”ar were wasted out from among the 
 host, as the Lord sware unto them.” The brook Zered 
 enters the Dead Sea near the southern end ; and when 
 that was crossed, they had ended their long pilgrimage, 
 and entered into a cultivated and settled country. The 
 conspiracy at Kadesh (Num. 16) was very bold. It arose 
 among the children of Beuben, the elder tribe, and the 
 children of Levi, the priestly tribe. Their encampments 
 were side by side, at the south of the Tabernacle, and 
 they seem to have indulged an envious spirit against 
 Moses and Aaron, until at length their chiefs gathered 
 themselves together, and said to these two men ordained 
 of God, “ Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the 
 congregation are holy, and the Lord is among them.” 
 
 The Lord was among them, however, to punish this 
 desire of power which did not belong to them, and the 
 earth opened upon Korah, Dathan, and Abiram ; and as 
 they and all they had went down into the pit, all Israel 
 fled at the cry of them, while at the same time 250 per- 
 
THE DEATH OF AAEON. 27 
 
 sons more were consumed by fire : and because at till I the 
 people murmured, a plague raged on the morrow among 
 them , by which 14,700 died, besides those that died the 
 day before with Korah. 
 
 Thus you see many lives were lost in the repeated re- 
 bellions of the people. They had multiplied rapidly in 
 Egypt, but they were about 2000 less in number when 
 about to enter the Promised Land. The new generation, 
 though for so many years trained and tried, murmured 
 like their fathers for the want of water, on their return to 
 Kadesh, where Miriam died and was buried; and Moses 
 does not seem to have been prepared to expect such con- 
 duct from them, but was more irritated than on any former 
 occasion. Even he, as David tells us, spake unadvisedly 
 with his lips, — and, striking the rock instead of speaking 
 to it (must it not have been struck with the rod which 
 blossomed, taken from before the Lord?), said angrily, 
 “ Hear now, ye rebels ! Must we fetch you water out of 
 this rock?” For this impatience, he and Aaron, who 
 appears to have shared in his sin, which God Himself 
 says was unbelief, — “ because ye believed me not, to 
 sanctify me before the people,”— even these two great 
 leaders were not permitted to guide Israel into the Pro- 
 mised Land. 
 
 Aaron went up first into mount Hor to die, from whose 
 craggy summits may be seen on one side the wilderness 
 in which the people had wandered, and from the other 
 the mountains of Palestine, on which, doubtless, Aaron 
 cast his last look. 
 
 The American traveller, Mr. Stephens, visited mount 
 Hor, and thus describes it: 4 ‘The mountain is bare and 
 rugged to its very summit, without even a tree or a bush 
 growing on its sterile sides.” Pie says, “If I had never 
 stood on the summit of Sinai, I should say, that nothing 
 could exceed the desolation of the view from mount Hor, 
 — the mighty natural pyramid, on the top of which the 
 high-priest of Israel was buried.” 
 
28 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 Amid Lis other duties ordained by God, Aaron had, 
 doubtless, not neglected that of copying the Law, and 
 reading it to the people. This was especially ordered to 
 be done for eight days together, once in every seven 
 years ; but we know that during the training of Israel in 
 the wilderness, this was not all they heard or knew of the 
 Law; for Moses says to them (Deut. 30. 11-14), u The 
 commandment which is written in this book of the Law 
 is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in 
 heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to 
 heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do 
 it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, 
 Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, 
 that we may hear it and do it ? But the word is very 
 nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou 
 mayest do it.” 
 
 “In thy mouth” seems to signify, that they learned 
 
 { >ortions of it. Moses ordered the Levites to write his 
 ast noble song, and to teach it to the children of 
 Israel, — “ Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a 
 witness for me against the children of Israel, that when 
 many evils and troubles are befallen them, this song 
 shall testify against them as a witness ; for it shall not be 
 forgotten out of the mouths of their seed” (Deut. 31. 
 19, 21). If an Israelite was in doubt as to any ordinance 
 or duty, he was to inquire of the priest, the Levite, who 
 was also the judge, and would show him the sentence of 
 judgment (Deut. 17. 9), as written by Moses. Any one 
 of the people who was able, might write a copy of the 
 Law for himself; but the Levites were in general the 
 learned class among this pastoral people, and were not 
 only to make, but to give away, correct copies of it; and 
 probably they went about from tent to tent (as the Scrip- 
 ture-reader does now from house to house), to read the 
 Law to each family. It is always assumed that the people 
 “knew it”; and in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses 
 threw its precepts into a new form, for the generation 
 
FIERY SERPENTS. 29 
 
 which had been born since the entrance to the wilder- 
 ness. 
 
 This book of Deuteronomy appears to have been writ- 
 ten by Moses, in the plains of Moab, a short time before 
 his death, 1451 B.C.: his death itself, as recorded in the 
 34th chapter, was probably added by his successor, J osliua ; 
 and the last four verses of that chapter, which concern 
 Joshua, were, it is most likely, written by Ezra, when he 
 collected the books of the Old Testament together. 
 
 A little before the repeating of the Law, Moses had 
 held up to the suffering people the serpent of brass upon 
 a pole, that every one who was bitten, when he looked 
 upon it, might live (Num. 21. 9), — the type, as John tells 
 us (John 3. 14, 15), of the lifting up of the Son of Man, 
 u that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but 
 have eternal life. ,, That shore of the Red Sea, where the 
 Israelites were bitten, is still remarkable for abounding in 
 serpents, as indeed the wilderness does generally. In 
 Deut. 8. 15, Moses calls it “a great and terrible wilder- 
 ness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and 
 drought”; yet we never hear of the people being bitten 
 and killed by them till now. They had been marvellously 
 protected from this, as from other dangers of the way; 
 and the protection was only now withdrawn, on account 
 of their oft-repeated sin of murmuring. 
 
 They had, however, nearly finished their course in 
 the wilderness, and would not much longer murmur 
 against their great leader, for he was about to ascend 
 mount Nebo, and to die ! He who had so long brought 
 the word of the Lord to Israel, was to be seen by them 
 no more; and he left them, saying, “ Secret things belong 
 to God; but those things which are revealed belong unto 
 us, and to our children for ever, that we may do all the 
 words of the Law” (Deut. 29. 29). 
 
 Yes ! he left behind him the revealed and written will 
 of God for that people, besides the wonderful book of 
 Job. 
 
30 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY, 
 
 Do you think that the very roll that Moses left is 
 come down to us ? — that would be impossible. That very 
 roll is supposed to have perished at the destruction of 
 Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, B.c. 586 ; if so, it was 
 treasured and in existence for eight centuries and a half. 
 Moses commanded the Levites to put it in the side of the 
 ark of the covenant, u for a witness against the people.” 
 The final covenant made with the people in the plains of 
 Moab, with the last lofty song and eloquent prophecy, 
 seems to have been written on a separate skin ; and Dr. 
 Adam Clarke thinks there is every reason to believe that 
 this was the portion lost and found in the reign of Josiah, 
 800 years after it was written. This was called an auto- 
 graph copy , which means the very one that Moses wrote . 
 It had been lost in the reigns of the wicked kings that 
 went before Josiah, w T ho Avas a reforming king; and when 
 he set himself to repair the House of the Lord his God, 
 and brought hewn-stone and timber to repair the floors 
 which the kings of Judah had destroyed, Hilkiah, the 
 priest, found a book of the Law of the Lord by the hand 
 of Moses, and gave it to the king (2 Chron. 34. 14). 
 What he did with it, w r e must leave till a further period 
 of the history, for we must go up with Moses into mount 
 Nebo, where he died. 
 
 Having ordered the elders of Israel, on the day that 
 they should pass over Jordan, to set up great stones, and 
 plaister them with plaister, and themselves to write upon 
 them all the words of the Law, very plainly (Deut. 27. 2), 
 he ascended the mount, the highest peak in the Abarim 
 range, which joins the Dead Sea to mount Seir. No 
 traveller seems to have ascended or given any description 
 of it, except that it is a barren mountain, on whose 
 summit may be perceived a heap of stones overshadowed 
 by a tall pistachio tree. 
 
 He went up, as he had often done before, to be alone 
 with God, but to return to men no more. If our Saviour 
 Himself had not told us, that the greatest man born of 
 
THE DEATH OF MOSES. 
 
 31 
 
 woman was his own forerunner, John the Baptist, we 
 should have given this meed to Moses, who, denying his 
 personal desire, died without any regret of his own — all 
 his thoughts fixed, as they had ever been, on the welfare 
 of his people. There was no thought of self — “ only let 
 Jehovah, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man 
 over the congregation, that they be not as sheep which 
 have no shepherd” — and then he was ready. Farewell, 
 then, to Moses ascending mount Nebo — -his eye not dim, 
 nor his natural force abated, though he had borne the 
 burden of 120 years. 
 
 He had looked upon all Egypt’s glory. He had seen 
 a nation fall before him in the wilderness; he had been 
 made the means of giving God’s revelation to earth ; and 
 now he himself was about to pass into the fuller revela- 
 tions of heaven. 
 
 He was not sinless; he was not to be worshipped; and 
 lest he should have been (for never was human being 
 so visibly endued with Divine power), God marked his 
 only recorded sin with punishment, — the great punish- 
 ment of not entering the Promised Land; but that cir- 
 cumstance was employed as a type, that the Law , which 
 he personified, cannot conduct us into the heavenly 
 Canaan. Joshua, who took possession, is, as his name 
 signifies, the type of Jesus, through whom only is ob- 
 tained the “ abundant entrance” “ by grace and not by 
 works.” m 
 
32 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ENTRANCE TO THE LAND. — JOSHUA. — THE CANAANITES. — JOSHUA’S 
 VICTORIES. EBAL AND GERIZIM. — THE JUDGES. THE SIX SER- 
 VITUDES. THE TIMES OF THE KINGS. DAVID. SOLOMON. DIVI- 
 SION OF THE KINGDOM. SHISHAK. THE PROPHETS, THEIR ROLLS. 
 
 TABLE OF PROPHETS. THE LOST TEN TRIBES. THE LOST ROLL, 
 
 THE BURNT ROLL. CAPTIVITY AND RETURN. EZRA’S MINISTRY. 
 
 REVIEW OF THE HISTORY AND PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE 
 
 FALL OF ISRAEL, NINEVEH, JUDAH, TYRE, PETRA, THEBES, AND 
 BABYLON. 
 
 The historical books of Scripture, from Joshua to Esther, 
 contain the history of the Jewish nation from their first 
 settlement in the Promised Land to their return thither, 
 after seventy years’ captivity in Babylon, comprising a 
 period of about a thousand years. 
 
 Why is it that this chapter in your “Jubilee Book” 
 must be mainly taken up with the history of this nation 
 alone, while other great nations existed at that time in 
 the world? Will not Sinai and the wilderness have 
 taught you to answer, “ Because through this nation, and 
 none other, came down to us during this thousand years 
 the written revelation from God”? , 
 
 We shall divide this thousand years into three periods. 
 
 I. The period of Joshua and the Judges, of 355 years. 
 
 II. The period of the Kings, comprising 507 years. III. 
 The Babylonian captivity and return, till Ezra republishes 
 the Law and the Prophets, comprising 150 years. 
 
 THE ENTRANCE TO THE LAND. 
 
 You know r that this was marked by the same miracle 
 as their coming up out of Egypt. They might have pro- 
 
THE ENTRANCE TO THE LAND. 
 
 33 
 
 ceeded towards the Promised Land without crossing the 
 Eed Sea at all ; and they might have crossed the J ordan 
 where it was a brook, near its source; but they were 
 ordered to crbss its full stream, and then its waters were 
 heaped up, like those of the Eed Sea, in order that the 
 nations they were going to conquer might perceive their 
 mission from God; and it is said, “neither was there 
 spirit in them any more, because of the children of Israel.” 
 The next event was the celebration of the passover— -a 
 new observance to most of the people, the generation who 
 had been educated in the free, pure air of the wilderness, 
 while their fathers were dying out for their unbelief. 
 
 The passover had been observed only once in Egypt, 
 and once again at Sinai, and this was its third celebration. 
 
 On the next morning, the manna ceased to fall: the 
 “ old corn” of the Promised Land supplied its place. 
 
 To Joshua, the new leader of Israel and successor to 
 Moses, God promised help, on these conditions: “As I 
 was with Moses, so I will be with thee ; only observe to 
 do according to all the Law which Moses my servant com- 
 manded thee. This book of the Law shall not depart out 
 of thy mouth: thou shalt meditate therein day and night; 
 then shalt thou make thy way prosperous.” 
 
 Each of these two great leaders of Israel was the 
 guardian and student of the written revelation. Each 
 read it to the people, and caused them to act upon it. 
 Joshua lived thirty-two years after taking them into the 
 land; and as he died at 110, he must have known for 
 thirty-eight years what was the bondage of Egypt, and 
 must have seen all, except Caleb, die around him in the 
 wuldemess: and he was now appointed, as the conquer- 
 ing general of the people with whom God had made a 
 covenant, to destroy every other league and covenant 
 existing among the Canaanitish nations. Let us further 
 examine who the Canaanites were. 
 
 There was a race among these heathen people, called 
 the Anakim, or the Eephaim. The spies of Israel said 
 
34 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 they were a great and haughty people, with cities fenced 
 up to the skies (Deut. 9. 1, 2); and that they made them 
 feel “ as grasshoppers.” 
 
 The Anakim settlements lay along the mountain range 
 which extends through the land of Palestine; and it seems 
 that, from superior size and wisdom too, they were the 
 masters of another race of people, called the Amorites, — 
 a degraded nation, and very wicked, and whose “ iniquity 
 was full ” at the time that Israel entered the land. 
 
 The Rephaim had military outposts and fortresses in 
 strong positions among the mountains. They had even 
 a city, Kirjath-sepher, or the book-city, the city of letters, 
 or of archives. Joshua conquered it, and probably did 
 not think its records worth keeping, so they are all lost — 
 not come down to us. We know nothing of these “ tall ” 
 and “haughty” rulers of old time, but what is said of 
 them in the Bible, and, strange to say, what is carved 
 and written about them on the old Egyptian temple of 
 Karnak. 
 
 Yes! they are there, — these men of “ Onk” or Anak. 
 They are supposed to have been the shepherd-kings who 
 once conquered Egypt; and in the reign of Rameses III., 
 Egypt conquered them in their own land. She never re- 
 cords her own defeats, but she has described her conquests 
 over the Rephaim as ranging through three centuries. 
 
 Even in the early days of these Rephaim, Shalem (the 
 same as Jerusalem) was the metropolis of Palestine; 
 whence came Melchizedek to meet Abraham after his 
 defence of Lot (see Gen. 14). As, therefore, Melchizedek 
 is said to be the priest of the Most High God, it might 
 be concluded that these sons of Anak once held the true 
 religion, like the ancient Arabians. 
 
 In the time of Joshua, they still maintained their 
 supremacy; but it was then the supremacy of force. 
 The Philistines were one of their branches, occupying 
 the southern sea-side of the land. 
 
 Another of their ancient cities, named on Karnak, was 
 
EBAL AND GERIZIM. 
 
 35 
 
 Hebron, or Arba, where Abraham lived, died, and was 
 buried. This city “was built seven years before Zoan, 
 in Egypt” (Hum. 13. 22).* 
 
 The victories of Joshua comprise three distinct series 
 of events. First, his campaign against the Amorite 
 •league, in which he swept round the mountain of Judah, 
 returning by Hebron to Gilgal. Secondly, the campaign 
 against the northern Canaanites, — “Joshua made war a 
 long time with all those kings” (Josh. 11. 18). Finally, 
 the general statements of particular expeditions against 
 those tall Anakim, till destroyed in their cities and their 
 forts, — “there were none of the Anakim left in all the 
 land of the children of Israel,” only the Philistines in 
 Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod; and then Joshua took the 
 whole land and gave it for an inheritance unto Israel by 
 their tribes (Josh. 11. 22). Balaam the son of Beor had 
 been slain in a previous war (Hum. 31. 8): you can read 
 the history of Balaam looking down upon Israel from the 
 mountains of Moab, and blessing them in spite of himself 
 (Hum. chapters 22, 23, 24). 
 
 Although Moses had never seen the Promised Land, 
 he had chosen by inspiration the most fitting site for the 
 fresh promulgation of the Law to the people, seven 
 years after they passed the Jordan, on the blasted Ebal, 
 and the fair and fertile Gerizim. The ark, attended by 
 the priests, remained in the valley by which the twin 
 mounts are separated. Up each side of either mountain 
 stood the thousands of Israel, the chiefs, the judges, the 
 Levites, the women, the children, and the stranger, — six 
 tribes pronouncing the curses from the barren Ebal, — 
 six uttering the blessings from the pleasant Gerizim; 
 and as each clause of curse and blessing was pronounced, 
 there rose, with one vast voice rushing from the living hills, 
 the “Amen” of the consenting multitude (Josh. 8. 33). 
 
 * This is one of the many notices of facts, in the history of the old 
 world, which are to be met with incidentally in the books of Moses. 
 
36 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 When Joshua “ went the way of all the earth” — as he 
 himself says — Israel was no more governed by one leader. 
 He left the state on its proper and fixed foundations, with 
 the Lord at its head as its Divine King abiding among 
 them in his tabernacle, which had now been set up at 
 Shiloh, twenty-five miles north of Jerusalem, and it con- 
 tinued in this city for 450 years. 
 
 THE JUDGES. 
 
 From the time of Joshua to that of Eli and Samuel, 
 comprises a period of 355 years, and this was called the 
 times of the judges, or elders, of Israel. This body had 
 been in existence from the time the people were in 
 bondage, in Egypt (see Exod. 3. 16). Six were chosen 
 from each tribe, making seventy-two senators ; and on 
 these fell the government of the chief cities and towns, 
 in the wilderness, these elders had sometimes prophesied 
 (Hum. 11. 25), and they were the expounders of the Law 
 of Moses. 
 
 The book of Judges forms the eighth book of Holy 
 Scripture, reckoning Job as so early written. Its chapters 
 chiefly record the instances in which Israel forsook the 
 Divine Law, and were in consequence punished. 
 
 When, by marrying heathen wives, they were led into 
 idolatry, the Lord withdrew his protection from them, 
 and they were oppressed by some neighbouring state, 
 more or less severely, until they were humbled, and 
 implored the mercy of their own offended King ; and 
 then He heard them, raising them up time after time 
 deliverers, such as Ehud, Barak, Gideon, Jephthah, and 
 Samson, when the foreign yoke was broken from their 
 necks for awhile, until, sinning again, they were again 
 and again punished ; but it was always for the forsaking 
 of the Law of the Lord. 
 
 The book of Judges, however, gives no minute records 
 of the periods when they did not break the Law, anti 
 
THE SIX SERVITUDES. 37 
 
 when the land enjoyed peace and safety: these periods 
 are often passed over in a single verse. 
 
 Dr. Graves, who has examined this subject, observes, 
 that out of the 450 years under the judges, there were 
 not less than 377 years during which the authority of the 
 Law of Moses was acknowledged in Israel; — a beautiful 
 picture of which times of peace is to be found in the 
 book of Ruth. 
 
 The Jewish writers tell us, that in these good times 
 the Levites went much about the country as teachers of 
 the Law. Education among the Hebrews chiefly con- 
 sisted in being taught to read the Law, and listening to 
 those who could expound it. 
 
 The priests were to offer sacrifices for sin, and not to 
 teach : the Levites were to assist the priests in some por- 
 tions of their duty, but were to teach and not to sacrifice. 
 
 It appears that the Israelites endured six successive 
 periods of servitude during the times of the judges: 
 
 1st, under the King of Mesopotamia, 8 years. 
 
 2nd, under the Moabites . .18 years. 
 
 3rd, under the Canaanites . . 20 years. 
 
 4th, under the Midianites . . 7 years. 
 
 5th, under the Ammonites . 18 years. 
 
 6th, under the Philistines . . 40 years. 
 
 During the twenty succeeding years, the people, though 
 not under a foreign yoke, were perhaps under a worse 
 bondage than any before, — “ every man doing that which 
 was right in his own eyes.” 
 
 THE TIMES OF THE KINGS. 
 
 After their last deliverance by the Prophet Samuel, 
 who ruled over the nation for twenty peaceful years, and 
 “ caused them once more to serve the Lord only,” the 
 chief men of the nation., not wishing Samuel’s sons to 
 succeed him, “ who walked not in his wavs,” demanded 
 a king. 
 
38 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Three kings in succession were given to them, who 
 each reigned 40 years — 
 
 Saul. David. Solomon. 
 
 We have not space to enter into the details of their several 
 reigns, but must remark, in passing, the portions which 
 the two latter added to the books of Scripture. ' It is 
 believed that the Prophet Samuel compiled the books 
 of Judges and of Ruth, and commenced the first book 
 of Samuel, the latter part of which and the second book 
 were written by succeeding prophets, probably Nathan 
 and Gad. 
 
 The books of Kings and Chronicles were compiled 
 from the national records by various prophets and scribes, 
 and were, it is most likely, completed by Ezra, when he 
 collected them together, 500 years afterwards. 
 
 King David wrote most of the Psalms, and King 
 Solomon most of the Proverbs, with the books of the 
 Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes. 
 
 Before Moses bade farewell to the people in the wilder- 
 ness, he had foreseen that they would desire a king at 
 some future day, and had thus provided that he should 
 be an enlightened king. 
 
 When he sat upon his throne, he was to write him a 
 copy of the Law in a book, out of that which is before 
 the priests, the Levites. He was to do this for himself 
 and he was to read in it all the days of his life. It would 
 scarcely seem that Saul kept this law, but King David 
 did ; and, Oh how he loved it ! 
 
 Who does not cherish the memory of David the poet- 
 king, — “the man after God's own heart"? Inspired 
 alike as prophet and historian, he summed up the 
 history of his wonderful people in many a noble psalm 
 that has commanded the world’s sympathies for 3000 
 years. Some of his songs were composed for the Jewish 
 festivals, the passover, the feast of tabernacles, etc. Some 
 are war-songs, some songs of thanksgiving. We can 
 find an appropriate psalm for almost every possible state 
 
THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOM. 
 
 39 
 
 of mind and feeling ; but, after all, what is there so 
 beautiful as the longest psalm, the 119th — the Bible 
 Psalm — in which almost every one of the 176 verses 
 speaks with love and joy of the word of God! That is 
 David’s contribution to this jubilee year; and, if we were 
 living on the earth now, would he not chant it to his own 
 harp most gloriously? 
 
 Have you noticed that nearly every verse, under the dif- 
 ferent names of testimonies, precepts, statutes, command- 
 ments, ordinances, judgments, lav/, refers to the Bible? — 
 and David’s Bible comprised only the five books of Moses, 
 Job, Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, and the history of Israel 
 by Samuel, to which, it may be, the king added some of 
 his own psalms. 
 
 There is no time to dwell on the reigns of David and 
 Solomon, or to picture to ourselves the high and palmy 
 state of J udea for those eighty years. The kings of Israel 
 possessed great stores of the precious metals. When Solo- 
 mon built the Temple, which was to stand in the stead of 
 the Tabernacle, the gold consumed in overlaying its inside 
 would have made three millions of oar money. This 
 temple is supposed to have been built upon the very spot 
 where Abraham had offered Isaac; and when Solomon 
 and all his people were assembled for the first time to 
 dedicate it to Jehovah, while the Levites in pure white 
 robes lifted up their voices with the trumpets and the 
 cymbals, then the house was filled with a cloud, so that 
 the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the 
 cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the House of 
 the Lord. Thus was God visibly present among this 
 favoured people. 
 
 THE DIVISION OF THE KINGDOJtf. 
 
 This took place under Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, 
 who at first reigned righteously, but afterwards fell into 
 idolatry, and Jerusalem with him. Jerusalem was taken 
 and spoiled by Shishak king of Egypt; and here again 
 
40 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 we must turn to the great old books of stone in the 
 temple of Karnak, first reading 2 Chron. 12, and 1 Kings 
 14. 25, — narratives which, though they would need no 
 testimony from the heathen to their truth, are yet sur- 
 prisingly confirmed by the following sculptures. 
 
 You have the privilege to live in an age, when, if you 
 hear persons expressing doubts as to the truth of the Bible, 
 you may ask them if they have read or heard of God’s 
 great stone books , which are unanswerable, and which He 
 has laid up in their dead languages 
 for so many centuries, and is now 
 permitting to be understood even 
 by children. 
 
 ... In the year 1828, the French stu- 
 
 \ dent, Champollion, on his passage 
 ( \y> down the File, landed at Karnak, 
 
 and pointed out the accompanying 
 figure, one of sixty-three prisoners 
 presented to Sheshonk by his god 
 Amunra. 
 
 The turreted oval enclosing the 
 name means that it is a walled city. 
 Shishak is depicted as a gigantic 
 figure holding a captive by the hair 
 of the head, with one hand, which 
 he is going to strike off' with the 
 other: there are five rows of such 
 captives as these, with features evi- 
 dently Jewish. 
 
 JUDaH M E L e K 
 
 King of the Country of Judaii. 
 
 Kali. 
 
 Our space forbids our even giving you a list of the 
 names of the kings of the two kingdoms, which, from 
 
THE PROPHETS. 
 
 41 
 
 Relioboam’s time, were set up among the Israelites, during 
 the next hundred years after the conquest by Shishak. 
 We must merely observe, that this national division 
 proved a most disastrous event for them, and pass on to 
 what chiefly concerns us, — to the class of persons who 
 further added to the inspired books, for we must examine 
 their character, and the nature of their teaching. 
 
 THE PROPHETS. 
 
 The prophets were messengers sent of God, and in- 
 spired to declare his will to this nation, wdio foretold 
 events long before they came to pass. Enoch, Noah, 
 Jacob, and Moses, had delivered many prophecies. 
 After the times of the judges, young men -were especially 
 trained as prophets, in schools; and from this class gene- 
 rally, but not always, did the Holy Spirit select those 
 few, who were to be miraculously inspired. These were 
 also called seers, or men of God. 
 
 This inspiration was a wonderful thing. The men to 
 whom it was vouchsafed felt it come upon them as a 
 power which they could not withstand. It took posses- 
 sion of them, filled them, excited them, bore them along, 
 taught them, enabled them to speak words which they 
 could not have uttered at any other time. u The Spirit 
 of God,” it is said, “ was upon them,” and their spirits 
 felt like a vessel impelled before the wind. This was 
 the inspiration vouchsafed to the higher class of prophets, 
 as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and also to those who 
 were called the minor prophets, because they uttered 
 short though great prophecies. The scribes wrote all 
 these latter together on one roll, lest any of them should 
 be lost. 
 
 But prophets, in general, during the times of the kings, 
 were the philosophers, divines, and guides of the nation. 
 They stood as the bulwarks of religion against the im- 
 piety of princes; and although highly esteemed by the 
 
42 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 pious kings, they were very poor men, and greatly exposed 
 to persecution. 
 
 They generally lived in some retired country place, 
 and spent their time in prayer, study, and manual labour. 
 Elisha quitted his plough, when Elijah called him to be 
 a prophet. Amos was a herdsman, and a gatherer of 
 sycamore-fruit (Amos 7. 14). The sons of the prophets 
 built their own dwellings, for which they cut down the 
 timber (2 Kings 6. 1). 
 
 They were dressed very singularly: Elijah was clothed 
 with skins, and wore a leather girdle : Isaiah wore sack- 
 cloth. Their habits were simple and their food plain. 
 
 The predictions of the earliest prophets are inserted in 
 the historical books, together with their fulfilment, — such 
 as those of Elijah, Elisha, Jehu, and Micaiah. 
 
 But Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, were directed to 
 write their prophecies in a roll, as well as to utter them 
 in some public place where all might hear. The roll 
 was in many cases affixed to the gate of the temple y 
 where all might read it ; and they often accompanied 
 their message by some significant action on their own 
 part. Jeremiah made a yoke and put it on his neck, to 
 foretel the captivity of Babylon. Isaiah walked barefoot, 
 and stripped off his rough prophet’s garment to show 
 what was coming on Egypt. 
 
 When the prophecy was not 
 to be fulfilled for ages, they 
 were commanded to seal it up, 
 “it being requisite that the 
 originals,” says Mr. Horne, 
 “ should be compared -with 
 the event when it occurred.” 
 It seems to have been a cus- 
 tom for the prophets to de- 
 posit their writings in the 
 temple, and lay them up be- 
 fore the Lord. There is a 
 
THE LOST TEN TRIBES* 
 
 43 
 
 belief among the Jews that all the sacred books were 
 placed in the side of the ark. On the preceding page 
 we have given you a picture of the cases in which written 
 rolls were generally kept in this age, and long after it. 
 
 The Paragraph Bible published by the Tract Society- 
 will now supply us with a table (see page 44) of the 
 reigns of the kings, in which the sixteen prophets 'who 
 wrote the separate books of Holy Scripture lived and 
 wrote. The thick black lines present at once to the eye 
 the length of the prophet’s life. 
 
 Before reading each prophecy, you should read the 
 reign of the king in which it was delivered, given in the 
 references at the bottom of the page. 
 
 The idolatrous kings were always punished for the 
 forsaking of the Law, while those who observed the Law 
 prospered. The kingdom rose or fell according to that 
 rule; and this renders the history of the Jewish people 
 especially interesting and instructive. 
 
 The following table shows you at a glance that the 
 kingdom of Israel, comprising ten of the tribes, came to 
 an end 194 years before the kingdom of Judah. The 
 exceeding wickedness of Israel caused God to send them 
 into captivity among the Assyrians, B. C. 730. 
 
 They are spoken of as the lost ten tribes; and thus 
 was Hosea’s prophecy fulfilled, — u they shall be called 
 Lo-ammi , that is, not my people.” But it is certain that 
 God knows where their descendants are, and in his o wn 
 time will recover the lost, and re-unite them with Judah r 
 under one Head, even Christ (see Ezek. 37. 21-28). 
 
 The portion of Palestine inhabited by the ten tribes was 
 called Samaria ; the King of Assyria re-peopled this dis- 
 trict from Babylon, Cuth, Ava, etc., and these people, 
 joined with the remnant of the Israelites, were called 
 Samaritans. We hear of them in the time of our Lord, 
 and that “ the Jews had no dealings with them.” They 
 had asked to be allowed to assist in the re-building of the 
 temple after the captivity, and, on being refused, became 
 inveterate enemies to the work, and built a temple of 
 
TABULAR VIEW OF THE PROPHETS, 
 
 SHOWING THE PEEIODS DUEING WHICH IT IS SUPPOSED THEIR PEOPHECIE3 
 WE EE DELIYEEED. 
 
 1 
 
 | Kings of 
 
 ; Judah. 
 
 ] B. C. 
 
 Isaiah. I 
 
 < 
 
 a 
 
 w 
 
 w 
 
 s 
 
 w 
 
 w 
 
 4 
 
 >5 
 
 d 
 
 < 
 
 K 
 
 J 
 
 c 
 
 g 
 
 | OcADIAIt. 
 
 K 
 
 *5 
 
 C 
 
 < 
 
 £ 
 
 Nahum. 
 
 a 
 
 e 
 
 a 
 
 * 
 
 a 
 
 £. 
 
 W 
 
 64 
 
 Haogai. 
 
 a 
 
 <, 
 
 5 
 
 <! 
 
 u 
 
 K 
 
 N 
 
 g 
 
 <! 
 
 A 
 
 Kings of 
 Iskaei.. 
 
 a Amaziah, S39 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o Jeroboam II. 
 
 825 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 b Uzziah, 810 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Interregnum, 
 
 784 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 p Menahem, 772 
 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 q Pekahiah, 761 
 
 c Jotham, 758 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 
 | 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 rPekah, 759 
 
 d Ahaz, 742 
 
 -- 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Anarchy, 739 
 
 ■■ e Hezekiah, 727 
 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 s Hoshea, 730 
 
 r 
 
 |710 
 
 JL 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 © 
 
 r ; 
 
 i i 
 0? 1 
 G. 8 
 
 Ǥ 
 
 | 
 
 ^ g- 1 
 
 >, § !; 
 
 1 t 
 
 « *? 
 
 -I 1 
 
 1 1 
 
 p* *3 
 
 ) " 
 
 * Main chi, j 
 
 between i 
 436 and 420. J 
 
 i 
 
 ^700 
 
 •1- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 
 j f Manasseh, 69S 
 >690 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 ■ 680 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 tS70 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 '‘560 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (650 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Amoa, 643 j 
 640 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 h Josiah, G41 
 
 030 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 t Jelioahaz, G10 
 G10 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 
 ]_ 
 
 
 
 
 k Jehoiakim, 610 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 l Jeceniah, 599 
 590 
 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 m Dest. of Je- 
 rusalem, 588 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5-10 - 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 n Zerubbabel,536 
 
 
 
 It 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5°0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 The date after each king’s name indicates the commencement of hi3 reign. — Joel is placed twice, as it is 
 doubtful at which period he lived. 
 
 a 2 Ki. 14 ; 2 Ch. 25. 
 b 2 Ki. 14. 21 ; 2 Ch. 25. I. 
 c 2 Ki. 15. 32 : 2 Ch. 27. 
 d 2 Ki. 16. 1 ; 2 Ch. 28. 
 
 <? 2 Ki. IS. If*; 2 Ch. 29; Is. 36. 37. 38. 
 f 2 Ki. 20. 1; 2 Ch £3. 
 
 Z 2 Ki. 21. 19; 2 Ch. 33. 21. 
 h 2 Ki. 22. 1 ; 2 Ch. 34. 1. 
 
 * 2 Ki. 23. 31. 
 
 7c 2 Ki. 23. 36 ; 9 Ch. 3fl. 5. 
 i 2 Ki. 24. S : 2 Ch. 33. 9. 
 m 2 Ki. 25 ; 2 Ch. 36. 17, 
 
 n Ezra 3. 4, 5. 
 o 2 Ki. 14. 28 ; 2 Ch. 13. C. 
 p 2 Ki. 15. 14. 
 q 2 Ki. 15. 22. 
 v 2 Ki. 15. 25. 
 s 2 Ki. L7. I. 
 
THE LOST TEN TRIBES. 
 
 45 
 
 their own upon mount Gerizim. Jesus himself “ abode 
 among this people for two days,” after conversing with the 
 woman of Samaria; “ and many believed, because of his 
 own word” (John 4. 40, 41). The persecution by the 
 Emperor Justinian almost extinguished the community of 
 Samaritan Jews; but yet, in the sixteenth century, a 
 remnant of them was discovered in the neighbourhood 
 of their holy mount, Gerizim, who still possessed the Law 
 in the Old Hebrew character (for they never adopted the 
 Chaldee), and this manuscript is called the Samaritan 
 Pentateuch. Learned men consider it a most valuable 
 relic of antiquity. It had been lost sight of for 1000 
 years. It is now printed in the “ London Polyglot,” by 
 Bishop Walton. 
 
 These Samaritans exist to this day ; they are very few 
 in number ; they assert their descent from the tribes of 
 Ephraim and Manasseh, and say that -their dialect is the 
 true and original Hebrew in which the Law was given. 
 
 The Jews do not acknowledge them, and contemp- 
 tuously call them “ alien colonists”: but, if so, it is very 
 extraordinary that they possess this manuscript, which 
 corresponds almost word for word with the Hebrew text. 
 One of the copies may be seen in the British Museum. 
 The missionary Fisk says, “ the Samaritans have also 
 copies of the books of Joshua and Judges, in separate 
 volumes.” 
 
 Before we pass on to the time of Ezra, it is essential to 
 the Story of the Book that we refer to two or more of the 
 kings of Judah, one of whom, Josiah, found a part of 
 the word of God, when it was lost, and another, Jehoia- 
 kim, dared to burn a part of it, in defiance of God and 
 his prophet, Jeremiah. 
 
 The history of the lost roll may be found in 2 Kings 
 22 and 23. Josiah and Cyrus are the only two persons 
 in Scripture prophesied of by name , long before their 
 birth. You will find the prophecy concerning Josiah in. 
 1 Kings 13. 2, and its literal fulfilment in 2 Chron. 3 4. 5. 
 
46 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 When he found the roll, he honoured it, and caused 
 the people to “ stand to it,” as for thirteen years after- 
 wards they did. With J osiah ended the peace, the pros- 
 perity, and the piety of Judah; and the history of that 
 kingdom closes with — 
 
 THE BURNT ROLL, 
 
 burnt in the reign of Jehoiakim, which lasted eleven evil 
 years. He was the first person who dared to destroy any 
 part of the written word of God , and he might therefore 
 well be Judah’s last king. The reverence of the Jews 
 in general for their Divine writings was so great, that if, 
 in copying the manuscripts, they made a single error, 
 they would reject the material thus spoiled, and have 
 begun all again. They never permitted themselves to 
 retouch or erase; and in coming to the name Jehovah, 
 they always wiped -their pens and refilled them. When 
 the manuscripts became at all old or injured, they reve- 
 rently buried them in graves ; and this is the reason why 
 there are not in existence any very old Hebrew manu- 
 scripts of the Scriptures — none earlier than A. D. 1200. 
 
 Jehoiakim felt none of this reverence. He daringly 
 sent his page, Jehudi, to fetch the roll of the prophecy 
 which he heard Jeremiah had written against him, from 
 the scribe’s chamber in the temple, and then he also told 
 Jehudi to read it to him. 
 
 Jehudi, however, had read but three or four columns, 
 when the king, who sat in his winter house with a fire 
 burning before him, snatching it from the reader, cut it 
 with a penknife, and cast it into the fire.* Two or three 
 of the princes around begged him not to burn it, but he 
 would not hear them. He was then about to seize the 
 writers, Jeremiah and Baruch, but it is said, “ the Lord 
 hid them.” 
 
 For this crime it was decreed by God that Jehoiakim 
 
 See Jeremiah 36. 23. 
 
THE CAPTIVITY AND RETURN. 47 
 
 should have none to sit upon the throne of Judah, and 
 that his dead body should be cast out in the day to the 
 heat, and in the night to the frost, which was literally 
 fulfilled, as recorded by Josephus in the eighth chapter of 
 his tenth book, — “ the body of the king was thrown into 
 the fields without the walls of the city”; “his burial was 
 as the burial of an ass, beyond the gates of Jerusalem”; 
 and then all the wealth of the city, its princes, its mighty 
 men, and many thousands of captives, were carried away 
 into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar, for seventy years, to 
 Babylon. 
 
 THE CAPTIVITY AND RETURN. 
 
 We know, from what is said of Daniel and Ezekiel, 
 that, in the days of their exile, the people were not with- 
 out their Scriptures. By the rivers of Babylon they sat 
 down and wept; they wept when they remembered Zion. 
 
 It has been the constant tradition of the Jewish Church, 
 that Ezra, the great reformer, with the assistance of the 
 members of the great synagogue, amongst whom were 
 the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, collected 
 as many copies as possible of the sacred writings, and 
 from them set forth the canon of the Old Testament. 
 Ezra’s own book, with those of Nehemiah and Malachi, 
 was added 128 years afterwards, by Simon the Just, who 
 was the last of that synagogue. He died B.c. 292. 
 
 On the return of the people from captivity, and after 
 they had rebuilt their temple, they having forgotten the 
 Law, it w^as re-delivered to them by Ezra, of whom the 
 Jews always speak as of a second Moses; and they say 
 that he lived, like Moses, for 120 years. 
 
 This forgetting of the Law, on the part of the people, 
 argues, that the copies of it had been very scarce, and 
 that it had not been publicly read to them all the while 
 they were in Babylon ; and yet, even there, Daniel, who 
 wrote in kings’ courts, and Ezekiel, on the river Chebar, 
 m solitude, at thirty miles’ distance from the city, had 
 
48 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 been inspired to add to the sacred writings two of tire 
 most wonderful of the prophetical books — bearing their 
 own names. 
 
 At the appointed time, King Cyrus, having conquered 
 Babylon, and being made to see, by Daniel, the pro- 
 phecies that God had uttered concerning him, in the days 
 of Hezekiah, as the deliverer of the Jews (Isaiah 44.28), 
 issued an edict, permitting them to return to Jerusalem. 
 
 You will find the history of their return in the books 
 of Ezra and Nehemiah. 
 
 Only the “ remnant” of the nation returned ; many, it 
 seems, preferred staying in Babylon ; vast numbers went 
 to Egypt. A hundred thousand earnest men (perhaps 
 scarcely so many, for Ezra speaks of the return only as 
 “giving us a nail in the holy place”) sought once more 
 the land of their fathers. The journey occupied four 
 months, and was accomplished in two bodies, or caravans. 
 They still suffered great distress on their arrival, and did 
 not for twenty years begin to rebuild their temple ; and 
 at its foundation the elder J ews, who had seen the temple 
 of Solomon, wept with a loud voice, for they knew that 
 this temple would be nothing to the first, and truly when 
 it was completed, four things were found wanting in 
 it. There was no ark, no sacred fire on the altar, no answer 
 by Urim and Thummim, no Shekinah or cloud of glory be- 
 tween the cherubim. Still they rejoiced in the re-establish- 
 ment of the passover and the temple service ; and under 
 Yehemiah the city walls were rebuilt on the old founda- 
 tions. 
 
 The republishing of the Law, by Ezra, did not take 
 place till eighty years after the return of the first caravan 
 of pilgrims from Babylon. Try to realize the features of — - 
 
 ezea’s ministry. 
 
 Upwards of 50,000 of the people were assembled in 
 Jerusalem, in the square of the water-gate, as many as 
 
Ezra's ministry. 
 
 49 
 
 were assembled in Trafalgar-square, in London, at the 
 funeral of the late Duke of Wellington. 
 
 A surging sea of human faces is always a grand sight. 
 On the day that Ezra preached, and it was early in the 
 morning of the Jewish Sabbath, 50,000 faces were up- 
 turned towards the pulpit of wood on which he stood, 
 surrounded by thirteen more preachers on a platform or 
 gallery, six on one side of him, and seven on the other. 
 Thirteen other teachers seem to have been present on 
 another platform, to read by turns, so that all the people 
 might be addressed. 
 
 When Ezra ascended the pulpit and opened the roll of 
 the Law, the whole congregation stood up : then he 
 offered prayer and praise to God, the people bowing their 
 heads and worshipping, with their faces to the ground ; 
 and, at the close of the prayer, with uplifted hands they 
 said, “Amen.” 
 
 Then, all still standing, Ezra, assisted sometimes by the 
 Levites, read the Law distinctly, gave the sense, and 
 caused them to understand the reading, — a model of what 
 preaching still should be. 
 
 The Law, as delivered by Ezra, so affected the hearers, 
 that they wept exceedingly, and about noon Ezra and 
 Nehemiah thought fit to restrain it. From the great ex- 
 citement they evinced, it would seem that the reading 
 of their Scriptures, in the language they understood. 
 (Chaldee), was a new thing to them. In the temple ser- 
 vice, it had no doubt been read in the sacred language 
 (Hebrew). 
 
 On the second day the reading was resumed, they were 
 again instructed in the Law, and they then appear to have 
 arrived at the 31st chapter of Deuteronomy, when Moses 
 commanded the keeping of the feast of Tabernacles, 
 which they immediately prepared to obey. They gathered 
 as of old, branches of palm-trees and willows of the brook, 
 the pine, the myrtle, and the foliage of the mount of 
 Olives, to make booths, and there was very great gladness. 
 
50 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Under tlie shadow of these booths, for the space of 
 seven days, they remembered all the toils of the wilderness ; 
 and day by day Ezra read to them in the books of the 
 Law of God : probably in all the books, — for the Old 
 Testament was now complete, with the exception of the 
 history of the current times. Doubtless the history of the 
 nation was read ; and they were made to review God’s 
 dealings with them : very likely the Psalms were sung 
 relating to the events which David and others had cele- 
 brated ; and we cannot but believe that Ezra also pointed 
 to the Prophets , and showed the people how minutely 
 many of the words spoken by them had been fulfilled. 
 
 They knew that the revelation was supported by the 
 great pillars of miracle and prophecy ; and at this era, the 
 common people under Ezra’s teaching must have been 
 taught to feel the strength of both. They stood in the 
 midst of a circle of doomed countries , on all of which the 
 threats of their sacred writings had been fulfilled , as well 
 as most bitterly upon themselves . 
 
 Nineveh, Tyre, Petra, Thebes, and Babylon,* as well 
 as Jerusalem, had all been desolated within a space of 
 forty years, chiefly by Nebuchadnezzar, the Chaldean 
 king, called by Jeremiah “the hammer of the whole 
 earth” (Jer. 50. 23). Judgment had begun at the House 
 of God, as it always does; and the divided kingdom of 
 Israel had, as we have seen, fallen by the hand, of the 
 kings of Nineveh, 730 B.c. 
 
 Plosea was the prophet who had especially foretold 
 their troubles. If you look back to the table, f you will 
 see that he lived during the reigns of several of the last 
 wicked kings of Israel. The ten tribes were in his time 
 frightfully corrupt : the kings were murderers ; the very 
 priests were idolaters. When you have read Hosea’s 
 prophecy, you can refer to its fulfilment, in the 17th chap- 
 ter of 2 Kings. Before the carrying away of the nation 
 
 You should look for these on a map. f See page 44. 
 
NINEVEH. 
 
 51 
 
 into Assyria, they had endured the deep miseries of a 
 seven years’ famine, when a woman slew and boiled her 
 own son for food, as Moses had foretold (Deut. 28. 53). 
 
 The kingdom of Israel existed 254 years distinct from 
 Judah, under nineteen kings, all of whom were wicked 
 men, — the instruments of its punishment. Assyria, whose 
 capital was Nineveh, was called by Isaiah “ the rod of 
 God’s anger” (Isaiah 10. 5). Nineveh had long been 
 an enemy to the J ewish nation. The kingdom of Assyria 
 was as old as that of Egypt. Noah himself may have seen 
 its rise. His grandson Asshur went out of the land of 
 Shinar, and builded Nineveh (Gen. 10. 11); and for 1300 
 years it had endured in power and glory, during all the 
 periods of the Jewish history through which we have just 
 passed. 
 
 Ten or eleven years ago, we knew a Utile about Nineveh, 
 the gods she worshipped, the kings who ruled over her, her 
 wealth and her wickedness, and more especially that she 
 once repented for awhile at the preaching of a Jewish 
 prophet, very rarely sent to a heathen city. We knew 
 that the river Tigris flowed sluggishly along through the 
 waste plains where the city once stood with all its palaces, 
 that nothing was to be seen but desolate mounds, where 
 great feasts had been held by conquering kings for 120 
 days together, that the mighty walls with their 1500 
 towers, and the vast multitude with their 120,000 little 
 children, were all gone down into the grave of 3000 years. 
 
 We had found much about Nineveh in the Jewish 
 prophecies. Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Nahum, had foretold 
 her ruin; and Diodorus, a Greek historian, had told us of 
 the funeral pile of its King Sardanapalus in his own palace, 
 when, heaping his gold and silver, garments and jewels, 
 himself and his wives, on a great pile of wood (that he 
 might not fall into the hands of his enemies), he con- 
 sumed himself, his treasures, and his palace. 
 
 We, who believed the Bible, had no doubt of all this in 
 our childhood ; but we had no idea that in this part of the 
 earth, also, God had laid up a great stone library for you 
 
 library 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 
52 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 of this generation to read, and to be convinced that the 
 Book and its volumes agree : for Nineveh has been dis- 
 entombed since you were born. 
 
 Over its ruins, the sands of the desert had heaped 
 themselves for ages, in which the Arabs had built villages, 
 and made graves for generation after generation ; for 
 had not God said to it, by Nahum, “ Thou shalt be hid” 
 (Nahum 3. 11); “I will cast abominable filth upon thee, 
 and will make thee vile, and will set thee as a gazing- 
 stock”? (Nahum 3. 6.) 
 
 In the year 1842, a learned Frenchman and a wander- 
 ing English scholar, Mons. Botta and Mr. Layard, sought 
 the seat of this once powerful empire, and searched till 
 they found the dead city. They threw off its shroud of 
 sand and ruin, and revealed to an astonished and curious 
 world the temples, the palaces, and the idols of that 
 Nineveh of Scripture, in which the captive tribes of Israel 
 had laboured and wept, — the twin-sister of Babylon, who 
 was like a “ cedar in Lebanon,” and who made all the 
 nations to shake at the sound of its fall. We are now 
 able to realize this fall, with something of the same minute- 
 ness with which Ezra could have depicted it to the Jews 
 who had returned from the captivity ; and we dwell 
 longer on the ruin of this heathen power than any other, 
 because, through its means, we can show you what were 
 the idolatries after which the nation of Israel went, and 
 which were the cause of their rejection and their ruin. 
 
 If you visit London or Paris, you may look with your 
 own eyes on the vast stony forms which have come up 
 from their long and solemn sleep in the depths of the 
 earth, such as those in the national museums. 
 
 The eyes of the Prophet Ezekiel may have looked 
 upon those very sculptures. They were a kind of heathen 
 cherubim. The eastern nations had derived their idea of 
 them from the traditions concerning the cherubim at the 
 gate of Eden, uniting in one the noblest forms of their kind 
 — the lion among wild beasts, the bull among tame ones, 
 the eagle among the birds, and man as the lord of all. 
 
NINEVEH. 
 
 53 
 
 Museum ; and he has written two very interesting hooks to 
 explain them. He found that these colossal forms were 
 placed at the entrance of the palace- temple, whose steps 
 came down to the river’s brink; that every room in the 
 palaces had been coated with slabs, on which were carved 
 histories, not in words, but in figures standing out from 
 the stone, called bas-reliefs; and though some of these 
 crumbled to powder as they were being dug out, because 
 they had been calcined with fire, according to the pro- 
 phecy of Nahum, — “then shall the fire devour thee,” — 
 still a great many slabs have been sent home to the 
 Museum, where a beautiful hall has been prepared to re- 
 ceive them ; and now w T e can walk among its long, light 
 galleries, and read the story of Nineveh all in stone, dug 
 up by the Arabs of the desert. 
 
 There is some curious writing upon those vast bulls, all 
 in arrow-headed character, and you cannot read it. Seve- 
 ral learned men, however, have begun to do so; and Mr. 
 Layard tells us, that they have decyphered a complete 
 history of the reign and character of Sennacherib, allusion 
 to whom is made in the Bible, at 2 Kings 18. 13. There 
 
54 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 is an awful strangeness in being thus, as it were, brought 
 face to face with the solemn antiquities of the Bible, and 
 with our own earliest sacred recollections. 
 
 Arrow-headed Character. 
 
 T -+«< >V ^TT « I « ^ 
 
 -tT UR Sf b V a 
 
 SETT 
 
 ET ?K<MKt I! fTf '-K -TT^ 
 
 [Translation.] 
 
 “ Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the country of Assyria 
 sitting on the throne of judgment, before (or at the entrance of) the 
 city of Lachish (Lachisha), I give permission for its slaughter.” 
 
 The 
 
 Obelisk. 
 
JERUSALEM. 
 
 55 
 
 A certain old obelisk, found also at Nineveh, is now in 
 the British Museum: upon it are recorded, according to 
 Major Kawlinson, the names of Jehu and Hazael, both 
 known to you in Scripture. 
 
 Many other names of kings, 
 idols, countries, and cities, 
 mentioned in the Old Testa- 
 ment, occur in the Assyrian 
 tablets, on which also arc- 
 depicted continually images 
 of the god Nisroch, the god 
 of Sardanapalus, the hawk- 
 headed deity. And when the 
 Jews had had read to them 
 the Prophet Nahum, when 
 it was read in Hebrew and 
 translated into Chaldee, they' 
 well knew how the prophet’s 
 words had been fulfilled. The 
 cormorant and the bittern 
 lodged in the upper lintels of 
 the palaces of that rejoicing 
 city, that had said in her 
 heart, “I am, and there is none beside me”; God had 
 uncovered the cedar-work (Zeph. 2. 14, 15). As we hope 
 you will take time to refer to the chief prophecies which 
 concern Assyria and Nineveh, we have given you a list 
 of them: 
 
 Isaiah, ch. 10. 15-19; ch. 31. 8. The book of Nahum. 
 
 Ezek. ch. 31. 3-17. Zeph.ch. 2. 13-15. 
 
 The city of Nineveh had fallen 611 B.C., nearly 200 years 
 before Ezra’s re-publication of the Scriptures. It was 600 
 miles from Jerusalem. 
 
 JERUSALEM. 
 
 Having looked on the destruction of Nineveh, the 
 
56 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 sorrowful gaze of Judali must again have been turned 
 upon herself \ — for she was the next who fell under the 
 power of Nebuchadnezzar. Her idolatry had provoked 
 the God of her fathers to jealousy, till He w T ould bear 
 with her no more. 
 
 She had worshipped, after the manner of Egypt, creep- 
 ing things and abominable beasts (Ezek. 8), even close to 
 the sanctuary of God, therefore he at last had dealt with 
 her in fury ; and Ezekiel (ch. 10. 8) had seen Him depart 
 from off the threshold of the house on the cherubim's 
 wings, “ scattering coals of fire" over the devoted city, 
 as he went to return no more in glory, in that dispen- 
 sation. 
 
 It was for her IDOLATRY that Judah lost her land. 
 She rejected God and his word; and since the days of Je- 
 hoiakim, has never possessed her kingdom , but as the servant 
 of some foreign power. She held it under the Babylonians, 
 the Persians, the Grecians, and the Romans, — Daniel's 
 “ four beasts" ; and now under the Roman power in its 
 papal form (the so-called “ holy shrines" being scattered 
 over all her mountains), Jerusalem still abides till the 
 times be fulfilled, when, returning first to that Moses and 
 the prophets (Mai. 4. 4) whom Jehoiakim cast aside, 
 she shall forswear the vain traditions with which she has 
 overlaid the Law, and go up once more to build the old 
 wastes, and repair the desolations of many generations ; 
 and there, “ at Jerusalem , the spirit of grace and suppli- 
 cation being poured upon her," as Zechariah tells us, at 
 chapter 12! 10, “ she shall look upon Him whom she 
 hath pierced, and mourn"; and “ all nations shall call 
 her blessed in her delightsome land " (Mai. 3. 12). The 
 prophecies foretelling the siege of Jerusalem by Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, will be found in — 
 
 Isaiah, chap. 3. 
 
 Jer. chap. 25. 9 — 12. 
 
 Jer. chap. 27. 
 Ezek. chap. 12. 
 
TYRE.— PETRA. 
 
 57 
 
 TYRE. 
 
 We must now pass for a moment to Tyre, the city on 
 the rock, overlooking the sea, — the noblest colony of the 
 sons of Anak, reposing beneath the shadow of mount 
 Lebanon. Four years after Nebuchadnezzar had been 
 used to chastise the Jews, he was employed in punishing 
 the sins of Tyre. 
 
 Tyre, the merchant-city, was to the old world what 
 London now is to the new. Her glory is described in 
 the 27th chapter of Ezekiel: her fall is prophesied in the 
 28th. Of Nebuchadnezzar’s army, during the siege, it is 
 said, that by the toils of thirteen years before its walls, 
 every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled, 
 — a result arising from wearing their armour so long, and 
 carrying burdens to build the high terraces from which 
 they made their attack. Seldom has the deep gathered 
 such a harvest to its treasures, as when Tyre fell in the 
 midst of its waters. Its ruined pillars of red and white 
 marble lie scattered along the shore. Perhaps some day, 
 another Mr. Layard may bring to light the ancient Tyre, 
 For the prophecies of the destruction of Tyre see — 
 
 Isaiah, chap. 23. 
 
 Ezeh. chapters 26, 27, and 28. 
 
 Tyre yielded to Nebuchadnezzar, B.C. 571, nineteen 
 years after the prophecies against it. Like all the heathen 
 cities, Tyre was wicked and proud. She had said, “ I 
 am perfect in beauty,” and her heart was lifted up because 
 of her beauty. There is a small book published by “ The 
 Tract Society,” entitled, “Tyre; its Eise, Glory, and 
 Desolation,” which contains a rich store of information, 
 especially designed for young persons, and to which we 
 must refer them. 
 
 PETRA. 
 
 This city is the Bozrah of the Bible, and was the 
 southern capital of Edom. 
 
58 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 When Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, the Edom- 
 ites were almost as numerous as the Jews. Moses tells us 
 (Gen. 36. 1), that Esau is Edom. Esau had hated Jacob, 
 and their children were always at enmity. The Edomites 
 had united with Nebuchadnezzar to besiege Jerusalem, 
 and urged him to raze it even with the ground (Psalm 
 137. 7). The prophecies against Edom are very many, 
 and are a continuation of God’s wrath upon Amalek, 
 which became the ascendant race and general name for 
 all the children of Esau.* These prophecies are distinct 
 from those against Ishmael, whose children are spoken of 
 as the tribes of Kedar and Nebaioth. On Esau, or Edom, 
 the judgments pronounced are by far the most severe, 
 and on his city, Petra, they were chiefly poured. Spoiler 
 after spoiler ruined it. The people worshipped the sun 
 and moon, and made their houses, palaces, and temples 
 in the rocks and sides of the mountains which surround 
 the valley in which Petra is situated. This wondrous 
 city, with its rock-hewn pillars and statues of exquisite 
 beauty, once the halting-place and mart of all the cara- 
 vans of the wilderness, fell under the dominion of Jews, 
 Greeks, Eomans, and Arabs, till it became what it now 
 is, — “ an utter desolation,” “ none passing through it for 
 ever.” For 1200 years its very existence was unknown: 
 it is approached only through a narrow defile of rocks, 
 two miles in length, through which but two horsemen 
 can ride abreast, under festoons of climbing plants and 
 trees. At the end of the defile, Petra, the dead dity, 
 bursts upon you, silent and beautiful in its desert tomb. 
 For the prophecies against Edom see — 
 
 Jer. chap. 27. 3- 11 ; chap. 49. 7 -22. Joel, chap. 3. 19. 
 
 Ezek. chap. 25. 12-14; chap. 32. 29. Obad. ver. J, 8, 9. 
 
 And that all these things were fulfilled before the time of 
 Malachi, we know from Mai. 1. 2, 3. 
 
 Forsters “Geography of Arabia.’ 
 
EGYPT. BABYLON. 
 
 59 
 
 EGYPT. 
 
 In reflecting on the words of their prophets, the Israel- 
 ites would also turn to Egypt. This ancient kingdom, 
 also, was intensely proud. Her king, Pharaoh Hophra, 
 says Herodotus, “ had boasted that it was not even in the 
 power of God to dethrone him ” ; and Ezekiel compared 
 him to a great dragon lying in the midst of his streams, 
 and saying, “ My river is mine own, and I have made it 
 for myself” (Ezek. 29. 3.) Nebuchadnezzar caused him to 
 be strangled in his own palace. He made dreadful havoc 
 in the dominions of the Pharaohs. God had put the 
 sword into his hand, and he was to break the images, and 
 burn with fire the houses of the gods, while the Jews, 
 who had gone down to Egypt, and wickedly determined 
 to burn incense to the queen of heaven, were to be con- 
 sumed in these judgments, till there was an end of them 
 (Jer. 44. 12). From that hour Egypt, has been the basest 
 of the kingdoms, and Israel has leant upon it as a staff no 
 more. The prophecies against it are found in — 
 
 Isaiah, ch. 19; ch. 30. 1-7. Ezek. chapters 29 and 30. 
 
 Jer. chap. 46. „ chap. 31. 1-18 ; chap. 32. 
 
 Joel, chap. 3. 19. 
 
 And for their fulfilment, besides the destruction caused 
 by Nebuchadnezzar, you must likewise refer to the times 
 when the Persian war-cry rang through the crowded 
 streets of Thebes, when Cambyses laid his destroying hand 
 on Karnak and its sculptures, and when Alexander the 
 Great completed the ruin his predecessors had begun. 
 
 BABYLON. 
 
 Once more the eye of the chosen people would turn to 
 the fall of the all-conquering Babylon itself. You have 
 .Heard of its brazen gates and its 676 squares, its walls and 
 its hanging gardens, where Nebuchadnezzar said, “ Is not 
 
60 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 this great Babylon which I have built ?” You remember 
 the hand that wrote in fire on the walls of Belshazzar’s 
 palace; and having referred to the prophecies of the fall 
 of this mighty empire in — 
 
 Isaiah, chap. 13 ; chap. 21. 9 ; chap. 48. 14-20; 
 
 Jer. chapters 50 and 51 ; 
 
 — you will be prepared to read the sublime narration of 
 Daniel, the eye-witness of all its horrors, in the fifth 
 chapter of his own book. 
 
 How deeply the lesson of all these vast fulfilments of 
 the word of God was impressed upon the minds of the 
 returned remnant of Judah, we may judge from the fact, 
 which all history confirms, that they ever afterwards felt 
 a profound dread and aversion for all the pagan idolatries. 
 
 Ezra did much to cut off this evil at its root, by causing 
 them to put away at once their heathen wives. This was 
 a severe and terrible measure, and it grieved him deeply 
 to enforce it (see Ezra 9. 10); but he felt it was essential 
 to their future existence as a nation. 
 
 While Nehemiah was governor of Judea, the Jewess, 
 Esther, was raised to the Persian throne; and with her 
 beautiful history, the records of the ancient world, as 
 given to us in the Bible, are ended. 
 
61 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE JEWISH BIBLE COMPLETE. THE APOCRYPHA. THE SEPTUA- 
 
 gint. — daniel’s two pictures. — antiochus epiphanes. — the 
 
 MACCABEES. JUDAS MACCABEUS. THE ROMAN POWER. POM- 
 
 PEY. CAESAR. THE DRUIDS. THEIR HEBREW ORIGIN. SER- 
 PENT-WORSHIP. DRUXDXCAL REMAINS. GREEK PHILOSOPHERS. 
 
 HEROD. THE TEMPLE.— THE SYNAGOGUES. TRADITIONS OP 
 
 THE PHARISEES. TARGUMS. PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES. 
 
 THE PAITHFUL FEW. THE RABBINS. JOHN THE BAPTIST. HIS 
 
 MINISTRY. OUR LORD’S ADVENT. HIS MISSION. BOOKS OF THE 
 
 NEW TESTAMENT. THE FIRST CENTURY. ITS APOSTLES AND 
 
 ELDERS. THE LAST SUPPER.— -VIOLENT DEATH OF ALL WHO 
 
 PARTOOK OF IT, EXCEPT JOHN. — FIRST AND SECOND PAGAN 
 PERSECUTIONS. DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 We wish to take you in this chapter through the Story of 
 the Book for a period of 500 years, comprising the last four 
 centuries of the Old Testament dispensation, and the first 
 century of the New. 
 
 The Hebrew people must still be regarded in one light, 
 for the four centuries before the coming of the Lord, as 
 the keepers of the word of God. They alone had re- 
 ceived it, and they preserved it through this middle 
 space of time between Malachi, the last of their prophets, 
 and the cry of John the Baptist in the wilderness of 
 Judea, whose coming, as the forerunner of the Lord, 
 Malachi’s last words had foretold (see Mai. 4. 5, and 
 Matt. 3. 1, 2). 
 
 The Bible of the Jews was complete. It is called the 
 “Canon of the Old Testment.” The word canon means 
 a rule, a settled law; and, as you may have heard of 
 
62 
 
 THE BOOK. AND ITS STOBY. 
 
 some books not in this canon, which are generally called 
 the Apocrypha , and which may still be found in some 
 Bibles, bound up between the Old and New Testaments, 
 we must give you a short history of them. 
 
 They were not inspired books: some were written by 
 learned Jews at Alexandria, after the prophetic spirit 
 had ceased with Malachi. Not even their writers say 
 they are inspired : they were written in Greek and not in 
 Hebrew, the ancient sacred language. They were never 
 received as sacred by the ancient Jewish Church, and not 
 a single passage in them is ever quoted by Jesus Christ, 
 or by his apostles. 
 
 A few of these books are considered valuable as a con- 
 necting link in history, but a child may perceive the 
 difference between them and the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 These apocryphal or doubtful books were not added 
 to the Hebrew copies of the Scriptures, but only to the 
 “ Septuagint,” or Greek version, made at Alexandria, B.C. 
 277, by a council of seventy learned men, for the use of 
 the J ews in Egypt, who were accustomed to speak Greek. 
 
 Alexandria was then a chief colony of the Jews; it is 
 said that a hundred thousand of them resided there. It 
 was at that time one of the greatest cities in the world. 
 
 Learned men consider this translation, called the Sep- 
 tuagint, very valuable. The evangelists and the apostles 
 quoted from it as much as from the Hebrew. 
 
 During the Babylonian captivity, the Prophet Daniel 
 was inspired to give to the world two pictures of the fur- 
 ther events that would occur in the 400 years which were 
 to introduce the kingdom of the Messiah. 
 
 The figures which compose his first picture had pre- 
 viously been presented in a dream to the mind of Nebu- 
 chadnezzar himself; and Daniel was called upon to declare 
 what the king had seen, and to explain its meaning. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar had seen in his dream an image with a 
 head of gold, its breast of silver, its middle of brass, and 
 its legs of iron, the feet partly iron and partly clay, and 
 
Daniel’s two pictures. 
 
 63 
 
 lie had seen a stone cut out without hands smiting this 
 image on its feet, and breaking the whole fabric to pieces. 
 
 This dream Daniel thus explained. He told Nebuchad- 
 nezzar that he, the King of Babylon, was himself the 
 head of gold; that after his kingdom should come three 
 other kingdoms, each less glorious than his; and that all 
 four should be destroyed by a greater kingdom than any 
 of them, — the kingdom of the God of Heaven, which 
 should last for ever. You must read the dream and its 
 interpretation in the second and third chapters of the 
 book of Daniel. 
 
 The prophet’s second picture is contained in his 
 seventh chapter; and it is a picture of the same four 
 great empires, but now represented under the form of 
 four great beasts, who were also to succeed one another 
 in dominion. 
 
 Further visions in the eighth chapter informed Daniel, 
 that the second kingdom was that of the Medes and 
 Persians, the third that of the Grecians; the fourth em- 
 pire is not named, but it is fully described, and events 
 proved it to be the mighty power of Rome. 
 
 All ancient history confirms the truth of this magnifi- 
 cent prophecy. The Babylonian empire passed away, as 
 we have seen, at the taking of Babylon by Cyrus : the 
 Persian empire fell when Darius was conquered, B. c. 
 330, by Alexander, who is the leopard of the picture, 
 with four heads; while the Grecian ceded to the Roman, 
 power about 150 years before Christ, which then began 
 to eclipse all others; and having conquered Carthage, 
 soon became the sovereign of the world. 
 
 It principally concerns us to know what became of the 
 Jews during this period. Among themselves, the high- 
 priests had the chief power. The sixth in succession 
 from the time of their governor Nehemiah, was Simon 
 the Just; his most important work (according to tra- 
 dition) was the final arrangement of the books of the Old 
 Testament. He added to Ezra’s collection the books of 
 
64 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, and Malachi ; and thus, as we 
 have said, completed the canon. 
 
 About this time, from the intercourse of the Jews with 
 the Greeks, and in imitation of their schools of wisdom, 
 sprung up two sets of learned doctors in Jerusalem, called 
 the Pharisees and the Sadducees. 
 
 At this period also arose their very great enemy, 
 Antioclius Epiphanes . The Jews have never forgotten 
 his cruelties to this day. He was truly “a vile person”; 
 and the accounts of heathen historians seem to prove that 
 he answers to Daniel’s description of the King of the 
 North (Daniel 11. 21): by the North, is intended Syria, 
 which was north of Palestine. 
 
 Antioclius caused a general massacre in Jerusalem, 
 which lasted three days: 40,000 Jews were killed, and 
 as many made slaves. He then entered the temple to 
 carry off its gold and silver, and caused swine to be 
 sacrificed upon its altar. 
 
 Shortly afterwards, he attacked the city on the Sab- 
 bath, when the Jews were forbidden to fight; slew many, 
 and sold more ; shed blood within and without the 
 temple; and, building a strong fortress on mount Zion, 
 caused such multitudes to flee, that the city was like a 
 desert; the daily sacrifices were discontinued, B. C. 168 ; 
 the temple dedicated to Jupiter, an idol placed therein, 
 and only those Jews favoured who worshipped it through 
 fear of death. 
 
 Yet even at this time many were found faithful. 
 They would not forget their Law, and change its ordi- 
 nances. 
 
 “ Then the wicked king rent in pieces the books of 
 the Law which he found, and burnt them with fire; and 
 whoever possessed copies of these books, or consented to 
 the Law, it was ordained that they should die ; wherefore 
 they chose rather to die, that they might not profane the 
 holy covenant.” 
 
 “ So then, they died.” They led the way in the long 
 
JUDAS MACCABEUS. 
 
 65 
 
 roll of names, of the martyrs for the Book. Among these, 
 the most distinguished were seven brethren, and their 
 mother, under the Maccabees, who, refusing to disobey 
 the Law of Moses, underwent every possible torment, 
 and were at last fried alive, in a brazen pan made redhot, 
 one after the other, — being supported of God, and each 
 singing the words of Moses’ Song (Deut. 32. 36-43), 
 exhorting one another to die for the truth’s sake. The 
 mother entreated each son to be faithful unto death, and 
 last of all she, like them, was tortured, and died also. 
 
 In the midst of these troubles, God raised up for his 
 people a deliverer as in old time, Judas Maccabeus, who 
 trusted in the Lord, and in his name defeated the Syrian 
 armies : then he cleansed the temple, and built a new altar 
 in the place of that which was defiled: all the services 
 and sacrifices were renewed three years and a half after 
 they had been discontinued. 
 
 Antiochus soon after this died in dreadful bodily tor- 
 ments, with all the terrors of a guilty conscience; but 
 the Syrians still continued to make war on Judea, and 
 Judas continued to overcome them through prayer, God 
 being with him as in the days of Israel of old. 
 
 It was not in times of trouble that his faith failed* . 
 He became very rich, and a prince among the people* 
 After many fresh victories, he grew weary of the further 
 incursions of his enemies ; and this Chief of the Maccabees 
 sent to Borne, and sought for help from those who were 
 ignorant of the Living God. 
 
 Ere the messenger of Judas returned to bring a pro- 
 mise of help from the Boman senate, he who had sought^ 
 for other help than God’s, was slain, B. C. 161. The 
 failure in faith of this man of God was like that of Je- 
 hoshaphat of old; and by the step he took he hastened 
 the ruin of his people. His death was bitterly lamented 
 throughout Judea, as that of the greatest deliverer who 
 had appeared since the days of David. 
 
 We must pass over the successors of Judas Maccabeus; 
 
66 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 his nephews were wild and wicked men, — murderous 
 high-priests, who assumed also the royal diadem : one of 
 them, named Jannaeus, was a monster of cruelty, having 
 the word of God for a light, and despising its guidance. 
 The sin of rejecting even the Mosaic Law was far greater 
 than any that the heathen nations could commit; and 
 while such was the character of the high-priests, God 
 might well desert the Jewish nation, as a nation , as he did 
 from this time forward. 
 
 The Jewish history henceforth is closely connected 
 with that of the Roman empire. 
 
 Pompey, the general of the Roman armies, took ad- 
 vantage of the constant quarrels the Jews had among 
 themselves, to add Judea to his conquests; and thus the 
 fourth of the Gentile beasts of Daniel began to tread 
 down the holy city. 
 
 He took the temple by storm; and the Pharisees, 
 who were always fighting against the Sadducees, earnestly 
 helped him. The priests engaged in the daily services 
 were slain where they stood. Pompey entered the holiest 
 place : he saw no visible glory, for it had long departed 
 (Ezek. 10); but he was astonished at finding no image 
 or statue of the Deity. However, he showed his respect 
 for the place by touching none of its treasures; and he 
 ordered it to be cleansed and its services renewed. 
 
 He then returned to Rome, entering it in his triumphal, 
 glittering chariot, to which were yoked all the kings he 
 had conquered; amongst them, Aristobulus of Judea, and 
 his sons. He had overcome in that campaign fifteen 
 kingdoms, taken 800 cities, and caused 1000 castles to 
 acknowledge his empire; and he brought back treasure 
 to the amount of five millions of our money. Yet he 
 was only a single general of Rome’s armies. 
 
 Was not that fourth beast “ exceeding dreadful” (Daniel 
 7. 19), with his “ teeth of iron and his nails of brass, de- 
 vouring, breaking in pieces, and stamping the residue 
 with his feet” ? 
 
THE I) HU IDS. 
 
 It is as trampled beneath these feet, that our own country , 
 Britain , is first brought into conjunction with Judea . 
 
 While Pompey triumphed in the East, Caesar went 
 forth and conquered the West. The people of the Swiss 
 valleys were first subdued, then 80,000 Germans fell be- 
 fore him; the Belgae were defeated with such slaughter, 
 that marshes and deep rivers were rendered impassable by 
 heaps of dead bodies: then he subdued the Gauls, and 
 only looked with the unsatisfied eye of a ravenous eagle 
 (the standard of the Koman empire was an eagle), to the 
 white cliffs of Albion, as he stood upon the shore of 
 France. 
 
 He sailed from Calais, B. C. 55, and landed where the 
 town of Deal now stands. 
 
 The Britons were even then fierce enough to frighten 
 the Eomans ; but they could not withstand men clad in 
 armour. We need not give you our own early history, 
 for all English children are supposed to know it; but we 
 must touch upon the ancient religion, such as it was, 
 which prevailed among the Britons before the coming of 
 the Lord. 
 
 It was very ancient: its priests were called Druids, as 
 were the priests of the Celtic nations in general. 
 
 The Celtic nations descended from Japheth, who peo- 
 pled Europe, and on whom that blessing was pronounced 
 by his father Noah, “ God shall enlarge Japheth, and he 
 shall dwell in the tents of Shem ; and Canaan shall be his 
 servant.” This promise had not been fulfilled in the 
 times we have hitherto considered. We have led you to 
 the ancient East, but now we shall return to look upon 
 ourselves — the children of the West. 
 
 The religion of the Druids was as old as that of the 
 "Magi of Persia, the Brahmins of India, and the Chaldees 
 of Babylon and Nineveh. 
 
 The corruptions of each, like those of Egypt, arose at 
 Erst out of the pure religion of Noah; and you will find 
 that the simple primitive customs of the patriarchs of the 
 
68 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Bible suffered the least change among the Druids of 
 Britain. 
 
 When Caesar landed on our southern shores, he did not 
 plant his silver Roman eagles in the Highlands and Is- 
 lands of Scotland. Far out of the every-day world, in the 
 Western Hebrides, side by side with Staffa, the cathedral 
 of the sea, in the great bay of Loch-na-keal, there lay 
 then* as there lies now, the island of Iona, whose oldest 
 name was the “ Isle of the Druids.” 
 
 Here, in times of which we have no written record, 
 were carried on many of the simple religious customs of 
 the old Hebrews : and when Nineveh had carved her vast 
 stone cherubim, and bowed down before her eagle-headed 
 Nisroch, and while Egypt worshipped her Isis and her 
 Apis, in Iona was reared no temple and no image; but 
 the altar of turf or stone, and the offering from the in- 
 crease of the fold or field, testified to the one God, whom 
 Noah served in the same manner when he came out of 
 the ark. Afterwards Satan, the god of this world, cor- 
 rupted this simple faith into the earliest of idolatries, and 
 the worship of the sun became the religion of the Druids. 
 There soon followed, as among all other heathen nations, 
 the worship of the serpent. The serpent’s egg was the 
 Druid’s crest, and the actual serpent lay entwined at the 
 foot of their altars. One of their most remarkable re- 
 mains is at Avebury, in Wiltshire, where 461 stones once 
 composed the figure of a serpent extending for two and a 
 half miles over the green hills, and serving as approaches 
 to circles within a circle. The head and tail of the snake 
 are still obvious.* 
 
 It is one of the most remarkable triumphs of that “ old 
 serpent the devil,” that he has succeeded in persuading 
 fallen man, in every country, and in every age, without 
 exception, to adore that reptile form in which he de« 
 stroyed the happiness of our first parents. 
 
 See Stukelev’s “ Abury. 1 
 
SERPENT WORSHIP. 
 
 69 
 
 In the temple of Belus at Babylon, were worshipped 
 large serpents of silver. In Persia, serpents were consi- 
 dered the governors of the universe. The serpent Calya 
 was worshipped in Hindostan, as was the serpent Python 
 at Delphos. Under the form of the dragon, the serpent 
 has to this day governed China and Japan ; while the 
 serpent-worship of Syria and Egypt is shown by all the 
 ancient history of those countries. It entered largely into 
 the mythology of Greece and Rome ; and in order to 
 separate God’s people from this universal serpent- worship, 
 Hezekiah, when he broke the images, and cut down the 
 groves, also broke in pieces even that precious relic, the 
 brazen serpent that Moses had lifted up in the wilderness, 
 calling it Nehushtan, or only a piece of brass, for the 
 children of Israel had burnt incense to it (2 Kings 18. 4). 
 
 But, to return to the Druids. The proof that their 
 religion in its origin was patriarchal, we shall show you 
 among trees and stones. 
 
 The oak tree has at one time or other been held in 
 especial reverence by all nations. The same word in 
 Hebrew denotes an oak and an oath; and a stone placed 
 under an oak was among the Hebrews a monument of a 
 Divine covenant. 
 
 When Joshua had written the words of the covenant 
 in the Book of the Law of God, he took a great stone 
 and set it up under an oak, at Shechem, and said to the 
 people, “ This stone shall be a witness, for it hath heard 
 all the words of the Lord” (Josh. 24. 25-27). On this 
 very stone, Abimelech was afterwards made king (Judges 
 9. 6). In earlier days, after Jacob’s beautiful ladder- 
 dream, he took the stone which had been his pillow, and 
 set it up at Bethel, in memorial of the place which had 
 been to him the gate of heaven (Gen. 28. 18). 
 
 # Sometimes stones were raised to mark the spot of a 
 victory, as at Mizpeh (1 Sam. 7. 12); sometimes over the 
 grave of a dead friend, as upon Rachel's grave (Gen. 35. 
 
70 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 20). The erect gravestones in our burial-grounds are me- 
 morials of this custom ; and in 1 Sam. 6. 15-18, we read 
 of a stone rendered memorable by the ark of God being 
 placed upon it, when returned from the Philistines, and 
 taken out of the cart by the Levites, which stone had be- 
 fore been well known as “ the great stone of Abel.” 
 
 The most striking example of a circle of memorial- 
 stones being set up, in Scripture, is by Joshua, at Gilgal, 
 which word means circle. These stones were taken up 
 out of the bed of the river, and pitched in Gilgal. At 
 this place Samuel the prophet afterwards held his courts 
 of judgments from year to year ; and an altar must 
 have been erected here, for at Gilgal was consecrated 
 Saul, the first of Israel’s kings ; and here also Agag 
 was “ hewed in pieces before the Lord.” Gilgal appears 
 to have been the customary residence of the Prophet 
 Elisha. 
 
 Those stones told wondrous histories throughout the 
 old Hebrew times ; and by no people were these customs 
 so distinctly preserved as by the Druids. They , like 
 
 Israel, worshipped in groves, at first very naturally seek- 
 ing intercourse with God under the shadow of ancient 
 woods, and set up memorial-stones generally under oaks, 
 which to them were especially sacred ; then, like Israel, 
 and without their written revelation, polluting them by 
 idol- worship, some have said, by human sacrifices. There 
 is however considerable historical evidence, that the men 
 killed on these stone altars, with one stroke of the sword, 
 were those who, in later ages, would have forfeited their 
 lives, as criminals, on the scaffold. From the posture in 
 which the victim fell, the Druids decided their auguries 
 or divinations. 
 
 The circles of stone, called Druidical, are still numerous 
 in Britain, on lofty hills and elevated plains; the most mag- 
 nificent is that of Stonehenge, on Salisbury -plain. These 
 circles are also found in Normandy. They were the 
 
DRUIDICAL REMAINS. 
 
 71 
 
 temples for worship of our forefathers, open to the shy : 
 the priests stood within the circle, the people without, — - 
 a dim shadow of Moses and the elders on mount Sinai 
 and the people fenced off around its base, — also of the 
 Tabernacle and its inner and outer courts. 
 
 The Druids resorted, like Israel, to their place of 
 stones, at all times of important consultation, and sat in 
 their consecrated circles to judge and give laws. In Ice- 
 land, these were called doom-rings. Sometimes the old 
 stones - witnessed the choice of kings amid the songs of 
 the bards. In the very dress of the arch-Druid, there is 
 something that reminds us of that of the high-priest — 
 his rod, in imitation of that of Moses, his robes of pure 
 white fastened by a girdle on which appeared the crystal 
 of augury, encased in gold : as this jewel sparkled or grew 
 dim, the person appealing to him rejoiced or trembled. 
 Eound his neck, also, was the breastplate of judgment, 
 said to possess the property of squeezing the neck on the 
 utterance of a false decision.* 
 
 There were schools of the Druids like the schools of 
 the prophets of old. Iona was their inner sanctuary ; and 
 here a training-college for their order existed for centu- 
 ries. Here also they buried their kings. They seem to 
 have loved island refuges. Mona, or Anglesey, was also 
 their favourite island, and Guernsey and Jersey are full 
 of their altars. 
 
 Some of their triads or wise sayings are very in- 
 structive, such as, “ There are three unseemly thoughts, 
 — 4 thinking ourselves wise ; thinking every person else 
 unwise ; thinking all we like becoming in us.’ There are 
 three sorts of men , — 1 a man to God, who does good for 
 evil ; a man to man who does good for good, and evil for 
 evil ; and a man to the devil, who does evil for good.’ ” 
 And while the bardic motto was actually, “ Truth against 
 
 Meyrick’s “ Costumes . 1 
 
72 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 the world/’ — still, of revealed truth they knew nothing ; 
 superstition and cruelty mingled even with their simple 
 forms of worship, and priest and people were alike perish- 
 ing for lack of knowledge. 
 
 The Romans called the Druids “ barbarians ” ; they 
 called all barbarians whom they considered as less en- 
 lightened than themselves and the Greeks : they called 
 the Jews barbarians, even in the times of the apostles. 
 Romans, Greeks, and barbarians were, in their view, the 
 chief divisions among mankind. 
 
 Rome, like an immense beehive, did as England now 
 does, — sent forth its swarms from time to time into the 
 countries wdiich its legions had subdued. The Romans 
 believed in many gods, but had no objection to add to 
 their own gods those of the people they conquered, so as 
 to reconcile them to their yoke. Such was the idea of 
 the common people ; but the learned men, though they 
 seemed to agree with the vulgar, professed among them- 
 selves to worship only one god in a great variety of forms. 
 
 They constructed systems which they thought very 
 wise, and divided themselves into a great many sects 
 named after their founders, Epicurus, Aristotle, Plato, etc. 
 These sects were always multiplying errors ; and whenever 
 any truth is found among them, they had gathered it 
 from the Jews, who were scattered everywhere, and 
 whom they held in the greatest contempt, as well as the 
 idea of their possessing a Divine revelation. 
 
 W e left the Jewish King, Aristobulus, in chains at Rome. 
 The history of the Jewish nation was at this time so full 
 of shocking crimes, that their own historian, Josephus, 
 knows not how to recite it. The Romans divided Judea 
 into five provinces, and appointed governors to each. 
 
 One of these governors, Herod, afterwards persuaded 
 the Romans to make him king. He was the son of 
 Antipater, an Idumean, and he was the Herod who was 
 
THE TEMPLE. 
 
 73 
 
 king at the birth of Christ, — the Herod who killed his 
 own wife, the beautiful Mariamne, without cause, and the 
 Herod who rebuilt the temple — the old building being 
 taken down in parts as the new one was raised. This 
 temple was destined to be more honoured than ever 
 temple had been before. It was very beautiful : it stood 
 on mount Zion, the open courts around it paved with 
 inlaid marbles, the roof of carved cedar covered with gold, 
 supported by 162 columns of white marble. One of its 
 ten gates was called 44 the beautiful gate,” which was 
 about thirty yards high, made of pure brass : over this 
 gate hung a golden vine, to which the worshippers were 
 continually adding a golden leaf or a golden grape. The 
 roof was studded with golden spikes, to prevent birds 
 from settling upon it. When the sun shone upon this 
 pile of snowy marble, it must indeed have been gorgeous. 
 
 The ceremonial service of this temple was, just pre- 
 vious to the coming of Christ, carried out with regularity 
 and splendour.. The synagogues, also, or houses appointed 
 for prayer and the reading of the law, by Ezra, were 
 scattered thickly all over the land. 
 
 The whole of the sacred writings were divided with 
 reference to the synagogue service, so that there might be 
 a portion for every Sabbath. At first, it is said, the Law 
 only was read ; but that being forbidden by the tyrant, 
 Antiochus Epiphanes, portions of the Prophets were read 
 instead, until the people, being released from his tyranny, 
 restored the reading of the Law, and continued that of 
 the prophets.* 
 
 At the time of Christ, there were more than 400 sy- 
 nagogues in Jerusalem alone. There were in every syna- 
 gogue some paid ministers, called, in the New Testament, 
 44 rulers of the synagogue,” who seem to have dealt out 
 judgment for offences against religion and morals. Hence 
 
 * Smith’s “ Hebrew People. 1 
 
74 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 we hear that the apostles were to be 44 beaten in the syna- 
 gogue,’ 7 and 44 scourged in the synagogue” (Matt. 10. 17 
 Mark 13. 9). 
 
 Now, let us look at these rulers of the synagogue. They 
 were Pharisees, — men who pretended to revere Moses, 
 and to live by his rules, who delighted to dwell on the 
 pomp and splendour of their ancient ordinances, and the 
 glory of their Law, but who took the liberty of adding to it 
 very much. 
 
 Josephus says, 44 The Pharisees have delivered to the 
 people many observances by succession from their fathers 
 (i. e. handed down from father to son) which are not 
 written in the Law of Moses.” 
 
 The Pharisees set up a claim to be more wise and holy 
 than the Sadducees, who said, 44 Let us eat and drink, for 
 to-morrow we die.” The Sadducees did not add to the 
 Bible, but they took from it all but the five books of Moses ; 
 and even these they would not believe, if they could not 
 understand them. The Sadducees were like our modern 
 infidels, while the papists resemble the Pharisees. There 
 was another sect, called the Essenes, who were so disgusted 
 with both parties, that they forsook the synagogues and 
 the cities, and looking upon the body as the prison of the 
 soul, retired to solitude and hardship, as the monks did 
 in after time. They refused to marry, lived on vegetables, 
 wore a peculiar dress, and observed almost perpetual si- 
 lence. 
 
 We must describe to you a few of the additions made 
 by the Pharisees to the Law of God. 
 
 Certain learned persons in the days of the Maccabees 
 had written books, called 44 Targums,” signifying inter - 
 pretation . Onkelos, the ancestor of Gamaliel, Paul’s in- 
 structor, had written one targum; and a rabbi, named 
 Jonathan, had written another. We will show you how 
 rabbi J onathai* had altered the sense in expounding the 
 53rd chapter of Isaiah — 
 
75 
 
 THE TAEGUMS. 
 
 Isaiah 53. 
 
 Jonathan’s Targum. 
 
 7 He was oppressed and he 
 was afflicted ; jet he opened not 
 his mouth: he is brought as a 
 lamb to the slaughter, and as a 
 sheep before her shearers is dumb, 
 so he opened not his mouth. 
 
 8 He was taken from prison 
 and from judgment : and who 
 shall declare his generation ? for 
 he was cut off out of the land of 
 the living : for tbe transgression 
 of my people was he stricken. 
 
 7 He has prayed, he has been 
 heard ; and before he opened his 
 mouth he was accepted. The 
 strong of the people he shall de- 
 liver as a lamb for a sacrifice, 
 and as a sheep that is silent be- 
 fore the shearer; and there shall 
 be none who shall open his mouth 
 in his presence, and speak a word. 
 
 8 From chastisements and re- 
 vengings he shall gather our 
 captivity : and the wonderful 
 things that shall be done for us 
 in his days, who shall be able to 
 recite ? For he shall take away 
 the dominion of the nations from 
 the land of Israel : the sins which 
 my people have committed, even 
 upon them shall they come. 
 
 The 53rd chapter of Isaiah contains a minute and per- 
 fect prophecy of the coming of our Lord in his humility . 
 This kind of coming, the eyes of the Jewish teachers 
 were not in the least degree opened to perceive. They 
 expected a mighty deliverer and conqueror, and were 
 totally unprepared to acknowledge their Messiah in the 
 helpless babe of Bethlehem. 
 
 As they themselves believed, so they taught the people. 
 Jesus called them, when he came, “blind leaders of the 
 blind.” Among these, however, there seem to have been 
 a few who,,, as Malachi says, “ spake often one to another,” 
 and who were, like Zacharias and Elisabeth, “ righteous 
 before God, and walking in all the ordinances of the 
 Lord blameless.” These few must have rejected the tra- 
 ditions of the Pharisees, and must secretly and devoutly 
 have studied the sacred writings themselves. They were 
 “waiting for the consolation,” and “looking for the re- 
 demption of Israel.” 
 
 The Pharisees were making “ the word of God of none 
 effect by their tradition.” This, again, is our Saviour’s 
 
76 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 own testimony concerning them. They were no longer 
 the Church of the Book. The Book itself remained 
 pure and perfect as it always had been; but these men 
 declared that the word of God was divided into two 
 parts, — the written and the unwritten. Both parts, they 
 said, were given to Moses on mount Sinai; but he com- 
 mitted the unv:ritten by word of mouth to Joshua and 
 the seventy elders, who again committed it to the rabbins, 
 who were to deliver it to the people. These were some 
 of their sayings: “ The Scriptures are water, but the 
 traditions are wine.” “ The words of the scribes are 
 lovely above the words of the Law.” “ Some of the 
 words of the Law are weighty, but the traditions are all 
 weighty.” 
 
 This was the way in which they expounded the fourth 
 Commandment; viz. To do no work on the Sabbath-day. 
 If a loaf were to be carried on that day, by a single person, 
 he w r ould be guilty ; but if two persons carried it together, 
 both were innocent. God had said, that he who made a 
 vow should keep it (Num. 30. 2). Tradition said, if he 
 were weary of the vow, he might go to a wise man, and 
 be absolved from it. 
 
 And the people soon learned to set the authority of 
 their rabbins above the authority of Scripture. It was 
 said that all instructions from the Law were to be finished 
 when a boy was ten years old, and the remainder of his 
 education must be from the traditions. The J ews of the 
 present day, it is said, withdraw their children from the 
 Bible at the age of seven or eight; i. e. as soon as the 
 boy’s mind is capable of understanding the Talmud. 
 
 “ Prevent your children,” said rabbi Eliezer, “ from 
 reading the word of God too much, lest they should be 
 carried aw T ay with it.” Alas ! alas ! that such should be 
 the sayings of Israel, the chosen people ! Thus they be- 
 came almost as ignorant of God and of his truth, as were 
 the pagans around them, — all, excepting the small remnant 
 kept faithful by the grace of God, who neither added to 
 
JOHN THE BAPTIST. 
 
 77 
 
 the word nor took away from it, and who were, doubt- 
 less, saying in their hearts, “It is time for Thee, Lord, 
 to work, for they have made void thy Law,” when Si- 
 meon and Anna welcomed the Holy One once more to 
 his temple, and by the revelation of the Holy Ghost pro- 
 claimed Him as a “ light to lighten the Gentiles,” as well 
 as “ the glory of his people Israel.” 
 
 At the time of the birth of our Lord, the whole Roman 
 world was at peace, and the temple of Janus shut. No 
 remarkable event attracts our attention to any other part 
 of the earth at the time when John the Baptist came 
 crying in the wilderness of Judea, “ Prepare ye the way 
 of the Lord, make his paths straight.” 
 
 John was a noble young Jew, of about thirty years of 
 age, who appeared in the deserts. We may imagine him 
 in his rough raiment of camel’s hair, as of striking and 
 powerful presence, with unshorn black locks and beard, 
 and the flashing dark eye of his nation, crying, “ Repent 
 ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He wrought 
 no miracles, displayed no supernatural power, yet seemed 
 a most unearthly being, raised up by God for the time, 
 and in harmony with the place. 
 
 Genuine and deep piety always impresses the common 
 people, and the words of John set thousands of con- 
 sciences to work that before were slumbering. Slothful, 
 luxurious Jerusalem, sleeping in its sins, arose in one 
 day, and went out to be baptised of John, in the Jordan. 
 
 God might have sent his prophet into the city, but he 
 was the man for the desert. His ministry had all its 
 influence there. 
 
 “ Prepare ye the way of the Lord,” said he ; “ make 
 his paths straight.” The Jehovah of Sinai, the God who 
 made the worlds, was coming to make a royal progress ; 
 to walk through the cities and villages of Judea ; not as 
 one of the silken rabbins of Jerusalem, with flowing 
 robes and haughty air, but choosing rather the common 
 
78 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOHY. 
 
 seamless robe of a carpenter, woven from the top through- 
 out, in which to teach the people the Truth of which he 
 was Himself the author. 
 
 On the slopes of that long line of mountains which run 
 clown the land of Palestine, once the strongholds of the 
 mighty Rephaim, were now gathered crowds thinking of 
 their sins. They broke away from their customary occupa- 
 tions in Jerusalem, to throng around this strange preacher 
 of the desert, where with eager expectation and awakened 
 minds, thousands of them listened to the voice of him 
 who cried in the wilderness, “ Repent ye; for the king- 
 dom of heaven is at hand.” It seems that even the hard- 
 ened conscience of King Herod himself was awakened by 
 the preaching of John: “Plerod feared John, knowing 
 that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him ; 
 and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard 
 him gladly” (Mark 6. 20). 
 
 Now, let us mark the great Pharisees and Sadducees 
 approaching the Jordan, and see what a fierce reception 
 they met with: “ Oh generation of vipers! who hath 
 warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” They 
 talked about Abraham being their father, but were as 
 unlike Abraham as possible. 
 
 The great cedars of Judaism! — they were cut down, 
 being full of all manner of unclean birds ; and great was 
 the fall of them. Their boughs were all scattered about 
 the world, as they are to this day : the axe of the Lord 
 was laid to their root, for they had not given glory to the 
 King of kings, but had perverted his most Holy Word. 
 
 Then, behold the humility of J ohn the Baptist ! 4 4 There 
 cometh one mightier than I, whose shoes’ latchet I am 
 not worthy to unloose.” The ministry of the forerunner 
 John was rejected by the proud Pharisees, and they 
 afterwards denied the Son of God Himself, and put Him 
 to an open shame. 
 
 So the Lord came to his own, arid his own received 
 Him not ; but He was a light to lighten the Gentiles, 
 
FIRST COMING OF THE LORD. 
 
 79 
 
 and truly their darkness needed it : they worked the 
 works of darkness, and were in the power of the devil, 
 who led them captive at his will, and who dared to say 
 to the Saviour Himself, that his were “ all the kingdoms 
 of the world and the glory of them.” 
 
 Jesus related a parable (Matt. 12. 29), showing in what 
 sense it was so. He declared Himself as come to take 
 possession of a house, and of the things in it : this house 
 was the world, and the things in it were the souls of men. 
 
 Jesus came to rescue these precious souls from Satan’s 
 power. He compares Satan to the strong man who was 
 in the house, and who tried to prevent the Saviour from 
 entering in. He said, He must first bind the strong man, 
 and then He would spoil his goods. 
 
 This He came down to earth to do, by suffering death 
 in his mortal body; and He is still engaged in releasing 
 captives day by day from the power of Satan ; and the 
 day shall come when He shall lay hold on that “ old ser- 
 pent the .devil,” and bind him a thousand years- (see 
 Rev. 20. 2), and then indeed “ He shall spoil his goods.”* 
 
 But we have still the tale of 1800 years to tell, and 
 must hasten onwards, especially with the Story of the 
 Book. 
 
 The life and actions of our Lord and of his apostles 
 are, perhaps, better known by the young than any other 
 parts of the Bible. 
 
 After the crucifixion and ascension of the Redeemer 
 into heaven, the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, 
 and John, inspired men, as were the prophets of old, 
 committed to writing those particulars which the Holy 
 Ghost saw fit should be preserved, concerning the minis- 
 try of their Master, for our benefit. Luke then recorded 
 their own acts and missionary travels. Paul, the con- 
 verted persecutor, and attendant at the first martyrdom 
 
 555 ‘‘Light in the Dwelling . 1 
 
80 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 of a Christian (that of Stephen), wrote fourteen letters to 
 the churches which he had founded, while James, Peter, 
 Jude, and John, completed the New Testament canon. 
 
 Some of these books are called by Paul the New Tes- 
 tament (see 2 Cor. 3. 6), while he refers to the Mosaic 
 dispensation as the Old Testament. 
 
 The different churches formed by the apostles in the 
 first century received these books by degrees, and each 
 church gradually obtained them all. Among the various 
 opinions entertained concerning the person who finally 
 collected them together, the most natural seems to be, 
 that this was done by the Apostle John, whose life was 
 long preserved by God for the comfort of the church. 
 He was nearly one hundred years old when he died, and 
 was himself inspired to utter the magnificent prophecies 
 of the last portion of the Sacred Scriptures. 
 
 When he was very old, and unable to say much in the 
 Christian assemblies, “ Children, love one another,” was 
 his constantly-repeated exhortation. Being asked why he 
 only told them one thing, he answered that nothing else 
 was needed. 
 
 Oh that the Christian Church had always remembered 
 this ! — the last word of the last apostle repeating the words 
 of his Master, — “as I have loved you, that ye also love 
 one another” (John 13. 34) ; and the words of his brother 
 Paul, — “ Love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom. 13. 10). 
 
 On the acts and revelations of this first century, as it is 
 called (for at the coming of Christ the age of the world 
 began again), it has pleased God to fix the eye of all true 
 believers ever since. The deeds and sayings of all after- 
 centuries derive their importance only from their con- 
 nection with the first , because that alone was the century 
 in which more mighty pillars of miracle and prophecy 
 were reared to support the Church of Christ, than even 
 those which lent their Divine strength to the church of 
 the wilderness, and of the promised land. 
 
 “ The Son of God was manifested ; that He might de- 
 
THE NEW TESTAMENT. 
 
 81 
 
 stroy the works of the devil ” (1 J ohn 3. 8). The commis- 
 sion He gave to his Apostles was to follow in his steps. They 
 were to preach the gospel ; and He also gave them power 
 to heal the sick, to raise the dead, and to cast out devils, 
 in his name, as a witness to the truth they preached. 
 
 These men, gifted with more than human power, were 
 to be the fathers of the Church of the New Testament. 
 Afterwards he appointed other seventy also (Luke 10. 1), 
 and to them gave the same miraculous gifts. Their num- 
 ber was the same as that of the Elders among the Jews, 
 who went up with Moses to the mount. 
 
 It is fairly to be concluded, that many who had been 
 converted by the preaching of John in the wilderness, 
 became afterwards the disciples of his Divine Master. 
 The first church in Jerusalem is mentioned as composed 
 of 120 members (Acts 1. 15); and we afterwards hear 
 that our Lord was seen after his resurrection by above 
 five hundred brethren at once (1 Cor. 15. 6) ; but as the 
 greater number of these were Jewish converts, they 
 probably shared in the expectations of their nation, and 
 had received the Messiah, expecting Llim as a glorious 
 king and temporal deliverer (Acts 1. 6). 
 
 His revelation of Himself and his designs, even to 
 those chosen few, was very gradual, — “ as they could re- 
 ceive it.” By very few, at first, was He really believed to 
 be the Son of God. J ohn the Baptist was one of the few 
 who witnessed to this, and Nathanael, and afterwards 
 Peter, to whom his Master answered, “ Flesh and blood 
 hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which 
 is in heaven” (Matt. 16. 17). 
 
 The Lord was about to commit the treasure of Divine 
 revelation (no more to one earthly nation, who had 
 proved unfaithful to its precepts, even while they guarded 
 it sacredly down fifteen centuries to be a witness against 
 themselves, but) into the care of “ a Body,” composed of 
 all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, — by 
 them to be published throughout all the world. 
 
82 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 In the hour when He partook of his last supper with 
 his disciples, and dispensed to them the bread, which 
 was the image of his body to be broken for them (1 Cor. 
 
 11. 24), and the wine, which was the image of his blood 
 shed for the remission of their sins (Matt. 26. 28), He . 
 drew the infant church into the nearest and tenderest 
 communion with Himself; He told them, that as the 
 world had hated Him , so it would hate them; that the 
 servant was not greater than his lord ; therefore, that 
 the time would come, when whosoever killed them 
 would think that they did God service, and that if any 
 man would come after him, he must deny himself, and 
 take up his cross and follow Him (see John, chapters 
 13 and 16). This oneness in suffering with Him was to 
 prepare them for being one with Him in his glory. 
 
 These predictions of the Saviour were, according to the 
 New Testament, and subsequent church history, literally 
 fulfilled to most of those who listened tb them. In the 
 first onset of danger, “ they all forsook him and fled,” — 
 they could not, as He said to Peter, follow Him then, but 
 they did “ follow Him afterwards.” 
 
 To Peter himself our Lord said, “ When thou shalt 
 be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another 
 shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest 
 not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should 
 glorify God.” (John xxi. 18, 19.) Accordingly we learn 
 from the very general tradition of antiquity, that Peter 
 was crucified at Rome, under Nero. 
 
 James was “ killed by the sword,” by Herod, the king, 
 at Jerusalem. (Acts xii. 1, 2.) 
 
 We have not the evidence of Scripture confirming the 
 violent deaths of the other apostles and evangelists. Ac- 
 cording to Eusebius, Paul was beheaded at Rome, under 
 Nero, from anger at the conversion of his favourite cup- 
 bearer. Dr. Cave, and some other historians, have men- 
 tioned the early traditions, that Andrew suffered death 
 in Achaia, James in Palestine, Philip in Phrygia, Bar- 
 
PAGAN PERSECUTIONS. 
 
 83 
 
 tholomew in Armenia, Thomas in India, Matthew in 
 Ethiopia, Jude in Persia, Simon Zelotes at Jerusalem, 
 Mark at Alexandria, and Luke in Greece. 
 
 Ere these things happened to them, they were as 
 St. Paul tells us, “ counted the offscouring of all things”; 
 “ troubled on every side”; “ persecuted, but not for- 
 saken; cast down, but not destroyed”; “ always bear- 
 ing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus”; 
 “ alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake ; beaten, 
 stoned, in hunger and thirst, in cold and naked- 
 ness, in stripes above measure, in prisons frequent, in 
 deaths oft.” (See 1 Cor. 4, and 2 Cor. 4 and 11.) — 
 Nothing could have supported them steadfast under 
 these trials, but that rich effusion of the Spirit, on the 
 day of Pentecost, which had caused them to perceive 
 fully, that the same Jesus which was crucified, was 
 both Lord and Christ. Paul received this knowledge 
 afterwards, by a special revelation to himself, “ and 
 straightway preached Jesus in the synagogues that He is 
 the Son of God.” 
 
 Such was the history of the apostles. In the next 
 chapter we shall look for some of their successors. 
 
 The New Testament comes down to us through a line 
 of crowned heads, — but their crown was the crown of 
 martyrdom. 
 
 The first pagan persecution against the Christians was 
 raised by the Emperor Nero, about thirty years after the 
 crucifixion. This is mentioned by the great Eoman his- 
 torian, Tacitus. He says, that “ Koine being set on fire, 
 Nero declared it vras the work of the Christians, and put 
 great numbers of them to death, after frightful tortures.” 
 Other heathen writers mention the Christians as being 
 “punished with the troublesome coat,” which was made 
 like a sack, of coarse cloth, besmeared with pitch, wax, 
 and sulphur ; and, being dressed in this coat, they were 
 hung by their chins on sharp stakes fixed in the ground, 
 and then burnt — 
 
84 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 “In that pitch’d shirt, in which such crowds expire, 
 
 Chain’d to the bloody stake, and wrapp’d in fire.” 
 
 Nero had them burnt at midnight, “ for torches/’ as he 
 said, “to the city.” This persecution lasted for three or 
 four years, and spread through the Roman empire. An 
 inscription dug up in Spain shows that the gospel had 
 already penetrated that country, and that the church 
 there had her martyrs. 
 
 In the reign of Nero, Suetonius was sent into Britain, 
 and attacked the Druids in their strongholds in Mona. 
 He caused many of them to be burnt in the fires they 
 had prepared for their expected captives, and destroyed 
 their groves and altars. St. Paul was sent to Rome, 
 according to Eusebius, in the second year of Nero, that 
 is A.D. 56, and he stayed there, according to Luke, two 
 years. The British prince, Caractacus, and his father, 
 Bran, were sent to Rome in the year 51, and stayed 
 there, as hostages, for seven years. It is said, in the 
 Welsh “triads,” that Bran was the first who brought 
 the Christian faith to the Cymry, or Welsh. He had, 
 therefore, in all probability, received it from Paul at 
 Rome: thus early came the pure gospel to Wales. It is 
 said that Bran brought back with him three Christian 
 teachers, — Illtid, an Israelite ; Cyndaf ; and Arwystli, 
 which is Welsh for Aristobulus, to whom Paul sends 
 salutation (Rom. 16. 10). 
 
 Tacitus likewise informs us that London at this time 
 contained many merchants, and much merchandise. 
 
 How unlike was the London of which he speaks to our 
 modern London ! Its very pathways were different ; for 
 traces of Roman floors and highways are found twenty 
 feet below our present streets. There is little doubt that 
 the Romans brought in their train, from the large family 
 of Christian brethren in Rome, some manuscripts of the 
 Gospels, some teachers of the Story of Peace among those 
 men of war ; and that there would be hymns sung to 
 Jesus Christ in some corner of the old Roman town. 
 
DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 85 
 
 Christianity, through the labours of the apostles, had 
 taken deep hold of the people in the south of Europe ; 
 and many flourishing churches were, as we know, esta- 
 blished in Greece. 
 
 A person asked Apollo how he should cause his wife to 
 relinquish Christianity. “It is easier, perhaps,” replied 
 the oracle, “ to write on water, or to fly into the air, than 
 to reclaim her. Leave her alone in her folly, to hymn in 
 a faint, mournful voice, the praises of the dead God, who 
 publicly suffered death from judges of singular wisdom.” 
 
 We must conclude with a brief notice of the dreadful 
 destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, a.d. 70. The Jews 
 having refused the usual tribute to the Komans, he came 
 to enforce it. The city and temple were burnt, and the 
 ground ploughed up, for the purpose of obtaining the 
 precious things buried in the rubbish. The wicked Jews 
 had said, “His blood be on us and on our children,” and 
 it was so. Never was destruction of any city or people 
 so terrible. A hundred thousand were sold as slaves to 
 the neighbouring nations ; multitudes were transported to 
 the mines in Egypt ; and more than a million perished by 
 famine and sword, by pestilence and crucifixion. Only 
 those among the Jews who were believers in Christ were 
 prepared for this final breaking up of their national 
 glory, and the visible splendours of their temple — having 
 learned that the priesthood of Christ took the place of all 
 other priesthoods, and rendered utterly useless any further 
 ceremonies or sacrifices at Jerusalem. 
 
 They had no “continuing city,” but they sought one 
 to come. The epistle of Paul to these Hebrews is full of 
 consolation, especially suited to their sorrowful hearts. 
 
 In the year 81, occurred the Domitian persecution, 
 during which Christianity appears to have been carried to 
 Scotland, by some of the disciples of the Apostle John. 
 These persecutions, of which there are said to have been 
 ten, were always the means of scattering still more widely 
 the seed of the word. Wherever Christians were driven, 
 
86 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 they were sure to take some portions of their Scriptures 
 with them. No historian, like Tacitus, celebrated their 
 heroic sacrifices and secret escapes. Heroes and states- 
 men have their records here ; the saints, on high. 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 GRADUAL CIRCULATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. — EARLIEST HERE- 
 SIES. UNINSPIRED TEACHERS. PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL. — THE 
 
 BOOK BECOMES THE GUIDE. EIGHT MORE PAGAN PERSECUTIONS. 
 
 PARTICULARS OF THESE.— DIOCLESIAN’s MEDALS. REIGN OF 
 
 CONSTANTINE, HIS MISTAKEN ZEAL. THE RISE OF MONASTERIES. 
 
 PROGRESS OF THE PAPACY. — ALARIC. — VERSIONS OF SCRIPTURE. 
 
 THE ALEXANDRINE VERSION. FIRST PROTESTS. VIGILANTIUS. 
 
 NESTORIUS. — THE NESTORIAN CHRISTIANS. THE ARMENIAN 
 
 CHURCH. THE PAULICIANS. — THE ABYSSINIAN CHURCH. — THE 
 
 BRITISH CHURCH IN WALES, IN SCOTLAND, IN IRELAND. — SUCCAT. 
 COLUMBA. — IONA. 
 
 The first century, as we know, stands alone in its enjoy- 
 ment, for three years and a half, of the public ministry of 
 Him “who spake as never man spake,” and was Him- 
 self the Living Word. 
 
 The first century was also that in which the persons 
 lived, who were inspired to record his sayings; and the 
 living teaching of inspired persons must have been very 
 precious; but it could not have been continual. The 
 
THE FIRST CHURCHES. 
 
 87 
 
 apostles were all missionaries'. They went forth into all 
 the world to plant churches, and seldom stayed long in 
 one place. The Gospels and Epistles were only in course 
 of writing, — not written, and gathered together, — there- 
 fore very few churches and still fewer individuals were in 
 possession of more than separate manuscripts, and not 
 even of these till the latter half of the century. 
 
 The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, were not 
 written, as Mr. Horne thinks, till about the time of Nero’s 
 persecution, A. D. 62, and these, with the inspired Epistles 
 or letters to the already founded churches, became emi- 
 nently necessary to check the errors and heresies which, 
 even then , as the apostles themselves state, had arisen in 
 them. 
 
 Take, for instance, the church at Corinth, consisting 
 of many Jews, but more Gentiles: their danger, therefore, 
 sometimes arose from Jewish prejudice, sometimes from 
 heathen wickedness; for it was out of these two classes 
 that the Christian converts were purified and separated. 
 This church had eminent preachers after Paul left, for 
 here “ Paul planted and Apollos watered”; but, neverthe- 
 less, false teachers soon afterwards crept in, some desiring 
 to continue the Jewish ceremonies, others not leading a 
 pure and holy life. 
 
 In Paul’s address to the elders of Ephesus, he also speaks 
 of “ grievous wolves entering in among them, not sparing 
 the flock”; in the Epistle to Timothy, — of “seducing 
 spirits, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain 
 from meats”; while, in the second Epistle to the Thessa- 
 lonians, chap. 2, he draws a full-length portrait of that 
 “ mystery of iniquity,” as he calls it, which he declares 
 was beginning to work then, and would work on, even 
 till the second coming of the Lord. 
 
 As the inspired letters of Paul and Peter were received, 
 and gradually circulated among the churches, the faithful 
 obtained a standing rule whereby they might be warned 
 from these false teachers and growing evils. Paul desires 
 
88 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 that his Epistle to the Thessalonians may be u read to 
 all the holy brethren ” ; and when he wrote to the Colos- 
 sians, he begged they would send the letter to the Lao- 
 diceans: but as, in those ages, books were all written at 
 the expense of great time and labour, it is probable that 
 copies of the whole Scriptures were still a rare treasure, 
 and that the greatest dependence was placed on the opinion 
 of bishops and rulers in the several congregations, in all 
 matters of difficulty. 
 
 When the apostles were all dead, we have no ground 
 for supposing that even those who had conversed the 
 most intimately with them, had received of their inspira- 
 tion, or miraculous gifts. Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, 
 .Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, 
 were holy men living in the second century. The two 
 former had conversed freely with the apostles, and they 
 each were martyrs for the Christian faith. Some of their 
 writings have been preserved, but they are easily dis- 
 tinguished from the inspired writings. 
 
 One of the sayings of Ignatius, however (who was 
 thrown to wild beasts, at Rome, A. D. 107), is especially 
 worthy to be remembered, — “ that in order to understand 
 the will of God, he fled to the Gospels, which he believed 
 not less than if Christ in the flesh had been speaking to 
 him; and to the writings of the apostles, whom he 
 esteemed as the presbytery of the whole church.” 
 
 The Greek translation of the Old Testament seems to 
 have been possessed by every church which the apostles 
 founded in the first century; and it is well known, that 
 before the middle of the second century, the New Testa- 
 ment, also, was not only collected into a volume, but was 
 read in every Christian society as a rule of faith and 
 manners. Hence, before its close, Tertullian, the pres- 
 byter of Carthage, could say of himself and his fellow- 
 Christians, “We are but of yesterday, and yet we fill all 
 that is called yours — your cities, islands, forts, towns, 
 assemblies, camps, palaces, senate, court,” and this, in 
 
EARLIEST HERESIES. 
 
 89 
 
 spite of two more barbarous pagan persecutions under 
 Trajan, and under Marcus Antoninus. Lyons, in France, 
 which is said to have received the gospel through the 
 merchants of Smyrna, especially shared in the fourth 
 persecution; and the sustaining power of God to her 
 martyrs in their sufferings seems to have been little less 
 than in the times of the apostles themselves. 
 
 Indeed, these persecutions from the pagans were bless- 
 ings to the Christians: their Master had said to them, 
 “ Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute 
 you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely 
 for my sake” (Matt. 5. 11). Like Israel in Egypt, of old 
 time, “ the more they were afflicted, the more they mul- 
 tiplied and grew” (Exod. 1. 12); the more they suffered, 
 the more they were driven to “ hold fast the faithful 
 word” and also to “ love one another .” It was only in 
 departing from these two grand simple principles of union, 
 in permitting the opinions of their teachers to be set above 
 the “faithful word,” and in that striving “who should 
 be greatest,” which was not “ in honour preferring one 
 another,” that “ the mystery of iniquity,” of which St. 
 Paul had prophesied, arose and prospered. 
 
 In all this they were “ without excuse”: for when the 
 Christian Church had received the written Gospel, she 
 was to be judged by it, as the Jewish Church of old, after 
 she had received the Law. She was to be the Church of 
 the Book, — the pure and perfect Book of Inspired Truth. 
 
 The earliest heresies arose before the books of the New 
 Testament were gathered together; and these chiefly con- 
 cerned the person of the Saviour. Some enemies denied 
 that He was God, and others denied that He was man, — 
 both rejecting his sacrifice for sin. 
 
 “ Heresies” at first meant errors contrary to the teach- 
 ing of the inspired apostles ; but when the teachers of the 
 church were no longer inspired, the Book became the 
 unfailing guide; and the real meaning of “heresy” was, 
 from that time, “ error contrary to the faithful word.” 
 
90 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 For 300 years after the ascension of their Lord to 
 heaven, the sufferings of the people of God arose from the 
 world, which “ hated them ” for their witness against its 
 sins, and its false gods ; and this period of 300 years com- 
 prises the ten pagan persecutions. 
 
 Since that time, their sufferings have arisen from that 
 party amongst themselves, who, assuming temporal power 
 over the rest, made “heresy” to consist in “ error con- 
 trary to the voice of the church”; and who, alas! in all 
 ages and in all countries, have often persecuted those 
 who only desired to “ hold fast the faithful word.” 
 
 We must tell you two or three facts concerning the 
 pagan persecutions, and show you, meanwhile, how the 
 “ mystery of iniquity” took its rise. 
 
 The fifth persecution was in 203, under Severus. 
 
 The sixth in 235, under Maximin. 
 
 The seventh, a most destructive one, in 250, under 
 Decius. 
 
 The eighth in 257, under Yalerian. 
 
 The ninth in 274, under Aurelian. 
 
 The tenth in 303, under Dioclesian. 
 
 The vast number of those who suffered for Christ under 
 these persecutions, has never been reckoned by man; but 
 they will all take rank in the “ noble army of martyrs ” 
 who will attend the King in his glory. We can speak in 
 detail of but one or two. 
 
 In the ninth persecution, at Cesarea, in Cappadocia, a 
 child, named Cyril, showed uncommon fortitude : neither 
 threats nor blows could prevent his praying to Jesus 
 Christ continually. His father turned him out of doors, 
 and brought him before the judge, who said, “ My child, 
 I will pardon your faults, and your father shall receive 
 you again, if you will worship Jupiter.” “ No,” said the 
 child; “ God will receive me: I am not sorry I have been 
 turned out of our house ; I shall have 1 a better mansion 7 
 
THE CHILD-MART YE. — THE SOLDIER’S CHOICE. 91 
 
 (the dear child must have found this in the Book) : I fear 
 not death ; it will introduce me to a better life.” He 
 was bound and led to execution, with orders to bring-him 
 back, if the sight of the fire conquered him. “ Your fire 
 and your sword,” said the young martyr, “ are nought to 
 me. I go to a better house, and to more excellent richesV 
 Despatch me presently, that I may enjoy them.” 
 
 Thus, he went to his death. So you see there have 
 been children in the noble army of martyrs, — children 
 who loved the Book, and realized its true riches. 
 
 At Cesarea, in Palestine, a brave and noble soldier, 
 named Marinus, was a Christian. The governor of the 
 city called upon him to own if his faith prevented his 
 being raised to the office of centurion, on which he con- 
 fessed his principles, and three hours were given him to 
 recant them. His bishop, Theoctenes, took him by the 
 hand, and led him to their church, showed him the sword 
 that hung by his side, and a New Testament which he 
 took from his vest. Marinus stretched out his hand, and 
 clasped the Holy Scriptures. “ Hold fast,” then said The- 
 octenes ; “ cleave close to Him whom you have chosen. 
 You shall be strengthened by Plim, and depart in peace.” 
 After three hours he was beheaded, manfully confessing 
 the faith of Christ* 
 
 Those who worshipped idols used to put cords round 
 the necks of the Christians, and drag them to the temples 
 to sacrifice to their gods ; and when they would not do 
 this, persecution raged against them with ceaseless fury. 
 The last persecution, under Dioclesian, was the worst of 
 all. It raged especially in Africa ; and from the history 
 of those final tortures which the Christians endured from 
 the pagans, we may learn how great was his power who 
 kept his people steadfast through the age when demons 
 seemed set upon them utterly to destroy them. The 
 emperor gave orders to burn their books, to throw down 
 
 * See Milner’s “ Church History.’ 
 
92 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS START. 
 
 their churches, to fall upon all those who kept the Lord’s 
 Day, and who would not burn incense to Jupiter. 
 
 At the dawn of morning, on the day of the feast of 
 Terminalia, a prefect of the Praetorian band entered the 
 church of Nicomedia. He first burned the sacred Scrip- 
 tures, then destroyed the building, and a bloody massacre 
 commenced. All that fire, boiling water, wild beasts, 
 starvation, crucifixion, and pain of every sort could bring, 
 to compel the Christians to sacrifice to idols, was in vain. 
 
 In the Thebais, in Egypt, axes were so blunted with 
 mangled limbs, and the executioners so tired of slaughter, 
 that it was necessary to send for fresh men and new axes 
 to complete the work. 
 
 There was not a province, city, or town, in the Roman 
 empire, — not a hamlet, garden, or cottage, in Rome, — in 
 which pursuit for the Christians was not made : the few 
 that escaped fled to the most solitary deserts. u I have 
 visited,” says Dr. Walsh, “ in remote places in the east, 
 caverns in the sides of nearly inaccessible mountains, 
 where they endeavoured to find refuge during this dismal 
 period.” In one province, alone, 150,000 Christians 
 perished cruelly; sometimes 100 in a day, — 17,000 in a 
 month. It was intended entirely to blot out Christianity 
 from the earth, and medals were struck by Dioclesian, with 
 this motto, — ■“ Having everywhere subdued the Chris- 
 tian superstition, and restored the worship of the gods.” 
 Pillars with the above inscription were erected in Spain. 
 
 The British Christians came in for their share of this 
 persecution from the Roman empire ; and Dioclesian, by 
 striking the disciples of Jesus, in Britain, only increased 
 their number. Many took refuge in Scotland, where, 
 under the name of Culdees, they prayed for those who 
 sheltered them. When the surrounding pagans saw the 
 holiness of these men of God, they left their sacred oaks, 
 and abandoned the worship of the sun and the serpent, to 
 obey the gentle voice of the gospel. 
 
 The Dioclesian persecution continued ten years. Houses 
 
THE KORAN. 
 
 93 
 
 were filled with Christians, and the whole number burnt 
 to ashes. Companies of fifty were tied together with 
 ropes, and in droves were hurried into the sea. Three 
 hundred at once were suffocated in a lime-kiln. Swords, 
 red-hot chairs, wheels for stretching human bodies, and 
 talons of iron to tear them, — all were the instruments of 
 pagan Rome against the Christians. Yet still they would 
 not sacrifice to idols, and they would not give up the 
 Book. “ Why,” it was said to Euplius, a Sicilian martyr, 
 “ Why do you not give up the Scriptures, as the emperor 
 has forbidden them?” “Because,” said he, “I am a 
 Christian. Life eternal is in them. He who gives them 
 up loses life eternal ! ” 
 
 So, then, these martyrs died, like the Maccabees of 
 old; and Satan, weary of thus in vain assaulting the 
 Church of the Book, resolved on two vast schemes against 
 the Book itself. He changed Rome Pagan into Rome 
 Papal. Having laid deep and broad the foundations for 
 that “ mystery of iniquity,” he taught her to hide the 
 Book which should witness against her; and this snare 
 being ready for the western world, he turned towards the 
 east, and caused Mahomet to bring forth a false revela- 
 tion, — a mock Bible, — called “the Koran,” or, “that 
 which ought to be read.” Though this Koran was a 
 tissue of profane and old wives’ fables, mixed up with 
 some strange repetitions of the Scripture narratives, yet 
 it bound together, in one mighty Saracen empire, all the 
 wild sons of Joktan, of Ishmael, and of Esau. These 
 combining to believe this Koran, and to force others to 
 believe it with the sword , caused it, within the period of 
 eighty years, to be acknowledged over the greater part of 
 Asia and of Africa, and they threatened to seat it even in 
 the heart of Europe. 
 
 The following may serve as a specimen of comparison 
 between the Bible and the Koran for those who might 
 never see the latter: — 
 
94 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 Bible. 
 
 I was envious at the foolish, 
 when I saw the prosperity of the 
 
 wicked Thus my heart 
 
 was grieved (Psalm 73. 3, 21). 
 
 But when thou doest alms, 
 let not thy left hand know what 
 thy right hand doeth : that thine 
 alms may be in secret : and thy 
 Father, which seeth in secret, 
 himself shall reward thee open- 
 ly (Matt. 6. 3, 4). 
 
 These both were cast alive 
 into a lake of fire burning with 
 brimstone (Bev. 19. 20). 
 
 Koran. 
 
 Cast not thine eyes on the 
 good things which we have be- 
 stowed on several of the unbe- 
 lievers, so as to covet the same ; 
 neither be thou grieved on their 
 account. 
 
 If ye make your alms to ap- 
 pear, it is well : but if ye conceal 
 them, and give them unto the 
 poor, this will be better for you, 
 and will atone for your sins ; and 
 God is well informed of that 
 which ye do (ch. 2, p. 30). 
 
 Yerily, those who disbelieve 
 our signs, we will surely cast 
 to be broiled in hell fire : so oft- 
 en as their skins shall be well 
 burned, w r e will give them other 
 skins in exchange, that they 
 may taste the sharper torment : 
 for God is mighty and wise. 
 
 The rise of Mahomedanism, however, did not take 
 place until the seventh century after Christ, and it then 
 arose and conquered, “ because of the heresies that di- 
 vided, and the corruptions which disgraced, Christianity.” * 
 We must see how these heresies and corruptions pro- 
 gressed by degrees. 
 
 After the Dioclesian persecution, came the reign of 
 Constantine, who favoured instead of persecuting the 
 Christians. When the bishops met in council, the question 
 as to who should be greatest, was a constant source of dis- 
 cord among them. The Bishops of Rome, Antioch, and 
 Alexandria, had already claimed to be regarded as su- 
 perior to the rest; and the Bishop of Rome declared it his 
 right to be the first of all, as being the bishop of the 
 first city in the empire. 
 
 . Constantine endeavoured to settle their differences, but 
 
 * Forster’s “ Mahomedanism Unveiled.” 
 
CONSTANTINE. 
 
 95 
 
 only caused further discontent to one party, the Donatists, 
 whom he banished ; and you will grieve to hear that the 
 pagans watched the contending Christians with triumph- 
 ant delight, and even held them up to ridicule in their 
 theatres : the voice of the conflicting church made itself 
 heard above the voice of the “ faithful word/’ for that had 
 said, “ Let brotherly love continue.” 
 
 Constantine called a great council at Nice, in Bithynia, 
 composed of 300 bishops, where a “confession of faith” 
 was drawn up, which is still the foundation of that called, 
 in the Church of England, “ the Nicene Creed.” At this 
 council it appears to have been proposed, that the clergy 
 should be forbidden to marry ; but it was not agreed 
 upon, as Paphnutius, an African bishop, declared it was 
 unscriptural. 
 
 The famous controversy respecting the observance of 
 Easter was settled at the council of Nice, — Constantine 
 declaring, that “ it was not for the dignity of the church 
 to follow that most hateful of all people the Jews, in 
 their time of celebrating the passover.” 
 
 The Emperor Constantine was a native of Britain, and 
 his mother, Helena, is said to have been a British princess. 
 They set themselves, with ignorant, but probably good 
 intent, to increase the worldly greatness of the Christians, 
 to whom Christ, their Master, had said, “ My kingdom 
 is not of this world” (John 18. 36), and whom he had 
 described, as the men “ which thou gavest me out of the 
 world” (John 17. 6). 
 
 The Empress Helena visited Jerusalem, and erected a 
 church over the supposed sepulchre of Christ, and caused 
 a number of other magnificent churches to be built. As 
 a reward for her labours, she was said to have discovered 
 the wood of the “true cross”; and with this and the 
 “holy earth” from Jerusalem (to which all access was 
 forbidden to the Jews), began the long list of relics which 
 have been worshipped ever since, down to the “ holy coat 
 of Treves.” 
 
96 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 The bones of the martyrs suddenly became of immense 
 value ; and out of the very ruins of his former cruelties 
 did the “ prince of this world” cause to be built up his 
 new and enduring palace of papal superstition. 
 
 Constantine next wished the different ranks of bishops 
 in the church to be distinguished by particular dresses, 
 and presented the Bishop of Borne with the pall, — a 
 splendid robe, originally a part of the dress of the em- 
 perors ; and the crosier and mitre were adopted at the 
 same time. 
 
 Everything was done to reconcile the pagans to Chris- 
 tianity. Martyrs and saints were honoured in place of 
 Jupiter and Yenus, — and feasts and dances were held on 
 the graves of the martyrs. 
 
 Monasteries also were greatly encouraged : these were 
 the places of residence for monks and nuns. Constantine 
 showed the greatest respect for those who willingly re- 
 treated from the world, and devoted themselves to a life 
 of solitude and hardship. Anthony, the Egyptian, had 
 formed the first household of monks ; and Paul, a young 
 Christian of the same country, had taken refuge from 
 persecution in the deserts, and was probably the first 
 hermit, A.D. 253. At the close of the fourth century, 
 27,000 monks and nuns were to be found in Egypt alone. 
 
 It must be admitted, that Constantine did some good 
 service to the great cause of Christianity ; but, judging 
 of his actions by the light of an open Bible, there are 
 reasons to fear that in many instances his zeal was “ with- 
 out knowledge.” He did not act, in all things, according 
 to the “mind of Christ”; and the result of his efforts 
 to extend the Christian faith was to increase the pride of 
 the spiritual rulers, and to load the church with worldly 
 pomp and grandeur. 
 
 Among the monks, no doubt, were many godly per- 
 sons who took refuge in monasteries, from the evils 
 abounding around them ; but they forgot that their 
 Master had said, “ I pray not that thou sliouldest take 
 
PROGRESS OF THE PAPACY 
 
 97 
 
 them out of the world , but that thou shouldest keep them 
 from the evil”; and so, by degrees, they built up a vast 
 system which rests on no Scriptural foundation. An- 
 thony, the first monk, died, aged 105, leaving little be- 
 hind him but two sheepskins, which were sent to two 
 bishops as legacies. 
 
 At first thirty or forty monks lived together in a range 
 of low, narrow huts ; then a wall was built around these ; 
 then each community by degrees erected a church for 
 itself, a hospital, and a library, and secured a reservoir 
 of water. They slept in a rough blanket, on the bare 
 ground ; their dress was a coarse linen shirt and a sheep- 
 skin, besides a cowl or hood to protect them from be- 
 holding vanity ; they lived chiefly on vegetables, walked 
 out two and two, and when they returned home, were 
 forbidden to speak of what they had heard. 
 
 When their minds, in spite of all this fencing off from 
 the world, wandered back to it, they tried to curb them 
 by discipline. Some began to wear crosses, chains, and 
 collars of heavy iron ; but these could not chain the 
 mind. Some passed years without speaking, days with- 
 out food, and nights without sleep ; others spent their 
 energies better, and employed themselves day after day 
 in copying manuscripts ; and the best fruit of their labours 
 was the multiplication of copies of the Scriptures. It is 
 certain that many received them into their hearts as they 
 copied them, and were thus kept “ pure,” in spite of the 
 folly and corruption of the system under which they lived. 
 
 It was the rule of the monks to pay blind submission 
 to the abbot of their monastery. If he told them to 
 water a barren staff for years, they obeyed as if they ex- 
 pected it to grow into a living tree ! 
 
 At first, these monasteries were places which the monks 
 might enter or quit as they pleased; but this soon ceased, 
 and they became prisons which never yielded up their prey. 
 The abbot, who heard their daily confession of sin, control- 
 led them in mind and body, punished them, and directed 
 
98 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 them as he pleased ; and these bands of men, thus dis- 
 ciplined, became very powerful, and established an in- 
 fluence, by no means wholesome, over the Church of God. 
 
 You have heard, perhaps, of Alaric the king of the 
 Goths, who in the fifth century came down with his 
 mighty army upon Rome, and extorted from it a ransom 
 worthy of its enormous wealth. Did you ever hear of 
 his grave ? His army caused their captives to turn aside 
 the course of the river Busentinus, to make it* and then, 
 when they had buried him, slew upon the spot all who 
 had been engaged in the work, that none might tell the 
 secret, — the waters being restored to their usual channel. 
 
 But that grave shall not be hidden, when earth, and 
 sea, and river, shall give up their dead. These Goths 
 caused the downfall of the imperial Roman power ; yet, 
 while this decayed, the priestly power in the same old city 
 went on increasing and increasing, till Rome in a new form 
 reigned over all the kings of the earth. Leo, surnamed the 
 Great, bishop of Rome, laid the foundations of the papal 
 dominion, at the time the imperial power received its deadly 
 wound. He received, from the Emperor Yalentinian, 
 authority over all the bishops of the western empire of 
 Rome, and sent his legate, or messenger, to inquire into all 
 “heresies 55 at the court of the eastern empire also. He 
 endeavoured to prevent the marriage of the clergy, and to 
 enforce the practice of confession to the priests. He greatly 
 increased the pomp of religious services : incense was 
 burned, holy water sprinkled, and tapers lighted at mid- 
 day, to frighten away the evil spirits. Leo died, a.d. 461 
 
 To trace, however, the growing development of the 
 apostasy in the sixth and seventh centuries, only concerns 
 us as far as protest was made against increasing evils, by 
 the Church of the Book, — by those who still were deter- 
 mined “ to hold fast the faithful word” and to listen to 
 the Written Voice of God, rather than to the voice of 
 this great hierarchy, which claimed for itself such wide 
 supremacy. 
 
VERSIONS OF THE SCRIPTURE. 
 
 99 
 
 It is a delightful task to follow the pilgrimage of 
 Divine Truth from land to land, even through what were 
 called the Dark Ages. The lire, kindled from heaven, like 
 that on the Tabernacle altar, was never to go out; and 
 it never did. Amid all the destructions, persecutions, 
 and corruptions, the sacred books were continually copied 
 and re-copied ; and we must now particularly examine 
 into what languages. 
 
 From the beginning of the first century, the Latin 
 language was gradually becoming more general than the 
 Greek, and it might soon have been called the language 
 of the Western Church. In the early ages, as soon as 
 any one found a Greek copy of a Gospel or an Epistle, 
 and thought himself able, he began to translate it. Many 
 of these translations were imperfect, but one called the 
 Old Italic was the best: this was made in the second cen- 
 tury, and comprised both the Old and New Testaments. 
 
 The word of God was now existing in live languages, 
 viz. the Old Hebrew ; the Chaldee , made for the Babylo- 
 nian Jews; the Greek , or Septuagint ; a Syriac version, 
 which had been made, at the beginning of the second 
 century, for the Syrian Christians ; and the Latin , as 
 above mentioned. 
 
 Two of these translations from the Hebrew were made 
 before the Christian era, and two after it. In the fourth 
 century, a learned monk, named Jerome, translated 
 afresh the Old Testament from the Hebrew into Latin : 
 his version is called the “ Latin Vulgate,” and was pro- 
 nounced by the council of Trent to be the only one 
 “ esteemed authentic” by the Roman- Catholic Church. 
 Numerous manuscript copies of these versions have been 
 preserved to our times ; and now they are printed, and 
 have been diligently compared with one another, by 
 learned men ; and, with the exception of a few trilling 
 differences, they present to us, in five different languages, 
 the same text, and the same number of books. 
 
 These three sister versions, the Chaldee, the Greek, 
 and the Syriac, after they were made, were separated for 
 
100 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 many hundred years. The Chaldee version, carefully pre- 
 served by the Jews, was unknown to Christians during 
 die early ages of the church ; and the Christians of Syria 
 knew as little of the Greek Bible as the Greeks did of the 
 Syriac. The Syriac and Chaldee were for the East ; the 
 Greek spread over the West, and was again translated 
 into Latin. The Latin Bible was not borrowed from the 
 Syriac or Chaldee, yet, when brought together, they all 
 closely agree, though the work of enemies to one another, 
 of Christians and Jews, Eastern and Western Christians, 
 Palestinian Jews and Alexandrian Jews. These are the 
 great roots of all other translations. 
 
 The copies from these were innumerable : they were 
 copied by thousands who regarded them with heartfelt re- 
 verence and affection ; and there were besides multitudes 
 in the religious houses, who, influenced only by super- 
 stition, still thought it a work of superlative merit to 
 execute a fair copy of the Scriptures, or any part of them. 
 
 There is, in the library of the British Museum, one of 
 the most valuable manuscripts of the Bible, in Greek, 
 called the “Alexandrine.” It was sent in the year 1628 
 as a present to King Charles I., by Cyril, the patriarch 
 of Constantinople. It was probably written at Alexan- 
 dria, by Thecla, a noble Egyptian lady, in the fourth 
 century, a little after the council of Nice. Thecla was 
 afterwards martyred. This precious manuscript is written 
 in uncial or capital characters like these — 
 
 John 1. 1. 
 
 Ot^XpXH HNOXOroCKAlQAOroCH 
 
 TrpoCTOKJ©M*KX.l0CHMOXOrOC 
 
 (Literally translated.) 
 
 INTHEBE GrINNIN GrWASTHE W ORDANDTHEW ORDWAS 
 WITHaD-ANDHDWASTHEWORD. 
 
 It is so much prized, that the trustees of the British Mu- 
 seum have had it stereotyped at the expense of thirty thou- 
 
FIRST PROTESTS. 
 
 101 
 
 sand pounds, and have presented a copy to all the principal 
 libraries in the kingdom, so that it can never be lost. 
 
 Throughout the period of which we have been speak- 
 ing, persons were raised up from time to time to contend 
 for different portions of Divine Truth; and one of the 
 most remarkable of these, in the East, was Yigilantius, 
 a presbyter, who went from Gaul into Palestine, and 
 preached boldly against the common errors. This oc- 
 curred in the fifth century. Let us see what he then 
 had occasion to condemn. He preached — 
 
 Against the worship of relics ; 
 
 Against pilgrimages to holy places; 
 
 Against prayers to saints; 
 
 Against severe fasting and mortification; 
 
 Against “forbidding to marry.” 
 
 He was, in fact, one of the early Protestants,* as was 
 Nestorius, a Syrian, and bishop of Constantinople, who 
 strongly objected to the title of “Mother of God,” as 
 applied to the Virgin Mary. It does not appear that he 
 wished in any measure to take from the divine dignity of 
 Christ, by rebuking this expression; but he was accused 
 of doing so. The Bishop of Rome combined with others 
 against him; and, by a council held at Ephesus, A.D. 431, 
 he was pronounced accursed, and banished. “ Con- 
 demned,” it is said, “ without a hearing, he died in one 
 of the oases of the Egyptian desert; and all who held his 
 views were expelled from the church.” But the Nes- 
 torian Christians increased in spite of the imperial laws; 
 and among them may be traced some of the brightest 
 servants of God; for their separation from Rome preserved 
 them from many errors. From the time of Nestorius, 
 images and pictures of the “Virgin and Child” became 
 common. 
 
 * His Life has "been written by a clergyman, to whom we also owe 
 a very interesting account of the protesting church in the Pied- 
 montese valleys, — the Rev. W. Gilly. 
 
102 
 
 THE BOOR AND ITS STORY. 
 
 In the sixth and seventh centuries, these Nestorians 
 were remarkable as missionaries of the Truth : they con- 
 tinued entirely independent of the systems of Rome or of 
 Constantinople, and had a patriarch of their own at 
 Seleucia. They abounded in Chaldea, Persia, and Assyria, 
 and carried the gospel into the remotest and most bar- 
 barous parts of Asia, and even into China. Their man- 
 ners were pure; they never interfered in political revo- 
 lutions, and remained as witnesses for God, even when 
 Mahomedanism overcame Romanism. In the eighth 
 century they sent missionaries through the immense and 
 savage tracts of ancient Scythia, or modern Russia, and 
 even to Siberia and Nova Zembla. 
 
 You must take particular notice of the Nestorians v 
 because they yet exist : they have never ceased to exist : 
 they tried to spread the knowledge of Christ through all 
 the dark regions of the East in every successive century; 
 and there must always have been not a little genuine 
 godliness among them. In the thirteenth century, they 
 had many churches in Tartary, India, Persia, and China; 
 and the pure light of their “witness” only appeared to be 
 dying out in the fifteenth century, when the bright day 
 of the Reformation was about to dawn upon the world. 
 When we come to the modern triumphs of the Bible — to 
 the last fifty years of our story — we shall have delightful 
 news to tell you of these old Nestorians. In the mean- 
 time, we must leave them where Mr. Layard, the dis- 
 coverer of Nineveh, found them a year or two since.— 
 within sight of the spotless, snowy peak of Ararat, in the 
 valleys of Armenia, once inhabited by the only indepen- 
 dent Christian tribes of Asia, and still the dwelling-places 
 of tills remnant of a primitive church. 
 
 We must now lead you to the neighbouring district of 
 Armenia. In the fifth century, also, Mesrob, the inventor 
 of the Armenian alphabet, presented his countrymen with 
 a translation of the Bible, made from the Septuagint. A 
 
THE PAULICIANS. 
 
 103 
 
 church arose here which has likewise existed through the 
 dark ages, though it was by no means so pure as the Hes- 
 torian Church. Its teachers lived unmarried, and adopted 
 the seven sacraments of Rome, but did not admit the 
 supremacy of the pope. Like the Nestorians, also, they 
 obstinately rejected images and pictures ; and this sepa- 
 rates them from the Greek Church to this day. 
 
 The Greek Church, so called, is in most respects like 
 the Roman Church, though it does not acknowledge the 
 pope as its head, but owns in his stead the patriarch of 
 Constantinople. Its doctrines differ widely from those of 
 the Protestant, and it acknowledges the decrees of the 
 councils for its rule of faith. Few, even of its clergy, 
 possessed any part of the sacred books; and its people 
 were not allowed to read them. 
 
 In Armenia arose the sect of the Paulicians, the origin 
 of which is very interesting. In A,D. 660, a deacon of a 
 Christian Church, who had been in captivity among the 
 Saracens, in Syria, was returning home through the little 
 town of Mananalis, in Armenia, where he was kindly re- 
 ceived by a respectable inhabitant, named Constantine, 
 and entertained some days at his house. 
 
 In return for his kindness, he presented his host with 
 two manuscripts which he had brought out of Syria, — the 
 four Gospels, and the Epistles of St. Paul. From the 
 presentation of this, at that time, rare and costly gift, we 
 may infer what had been their conversation together. 
 For the first time Constantine had an opportunity of 
 studying the precious truth for himself, and it soon cast 
 out of his mind some errors, called Manichean, which he 
 had adopted. He burnt his bad books, and declared he 
 would thenceforth study nothing but the Gospels and 
 Epistles. He began to teach, as well as to read for him- 
 self; and his disciples instructed others around them. 
 He lived for twenty-seven years, spreading his new 
 opinions all around Cibossa, to which place he had re- 
 moved. 
 
104 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 His followers increased so rapidly, that a Greek empe- 
 ror sent to have him stoned, and Simeon, the messenger, 
 caused his own disciples to perform the deed; but after- 
 wards, Simeon himself, like Saul of Tarsus, repented, 
 being converted by beholding the grace of God in the 
 noble martyr and his disciples, who suffered after him. 
 Simeon, having united himself with the Paulicians, 
 preached among them for some time at Cibossa, and also 
 died a martyr. It is recorded that he was seized, with 
 his followers, and all were burnt in one vast pile, with 
 the exception of one Paulus, and his two sons, who were 
 sent to Constantinople to be questioned. 
 
 These three afterwards escaped, and fleeing again to 
 Mananalis, lived and flourished under the protection of 
 the Saracens for thirty years : their disciples increased 
 greatly, and were called Paulicians. They were said, in 
 the language of their enemies, — to deny “the orthodox 
 faith,” — not to adore the mother of God, — not to partake 
 of the bread as made Christ, — and to have abandoned the 
 Eastern Church, which they certainly had, for they be- 
 longed to the Church of the Booh; therefore the imperial 
 government persecuted them. The Empress Theodora, 
 who is called a saint in the Greek Church, declared she 
 would cut off the Paulicians, root and branch, unless she 
 could bring them to the true faith. A hundred thousand 
 persons are said to have perished by her orders : they 
 were hung, crucified, burnt, or drowned, and all their 
 property went into the imperial treasury. 
 
 Notwithstanding these persecutions, the Paulicians 
 continued to increase through the knowledge of the Gos- 
 pels. An aged woman of this sect was instrumental in 
 the conversion of Sergius, afterwards a great propagator 
 of their opinions, only by putting the Gospels into his 
 hands. For thirty-four years he was occupied in spread- 
 ing the truths they contained, through every city and 
 province he could reach : his own words are, “ From 
 the east to the west, and from the north to the south, 
 
ABYSSINIA. 
 
 105 
 
 have I been proclaiming the gospel, and labouring on my 
 knees” 
 
 His efforts were so successful, that he was said by the 
 Koman Church to be Antichrist, and to be producing the 
 great apostasy foretold by St. Paul. It is agreed by the 
 best historians that the Paulicians were transplanted into 
 Thrace, penetrated Bulgaria, were introduced into Italy 
 and France, and, under various names, especially that of 
 Albigenses , spread through Europe.* 
 
 The gospel in Abyssinia or Ethiopia has a very ancient 
 history, — even from the apostolic age, when it must have 
 been carried there by the minister of its queen, Candace. 
 You remember he had been worshipping at Jerusalem, 
 and was, as he returned home in his chariot, reading the 
 roll of the Prophet Isaiah, when he was met by the Apostle 
 Philip, who asked him “if he understood what he was 
 reading”; and he, confessing his ignorance, desired Philip 
 to come up and teach him. During their journey Philip 
 preached unto him Jesus, having been sent to meet him 
 for this purpose, as we learn, by the Spirit of God (see 
 Acts 8). This teaching issued in his “believing with all 
 his heart,” and his immediate baptism ; and, it is said, 
 “ he went on his way rejoicing.” 
 
 “ It is impossible that this Ethiopian, thus enlightened, 
 could be silent,” says Milner, “ when he returned home”; 
 but this is the end of our Scripture light upon the subject. 
 
 We next hear concerning Abyssinia, that Frumentius, 
 after residing some years in Egypt, w~as ordained as Bishop 
 of Meroe, the chief city in Abyssinia, by Athanasius, the 
 patriarch of Alexandria, about A.D. 330. 
 
 When a Greek merchant, named Cosmas, who wrote a 
 book called u Christian Topography,” in which he men- 
 tions the inscriptions on the rocks of Sinai, f visited Abys- 
 
 * Sharon Turner’s “ History of England,” vol. v., p. 119. 
 
 | See page 19. 
 
106 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 sinia, in A.D. 525, lie says it was completely a Christian 
 country, and well provided both with ministers and 
 churches. Mr. Salt, a modern traveller in Abyssinia, de- 
 scribes the remains of ancient churches hewn out of the solid 
 rock, the date of which he assigns to the sixth century. 
 
 After this time, very little was known of the country 
 till the Portuguese entered it, in 1490, and found there a 
 body of Christians, who had received the Holy Scriptures 
 in the ancient Ethiopic version, or Gheez language, made 
 from the Greek Septuagint. Mr. Bruce, a traveller in 
 these remote regions, brought with him a complete copy 
 to Europe : the apocryphal books, were, however, inter- 
 mixed in this version with the canonical. 
 
 You must bear these facts in mind respecting Abyssinia, 
 because in a future page we shall have very interesting 
 particulars to relate of the translation of the Scriptures 
 into Amharic, which is the modern language spoken in 
 this country. This ancient Christian Church had mixed 
 many errors with its faith ; and no wonder ; for it had 
 fallen under the influence of the Jesuit missionaries from 
 the Portuguese ; and a law had been made that whoever 
 dared to translate the Holy Scriptures from Gheez into 
 Amharic, should die. 
 
 But, as we said we would follow the pilgrimage of 
 Divine Truth from land to land, we must now leave the 
 churches of the East, who maintained their long and 
 arduous struggle against the corruptions of the West, and 
 recur to the early progress of the gospel, in Great Britain 
 and Ireland. 
 
 As Irenaeus, bishop of Lyons, early in the second cen- 
 tury, mentions the existence of churches among the Celtic 
 nations, and Tertullian, about A.D. 200, says, that “those 
 parts of the British Isles which were unapproached by 
 the Romans were yet subject to Christ,” these parts, which 
 were most probably the mountainous seclusions of Wales, 
 and perhaps of Scotland, must have received the faith, 
 
PELAGIUS, 
 
 107 
 
 and doubtless the Old Testament, from Bran, the father of 
 Caractacus, and probable disciple of the Apostle Paul,*' 
 and the Old Testament would cause them to inquire for 
 the New, as, by degrees, it was written. At any rate, 
 Christian Churches were formed, and these shared in the 
 Dioclesian persecution, a.d. 303. Two martyrs of this age, 
 Julius and Aaron, were honoured in the British Church, 
 which is recorded to have converted many of the ancient 
 bards, or Druids, from their old patriarchal but corrupted 
 religion, to the gospel of Jesus Christ ; and Divine wor- 
 ship continued for awhile to be performed in the ancient 
 Druidical circles. One of these is at Carn-y-groes, in 
 Glamorganshire, where also stands an ancient cross. 
 
 Pelagius, who was a British teacher from the monas- 
 tery at Bangor- Iscoed, in A.D. 400, went to the continent 
 and began to preach strange doctrine. Dr. D’Aubigne 
 says, “It does not appear that he had a bad intention, but 
 he had many of the old Druidical notions ; and, finding 
 fault with the moral indifference of the Eastern Christians, 
 he denied the doctrine of original sin, and said that if 
 man made use of all his natural powers, he could become 
 perfect.” This was not preaching Christ Jesus : and the 
 venerable historian, Bede, tells us, “the British Churches 
 refused to receive this doctrine : they sent for two bishops 
 from Armorica (now called Brittany), Germanus and 
 Lupus, who came to their aid, and those who had wan- 
 dered returned into the 4 way of truth.’ ” 
 
 The Dioclesian persecution, in a.d. 303, as we have 
 seen, . drove many of the Christians to Scotland, and to 
 the island of Iona, where they built a church, called the 
 Church of our Saviour, whose walls, it is said, still exist 
 among the stately ruins of a later age. One particular 
 portion appears to be of primitive architecture. 
 
 But we must now turn to Ireland ; — for that country 
 also afforded the terrified British clergy an asylum from 
 the Dioclesian persecution. 
 
 * See page 84. 
 
108 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 In tlie year 388, a captive youth, named Succat, sixteen 
 years of age, the child of Scotch parents, was sent into the 
 green pastures of Ireland to keep swine. Here, as he led 
 his herds over the mountains and through the forests, by 
 night and by day, he called to mind the instructions of a 
 pious mother, which, up to this time of his distress, he 
 had forgotten ; and when afterwards rescued from his cap- 
 tivity, he considered it his duty to carry the gospel to the 
 people of that country, where he had himself found Christ 
 Jesus. This boy, Succat, was afterwards known as St. 
 Patrick, and sainted by the Romish Church. 
 
 He collected the pagan tribes in the fields, by beat of 
 drum, and there narrated to them in their own tongue the 
 history of the Son of God. Ere long many souls were 
 converted, and the Druidical hymns changed into canticles 
 to Christ. This St. Patrick is said to have evangelised 
 Ireland, and alter that period it was known by the name 
 of “ The Isle of Saints." 
 
 Meantime the state of the British Churches was most 
 afflicting. The warlike Anglo-Saxons, who were pagan 
 idolaters, slew immense numbers of the Christians, though 
 many hid themselves in Wales, and in the wild moors 
 of Northumberland and Cornwall, and many fled into 
 Brittany, in France, whose inhabitants still speak a lan- 
 guage resembling the ancient British or Welsh. 
 
 In one of the churches formed in Ireland by Succat’s 
 preaching, there arose, two centuries after him, a pious 
 man, named Columba, in whose veins, flowed royal blood. 
 Pie resolved to repay to the country of Succat what 
 Succat had imparted to his, — to go and preach the word 
 of God in Scotland. With some of his companions, he 
 constructed a frail coracle of osiers and skins. u In this 
 rude boat," says D’Aubigne, “they embarked in the year 
 565, and the little missionary band reached in safety the 
 waters of the Hebrides." 
 
 They landed in Iona, and found the Christian Culdees, 
 and also some Druids. The poor Druids were now to 
 cede the ancient college of their order and the burial- 
 
IONA. 
 
 109 
 
 place of tlieir kings to another race, for whose sake, also* 
 this wondrous little spot of earth is very famous. 
 
 Conal, the Scottish king, granted Iona to Columba, 
 and it became “ the Missionary Isle,” “the light of the 
 Western world.” 
 
 Columba was really a holy man : he lived as in the sight 
 of God; he mortified the flesh, perhaps, unnecessarily, — 
 sleeping on the ground, with a stone for his pillow; but 
 he prayed and read, he wrote and taught, he preached, 
 and he redeemed the time. He went from hut to hut, 
 and also from kingdom to kingdom. Precious manu- 
 scripts were conveyed to Iona; the holy word of God 
 was studied there, and many received through faith the 
 salvation which is in Christ Jesus. Columba maintained 
 that it was the Holy Ghost which made a servant of 
 God. 
 
 When the youth of Scotland assembled round their 
 elders, on these wild shores, they were taught that the 
 Holy Scriptures are the only rule of faith. “ Throw aside 
 all merit of works, and look for salvation to the grace of 
 God alone.” “ It is better to keep your heart pure before 
 God, than to abstain from meats.” “ One alone is your 
 head, — Jesus Christ.” “Bishops and presbyters are 
 equal: they should be the husbands of one wife, and 
 have their children in subjection.” 
 
 These were Protestant doctrines. The sages of Iona 
 knew nothing of the bread in the Lord’s Supper being- 
 changed into the actual body of Christ; they did not 
 withdraw the cup from the laity; knew nothing of con- 
 fession to priests, or prayers to the dead, or tapers, or 
 incense. They celebrated Easter on a different day from 
 Borne, and the supremacy of the pope was unknown. 
 
 When the college in this islet sent out its missionaries,, 
 they knelt in the chapel of Icolmkill, and were set apart 
 by the hands of the elders : they were called bishops, but 
 remained obedient to the elder of Iona. 
 
 “ Iona and Bangor,” continues the modern historian of 
 the Beformation, “ possessed a more lively faith than the 
 
110 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 city of the Caesars; and Britain in the sixth century was 
 faithful in planting the standard of Christ in the heart of 
 Europe.” 
 
 Columba is said to have possessed a most engaging ad- 
 dress, a cheerful countenance, and a most powerful and 
 commanding voice, so that he could be distinctly heard 
 at a mile’s distance when he chanted psalms. He appears 
 to have been a man of much prayer, and to have earnestly 
 believed that God answers prayer; and in the strength of 
 this belief he did many mighty works. The historian, 
 Bede, tells us, that he and his disciples brought religion 
 at that time into such repute, that a monk was every- 
 where received as God’s servant. Columba was remark- 
 able for his humility: he said that “no man ought to be 
 praised till he had reached the goal, and finished his 
 course.” He greatly loved the study of the Scriptures, 
 and was sometimes engaged for whole days and nights 
 in exploring their dark and difficult passages, with fasting 
 and prayer. It is said of him, that “ when any offended 
 himself he forgave him, — when any offended God he 
 prayed for him.” 
 
 The isle of Iona continued to be, under Columba, as it 
 always had been, the burial place of kings. Its “ fair 
 kirkyard” contains the tombs of forty-eight crowned 
 Scottish kings, four Irish kings, the tombs of the kings 
 of Norway, and the most part of the lords of the isles. 
 
 These tombs are flat stones, with many an ancient 
 carving sunk in the green sward. Dr. Johnson called 
 this, “ awful ground.” In the corner of the ruined ca- 
 thedral are the “black stones,” held so sacred by the 
 Highlanders, that an oath sworn on them was always 
 kept. Many beautiful crosses were broken or carried off 
 at the Reformation. Spottiswoode says, that in Columba’s 
 own lifetime, he founded 100 monasteries, and 365 
 churches, and ordained 3000 monks. He died in Iona, 
 after presiding there for thirty-four years; and his fol- 
 lowers, until the year 716, protested against the Church 
 of Rome, and influenced the whole of Europe. Columba 
 
i IGXA. 
 
 Ill 
 
 wrote to Pope Boniface, with great freedom: “ It is your 
 fault if you -have deviated from the true faith.” Clement 
 of Iona wrote a book against images in the end of the 
 eighth century. 
 
 Iona. 
 
 4 Lone Isle ! though storms have round thy turrets rode. 
 And their red shafts have sear’d thy marble brow, 
 Thou wert the temple of the Living God, — 
 
 Teaching earth’s millions at thy shrine to bow. 
 
 Though desolation wraps thy glories now, 
 
 Still thou wilt be a marvel through all time 
 For what thou hast been : for the dead who rot 
 Around the fragments of thy towers sublime, 
 
 Once taught the world, and sway’d the realm of thought. 
 And ruled the warriors of each northern clime. 
 
 Dear art thou for thy glories long gone by : 
 
 Virtue and truth, religion’s self must die, 
 
 Ere thou can’st perish from the chart of fame, 
 
 Or darkness shroud the halo of thy name.” 
 
 Glasgow . 
 
 D. M. 
 
112 
 
 CHAPTER YL 
 
 THE PALL OF ENGLAND’S PROTESTANISM. — AUGUSTINE’S MISSION. 
 
 BEDE, KING ALFRED. GENERAL IGNORANCE. THE VAUDOIS 
 
 CHURCH. EARLY PROTESTS. — CLAUDE OF TURIN. YAUDOIS COL- 
 PORTEURS. WALDO. HIS TRANSLATION OF THE BIBLE. — SKETCH 
 
 OF THE VAUDOIS PEOPLE. THEIR KNOWLEDGE OF SCRIPTURE. 
 
 INNOCENT III. THE INQUISITION. TORMENTS. STEADFASTNESS. 
 
 THE VOWS OF LUZERNA. THE BOHEMIAN CHRISTIANS. 
 
 In tlie last chapter we gave you an outline of the early 
 history of the Church of the Book, both in the East and 
 the West, after the Christian era. We can now only sadly 
 tell you, that in England, in the seventh century, she fell 
 under the power of the church of the popes, who would 
 have all the world to receive their laws. She received 
 presents from Rome of the relics of the Apostles Peter and 
 John, — “ pretended fragments of their chains/’ and em- 
 blems of her own. Pope Gregory desired her conversion 
 from simple faith in Christ and his word, to faith in the 
 Romish Church and its ceremonies, and he sent the arch- 
 bishop, Augustine, to Canterbury, to convert her. This 
 Augustine, who came to England in 597, must by no 
 means be confounded with Augustine, bishop of Hippo, 
 born 354, the son whose soul was given to his mother’s 
 prayers, after perseverance on her part, and apparently in 
 vain, for thirty years, and who was, in most respects, 
 “ the highest ornament of the African Church.” 
 
 At that time there existed at Bangor-Iscoed, in Wales, 
 a monastery of 3000 members, governed by faithful 
 teachers. Augustine first met its bishop, Dionoth, under 
 
THE VENERABLE BEDE. 
 
 11 $ 
 
 an oak, at Wigornia,* and endeavoured by persuasion 
 to cause liim and his flock to acknowledge the pope ; 
 but this meeting and a second one were in vain. Even to 
 a third appeal, the Britons said, “they knew no other 
 Master but Christ.” 
 
 “Then,” said Augustine, “if you will not unite with 
 us to show the Saxons the way of life, you shall receive 
 from them the stroke of death.” “Argument had failed,” 
 says D’Aubigne ; “now for the sword.” 
 
 Shortly after the death of Augustine, Edelfrid, an 
 Anglo- Saxon king, and a heathen, destroyed 1200 of these 
 Christians, in the act of praying to God against his vio- 
 lence, and razed Bangor, the chief seat of Christian learn- 
 ing, to the ground. 
 
 CD 7 O 
 
 Iona, too, the last citadel of liberty, gave up her free- 
 dom ere long, through Romish persuasion ; and then came 
 a dark night of superstition which lasted many hundred 
 years. 
 
 In English history, while this night endured, we must 
 now only look for the few earnest souls that here and 
 there awoke, and searched the Scriptures even under 
 popish bondage, and then turn for awhile to the most 
 interesting history of the Vaudois Church in the valleys 
 of Piedmont. 
 
 The earliest translation of the New Testament, into the 
 tongue of the common people of England, was made by 
 “the Venerable Bede,” whose “Church History” we have 
 often quoted. He lived in the monastery of Jarrow, in 
 Durham, and was a very learned monk, having uncom- 
 mon skill in Greek and Hebrew. He studied the Scrip- 
 tures diligently and prayerfully. He referred the Arch- 
 bishop of York to Titus and Timothy, for rules of conduct 
 to be required from Christian ministers, and he evidently 
 knew himself what it was to “fight the good fight of 
 faith,” by strength supplied from God. 
 
 * Worcester. 
 
114 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT, 
 
 In his last hour he was engaged in dictating to one of 
 his disciples the last verse of the 20th chapter of John. 
 “It is finished, master,” said the scribe : “It is finished,” 
 replied the dying saint; “lift up my head, let me sit in 
 my cell, in the place where I have so often prayed ; and 
 now, glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy 
 Ghost”; and with these words his spirit fled. 
 
 Could it have taken flight more happily than in the 
 act of translating the word of God? 
 
 Would you like to read a piece of Anglo- Saxon* as it 
 was spoken and written in the seventh century? “Fader 
 uren thu arth in heofnum, sic gehalgud noma thin; to 
 cymeth ric thin.” “Our Father who art in heaven, hal- 
 lowed be thy name ; thy kingdom come.” 
 
 We should scarcely know this old Anglo-Saxon now for 
 English ; but this was English in the days of King Alfred. 
 
 Alfred the Great, who left behind him an undying 
 name, whether as a Christian or a king, was also a trans- 
 lator of the Scriptures. His early education was scanty: 
 no master could be found in all Wessex to teach him 
 Latin, when twelve years old ; but when he grew up and 
 reigned, he was called “the wisest man in all England.” 
 Being aware of his own ignorance, and seing that igno- 
 rance still deeper prevailed among his people, he drew 
 around him capable teachers. 
 
 Asser, the first scholar in Wales, and a man of piety, 
 after much persuasion, agreed to live at his court for six 
 months in the year, and became his warmest friend. 
 Alfred learned Latin of Asser, by carrying in his bosom, 
 a little manuscript book, in which every quotation of 
 Scripture that pleased him was put down by his friend, 
 and translated. These the king constantly studied, writ- 
 ing them also himself. He turned Bede’s valuable His- 
 tory into English, and attempted to translate the whole 
 Bible, though he only accomplished a portion of it. 
 
 He was engaged upon a version of the Psalms, at the 
 time of his death. He has left behind him some maim- 
 
THE VAUDOIS VALLEYS, 
 
 115 
 
 scripts, preserved as treasures in museums, and a most 
 fragrant memory. 
 
 We shall now pass to the Swiss valleys, and the Wal- 
 denses. 
 
 So early as a.d. 290, the Yaudois valleys Avere honoured 
 with a martyr : this was in the times of pagan persecution, 
 in the village of St. Legond, between Luzerna and San 
 Martino. 
 
 In A.D. 314, the arrogance of Sylvester, bishop of Rome, 
 is said to have occasioned the first protest of the churches 
 in these valleys. 
 
 In A.D. 374, Ambrose, bishop of Milan and the North 
 of Italy, protests against the introduction of images into 
 churches, and shows that certain superstitions prevailing 
 elsewhere had not been adopted in the mountainous 
 regions of his diocese. 
 
 At the close of the seventh century are found the 
 traces of a small but pure church in these districts, which 
 some suppose a branch of Paulicians. Eetiring from the 
 insolence and oppression of the Romish clergy, they 
 sought a hiding-place in the Pays de Vaud, embosomed 
 in the Alps, where they might follow their consciences, 
 and enjoy communion with God. 
 
 In the ninth century, thirty years before the birth of 
 our noble Alfred, Claude, a native of Spain, became 
 Bishop of Turin. He was a reformer, and studied and 
 preached the Scriptures. He found the churches full of 
 images, and he fearlessly cast them out, and the crosses 
 also, ordering them to be burned. He told the people, 
 that if they painted or sculptured Peter or Paul upon 
 their walls, and worshipped them, they might as well have 
 continued to worship Jupiter and Saturn. “ The bones 
 of saints are no more to be reverenced,” said he, “than 
 the bones of cattle : and a piece of wood, even if it were 
 of the true cross, is entitled to no veneration.” 
 
 This bishop was greatly opposed, but the doctrines he 
 
116 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 taught sank deep into the minds of many, who cherished 
 them in secret, and handed them down to their children’s 
 children. He took great pains to explain Scripture, main- 
 tained that faith alone saves us, and that all the other 
 apostles were equal with Peter. Pie also denied that 
 prayer after death could he of any use to anybody. 
 
 This man laid, thus early, the solid foundation of the 
 Reformation, which took place 700 years afterwards. He 
 was called “the Bishop of the Valleys.” “The papists 
 own,” says Dr. Allix, “that the valleys of Piedmont, 
 which belonged to the bishopric of Turin, held the opi- 
 nion of Claude, through the ninth and tenth centuries.” 
 
 Through these, as well as the eleventh and twelfth 
 centuries, we must traverse what are called the dark ages , 
 each one darker than the other, and watch the light, 
 which had been shed abroad by such kings as Alfred and 
 Charlemagne, dying out amid the personal ignorance of 
 kings, priests, and people. Modern research, however, 
 developes from time to time some bright particular excep- 
 tions, in different countries, most often of such persons as 
 possessed and studied the Scriptures, such as Anselm, and 
 Queen Margaret of Scotland, whose husband, Malcolm, 
 used to handle with great respect, and even kiss, the books 
 that he saw his wife peruse, though himself so illiterate as 
 not to be able to understand them. 
 
 Comparatively few priests, in those days, understood 
 the Latin service of their own church, and many were 
 made bishops (it is said) who could neither read nor 
 write. 
 
 It was about the year 1151, that in several parts of the 
 continent were noticed little communities, chiefly of poor 
 and iabourinof men, distinguished from the established 
 Roman Church, and who possessed, m the manuscript 
 Romaunt version, both the Old and New Testaments, 
 which they were fond of committing to memory. Their 
 version resembled Latin : it was this : “ In principio erat 
 verbum, et verbum erat apud Deum, e Deus era la paraula. 
 
PETER WALDO. 
 
 11 ? 
 
 Also era el comanzament amb Deu.” u In tlie beginning 
 was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word 
 was God. The same was in the beginning with God” 
 (John 1. 1, 2). These persons were scattered all over 
 Europe: in France they were called “ Tisserands,” or 
 weavers; “ Poor Men of Lyons”; “ Waldenses,” and 
 “ Albigenses ; ” in Germany, “ Cathari.” They existed in 
 Spain, and even in Naples, and abounded near the Alps. 
 It was in the following way that they spread abroad their 
 opinions. “ They show some merchandise, as rings or 
 robes, to lords and ladies to buy. If they sell these, and 
 are asked, ‘ Have you any more to sell?’ the answer is, 
 
 4 1 have far more precious jewels than these, which I will 
 give you, if you will not betray me.’ Safety being pro- 
 mised, 4 I have a gem shining from God, so radiant that 
 it kindles the love of God in the hearts of those who 
 possess it.’ The travelling merchant then reads some 
 chapter out of his manuscript of the Gospels”; and most 
 often he left it with the listener. 
 
 It is a mistake to suppose that Peter Waldo was the 
 first founder of the little churches, whose messengers 
 thus went forth. He was called 44 the good merchant of 
 Lyons,” and was himself an earnest inquirer after Divine 
 Truth, who abandoned his merchandise, distributed his 
 wealth to the poor, and desired further instruction. He 
 could not find it from the Papal Church, but he did find 
 it in the Scriptures themselves. 
 
 He was a man of learning: he could read the Latin 
 Bible, which was the only entire version at that time in 
 Europe ; and he began to read and explain it to the poor 
 people who crowded to hear him ; and it is certain that 
 the Christian world is indebted to him for the first 
 translation of parts of the Scriptures into a modem 
 tongue, after the Latin ceased to be a living language. 
 Waldo’s translation, or that which is supposed to have 
 been his, is called u the Provencal or Komaunt version,” 
 which was condemned and forbidden by the council of 
 
118 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 Toulouse, in 1229, because it was written in the tongue 
 of the people. Would you like to see a specimen of this 
 version, so precious to the Waldenses? We shall take it 
 for you from “ The Bible of Every Land,” which is a 
 “ History of the Sacred Scriptures,” as collected from all 
 sources, with specimens of the versions.* If you can read 
 French and Latin, you will be able to make out this Pro- 
 vencal version, for it is nearly allied to both of those 
 languages. “ Lo filh era al comenczament, e lo fdh era 
 enapres Dio, e Dio era lo filh. Aiczo era al comencza- 
 ment enapres Dio.” “ In the beginning was the Word, 
 and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The 
 same was in the beginning with God ” (John 1. 1, 2). 
 
 The Archbishop of Lyons endeavoured to silence and 
 apprehend Peter Waldo; but he escaped, and his disciples 
 followed him. The doctrines of Waldo, after this, spread 
 widely through Europe. He himself retired to Dauphiny. 
 Some of his people joined themselves to the Vaudois of 
 Piedmont, and communicated to them their new transla- 
 tion of parts of the Bible, — a rich addition to the spiritual 
 treasures of that people. 
 
 From a persecution raised by Pope Alexander III., 
 and Philip Augustus of France, Waldo fled to Bohemia, 
 where he died, A. D. 1179. He was a very extraordinary 
 person. He has never yet found a biographer; but he 
 “ turned many to righteousness, and shall shine as the stars 
 for ever and ever.” 
 
 The Waldenses were a most simple and inoffensive 
 people, yet their history has been little else than a series 
 of persecutions, — so long and so bitter, that the records 
 of even pagan cruelty are less horrible than those of papal 
 vengeance. One of their enemies thus describes them in 
 the twelfth century: “ They are clothed,” says he, u in the 
 skins of sheep ; they have no linen ; they inhabit flint-stone 
 huts with mud roofs, in common with their cattle; they 
 
 Samuel Bagster and Sons, Paternoster Row. 
 
THE WALDENSES. 
 
 119 
 
 have, besides, two large caves, set apart, in which they 
 conceal themselves, when hunted down for their heresies. 
 Poor as they are, they are content, and live separate from 
 the rest of mankind. Though outwardly so savage and 
 rude, they can all read and write : you can scarcely find 
 a boy among them who cannot give you an intelligent 
 account of the faith they profess.” 
 
 They never mixed in marriage with the Romanists r ; 
 but so well was their fidelity known, that many Roman- 
 Catholic lords preferred them as nurses for their children, 
 and came far to seek them for that purpose. 
 
 They were more remarkable than any other people on 
 the face of the earth for the large portions of Scripture 
 which they committed to memory. Scripture was their 
 all: and as the Jews treasured the manuscripts of the 
 Old Testament, and carried them everywhere in their 
 wanderings, musing in sullen grief, as they read them, 
 on the ancient glories of their race, often, as in the 
 persecutions in Spain, winding them round their bodies, 
 to part with them only with their lives, — and as the early 
 Christians prized the Gospels and Epistles, gazing with 
 intense affection upon their title therein contained to “ a 
 kingdom yet to come,” — so these Waldenses laid up rich 
 portions alike from the Old and New Testaments in their 
 hearts, so that they could not be taken from them. 
 
 The preparation of their pastors for the ministry (whom 
 they called “ barbes,” the V audois term for “ uncle,” per- 
 haps the more to distinguish them from the “ fathers/' 5 to 
 whom the Romish Church can trace so many of her cor- 
 ruptions) consisted in learning by heart the Gospels of 
 Matthew and John, all the Epistles, and most of the 
 writings of David, Solomon, and the prophets. 
 
 It was reckoned, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, 
 that a fair copy of the Bible, from a convent, would have 
 cost more than sixty pounds of our money, for the writ- 
 ing only; and that a skilful scribe could not complete 
 one in less than ten months : very precious, therefore, was 
 
120 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 every single portion; and as tlieir enemies seized upon 
 and burnt every copy of which tiiey could bear, societies 
 of young persons were formed in the Vaudois valleys, 
 every member of which was trusted to preserve in his 
 memory a certain number of chapters; and when they 
 assembled for worship, which they did with all possible 
 precaution, from great distances, in some hidden moun- 
 tain gorge, these new Levites, standing before the face of 
 the minister, would recite, one after another, the chapters 
 of the priceless Book, for which they often paid the price 
 of blood. Beiner says, that he knew among them a 
 rustic who could repeat the whole of the book of Job by 
 heart, and many who repeated nearly the whole of the 
 New Testament. They frequently put their enemies to 
 shame. A monk who was sent to preach among them to 
 try and convince them of their errors, returned in confu- 
 sion, saying, that he had never in all his life known so 
 much of the Scriptures, as in those few days that be had 
 been holding meetings with the heretics. 
 
 And the children were worthy of their elders. When 
 a number of doctors were sent among them from the 
 Sorbonne, at Paris, one of these owned that he had un- 
 derstood more of the doctrines of salvation from the 
 answers of the little children, in their catechisms, than by 
 all the disputations he had ever heard. 
 
 Bernard says of them, that they “ actually defended 
 their heresies by the words of Christ and his apostles/’ 
 Beneirius, the inquisitor, their bitter enemy, had, alas ! 
 been one of their community for seventeen years, and, 
 afterwards turning against them, well knew how and 
 where to direct his malice; yet even he can witness no- 
 thing worse against them than that “ they instruct those 
 amongst them who are teachable and eloquent, to get by 
 heart the words of the Gospels, adorning their sect with 
 the goodly words of the apostles also, that the doctrines 
 they teach may be accounted sound.” 
 
 Upon this Church of the Book came down, for century 
 
PERSECUTION. 
 
 121 
 
 after century, the heaviest vengeance of the Church of 
 Home, for they rejected all her ordinances, disbelieved all 
 her miracles, and said she was the Babylon described in 
 the Revelation, maintaining also, that we ought to believe 
 that the Holy Scriptures alone contain all things necessary 
 to our salvation . 
 
 On them, therefore, fell the full storm of the anger of 
 Innocent III., who was pope at that time. For the sake 
 of crushing this little church in the mountains, he estab- 
 lished the Inquisition, and proclaimed a crusade against 
 all who held their doctrines, which indeed were rapidly 
 extending. The pure faith, cradled in the Alps, was 
 earned down into the surrounding plains ; multitudes in 
 northern Italy, along the Rhine, through the south of 
 France, and within the borders of Spain, walked by the 
 blessed light of Scripture, working with their hands at 
 the loom also. This was the church that did its duty to 
 the world ; and it was going on peacefully, conquering 
 and to conquer, when Rome perceived her own danger, 
 and summoned all the kings, who laid their swords and 
 treasures at her feet, to engage with her to cut off these 
 people from the earth, and put out their light for ever. 
 
 This, however, was no easy task : above 800,000 of 
 them were scattered over Europe. It took 300 years to 
 burn, to slay, and to destroy them ; and, great as was the 
 slaughter, frightful the tortures inflicted, they lived on ; 
 they are living to this day. The doctrines of the Wal- 
 denses were conveyed from France into England, at the 
 time when the English were masters of Guienne, and 
 were uttered in the thunders of our own Wiclif against 
 the same papal domination. 
 
 The snowy peaks of the Alps have been witnesses to 
 thousands of murders. The people very often suffered for 
 their faith without resistance ; but sometimes, armed with 
 wooden crossbows, the men defended the narrow passes of 
 their valleys, and repulsed their enemies, while the poor 
 women and children on their knees entreated the Lord to 
 
122 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 protect his people and preserve their liberty : and even 
 then their language was, “I will not trust in my bow.” 
 
 Occasionally they defended themselves with such cou- 
 rage and success, that for a little while their persecutors 
 left the country. The people had hitherto only the New 
 Testament, and some books of the Old, translated into the 
 Waldensian tongue, of which we gave you a specimen ; 
 but in 1535 they also participated in the benefits of the 
 Reformation, and possessed themselves of the whole Bible 
 in a printed form. Their universal spirit spoke in the 
 words of their heroic pastor, Geoffry Varaille : “You will 
 sooner want wood wherewith to burn us, than men ready 
 to burn in witness of their faith : from day to day we 
 multiply, and the word of God endureth for ever.” 
 
 Flayed alive, and then crushed with heavy stones, cast 
 down from towers, their flesh shredded with iron whips, 
 and then beaten to death with lighted brands, starved in 
 the prisons, suffocated in vast numbers even in their 
 caves of refuge, mothers and children driven up by 
 hundreds to perish in the upper snows, their flesh cut 
 alive from their bones, their bones broken between iron 
 bars, their infants hurled from the heights, or dashed 
 against the rocks, and their brains eaten by their mur- 
 derers ! “ The tyrants of all past times and ages con- 
 
 trived nothing, in comparison with these persecutions of 
 the Yaudois, that might be called barbarous and in- 
 human.” This was the language of the remonstrance 
 made, we rejoice to say, by the Commonwealth of Eng- 
 land to the Duke of Savoy. 
 
 We must close our sketch of their bitter history with 
 one scene, which took place on the 21st of January, 
 1561, in the valley of Luzerna. The evening before, a 
 proclamation had been published, that within twenty-four 
 hours the inhabitants must decide on going to mass, or 
 be subjected to fire, to sword, to cord, — the pope’s three 
 arguments, — and the inhabitants of two valleys met to 
 consider what should be done. In the midst of the 
 
THE BOHEMIAN CHRISTIANS. 
 
 123 
 
 kneeling people, their ministers pronounced these words : 
 “We here promise, our hands on the Bible, and in the 
 solemn presence of God, to maintain the Bible whole and 
 alone, though it be at the peril of our lives, in order that 
 we may transmit it to our children, pure as we received 
 it from our fathers. And we also promise help to our per- 
 secuted brothers, not relying upon man, but upon God.” 
 The next morning they rushed to the Protestant 
 church, which the papists had filled with images, crosses, 
 and beads, and, like Claude of Turin, threw them into 
 the street, and trampled them under foot. We must not 
 stay to tell of their further baptisms of blood, but merely 
 mention, that 130 years afterwards, when they returned 
 to the valleys from which they had been exiled, they met 
 again on this very spot, the hill of Sibaond, and renewed 
 the same oath to God, and to each other.* 
 
 We do not forget the Bohemian Christians, or the 
 United Brethren ; they too were miserably persecuted. 
 They said truly, that the rack was their breakfast, and 
 the flames their dinner. They were driven out of their 
 villages, and their sick were thrown into the open fields. 
 They hid themselves in thickets and clefts of the rocks, 
 making no fires, except by night, lest the smoke should 
 lead the way to their abodes ; and around those night- 
 fires they read the Scriptures for whole nights together, — 
 “ men of whom the world was not worthy.” 
 
 And we do not forget the Huguenots in France, spring- 
 ing from the same parent stem as the Waldenses, nor the 
 massacre of St. Bartholomew, nor the revocation of the 
 edict of Nantes ; but it is enough : you have seen enough 
 of the martyrs of the valleys, dressed in robes of fire and 
 blood, and we must pass onward and show you their 
 descendants in our own island, — the men who gave us 
 the Bible, — the men of the Reformation. 
 
 * See “ The Israel of the Alps,” by Dr. Muston. 
 
124 
 
 THE BOOH AND ITS STORY, 
 
 i4 Avenge, Oh Lord! thy slaughter’d saints, whose bones 
 Lie scatter’d on the Alpine mountains cold; 
 
 E’en them, who kept thy truth so pure of old, 
 
 When all our fathers worshipp’d stocks and stones, 
 
 Forget not; in thy book record their groans, 
 
 Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold 
 Slain by the bloody Piedmontese, that roll’d 
 Mother with infant down the rocks ; their moans 
 The vales redoubled to the hills, and they 
 To heaven ; their martyr’d blood and ashes sow 
 O’er all the Italian fields, where still doth sway 
 The triple tyrant ; that from these may grow 
 An hundred-fold, who, having learnt thy way, 
 
 Early may fly the Babylonian woe ! ” 
 
 Milton , 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE EARTHQUAKE COUNCIL. — JOHN WICLIF. THE LAW MADE AT 
 
 TOULOUSE. ROMISH REVENGE ON WICLIF. HIS TRANSLATION 
 
 OF THE SCRIPTURES. LOLLARD MARTYRS. SAWTRE. LADY 
 
 JANE BOUGHTON. LORD COBHAM. BLACK-FRIARs’ MONASTERY. 
 
 SITE OF BIBLE-HOUSE. PRINTING. ANGER OF MONKS. USE 
 
 OF MONASTERIES. READING AND WRITING OF THE SCRIPTURES 
 
 AT CLUGNI. TRANSLATIONS PREPARING. — GIFT OF THE VAUDOIS 
 
 CHURCH TO FRANCE. OLIVETAN’s VERSION. DE SACY’s VERSION. 
 
 COLPORTEURS. TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE EXTANT UP TO 
 
 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY. PARTICULARS CONCERNING EACH. 
 
 Oh the 17th of May, in the year 1378, when King 
 Richard II. was but seventeen years of age, being the 
 year after the insurrection of Wat Tyler, a meeting took 
 place at the monastery of the Black-friars, in London, 
 composed of eight bishops, fourteen doctors of law and six 
 of divinity, with fifteen friars and four monks, forming 
 in all a council of forty-seven great men, to consider 
 how they should put down certain opinions which were 
 
MONASTERY OF BLACK-FRIARS. 
 
 125 
 
 hateful to them, and prosecute the people suspected of 
 holding them, one of whom, and indeed their leader, was 
 John Wiclif, a priest, who had been educated at Oxford. 
 He had not only delivered many lectures on the corrup- 
 tions of the Romish Church, to which he belonged, but 
 he had also spent a great part of his life in translating, 
 first the New Testament, and then the Old, out of Latin 
 into English, for the use of the people. He was at this 
 time about fifty-four years of age, and was called “ the 
 Gospel Doctor,” famous for his disputes with the mendi- 
 cant friars. These friars affected to be poor, and, with 
 a wallet on their back, begged with a piteous air both 
 from high and low, but at the same time they had great 
 houses of their own, in which there was much waste, 
 wore at home costly clothes, gave great feasts, and had 
 many jewels and treasures. They would kidnap children 
 from their parents, and shut them up in monasteries. 
 
 It happened, however, just as this great synod at Black- 
 friars began to discuss the four-and-twenty heresies and 
 errors which they had met to consider, the city of London 
 was shaken by an earthquake, when some of the assembled 
 doctors doubted whether the object of their meeting 
 might not be displeasing to Heaven ; but their president, 
 Archbishop Courtenay, declared that it needed an earth- 
 quake of opinion, and a violent struggle to be made by 
 the Roman Church, to remove such teachers as John 
 Wiclif; “ whereat the meeting proceeded, and con- 
 demned all his opinions, declaring that he should cer- 
 tainly not be permitted to preach them any more.” 
 
 He was soon afterwards silenced from preaching in 
 Oxford, which gave him the more leisure for his Bible- 
 work. In a large circle of bishops, doctors, priests, and 
 students, Wiclif raised his noble head, and, turning a 
 look on Archbishop Courtenay, which made him shrink 
 away, uttered these simple, earnest words : “ The truth 
 shall prevail Having thus spoken, he prepared to leave 
 the court; and, like his Divine Master, he passed through 
 
126 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 tlie midst of them, and none ventured to stop him. He 
 then withdrew to his cure at Lutterworth. He finished his 
 translation in 1380, four years before he died, and gave 
 one manuscript of the Old Testament, written on vellum 
 with his own hand, to St. John’s College in Oxford. At 
 this time being ill, four friars and four aldermen, sup- 
 posing him near death, came to his sick chamber, to in- 
 quire if he would recant his opinions. Wiclif beckoned 
 his servants to raise him in his bed, and fixing his eyes 
 on his visiters, exclaimed, “ I shall not die but live ; and 
 shall again declare the evil deeds of the friars ! ” 
 
 Lutterworth Church. 
 
 England, Scotland, and Ireland were at this time 
 covered with monasteries, and filled with friars, who 
 wore robes of black, white, and gray. The mendicant 
 or begging friars, especially, were always gathering up 
 wealth for their church, and binding the people with 
 fresh chains of superstition. Wiclif saw that they tram- 
 pled the Bible under foot, by their overbearing authority, 
 
W1CLIF. 127 
 
 and lie resolved that the people of England should have 
 the Bible, and compare it with the voice of the friars. 
 
 Being a very learned and thoughtful man, he may 
 probably have known for himself, from the page of his- 
 tory gathered from all ages, the fact, that the great in- 
 strument of human improvement was to be found in the 
 circulation of the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue. 
 
 He recovered from his sickness, and completed his 
 work : there is reason to believe that the whole was 
 finished, and many copies transcribed and spread abroad, 
 some time before the reformer’s death, which happened 
 in 1384: and after his death, his doctrines spread so fast, 
 that a writer of that day has angrily recorded, that a man 
 could not meet two people on the road, but one of them 
 was a disciple of John Wiclif; yet these poor followers, 
 in that age of manuscript, could perhaps only copy parts 
 of the precious Book which had been translated for them, 
 which they often did into small volumes, that they might 
 the easier hide them, for the having and reading of which, 
 as in the times of old, people who were detected were burnt 
 to death, witli the little books hanging: round their necks. 
 
 The council of Toulouse, held in 1229, was the first 
 that forbade, in definite form, the reading of the Bible. 
 “ We also forbid the' common people to possess amy of the 
 books of the Old or New Testaments , except perhaps the 
 Psalter , or the Breviary , or the Hours of the Blessed 
 Virgin , which some out of devotion ivish to have ; but having 
 any even of these books translated into the vulgar tongue , 
 ice strictly forbid .” 
 
 iSiow, you know the “Breviary” and the “ Hours of 
 the Blessed Virgin” are not parts of the Bible at all; but 
 this distinction the friars did not wish the .illiterate and 
 blinded people to perceive. They said, that “ alas ! the 
 gospel pearl was cast abroad and trodden under foot of 
 swine, and that the gospel which Christ had given to be 
 kept by the clergy was. now made for ever common to 
 the laity.” 
 
128 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 Until Wielif undertook this task, no one appears to 
 have executed a complete version of the Bible for Eng- 
 land. In spite of all the efforts made to deprive him ot 
 this honour, it remains his own. All the search made by 
 antiquaries establishes the fact. He gave the whole Bible 
 to the people, he gave it without note or comment, and 
 he was the first man that did so. 
 
 Ten years after Wielif s death, a hill was brought 
 into the House of Lords, to forbid the reading of the 
 English Bible. Twenty-four years after his death ( 1408 ), 
 a convocation was held in St. Paul’s to ordain that no 
 book of his should be read, either in public or private, 
 under pain of excommunication ; but it was all in vain. 
 
 Wielif’ s Monument. 
 
 His writings, and especially his translation of the Bible, 
 found their way to all classes, and the latter became from 
 that hour “ the Book of the people.” Forty-four years 
 after his death, according to a decree of the council of 
 Constance, his grave was ransacked for his “ body and 
 bones,” which were burnt, and the ashes cast into the 
 brook Swift, which runs near his church at Lutterworth. 
 This brook conveyed them to the Avon, the Avon into 
 the Severn, the Severn into the narrow seas, they into 
 
WICLIJT. 
 
 129 
 
 the main ocean, and thus the ashes of Wiclif were the 
 emblem of his doctrines, gathered from the Bible, and 
 now dispersed all the world over. 
 
 We have given you a sketch of the monument now 
 erected in his church, the noble old church of St. Mary, 
 
 Wiclif ’s pulpit; the first from which the English Reformation 
 was preached. 
 
 still standing at Lutterworth, and often visited for the 
 reformer’s sake ; and also, through the kindness of its 
 present incumbent, you have the picture of his pulpit, — 
 the first pulpit from which resounded the truths of the 
 Reformation : it is finished within in the rough style of. 
 the time, the wood having been merely cut smooth with 
 the axe. The table at which he wrote, the chair in 
 which he died, and the velvet robe (now in shreds and 
 
130 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 tatters) which, he used to wear, still remain. Nearly 
 300 of his sermons are preserved: they consist chiefly of 
 simple expositions of Scripture, and treat much of the 
 atonement of Christ and the work of the Spirit. 
 
 In Wiclif’s days, the great doctrine proclaimed by 
 the priests of Rome was, that to obtain pardon for sin, 
 penance must be borne: the people were to fast, to go 
 bareheaded, to wear no linen, and to whip themselves. 
 Sometimes twenty persons might be seen in procession, 
 wearing hats with red crosses, and stripped to the waist, 
 the first four lashing themselves as they went along with 
 whips of knotted cord, which drew from them streams 
 of blood. Twice a-day, in St. Paul’s church, did these 
 men fulfil their self-imposed torture; tens of thousands 
 went on pilgrimage to Rome, in pairs, visiting all the 
 churches by the way, and giving money to the priests ; 
 then the priests told them, that if they would give still 
 more money, they might find indulgence from all this 
 hardship : they might have indulgences even for murder, 
 lying, and stealing, if they could pay for them . These 
 indulgences were sold openly in the market-places of the 
 chief cities of Europe. Wiclif preached the doctrine 
 of reformation from all this , in his pulpit , as well as by 
 his works. He was an earnest teacher of the Lutterworth 
 poor. He visited them in their cottages. He was familiar 
 with the home of poverty and the house of mourning. 
 While administering the Lord’s Supper, he was seized 
 with insensibility, fell on the pavement, and died two 
 days afterwards, — 29th December, 1384. 
 
 You perceive he did not die a martyr, although he 
 fully expected and was ready to do so. His followers 
 did, in great numbers. 
 
 William Sawtre was the first man burnt in England 
 for the Reformation’s sake. Pie was a clergyman in 
 London, who openly taught the doctrines of Wiclif, 
 and declared, that “a priest was more bound to preach 
 the word of God, than to patter his prayers at certain 
 
LOLLARD MARTYRS. 
 
 131 
 
 hours”; for which, and other statements, glorying in the 
 cross of Christ, and supported by Divine grace, he was 
 cast into the flames of martyrdom, A.D. 1400. 
 
 There is an account of a martyrdom, in 1410, of John 
 Bradby, one of Wiclif’s followers, who was carried to 
 Smithfield, and there, in a cask, burnt to ashes. At his 
 execution was present Henry V., then Prince of Wales, 
 — the “Prince Henry” of Shakspeare, — who, pitying his 
 sufferings, offered him pardon, if he would recant, and 
 had him taken out of the fire, promising, as he was 
 already lamed, to allow him threepence a-day during life; 
 but the martyr, rejecting the proffer, and refusing to deny 
 his faith, was again thrown into the flames, and his soul 
 ascended thence to heaven. 
 
 The first female martyr in England was Lady Jane 
 Boughton. She was burnt at eighty years of age, “being 
 known to read the Scriptures.” “ Her daughter,” says 
 Southey, “the Lady Young, suffered afterwards the same 
 cruel death with equal constancy.” 
 
 These sufferers were called “Lollards,” and the most 
 famous amongst them was Lord Cobham, in his younger 
 days the gay and giddy favourite of Henry V., but who, 
 becoming acquainted with the Bible, through Wiclif’s 
 translation, “learned to abstain from sin.” This noble 
 soldier made no secret of his opinions. At a great expense 
 he collected, copied, and dispersed the Scriptures among 
 the common people, and even maintained preachers to 
 travel about and declare Wiclif’s doctrines. His life 
 and trials are extremely interesting. He escaped from 
 the Tower of London, by advantage of a dark night, and 
 hid himself among the Black Mountains in South Wales 
 for four years. He was at last taken and roasted to death 
 over a slow fire, in St. Giles’s-fields, in London, now 
 covered with the abodes of poor Irish people, but which 
 was then a thicket where the persecuted Lollards met for 
 worship at the dead of night. 
 
 We must only mention (to induce you to seek out their 
 
132 
 
 THE BOOH AND ITS STORY. 
 
 histories) the names of John Hnss and Jerome of Prague, 
 who suffered on the continent for the same principles, 
 and add a word or two more about the monastery of the 
 Black-friars, where the “earthquake council” was held. 
 This was built in the time of Edward I. and his queen, 
 and comprised a very large territory, near the Old Castle 
 Baynard. They had houses and shops within their bounds. 
 It was surrendered to Henry VIII., in the thirtieth year of 
 his reign, at the time of the suppression of monasteries, and 
 he granted it to private persons for houses and gardens. 
 
 The Black-friars’ church was large, and richly furnished 
 with ornaments. “ Herein,” says Stow, the old chronicler, 
 “divers parliaments and other great meetings have been 
 holden. Parliaments begun at Westminster were adjourned 
 to the Black-friars’. In 1522, the Emperor Charles V. 
 was lodged there: in 1529, Cardinal Campeggio, with 
 Cardinal Wolsey, sate at Black-friars’ to question the king’s 
 marriage with Queen Catherine, before whom the king 
 and queen were also cited to appear.” 
 
 The same year also sat there that parliament by which 
 Cardinal Wolsey himself was condemned. Here too was 
 buried the heart of Queen Eleanor, the foundress. One 
 of the priors was constrained to pave the High-street 
 round about the Channel walls, from the Fleur-de-lis 
 towards the hill at Creed-lane end, as belonging to his 
 demesne ; which particular, and others that might be 
 found in the story of the persecution of these Black-friars 
 by the White-friars, prove the large extent of ground 
 within their liberty. It is very satisfactory to consider, 
 that, 475 years after those friars and doctors held their 
 council to cut off the doctrines of Wiclif from the earth, 
 and to declare that he should not circulate the Bible, — 
 those men being all dead, and their monastery and its 
 cloisters entirely swept away, — there is standing in its 
 stead, within their precincts and boundaries, in Earl- 
 street, Blackfriars, the house of the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society, which now holds its 
 
PKINTING. 
 
 133 
 
 Jubilee, and renders joyful praise to God, who has 
 caused it to spread, directly and indirectly, in the last 
 fifty years, forty-six millions of copies of that precious 
 word of God, and to give rise and assistance to some 
 thousands of similar societies, both at home and abroad ! 
 
 Wiclif “ rests from his labours, and his works do 
 follow him.” His old version is very curious : u Therefore 
 whanne Jhesus was borun in Bethleem of Juda, in the 
 dayes of king Eroude: lo astronomy ens camen fro the eest 
 to Jerusalem and seiden, where is he that is borun king 
 of Jewis? for we han seen his sterre in the eest; and we 
 comen for to worsehipe hym” (Matt. 2. 1, 2). 
 
 When Wiclif made his translation, he could not fore- 
 see the wonderful invention which, occurring seventy 
 years after his death, would in the present times enable 
 the Bible Society to print the whole Bible, and sell it for 
 less than one shilling ! 
 
 In his time, the price of a Bible, fairly written in 
 manuscript, with a commentary, was not less than thirty 
 pounds, — a most enormous sum, for it would have more 
 than built two arches of London-bridge, and no working- 
 man could ever have attained it, with his pay of three- 
 halfpence a-day, unless, indeed, he had been fifteen years 
 in working for it. 
 
 Yet still Wiclif ’s version spread widely, even in ma- 
 nuscript, in distinct portions, throughout England. The 
 art of printing was invented by John Gutenburg, at May- 
 ence on the Rhine, in whose mind the idea had been 
 secretly working for twenty years ; but, being very poor, 
 he was obliged to confide his secret to Faust, a goldsmith 
 of that place, who agreed to find the money necessary to 
 make types and presses. 
 
 In 1450, the first book in the world was printed, and 
 it is believed that that book was a Bible. 
 
 But it was a Bible in Latin: it was called “ the Mazarin 
 Bible.” It was beautifully printed; and when offered for 
 sale, not a human being except the artists themselves 
 
134 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 could tell how the work had been done. It was in two 
 volumes, and only eighteen copies of it are known to 
 exist, — four on vellum, and fourteen on paper. In 1827, 
 one of the vellum copies sold for five hundred pounds. 
 
 These were the Bibles which were said to have caused 
 Faust to have been suspected, in Paris, where he sold 
 several of them, as a practiser of magic, which obliged 
 him to reveal his secret. 
 
 When the Bible had been thus first printed in Latin , 
 it was soon followed by other translations. In 1488, the 
 Old Testament was printed in Hebreiv , the original lan- 
 guage in which God had caused it to be written; and 
 thirty years after that time, the New Testament also was 
 printed in its original language, Greek , by the learned 
 Erasmus, of Rotterdam, who, while he was raised up of 
 God, as the most accomplished scholar of his time, to 
 perform this particular work, would not (as he says) 
 have ventured upon it, had he foreseen the “ horrible 
 tempest” of conflicting opinions that its publication would 
 raise. 
 
 It was thus treated by the papal party: some of the 
 monks were so ignorant as to preach from their pulpits, 
 
 4 4 that there was now a new language discovered, called 
 Greek, and another new language, called Hebrew, and 
 that people must beware of them, since these languages 
 produced all the heresies.” A vicar of Croydon, in Sur- 
 rey, in a sermon which he preached at Paul’s-cross about 
 this time, declared, “ We must certainly root out printing, 
 or printing will root out us v ; in which conclusion the 
 friar was tolerably right, in more ways than one. 
 
 Printing did at once interfere with the most innocent 
 and praiseworthy occupation of those who spent their 
 lives in convents, — transcription of the Bible and other 
 works, which was also a great source of gain to the 
 writers. As much reference has been made to the cor- 
 ruptions of the system of which monkery formed a part, 
 it is but just to point out to you what had been, through 
 
THE MONKS OF CLXJGNI. 
 
 135 
 
 all the dark ages, the real use of convents, with regard to 
 the preservation of the Scriptures. 
 
 There had lived, in the year 927, a noble Frank, named 
 Odo, who became abbot of Clugni, in Burgundy, and who 
 was a reformer in his way; that is, he introduced among 
 monks in general more rigid discipline. His convent and 
 its rules became so famous, that many other convents 
 followed the same. Hugh, another abbot of Clugni, 
 had 10,000 monks under his superintendence. They set 
 out well, by saying, that the most perfect rule of life is 
 contained in the Old and New Testaments; and though 
 they invented a great variety of forms, and placed heavy 
 burdens on men’s shoulders, which the word of God had 
 not ordered them to bear, still their rule enjoined the 
 assiduous study of the Bible. The monks who could read 
 well were appointed in their turn as the readers at meals. 
 They read the writings of the fathers alternately with the 
 Bible. The winter evenings at Clugni were really spent 
 in listening to large portions of the word of God. The 
 book of Genesis, in the long winter nights, was read 
 through in a week ; Isaiah, in six evenings ; and the 
 Epistle to the Romans, at two sittings. The monks la- 
 boured with their hands, as by the rule of Iona ; and 
 great care was taken that, during the reading, no one 
 should be overcome of sleep. The reader sat in an elevated 
 place, and the hearers on benches ranged along the wall; 
 and as there was no light except where the reader sat, one 
 of the monks was appointed to walk round with a wooden 
 lantern, open only at one side, to perceive if any brother 
 had fallen asleep. If any one was asleep, nothing was 
 said, but the lantern was set down with the light towards 
 his face to awaken him, and directly he awoke, he knew 
 he was to take the place of the lantern-bearer, and make 
 the round till he found another monk asleep. 
 
 “ Every monk was expected to know the book of 
 Psalms by heart, and some rules required the learning of 
 the New Testament. The number of psalms required to 
 
136 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 be repeated daily, was 138; but at Clugni, fourteen were 
 taken away, on account of weak brethren.” * 
 
 These proceedings are really so like those that were 
 customary at Iona, that they cause us to look back once 
 more to the records of the ancient British Church, among 
 which we find the following: “ Before Columba died, his 
 chief seminary, Iona, was in such a state, that he was 
 able to speak with confidence of its future fame. His 
 disciples supported its credit for many ages, and supplied 
 not only their own but other nations with learned and 
 pious teachers.” “ From this nest of Columba,” says 
 Odo-nellus, “ these sacred doves took their flight to all 
 quarters. Wherever they went, they carried learning 
 and true religion, and seem to have done much towards 
 the revival of both when at the lowest ebb.” 
 
 Next to the reading, we would thankfully notice the 
 writing, of the Scriptures, which was carried on in the 
 convents, through the dark ages. In most of them, a 
 room, called “the Scriptorium,” was set apart for the 
 purpose. A manuscript of the eighth century contains a 
 prayer used at the consecration of such an apartment, that 
 what was written there might take good effect. 
 
 Sometimes the monks wrote in separate cells, made 
 round the calefactory, which was a contrivance for dis- 
 tributing heat to all. In the monastery of Tournay, in 
 France, a dozen young men might be seen in such cells 
 writing in perfect silence; for silence was enjoined in the 
 Scriptorium, in order to secure accuracy as well as 
 despatch. Many nuns were remarkable for the legible 
 and beautiful character in which they wrote. One 
 Diemudis wrote and ornamented ten missals, besides 
 copying two Bibles and many writings of the fathers. 
 Often this labour cost them the early loss of eye-sight. 
 Perhaps, during a lifetime, the result of this industry 
 might be forty or fifty folio books. 
 
 * u Essays on the Dark Ages, ” by Maitland. 
 
olxvetan t s version. 
 
 137 
 
 It Is deeply interesting to look upon these quiet sources of 
 the world’s literature, whereby the darkness of its night was 
 interspersed with many stars, till the dawning of the day in 
 which arose THE PRINTING PRESS, — the tongue of 
 nations, the terror of tyrants, — and then the full day in 
 which THE BIBLE SOCIETY employs this mighty in- 
 strumentality to utter to all lands the written voice of God, 
 
 If we look at the first five -and- twenty years of the six- 
 teenth century, Lefevre in France, Zuinglius in Switzer- 
 land, Luther in Germany, and Tyndal in England, appear 
 before the world. They were all living at this time in 
 their respective countries, Lefevre being by far the oldest 
 of the four. They were all engaged in the same work, 
 independently of each other, — the translation of the Scrip- 
 tures into different languages, each being evidently pre- 
 pared of God as the instrument for the purpose ; for God’s 
 hour was come, and his holy word, which had been 1600 
 years in writing (from the time of Moses till the close of 
 the fife of John), and then for 1300 years made known 
 only sparingly, as copied by hand-labour, manuscript from 
 manuscript, was now to be made accessible to all, and was 
 to have free course, and prevail. 
 
 We must return for a moment to the Yaudois Church, 
 which had hitherto possessed parts of the sacred volume, 
 translated by Peter Waldo, and from time immemorial 
 the manuscript Romaunt version. In 1523, Lefevre com- 
 pleted his first translation of the four Gospels ; and some 
 of the Yaudois Christians, in the midst of their own deep 
 troubles and persecutions, having some years previously 
 visited the Christian Churches of France, and having seen 
 that the copies of the Old and New Testaments in the 
 tongue of the people, written by hand , were extremely 
 scarce, and that moreover the translation hitherto made 
 needed much revision and improvement, they invited 
 Robert Olivetan to translate the Bible according to the 
 Hebrew and Greek languages, revised by the Romaunt ver- 
 
138 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOBY. 
 
 sion, into tiie French tongue. This being accomplished, 
 the Yaudois Churches collected among themselves the 
 enormous sum of 1500 golden crowns ; and forming them- 
 selves into a kind of Yaudois and Foreign Bible Society, 
 they had the new translation printed in Gothic characters, 
 at the press of Peter de Wingle, at Neufchatel, in Switzer- 
 land, and caused numbers of copies to be circulated in 
 France, at a greatly reduced price, among those poor 
 French Christians whom persecution had then previously 
 despoiled and ruined. 
 
 It is this very version of the Bible, translated by Eobert 
 Olivetan, and afterwards revised by Calvin, his relative, by 
 the pastors of Geneva, by Martin, and by Ostervald, which 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society is still unceasingly 
 endeavouring to render more and more popular in France. 
 
 But there is another French translation of the Bible, 
 which appeared 130 years later, and which was an event 
 as memorable as the one to which we have just referred. 
 
 It was made in the year 1666, by Le Maistre de Sacy, 
 the director of the monastery of Port Eoyal des Champs. 
 The version of Eobert Olivetan, even though perfected 
 by successive revisions made up to the time of Ostervald, 
 as coming from a Protestant, was never widely circulated 
 among Eoman Catholics. 
 
 But in the providence of God, it was ordered, that 
 from the bosom of the Eoman Church itself, from a sec- 
 tion of her members who had made the nearest approaches 
 to the truth, and who were called “ Jansenists,” certain 
 men were raised, up in an especial manner qualified for 
 the translation of his word. 
 
 At the head of these was he who gave his name to the 
 translation, Le Maistre de Sacy, who first put his hand to 
 this, noble work, during his three years’ imprisonment, on 
 a charge of heresy, in the prison of the Bastile. It is 
 very remarkable that Luther, the reformer of Germany 
 (of whom more must be said presently), commenced his 
 translation of the Scriptures in the prison of the "Wartburg. 
 
BE SACY’S VEESION. 
 
 139 
 
 This employment made De Sacy happy in a cell of the 
 Bastile. “ How happy,” said he, “ I am in being here ! 
 God shows me that He wishes me to be here.” 
 
 When De Sacy came out of prison, he finished the 
 entire translation of the Bible into French, with his pious 
 fellow-labourers ; and whilst they were carrying forward 
 this great work, it is very interesting to know what was 
 also passing in the convent of Port Royal. 
 
 The nuns, animated by a spirit not hitherto very usual 
 among nuns, had divided themselves into groups, and in 
 the same manner that sentinels relieve each other at night, 
 in order to maintain a strict watch over a town, they had 
 established a course of unceasing prayer. When one group 
 had finished, another immediately came to occupy its place. 
 Kneeling down, they offered fervent prayers to the Lord, 
 beseeching Him to pour down on the translators of his 
 word, the spirit of wisdom, light, and understanding, that 
 none other than a holy and pure translation of the inspired 
 volume — in fact, one like the original text itself — might 
 issue from their pens. 
 
 As soon as the version was ready, the good men who 
 had been engaged in it took care to have it published, 
 with the Greek and Latin text by its side, that all who 
 were able might judge at once of the scrupulous fidelity 
 of their translation. 
 
 They dispatched from Paris a large number of colpor- 
 teurs who spread themselves over every province of the 
 kingdom, being commissioned to sell the copies at cost 
 price , and even, according to circumstances, at reduced 
 prices. This act of the friends of the word of God was 
 supported by voluntary donations and subscriptions. 
 
 The version of Robert Olivetan, also, which, you will 
 take notice, was printed 130 years earlier than that of De 
 Sacy, was spread abroad in the same manner : indeed, 
 it is to the appearance of that Bible that the origin of 
 Bible colportage must be attributed, — a work which you 
 will understand, we hope, when you have read the third 
 
140 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 portion of our Story. These colporteurs were then called 
 “ portes paniers,” or “ porteurs de livres,” and followed 
 in the train of those poor merchants, whom we described 
 to you as travelling among the Vaudois, distributing 
 secretly “ the gem shining from God,” in manuscript. 
 
 Before we approach that, to us, most interesting subject — - 
 the full translation and printing of our own English version, 
 which was to have so vast an influence on the whole world 
 — we must inquire what languages had sprung from the five- 
 great roots of translation during the period between the 
 first and sixteenth centuries after Christ. By the end of 
 the first century, the Scriptures were written in — 
 Hebrew, Syriac, 
 
 Chaldee, Latin. 
 
 Greek, 
 
 By the end of the sixteenth, translations of large portions, 
 if not of the whole, of the Old and New Testaments had 
 been made in — 
 
 Coptic, for Egypt, in the third century. 
 
 * Gothic, for the Goths, in the fourth .century. 
 
 Persic, for the Persians, in the fourth century. 
 
 Ethiopic, for Abyssinia, in the fourth century. 
 
 Ancient Armenian, in the fifth century. 
 
 Syro-Chaldaic, for the Nestorians, in the sixth century. 
 
 Arabic, for Arabia, in the seventh century. 
 
 Georgian, for Iberia, in the eighth century. 
 
 * Sclavonic, for Sclavonia, in the ninth century. 
 
 * Vaudois, for the Waldenses, in the twelfth century. 
 
 * Erse, for the Irish, in the thirteenth century. 
 
 * Polish, for Poland, in the fourteenth century. 
 
 * English, by Wiclif, in the fourteenth century. 
 
 * Icelandic, for Iceland, in the sixteenth century. 
 
 Seven of these versions (marked *) you perceive were for 
 Europe, five for Asia, and two for Africa ; and some 
 interesting circumstance, that you would like to remem- 
 ber, attaches to all of them. 
 
PARTICULARS OF VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS. 141 
 
 Wherever the Bible was thus translated into the lan- 
 guage of the people , reformation ensued, and churches 
 were founded, the greater number of which remain to this 
 day, and are now experiencing revival from the free circu- 
 lation of the Divine word which at first gave them birth. 
 
 We have not much space for detail, but we must give 
 you some information concerning each version. 
 
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 ph 
 
 ch, sc 
 
 ps 
 
 0 
 
 f 
 
 
 K x 
 
 66 
 
 0)0 
 
 Z Q 
 
 b h 
 
 Tf 
 
 
 
 S 
 
 sk, sc 
 
 sch 
 
 h 
 
 hh 
 
 ti 
 
 
 The Coptic Alphabet. 
 
 This was once the spoken language of Egypt, but is 
 now changed for the Arabic. The Copts are descended 
 from the ancient Egyptians, mixed with other races. In 
 this language one of the earliest and most faithful versions 
 existed, translated from the Septuagint, and it has been the 
 means of keeping alive the form, if not the spirit, of Chris- 
 tianity, during 1500 years, among a persecuted people, 
 surrounded by Mahomedan oppressors. Mr. Kruse, the 
 present missionary at Cairo, relates the remark of a native 
 Copt : “We want a man to rise up from among our own 
 people, like your Luther, bold enough to stand fast in 
 the faith, and to reform our church.” We shall say more 
 about the Copts in connection with the Bible Society. 
 
142 
 
 THE BOOK AKD ITS STORY. 
 
 THE GOTHIC. 
 
 ^ B r & a U X tl <j> 11 K A 
 
 abgdeqzhth i kl 
 
 HH^nn^STY} 5 ®^ 
 
 m a j u p r s tv, y f w o 
 
 The Gothic Alphabet. 
 
 This version was made for the people who came from 
 Scandinavia, down to Prussia and East Germany, and the 
 coast of the Black Sea, and who, in 409, took and pillaged 
 Rome, under Alaric. It was completed by Ulphilas, one 
 of their bishops, a man of good conduct and of great mind, 
 whose own holy life recommended his doctrines. It was 
 a proverb among the Goths, 44 Whatever Ulphilas does, is 
 well done.” The most important manuscript of the Go- 
 thic version was discovered in Westphalia, where it had 
 lain several centuries. It has been taken and retaken in 
 war, many times since, and is now to be seen in the 
 library at Upsal, preserved in a glass box, which not even 
 an emperor might open, for it is a treasure so much 
 coveted, that it has lost all its leaves except 160. It is 
 called 44 the Codex Argenteus,” the silver book; and its 
 silver letters, with occasionally a verse of gold, are 
 inscribed on violet vellum, while its binding is of em- 
 bossed silver, in this kind of character — 
 
 AM HIM 
 
 It has been thought that the characters are not written, 
 but stamped or impressed as by the old process of letter- 
 ing the back of a book, i . e., laying gold-leaf over some 
 mixture, like white of egg, on the vellum, and then im- 
 pressing the letters with a heated stamp, and afterwards 
 wiping off the surplus gold. 
 
PARTICULARS OP VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS. 143 
 
 THE PERSIC. 
 
 ^ « 
 
 1 ' ~ ^ w ~ o o 5 i > * ; ‘ 
 
 8jS,i,o,u b p t s, th dsch tsch. h’ ch d ds r z 
 
 U~~' U~^ U* J* ^ ^ £, & ^ U ^ 
 
 s set S3 t3 t s a, i, o, u gb. f k, q kj, k 
 
 J ‘ c })» a (J 
 
 1 m n \r,u h,t j, i 
 
 The Persian Alphabet. 
 
 The primitive alphabet of the Persians seems to have 
 been arrow-headed, like the Nineveh characters, but the 
 alphabet now used is the Arabic. Chrysostom speaks of 
 the Persian version as having originated with the Christian. 
 
 op 
 
 Elamites, who returned to Persia after the day of Pente- 
 cost. 
 
 THE ANCIENT ARMENIAN, 
 
 l" 5 ua 
 
 fV 
 
 
 T? 
 
 1?* 
 
 o v 
 
 1;* 
 
 tjL 
 
 a 
 
 p 
 
 k 
 
 t 
 
 je 
 
 s 
 
 e 
 
 e 
 
 fap- 
 
 ib^ bp 
 
 1 JL 
 
 }u (u 
 
 \y xSr 
 
 H* 
 
 
 th 
 
 <h 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 [ch 
 
 ds 
 
 g 
 
 h 
 
 
 *ljL 
 
 7<* 
 
 1 T‘ r 
 
 <r> 
 
 
 C2. 
 
 ft" 
 
 z 
 
 gb 
 
 dsch 
 
 xn 
 
 i’j j 
 
 n 
 
 sch 
 
 no 
 
 Ul 
 
 < ! ! 'H 
 
 
 0'"- 
 
 IP 
 
 H ;L 
 
 8 1 " 
 
 IV 
 
 tsh 
 
 b 
 
 dsh 
 
 rh 
 
 s 
 
 Y? 
 
 d 
 
 r 
 
 
 3 s 
 
 i- 
 
 <1> •[• 
 
 
 ()° 
 
 il> $ 
 
 
 
 tz 
 
 u, ▼ 
 
 P 
 
 k 
 
 0 
 
 t 
 
 
 The Armenian Alphabet. 
 
 This is a very old and faithful translation, and is called 
 
144 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 the “ queen of versions,” on account of its exactness and 
 eloquent simplicity. 
 
 THE ETHIOPIC, OR GHEEZ. 
 
 iia la ha ma sa ra sa ka ba tha cha ua a ka 
 
 (DOHP^?maaexT 
 
 vra a za ja da ga ta pa tza za fa pa 
 
 The Ethiopic, or Gheez, Alphabet. 
 
 The Ethiopic was once the common dialect of Abyssinia, 
 but is now supplanted by the Amharic. We have men- 
 tioned this translation in the account of the early Abys- 
 sinian Church. 
 
 SYKO-CHALRAIC. 
 
 +l£\*p 2ocrf\+Qjoh*2 
 
 2 goj op;o 
 
 *lofSt AAA 
 
 \ ♦ 
 
 John 1. 1. 
 
 This is the version which existed in the interesting 
 Nestorian Church, among the dwellers in the mountains 
 of Assyria. Several ancient manuscripts of the Gospels 
 have been brought to Europe in this character, which 
 the Bible Society have printed. Up to the year 1826, 
 these people had no 'printed Scriptures: they said, “We 
 have heard that the English are able to write a thousand 
 copies in one day ; would they not write for us several 
 thousand copies and send them to us? We become wild, 
 like Kurds, for we have so few copies of the Bible.” The 
 desire of this simple people has already been fulfilled. 
 
PARTICULARS OF VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS. 145 
 
 ARABIC. 
 
 II ^ O ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ J j j ur* 
 
 a, e,i,o 3 u b t s, th dscii h’ ch d d3 r z s 
 
 t_r* u® <J° ^ ^ o J 
 
 sch 83 z, dh t z *a, ’o, ’u gh f k kj, k Eg 1 
 
 (* ^ j J 4 c$ 
 
 m n w, u li, t j, i 
 
 The Arabic Alphabet. 
 
 The Arabic is the tongue not only of Arabia, but Syria, 
 Persia, Tartary, part of India and China, half of Africa, and 
 all the sea-coast of the Mediterranean and Turkey. This 
 version is said to have been made during the lifetime of 
 Mahomet, which may account for the knowledge of the 
 Scripture he displays in his Koran, mixed with such 
 fables as “ Adam being several miles long when he laid 
 himself down.” Long indeed has been the reign of the 
 false prophet. His fables have hidden the true revela- 
 tion for many ages from his benighted followers ; but the 
 Arabic version is now going forth, no more in the rare 
 form of manuscript, but easy to be carried and read 
 wherever Arabic is spoken ; and it is said the sons of 
 Kedar willingly buy and read the word of God. 
 
 THE GEORGIAN, OR IBERIAN. 
 
 abgdewsktkik 1 mu 
 
 * o p sh r st u wi ph k gh 
 
 q sch tseh t 3 da z dseh kh kkh dab. h 
 
 The Georgian, or Iberian, Alphabet 
 
146 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 The version in this language would have been very 
 precious to the learned had it not become corrupted. The 
 women of Georgia are noted for the zeal with which they 
 devote themselves to the acquisition of religious knowledge. 
 
 THE SCLAVONIAN. 
 
 HU S s' Sg FpJlV j\j\ 6 g 2K Ss 3s 
 
 a 
 
 b w, v 
 
 b d 
 
 
 e sb (z) 
 
 
 s 
 
 Mh 
 
 Hh IT 
 
 K k A a M 
 
 AIK 
 
 Hh 0 0 
 
 II n 
 
 Pp 
 
 i 
 
 j i 
 
 k i n 
 
 1 
 
 n 0 
 
 P 
 
 r 
 
 Gc 
 
 t t oy 
 
 9 0 ^ 
 
 X 
 
 X Q w 
 
 1*4 
 
 Mm 
 
 s 
 
 t 
 
 u f 
 
 cl 
 
 L Ot 
 
 z (c) 
 
 tscb 
 
 ill 
 
 111 IP L{J 
 
 Ti a M m 
 
 fj k 
 
 
 6 
 
 K)k> 
 
 scb 
 
 l scbtseb 
 
 (mute) j 
 
 (soft) 
 
 jo 
 
 
 
 
 M a fa a 
 
 Qw Oo 
 
 a 
 
 Ur 4" 0 & 
 
 , v 
 
 
 
 ja 
 
 0 (soft) 
 
 psi fch 
 
 V 
 
 
 The Sclavonic Alphabet. 
 
 This tongue was in use among the Servians and Mora- 
 vians. The Bible was translated by two Greek monks, 
 Cyrilles and Methodius, in the ninth century, and these 
 were the founders of the Moravian Church, afterwards 
 sheltered by Count Zindendorf. 
 
 Of the Vaudois you have heard already. Of the 
 Polish there is little to say at present, except that it 
 was made for Queen Sophia, who is said to have pos- 
 sessed the whole Bible in that language. 
 
 THE ERSE, OR IRISH. 
 
 Cl a 5b Cc X) t> e e pp 5 5 hh 1 1 51 TO m 
 
 abcdefgbilm 
 
 L3n Oo pp XI p -Sp Uc Uu 4 n ]p 
 
 a o p r s t n ar nn rr 
 
 The Erse, or Irish, Alphabet. 
 
1.47 
 
 ERSE, OR IRISH, TRANSLATION. 
 
 The Erse was once the tongue of literature and science. 
 It is believed that the Scriptures were translated into Irish 
 very soon after the introduction of Christianity ; and the 
 Venerable Bede informs us, that in his time, “ the Scrip- 
 tures were read in five dialects of Great Britain, by the 
 Angles, Britons, Scots, Piets, and Latins” ; and though the 
 Erse version may possibly have died out during the in- 
 terval, it appeared again in the age immediately before 
 that of Wiclif, when a New Testament in Irish is stated 
 to have been in the possession of a bishop of Armagh, 
 who is supposed to have himself translated it. He left a 
 memoir of himself, in which he declares “ how the Lord 
 taught him, and brought him out of the net of heathen 
 philosophy, to the study of the Scriptures of God.” 
 
 Although he was remarkable for the boldness with 
 which he opposed the corruptions of the Church of 
 Borne, yet he was compelled by the troubles of the times 
 to conceal his New Testament. He deposited the pre- 
 cious volume inside one of the walls of his church, and 
 wrote the following note on the last leaf: “ "When this 
 book is found, truth will be revealed to the world, or 
 Christ will shortly appear.” One hundred and seventy 
 years after his death, that is to say, about the year 1530, 
 the church of Armagh was repaired, and the manuscript 
 discovered, at the very time in which Tyndal’s New 
 Testaments began to spread through Britain, in the 
 tongue of the people ; and so truth was revealed, as in- 
 deed it had never been before. 
 
148 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TYKDAL, ERASMUS. TONSTALL. MORE. WOLSEY. SEARCH 
 
 EOR TESTAMENTS IN LONDON, OXFORD, AND CAMBRIDGE. SCENES 
 
 in st. paue’s cathedral, and at Paul’s cross. — deaths of 
 
 TYNDAL AND OF WOLSEY. DESCRIPTION OF FRONTISPIECE, WITH 
 
 MARTYRDOM OF ANN ASKEW. LUTHER. LIST OF LANGUAGES 
 
 BEFORE 1804. SUMMING UP OF THE NARRATIVE. 
 
 THE PRINTED ENGLISH BIBLE. 
 
 And who was William Tyndal, — the man who gave to 
 
 England its greatest 
 treasure — the printed 
 
 English Bible ? 
 
 There is a book call- 
 ed “ Anderson’s Annals 
 of the English Bible,” 
 which contains the life 
 of Tyndal. It was a life 
 devoted entirely to this 
 great object. From his 
 youth, he felt he had 
 this one thing to do , — 
 to translate the word 
 of God into his native 
 tongue, and print it. 
 He did so, and was 
 martyred for its sake. 
 tyndal. He was born in 1484 , 
 
 100 years after Wiclif died, and about a year after the 
 birth of Luther, and also of Zuingle. He passed his 
 
TYNDAL. 
 
 149 
 
 youth in the midst of monks and friars, and was sent 
 early to Oxford, where he made great progress, especially 
 in languages. 
 
 Now, Oxford was the city in which the New Testament, 
 just published in Greek by Erasmus, met with its warmest 
 welcome, and William Tyndal read it, — first only as a 
 work of learning, but soon he found it to be something 
 more. That Book spoke to him of God, of Christ, and 
 of being born again, till it completely subdued him. He 
 felt that he had in his hand the Divine Bevelation, and 
 that he could not keep the treasure to himself. He there- 
 fore read these Greek and Latin Gospels with many of his 
 fellow-students, at Oxford. He then went to Cambridge, 
 and, forming new friendships, became, it is said, “ well 
 ripened in God’s word.” 
 
 There were two young men at Cambridge, who had 
 also been reading this Greek New Testament, — Thomas 
 Bilney and J ohn F nth , — both afterwards martyrs. When 
 Tyndal joined them, they gained fresh courage, and be- 
 gan to address to all around them that saying of Christ’s, 
 “ Repent, and be converted:” “ Christ Jesus came into 
 the world to save sinners.” 
 
 Bilney and Tyndal left Cambridge in 1519. The friars 
 had not then finished their persecution of the Lollards ; 
 and that same year, Thomas Man, one of their number, 
 who had preached to the conversion of many persons, 
 under the great oaks of Windsor Forest, was burnt alive 
 for his doctrine, as well as Dame Hawkins, the mother 
 of several little children, for having in her possession a 
 parchment, on which were written the Lord’s Prayer,' the 
 Apostles’ Creed, and the Ten Commandments, in English . 
 
 But of what avail was it to silence those obscure lips, 
 while the New Testament of Erasmus could speak? And 
 God so ordered it, that Erasmus was a favourite with 
 Henry VIII., King of England, who whispered in the 
 ear of a bishop very wroth with the Greek Testament, and 
 at the same time ignorant enough to declare that Paul’s 
 
150 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Epistles had been written in Hebrew, 44 The beetle must 
 not attack the eagle” ; so that even preaching in St. Paul’s 
 cathedral against the book was, as is said, 44 of no avail.” 
 
 Erasmus was so highly esteemed, that he was called 
 64 the king of the schools.” What he had given to the 
 learned, Tyndal was about to bestow upon the people. 
 When he was between thirty and forty years of age, he 
 was engaged as tutor and chaplain in the house of Sir 
 John Walsh, a knight of Gloucestershire, and at his table 
 he met with many of the neighbouring priests, at whose 
 ignorance he was deeply grieved. He exhorted them also 
 to read the Scriptures, keeping, it is said, Erasmus’s New 
 Testament always within reach, to prove what he ad- 
 vanced. The priests disliked to see that book appear, 
 and said it only served to make heretics, adding, 44 Why 
 even we don’t understand God’s word, as you call it ; and 
 how should the vulgar understand it ? It is a conjuring 
 book, wherein everybody finds what he wants.” 44 Ah!” 
 said Tyndal, 44 you read it without Jesus Christ ; that is 
 why it is obscure to you.” 44 Nothing is obscure to us,” 
 said another priest ; 44 we only can explain the Scriptures.” 
 44 No,” said Tyndal; 44 you hide them, you burn those 
 who teach them, and, if you could, you would burn the 
 Scriptures themselves.” 
 
 This kind of talk is said to have induced the priests 
 rather to give up Squire Walsh’s good cheer, at Sodbury 
 Hall, than encounter 44 the sour sauce” of Master Tyndal’s 
 company. 
 
 They soon declared themselves his open enemies; and 
 if he preached, they threatened to expel from the church 
 those who listened to him. 44 Oh!” said Tyndal ; 4 4 while 
 I am sowing in one place, they ravage the field I have 
 just left. I cannot be everywhere. If Christians had the 
 Scriptures in their own tongue, they could themselves 
 withstand these sophists: without the Bible it is impos- 
 sible to establish the laity in the truth.” 
 
 He went on arguing with all whom he met, in favour 
 
TYNDAL. 
 
 151 
 
 of translating the Scriptures, till one day a popish doctor, 
 angry with the strength of his arguments, said: “ Well : 
 we had better be without God’s laws than the pope’s.” 
 This fired the spirit of Tyndal, and he answered, with 
 righteous indignation, “I defy the pope and all his laws ; 
 v and if God give me life, ere many years the ploughboys 
 shall know more of the Scriptures than you do.” 
 
 He henceforth passed the greater part of his time in the 
 library, and avoided these conversations. He prayed, he 
 read, and carried on his translation, and seems to have 
 read it, as he proceeded, to Sir John and Lady Walsh, 
 who were determined to protect him. He soon, however, 
 left them for the sake of their safety, and proceeded to 
 London, to seek another retreat, where he might follow 
 out his work. 
 
 He found a quiet room in the house of Humphrey 
 Monmouth, a pious and benevolent alderman, near Temple 
 Bar, and dwelt with him six months, “ studying most part 
 of the day and night at his book.” Humphrey Monmouth 
 was afterwards sent to the Tower, on a charge of having 
 aided Tyndal; but he thus justified himself: “When 
 I heard my Lord of London preach at Paul’s-cross, that 
 Sir William Tyndal had translated the New Testament 
 into English, and that it was naughtily translated, that 
 was the first time that ever I suspected or knew any evil 
 of him .” The worthy citizen was soon set free. It seems 
 ne afterwards contributed largely to the printing of the 
 New Testament. 
 
 Tyndal began to fear lest the stake should interrupt his 
 labour. “Alas!” he exclaimed; “is there then no place 
 where I can translate the Bible? It is not the bishop’s 
 house alone that is closed upon me, but all England!” 
 There lay at that moment, in the river Thames, a vessel 
 loading for Hamburg: Humphrey Monmouth gave him 
 ten pounds for his voyage; and, carrying with him only 
 lis New Testament, he went on board. “ Our priests 
 lave buried the Testament of God,” said he ; “ and all 
 
152 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 their study is to keep it down, that it rise not again; but 
 the hour of the Lord is come, and nothing can hinder 
 the word of God, as nothing could hinder Jesus Christ of 
 old from issuing from the tomb.” 
 
 “ That poor man, then sailing towards Germany, was 
 to send back, even from the banks of the Elbe, the eternal 
 gospel to his countrymen.” 
 
 He left England in 1523, and never returned to it. 
 Humphrey Monmouth and other kind friends supplied 
 his simple wants while sitting down to his work in a 
 foreign land. 
 
 He had now entered with great vigour on the two most 
 important years of his life. He seems to have printed 
 first, the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, and in 1524 he 
 sent them to his friend Monmouth, and then removed to 
 Cologne. Being again disturbed, in the midst of printing 
 tbe whole New Testament, he gathered up the ten already 
 printed sheets, and fled to Worms, where he finished it. 
 It crossed the sea to England in 1526, 
 
 Cochloeus, that enemy who had desired to strangle it 
 in its birth at Cologne, wrote home to King Henry and 
 the bishops, to watch closely all the ports against the 
 entrance of “the pernicious book”; while the Bishop of 
 London, having gained possession of one of the copies, 
 took care to tell the people, in case they met with such a 
 book, that he had found in it upwards of 2000 errors and 
 heresies. Moreover, he at once entered into a secret 
 speculation to buy it up through a merchant named 
 Packington, saying, “Gentle Master Packington, do youi 
 diligence and get them, and I will pay for them what- 
 soever they cost you ; for the books are naughty, and I 
 intend surely to destroy them all, and to burn them at 
 Paul’s-cross.” 
 
 So you see the Roman Church burnt men, and bones 
 and books , but all to no purpose. William Tyndal, under 
 standing this purpose of Bishop Tonstall, sold him th 
 books, saying, “ I shall gette moneye of him for thesl 
 
JOHN TYNDAL. SIR THOMAS MORE. 153 
 
 bokes to bryng myself out of debt, and the whole world 
 shall cry out, at the brunninge of God’s worde, and the 
 'Overplus of the moneye that shall remain to me shall 
 make me more studious, to correct againe, and newly to 
 imprint the same.” And so forward went the bargain : the 
 bishop had the books; Packington had the thanks; and 
 Tyndal had the money; and afterwards more New Testa- 
 ments came thick and threefold into England. 
 
 The more these New Testaments were suppressed, the 
 greater was the desire of men to possess them, and to 
 -examine their contents, and this in spite of punishment. 
 The sentence on John Tyndal, a merchant of London, 
 and brother to William, by Sir Thomas More, was, “that 
 he should be set upon a horse with his face to the tail, 
 and have a paper pinned upon his head, and many sheets 
 of New Testaments sewn to his cloak, to be afterwards 
 thrown into a great fire kindled in Cheapside, and then 
 pay to the king a fine which should ruin him.” 
 
 What would the citizens of London think now, if they 
 -saw one of its wealthy and honourable merchants thus 
 treated for having a New Testament in his possession? 
 
 Tyndal’s own words about the persecution raised were, 
 — “In brunninge the New Testament, they did none 
 other thing than I looked for: no more shall they do, if' 
 they brunne me also, if it be God’s will that it shall be so. 
 I purpose, with God’s help, to maintain unto the death, 
 if need be ; and therefore, all Christian men and women, 
 tpraye that the worde of God may he unhounde and runne 
 to and fro among his people : Amen.” 
 
 The great Lord Chancellor More published seven large 
 volumes against Tyndal. He held the error of the an- 
 cient Pharisees, that the Bible did not contain the 
 whole revealed wdll of God, but that the traditions of the 
 church are of as great authority; and he said that Satan 
 had marked both Luther and Tyndal with an “H” in 
 the forehead, for denying it, “with a faire hotte irone, 
 fetched out of the flames of hell.” These are the very 
 
154 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 words of the friend of Erasmus, — the learned, witty, and 
 eloquent Sir Thomas More. Tyndal only answered him, 
 that the written word of God contains all his revealed 
 will, perfect as its Divine Author; and that “if any man 
 add to it, or take away from it, God shall take away his 
 part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and 
 from the things that are written in the book.” 
 
 The clergy, delighted with More, their champion, 
 pressed upon him the acceptance of five thousand pounds. 
 He was a noble-minded man, and refused to accept a 
 penny of it ; and he seems to have foreseen that the 
 “New Learning,” as he called it, would eventually pre- 
 vail. He himself chose a violent death rather than deny 
 his conscience concerning King Henry’s second marriage ; 
 and, in reviewing his life in comparison with Tyndal’s, 
 one cannot but discern so much that is similarly great in 
 their characters, that, had their souls been truly and in- 
 timately known to each other, we are ready to believe 
 they would have been united in the bonds of the highest 
 friendship, and that when More gave up to his “ dear 
 daughter Margaret,” on her visiting him in prison, the 
 knotted whip with which he had chastised himself from 
 his youth, and the hair shirt he had worn constantly to 
 aggravate the stripes, he had (enlightened by the reading 
 of the forbidden New Testament) seen the way to heaven 
 clear, through Christ alone, and renounced his faith in 
 penance and self-torture. If so, he must have had much 
 to forgive himself with regard to Tyndal and many 
 others.* 
 
 In the year 1527, great rains having fallen at the seed- 
 time, bread became extremely dear, and it was necessary 
 to import corn. The merchants who did this, brought 
 with them also 500 copies of Tyndal’s New Testament, 
 secretly, which was the fourth edition that reached Eng- 
 
 * Sir Thomas More was beheaded on the 6th of July, 1535, the 
 year before the martyrdom of Tyndal. 
 
THOMAS GARRETT. — ANTHONY DALABER. 155 
 
 land. Wolsey, the prime minister, became aware that 
 many were earnestly reading them, and resolved to make 
 search suddenly, and at one time, in London, Oxford, 
 and Cambridge. 
 
 In London he found that a certain Thomas Garrett, 
 curate of All- Hallows, in Honey-lane, Cheapside, was a 
 receiver and distributer of these New Testaments, and 
 that he had even then gone down to Oxford to make sale 
 of them there. He was soon seized, and in the safe 
 keeping of his enemies. Let us, meanwhile, look into 
 the chamber from which he had gone forth, in Oxford, 
 and see there Anthony Dalaber, one of the students 
 devotedly attached to him. 
 
 “When he was gone forth down the stairs from my 
 chamber,” says Dalaber, “I shut the door, and went into 
 my study, and took the New Testament in my hands, 
 kneeled down upon my knees, and with many a bitter 
 sigh and salt tear, I read over the 10th chapter of Mat- 
 thew’s Gospel (in which Christ tells his early disciples of 
 all they would have to suffer for his sake). And when 
 I had so done, with fervent prayer I did commit to God 
 that dearly-beloved brother Garrett, and prayed also that 
 he would endue that tender and lately-born little flock in 
 Oxford, with all godly patience, to bear Christ’s heavy 
 cross, which I now saw was presently to be laid upon 
 their young and weak backs, — unable to bear so huge a 
 burden, without the great help of his Holy Spirit. This 
 done, I laid aside my book safe” 
 
 This Garrett and this Dalaber were made to carry a 
 faggot, in open procession, from St. Mary’s to Cardinal 
 College, and compelled to cast their books into the large 
 fire which had been kindled at the meeting of four ways 
 to consume them. They were then imprisoned in Osney 
 Isle. The crown of martyrdom awaited Garrett, but not 
 for sixteen years afterwards. He and Dr. Barnes were 
 consumed in the same flames, in 1540. 
 
 , Eighteen young men besides these were captured in the 
 
156 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 secret search for New Testaments at Oxford: among them 
 was Frith, the especial friend of Tyndal. He appears, 
 like his friend, to have availed himself of the advantages 
 of both universities. The prohibited books had been 
 found under the flooring of their rooms; and, as a punish- 
 ment, they were all immured in a deep cell under Car- 
 dinal College, the common keeping-place for their salt 
 fish, — a noisome dungeon, where the air and the food to- 
 gether proved fatal to four of them. The rest were kept 
 in this miserable abode from the beginning of March till 
 the middle of August, eating nothing but salt fish : the 
 names of those who died were Clarke, Sumner, Bailey, 
 and Goodman : their record is in heaven ! And we may 
 believe that it was given them, according to Anthony 
 Dalaber’s prayer, “ quietly with all godly patience to bear 
 Christ’s heavy cross, by the great help of his Holy Spirit, 
 and to receive from Him their crown.” 
 
 Now, let us see what were the fruits of the search at 
 Cambridge. You remember Thomas Bilney, who, ten 
 years before, had been reading, with Tyndal, Erasmus’s 
 Greek Testament. He had been the means of the con- 
 version of Hugh, afterwards Bishop Latimer, and Dr. 
 Barnes ; for it is a very remarkable feature belonging to 
 the love of the word of God, that neither a man nor a 
 child can love it alone . He who has tasted a pure foun- 
 tain, — he who has looked upon a land of promise, must 
 say to others, “Come and see it.” 
 
 No one ever loved the Bible, and suffered from read- 
 ing it, but he caused some one or more besides himself 
 to love it, and suffer for it too. It was long before the 
 persecutors perceived, that the more men they persecuted, 
 and the more books they burned, the greater torch they 
 kindled in England. In these modern times, even 
 papists, if enlightened, see with their champion, Dr. 
 Geddes, that “burning suspicious books is the readiest 
 way to make more of them, as persecuting for any kind 
 of religion is the surest means of spreading it.” 
 
OLD ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL. 
 
 157 
 
 The sergeant-at-arms arrived at Cambridge to make 
 search for English New Testaments. “ God be praised,” 
 says Foxe, “ the books were conveyed away from the 
 thirty suspected rooms.” He found therefore no books , 
 but carried off to London Dr. Barnes, who had greatly 
 offended the Cardinal Wolsey by speaking against his 
 golden shoes and scarlet gloves. 
 
 He was made to bear a faggot at St. Paul’s-cross, and, 
 for the time, was so far compelled, by fear and bad 
 advisers, as to abjure what he had said, rather than burn, 
 though he was burnt, as you have been told, sixteen years 
 afterwards. 
 
 Shall we try and fancy St. Paul’s and its neighbour- 
 hood at the era of the Reformation ? We must shut our 
 
 Old St. Paul’s Cathedral. 
 
 eyes, and bid the present mighty dome vanish away„ 
 There is a Gothic cathedral in its place, whose bold and- 
 
158 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 elegant spire seems to pierce the sky. It is worthily 
 called “ a famous building,” and arose in the middle 
 of the twelfth century, over the ruins of a still older 
 church, which had been burnt in the first year of King 
 Stephen, at a time when boys stole apples out of the 
 orchards in Paternoster-row and Ivy-lane. 
 
 This original church had been built, by Ethelbert, in 
 610, again on the ruins of a temple raised to Diana, in 
 the time of the Romans, whose funeral urns have been 
 found in the churchyard ; so that we seem scarcely able 
 to go back to the time when there was not a temple raised 
 for worship, pagan or Christian, on this spot. 
 
 The St. Paul’s of the Reformation looked down, as 
 now, from the top of Ludgate-hill, upon the smaller 
 churches, and on the rich convents within the city’s 
 bounds, — on St. Bartholomew’s, in Smithfield ; on the 
 Grey-friars, in Newgate-street ; on the Black-friars, the 
 White-friars, the Austin-friars, and the Crutched-friars, 
 from whose monasteries issued the men in sad-coloured 
 robes, who might be seen in every street mingling with 
 the gayer multitude. 
 
 People were accustomed in those days to meet in St. 
 Paul’s cathedral to transact their business. The sergeant- 
 at-law, in his scarlet robe, white furred hood and coif on 
 his head, gave his advices to his clients there. Each 
 sergeant had his pillar in St. Paul’s, and made his notes 
 upon his knee ; and the old church was often the scene 
 of most riotous conflict. 
 
 This it also was when Bishop Courtenay had cited 
 Wiclif to defend himself in this cathedral, which was 
 densely crowded by the people. Lord Percy and John 
 of Gaunt could scarcely secure an avenue of entrance for 
 the reformer : these were his avowed friends, and Courte- 
 nay began to quarrel with them. Wiclif was a silent 
 spectator, John of Gaunt claiming for him a seat, Courte- 
 nay saying, he should not sit there, — “ each party so ex- 
 celling,” says the quaint old John Foxe, “in bawling 
 
SCENE IN ST. PAUL’S CATHEDRAL. 159 
 
 and railing, threatening and menacing, that, without 
 doing anything, the council was broken up before nine 
 of the clock.” 
 
 We must show you another scene in St. Paul’s. On 
 Sunday, the 11th of February, 1526, there was to be 
 seen, Fisher, bishop of Rochester, in the pulpit, set to 
 preach against Luther and Dr. Barnes, and there sat 
 Wolsey, in all his glory, on a scaffold at the top of the 
 stairs, among abbots and priors, and mitred bishops, in 
 gowns of satin and damask, and Wolsey in his robes of 
 purple, with his golden shoes and scarlet gloves, — all 
 beneath a canopy of cloth of gold. 
 
 Before the pulpit, within the rails, stood great baskets 
 full of books, — the books gathered up from the search in 
 London, Oxford, and Cambridge, — ready to be burnt in 
 the great fire before the crucifix, at the north gate of 
 St. Paul’s. 
 
 After the sermon, the heretics were to go three times 
 round the blazing" fire, with a faggot on their backs, and 
 were to cast in the books. Thus Testament after Testa- 
 ment was consumed, angels and men looking on at the 
 deed. Burnet, the historian, says: “ This burning had a 
 hateful appearance in it; and the people thence concluded 
 that their church and those books taught different things, 
 whereby their desire of reading the Sew Testament was 
 increased.” 
 
 This was a day to which Wolsey had looked forward 
 for three years. The preacher, Fisher, announced to the 
 people how many days of pardon and indulgence were 
 accorded to all those who were present at that sermon, 
 and afterwards the cardinal and all the bishops went 
 home to dinner. 
 
 Yet, on that very spot where stood the celebrated 
 Paul’s-cross, on the north side of the cathedral, is situated 
 at this moment the Depository of the Religious Tract 
 Society, whence, after an interval of somewhat more than 
 300 years, the writings of Wiclif, Tyndal, and Luther, 
 
St. Paul's Cross. 
 
 Half a century since, that Society could only afford to 
 rent one side of a shop, and on the other side were sold 
 china and earthenware; but, by degrees, the “ little one 
 has become a thousand,” under the Divine blessing ; and 
 you who have seen, or may see, its fine premises, at 65, St. 
 PaulVchurchyard, inclusive of eight houses once oc- 
 
 160 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 with many others to which they have given birth, go 
 forth throughout all the world. 
 
OLD ST. PAUL S CKOSS. 
 
 161 
 
 cupied by the monks of St. Paul’s, may call up in your 
 minds this picture of Wolsey in ermine and purple, once 
 dooming the Scriptures and Tracts to the flames, where, in 
 this Jubilee Year of the Bible Society, the Primate of all 
 England has considered it his privilege to advocate the 
 “sowing beside all waters” of the seed of Divine truth. 
 
 From the cathedral pulpit of our capital city, he has 
 borne his testimony that 44 God’s word is truth,” and 
 fitted to the dispersion of all 44 vain traditions,” and has 
 not hesitated to say of those who devised a scheme for its 
 general circulation, that 4 4 it was well that it was in their 
 heart,” and that their exertions have his heartiest sym- 
 pathy. May the word from his lips have free course and 
 prevail ! * 
 
 On the 4th of May, 1530, another scene of burning 
 Bibles also took place under Wolsey’s eye. He had 
 begun to burn Luther’s books, at Paul’s-cross, in 1521. 
 Three burnings, therefore, were witnessed on this spot, 
 which has been well called 44 the Thermopylae of the 
 Reformation.” 
 
 But the people still went on reading the words of life. 
 Here the reformers preached Christ and his gospel. 
 Multitudes gathered round the rude old rostrum, in seats 
 or standing, while even the king and his court, the lord 
 mayor and dignified citizens, had their covered galleries, 
 in which to listen. When it was stormy, the crowd 
 sheltered under what were called the shrouds of the 
 'cathedral. 
 
 The churchyard was then much larger than at present. 
 It was bounded by a wall which ran along Ave-Maria- 
 lane, Carter-lane, and Creed-lane. Within was a spacious 
 grass-plot, and on the north side of the church stood 
 the famous cross, 44 built to put passengers in mind to 
 pray for the souls of the people interred in that church- 
 
 * See the Archbishop of Canterbury’s sermon at St. Paul’s, on the 
 occasion of the J ubilee of the British and Foreign Bible Society. 
 
162 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 yard.”* This cross was destroyed, in 1643, in conse- 
 quence of a vote of Parliament. 
 
 To return to the last days of Tyndal. He was made 
 aware, in some way, of the storm that was raging in 
 England, and went on the more earnestly with his trans- 
 lation of the Old Testament from the Hebrew. He was 
 now favoured with the company and assistance of his 
 dear Christian friend, John Frith, who was to him what 
 Timothy was to Paul of old. They were settled at Ant- 
 werp, and Tyndal was chaplain to the English merchants 
 there ; yet his abode was a hidden, and probably a chang- 
 ing one, on account of his enemies. One to whom we 
 are all so deeply indebted, was living in painful and 
 perilous hiding-places, afflicted with cold, hunger, and 
 every privation, in addition to the hindrances continually 
 thrown in his way, to the prosecution of his work. 
 
 Yet a heavenly atmosphere so appeared to surround 
 him, that the messengers sent by King Henry VIII. to 
 entrap and bring him to England, could not talk with 
 him, without being ready to be converted to his senti- 
 ments. When the last successful plot against his life was 
 laid, the persons who executed it were obliged to bring 
 with them officers from Brussels, for they could not trust 
 those at Antwerp, where Tyndal was so much beloved. 
 He was not aware of his betrayers, and was thrown into 
 prison at Vilvoord, a village near Brussels, where he 
 remained two years, and whence he wrote his beautiful 
 letters to his friend Frith, who was martyred in Smith- 
 field. Part of his work also in the prison was that edition 
 of the New Testament which he had promised to give to 
 the ploughboys of Gloucestershire. 
 
 It was on Friday, the 6th day of October, in the year 
 1536, that Tyndal was led forth to be put to death. He 
 was fastened to the stake, crying out with a loud voice, 
 
 Lord, open the King of England’s eyes ! ” and was then 
 
 * Pennant’s “ London . 1 
 
wolsey’s eying words. 
 
 163 
 
 immediately strangled, and his body consumed to ashes. 
 Mr. Offor says, that he appears to have been sacrificed in 
 spite of the most earnest efforts of all the friends of truth 
 and liberty. 
 
 Let us contrast for a moment the death of Wolsey, six 
 years before that of Tyndal, on the 29th of November, 
 1530 : he expired with the language of a persecutor on 
 his lips. After the well-known words, “ Had I but 
 served God as diligently as I have served my king, He 
 would not have given me over in my gray hairs,” he 
 said, “ Commend me to his royal majesty, and request 
 him, in God’s name, that he be on the watch to depress 
 this new sect of Lutherans, from whose mischief God in 
 his mercy defend us ! ” And with these words, his eyes 
 being set in his head, his sight failed him, and his spirit 
 passed into another world, to give account of the things 
 he had done in this. 
 
 He had indeed been clothed in purple and scarlet, he 
 had had the highest nobles for his household servants, his 
 steward and treasurer had waited on him in white robes, 
 and his master-cook in damask satin, as they did in kings’ 
 palaces. He had been for twenty years the favourite of 
 all the princes in Europe ; but he died in disgrace, in 
 Leicester abbey, and his very tomb there is unknown. 
 In 1787, as a labourer was digging potatoes upon the 
 spot where the high altar of this abbey is supposed to 
 have stood, he found a human skull, with the bones all 
 perfect : it was conjectured at the time that this might 
 be the skull of Wolsey; — of Wolsey! — who burned the 
 Bible ! It is a fact to be noticed, that he thus died in 
 disgrace, in the year 1530, the year of its third and great 
 burning at Paul’s Cross.* 
 
 The dying voice of the martyr Tyndal had scarcely 
 been uttered, before his prayer was answered, and the 
 eyes of the King of England were opened so far, that he 
 
 * See “ London in the Olden Time.” 
 
164 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 ordered that the Bible should be placed in every church, 
 for the free use of the people : but his caprice did not 
 allow this permission to last long. 
 
 The scene depicted in the Frontispiece % of this Jubilee 
 Book took place in the crypt of St. Paul’s church, four 
 years after Tyndal’s death. 
 
 The Bible chained to a pillar is very large. It was-' 
 called the “ Great Bible,” and was a revisal of Tyndai’s 
 translation, made by Coverdale, and printed at Paris. 
 
 The reader’s name is Porter: he was chosen as reader,* 
 because he could read well and had an audible voice. 
 So many listened to him, that he was brought before 
 Bonner, and accused of making tumults. Bonner sent 
 him to Newgate, where, for teaching his fellow-prisoners 
 what he had learned in the Scripture, he was laid in 
 the lower dungeon of all, fastened by his neck to the 
 wall, and was so oppressed with bolts and irons, that in 
 eight days, this tall, strong young man was found dead. 
 
 The most conspicuous among the listeners in the pic- 
 ture is Humphrey Monmouth, Tyndal’s friend, of whom 
 we have previously spoken. Behind him is seated Ann 
 Askew, her head leaning on her hand ; her child in her 
 servant’s arms is by her side. 
 
 She had been turned out of doors by her husband, a 
 furious zealot of the “ Old Learning,” for studying the 
 Scriptures. She was a beautiful and an educated woman, 
 and her history is most touching. You see she is here 
 listening earnestly to the reading of the Book for which 
 she suffered martyrdom. 
 
 * This beautiful picture was painted by George Harvey, R.S.A., 
 and has been exquisitely engraved by Robert Graves, A.R.A. It 
 has been reduced by that prince of engravers, the Sun, through the 
 wonderful art of Photography, and is now used by the kind per- 
 mission of the proprietors. The original large engraving, which is 
 richly worth the purchase, is to be had of Messrs. Graves and Co., 
 6, Pall Mall, London. 
 
MARTYRDOM OF ANN ASKEW. 
 
 165 
 
 Six years afterwards, she was called before Bonner, 
 who examined her for five hours, and then, without judge 
 or jury, told her she should be burnt. “ I have searched 
 all the Scriptures,” said she, “yet could I never find 
 that either Christ or his apostles put any creature to 
 death.” 
 
 Before this hasty condemnation, she had been nearly 
 starved in the prison, where she was kept for eleven days, 
 what sustenance she got, being, as she says, “ through 
 means of her maid, who, as she went along the streets 
 with the child, made moan to the prentices, and they 
 by her did send money; but who they were I never 
 knew.” 
 
 Then, strange to say, after the passing of this sentence, 
 with unheard-of cruelty she was racked, to make her 
 discover other persons of her sect. You shall have the 
 history of her sufferings from her own lips. 
 
 “ Then they did put me on the rack, because I con- 
 fessed no ladies or gentlemen to be of my opinion, and 
 thereon .they kept me for a long time ; and because I lav 
 still and did not cry, my Lord Chancellor Wriothesley 
 and Mr. Rich took pains /to rack me with their own 
 hands till I was well-nigh dead ; then the lieutenant, Sir 
 Anthony Knevett, caused me to be loosed, and I swooned, 
 and then they recovered me again. After that, I sat two 
 Jong hours, reasoning with my lord chancellor, on the 
 bare floor, where he with many flattering words persuaded 
 me to alter my opinion ; then was I brought to a house 
 and laid on a bed, with as weary and painful bones as 
 ever had patient Job.” 
 
 Three days afterwards this tragedy came to an end, 
 The burning, like those of Nero, was deferred till night- 
 iall. Then was Smithfield bright with torch-light. On a 
 bench elevated above the crowd sat that man Wriothesley 
 and his grace of Norfolk (who, in the picture, is standing 
 resting on his sword, behind Ann Askew’s chair), and 
 beside them sat Bowes, the lord mayor. 
 
166 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 To the spot, Ann (her bones being all dislocated) re- 
 quired to be carried in a chair, and there she was joined 
 on the gloomy pile by three fellow-sufferers, — the last 
 group of martyrs in the reign of Henry VIII., the mis- 
 called father of our Reformation. 
 
 Wriothesley then presented to Ann the king’s pardon, 
 if she would recant. “ I came not hither,” said she, 
 “ to deny my Lord and Master.” Then were the flames 
 kindled, and the spirits of the martyrs ascended to 
 heaven ! 
 
 [The other three martyrs are, in the picture, standing 
 near the Duke of Norfolk. John Adams, the first, is 
 leaning with his back to the pillar; John Lascelles, the 
 second, and one of the king’s household, is earnestly 
 listening to the reading of Porter ; and Belenians, the 
 third, is a little behind Adams. 
 
 Behind Ann Askew’s chair stands the wife of a London 
 citizen, apparently listening with deep attention. An 
 aged man is led in, leaning on the arm of his daughter, 
 whose little boy bears a chair for his grandfather. A 
 blind beggar, in the foreground, has also crept in to hear 
 the reading. 
 
 On the right, in the shadowy part of the picture, 
 Bonner is the most conspicuous, accompanied by his 
 archdeacon, and Drs. Hugh Weston and Storey. The 
 bishop looks vexed at this public reading, and a monk 
 near him aids him in the resolve to put it down. 
 
 On the left, wearing a long beard, is Gardiner, bishop 
 of Winchester, and Lord Cromwell, who had promoted 
 this reading: beside them stand Miles Coverdale and 
 Richard Grafton.] 
 
 While all this was passing in England, there had been 
 born in an obscure village in Saxony, a remarkable man, 
 named Martin Luther. He was born November 10th, 
 1483, about 100 years after the death of Wiclif. It is not 
 
LUTHER. 
 
 167 
 
 necessary for us to enter into the detail of his history, for 
 the simple reason that it is already so well known. Who 
 has not heard of Martin Luther ? — the child brought up 
 
 in poverty and hard- 
 ship, singingChristmas 
 carols for a morsel of 
 bread, afterwards the 
 studious young monk 
 in the library of Er- 
 furth monastery, por- 
 ing over the Latin Bi- 
 ble, then newly print- 
 ed, and “ finding there 
 much more than he 
 had ever seen in his 
 missal,” and still, years 
 after, resorting to the 
 chained Bible in the 
 church of his convent, 
 and, while he learned 
 irTiEE. portions of it by heart, 
 
 resolving that he would unchain it for the world. 
 
 If you do not know the history of this great German 
 reformer, you must seek to know it. The whole reading- 
 time of your future lives might be well occupied in filling 
 up this mere outline of the Story of the Book, which 
 cannot even name the names, much less give definite 
 sketches of the lives, of all the men of the Book. 
 
 It is enough to tell you now, that Luther was raised up 
 by God, on the continent of Europe, in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, to struggle manfully with that great Roman system, 
 of which you have so long been reading. He was a man 
 of mighty mind, and of much prayer, who cast off gra- 
 dually the worst superstitions of his order, and at last, as 
 has been beautifully said, by the author of “ Universal 
 History on Scriptural Principles,” rushed like a torrent 
 from the mountains, through the channels of the water- 
 
168 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 courses of the Divine word (stopped up for ages by Satan 
 and foolish men), and carried away with his force those 
 blocks and barriers, so that ever since, that word has had 
 free course, and prevailed. 
 
 This was a mighty deed for mortal man ! It was not 
 accomplished in his own strength. We again advise you 
 to see how he performed it, during his life of sixty-three 
 years. 
 
 Notwithstanding all his aggressions on the papacy (for 
 he even burnt its bulls, or decrees), he died in peace in 
 his native town, in 1546, the year of the martyrdom of 
 Ann Askew. 
 
 With regard to the 300 years which have elapsed since 
 this memorable era, they will come into review, more or 
 less, in the history of the Bible and the Bible Society for 
 the last fifty years. 
 
 The newly Reformed Church in all lands, with its 
 printed Bible in its hand, had its many martyrs. It also 
 needed to be purified by suffering; but “the king who 
 cast into prison, or gave to the flames, men like Hitton, 
 Bennet, Patmore, Bayfield, Bilney, and Frith, should 
 never have been called 1 the father of the Deformation in 
 England.’ He was its executioner.” And he was worthy 
 to be the father of a queen like Mary, who thought to 
 quench in blood, once more, the dawning light of Divine 
 truth. But it was unquenchable. 
 
 Between the years 1380 and 1804, that is, between 
 Wiclif’s first English version of the Scriptures, in manu- 
 script, and the establishment of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society, the Scriptures were not only translated 
 but printed in the ancient languages which were the 
 roots of all the others : 
 
 1. In Latin, printed at Mayence, in 1462. 
 
 2. In Hebrew,, printed at Brescia, in 1488. 
 
 3. In Greek, the New Testament of Erasmus, in 1516. 
 
 4. In Syriac, the Peshito version, in 1552 
 
VERSIONS PREVIOUS TO 1804. 
 
 169 
 
 These were chiefly combined in Polyglot Bibles for the 
 learned. The whole Bible was also printed, in the fol- 
 lowing European versions: 
 
 1. Bohemian, by the United Brethren, in 1488. 
 
 2. Belgic, or Flemish, in 1518. 
 
 3. French, by Le Fevre, in 1530. 
 
 4. German, by Luther, in 1530. 
 
 5. English, by Tyndal and Coverdale, in 1535. 
 
 6. Swedish, by Laurentius, in 1541. 
 
 7. Danish, ordered by King Christian III., in 1550. 
 
 8. Polish, or Old Cracow Bible, in 1561. 
 
 9. Spanish, by De Reyna, in 1569. 
 
 10. Sclavonic, ordered by the Duke of Ostrog, in 
 
 1581. 
 
 11. Carniolan, by Dalmatin, in 1584. 
 
 12. Icelandic, or Norse, in 1584. 
 
 13. Welsh, by Dr. Morgan, in 1588. 
 
 14. Hungarian, by Pastor Caroli, in 1589. 
 
 15. Dutch, in the year of* the plague at Leyden, in 
 
 1637. 
 
 16. Italian, by Diodati, in 1641. 
 
 17. Wallachian, or Moldavian, in 1668. 
 
 18. Romanese, in 1679. 
 
 19. Irish, by Bishop Bedell, in 1686. 
 
 20. Livonian, or Lettish, by Ernest Gluck, in 1689. 
 
 21. Esthonian, by Fisher, in 1689. 
 
 22. Gaelic, in Roman characters, in 1690. 
 
 23. Wendish, or Lusatian, by four Lutheran pastors, 
 
 in 1728. 
 
 24. Reval-Esthonian, at the expense Count Zinzen- 
 
 dorf, in 1739. 
 
 25. Portuguese, in 1751. 
 
 26. Manks, for the Isle of Man, by the Society for 
 
 Promoting Christian Knowledge, in 1767. 
 
 The New Testament or parts of the Scriptures had 
 also been translated or printed in — 
 
 27. Servian, in 1493; 
 
170 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 28. Russian, by Skorina, in 1525; 
 
 29. Finnish, by the Bishop of Abo, in 1548; 
 
 30. Judeo- Spanish, in 1553; 
 
 31. French Basque, at the expense of the Queen of 
 
 Navarre, in 1571 ; 
 
 32. Lapponese, in 1755; 
 
 comprising thirty-two versions for Europe, in the com- 
 mon tongue, and four for the learned world. 
 
 The New Testament had been printed — 
 
 FOR AFRICA. 
 
 1. In Coptic, im 1716. 
 
 2. In Sahidic (one-third of the New Testament), in 1799. 
 
 FOR AMERICA. 
 
 1. In New-England-Indian (the whole Bible), by Eliot, 
 
 in 1663. 
 
 2. For the Mohawks (a small portion), in 1769. 
 
 3 . For Greenland (the New Testament), by Han3 
 
 Egede and Fabricius, in 1799. 
 
 FOR ASIA. 
 
 1. In Turkish-Tartar, by an Englishman, in 1666. 
 
 2. Karaite-Tartar, date unknown. 
 
 3. In Arabic (whole Bible), in 1700. 
 
 4 . In Tamil, by Schultze, in 1724. 
 
 5. In Malayan (whole Bible), by Leidekker, in 1733. 
 
 6. In Cingalese (the four Gospels), in 1739. 
 
 7 . In Calmuc (various portions), in 1750. 
 
 8. In Hindustani, by Schultze, in 1758. 
 
 9. In Bengalee, in 1801. 
 
 In ancient languages .... 4 
 
 For Europe 32 
 
 For Africa 2 
 
 For America 3 
 
 For Asia . . 9 
 
 Total • . 50 
 
VERSIONS PREVIOUS TO 1804. 171 
 
 — completing the number of fifty different languages, in 
 which the Archbishop of Canterbury said, in his sermon 
 at St.PauTs, “ the Society at its establishment found ex- 
 isting versions.” We thought you would like to know 
 what these versions were, and have abstracted the list of 
 them for you, from that most valuable work of Messrs. 
 Bagster and Sons, “ The Bible of Every Land,” in which 
 may be found a mass of that kind of information, concern- 
 ing the spread of God’s word, which even “ the angels 
 might desire to look into,” and which has never, in one 
 view, been presented to the world before. 
 
 This list may possibly seem to you to contain mere 
 names of books and men, but to those who could cast the 
 eye of their minds over the most interesting histories 
 which hang upon each line of it, it would appear, as it 
 is, a record which will assuredly be thought worthy of 
 remembrance even in the world to come. 
 
 Some of the versions have been already noticed. The 
 Dutch, at Leyden, was the work of twenty-eight transla- 
 tors, who always met and entered upon their task with 
 prayer. Six hours were daily devoted to it, while the 
 plague was raging round them. Not one was attacked 
 by the disease, yet not one long survived the completion 
 of the sacred volume. They were all men of great learn- 
 ing, and many declared that they had never before laboured 
 as they did at the translation of the Bible. 
 
 In Turkish- Tartary, the missionaries while at work had 
 to contend with all the inclemency of the weather-; and 
 often, from the incursions of the robbers, were obliged to 
 bury their types. 
 
 The meetings for the translation of the Malayan version 
 were always begun with prayer and concluded with thanks- 
 giving, and every difference of opinion reconsidered in 
 solitude, with the greatest care. 
 
 The history of the Tamil version is extremely inte- 
 resting. This language is spoken in Southern India, by 
 more than six millions of people. It was begun by the 
 
172 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOEY. 
 
 Danisli missionary, Ziegenbalg, who died at thirty-six, in 
 the midst of his earnest labours ; also by the indefatigable 
 Schultze, a missionary from the Society in England for 
 Promoting Christian Knowledge. He devoted to this 
 translation six hours a-day, amid the heats of India ; and 
 the result of the first distribution of that Bible was such, 
 that when the Bible Society arose, the ten or twelve 
 thousand Protestant Christians were clamorous for more, 
 saying to Dr. Buchanan, “ We do not want bread or 
 money from you, but we want the word of God.” 
 
 Then the New-England- Indian, translated by the 
 English missionary, J ohn Eliot, who had first, with the 
 assistance of the native Mohicans, to create the language, 
 without any aid from books, and executed a translation 
 of the entire Scriptures ! “ The secret of his success is 
 
 made known in a few lines which are inscribed at the 
 close of his ‘Grammar of the New England Language,’ 
 published in 1666 — ‘ Prayers and pains, through faith in 
 Christ Jesus, will accomplish anything.’ ” 
 
 But although, when the Society was first established, 
 the translations of the Bible, in whole or in part, may 
 have been about fifty, and it was considered that about 
 four millions of Bibles had been circulated in the world 
 since the invention of printing, you must consider what 
 is meant by the words “four millions.” Think first 
 of a hundred Bibles ; then of ten hundred, or a thou- 
 sand; then of a thousand thousand; then of four times 
 that. It seems a great many. It takes a very long while 
 to count a million, straight-forward. But then you have 
 also to think of the number of people in the world, — 
 not four thousand thousand, but ten hundred thousand 
 thousand! And what are 4 to 1000? 
 
 These four millions of Bibles were in circulation from 
 various sources. Some say there must have been more than 
 four millions. There were some societies, both in England 
 and in foreign countries, which arose in the eighteenth 
 century, among the separate sections of the Christian 
 
REVIEW OF THE NARRATIVE. 
 
 173 
 
 Church, having in view missions to the heathen and the 
 local diffusion of the word of God, and their efforts, 
 made separately from each other, had done much. It 
 now remained for their united efforts to do more ; and 
 the only object in which they could all unite was, the 
 circulation throughout the world of the sacred Book, 
 without note or comment. How this idea of union for 
 that word’s sake arose, and how it prospered and has 
 received the blessing of God, is the Story that remains 
 to be told, and we hope you wish to hear it. 
 
 We shall sum up what we have already set before you 
 nearly in the words of Dr. Gaussen, of Geneva ; for they 
 contain a review of our whole narrative. 
 
 When one thinks that the Bible has been copied during 
 thirty centuries, as no book of man ever was, or ever will 
 be, that it was subjected to all the wandering experience 
 of Israel, that it was transported seventy years to Babylon, 
 that it had seen itself so often persecuted, or forgotten, or 
 forbidden, or burnt, — when one thinks that it has had to 
 traverse the first three centuries of pagan persecutions, 
 when persons found in possession of the holy books were 
 thrown to the wild beasts, — next the seventh, eighth, and 
 ninth centuries, when false books and false legends were 
 everywhere multiplied, — the tenth and eleventh centuries, 
 when so few could read even among princes, — the twelfth, 
 thirteenth, and fourteenth centuries, when the use of the 
 Scriptures in the vulgar tongue was punished with death, 
 and when the books of the ancient fathers were mutilated, 
 — then we con perceive how certain it is that, on the one 
 hand, the Providence of God has put forth its mighty 
 power, causing the Church of the Jews to give us, in its 
 integrity, the very book which records its revolts, which 
 predicts its ruin, which describes Jesus Christ ; — and, on 
 the other hand, that that same Providence has caused 
 the Roman Church (which in particular forbade its people 
 to read the sacred bookstand gave them in the stead of 
 
174 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 the word of God the traditions of the middle ages) to 
 transmit to us, in all their purity, those very Scriptures, 
 which say that Eome would be the seat of a terrible 
 apostasy, which say of images, “ Thou shalt not make or 
 bow down to them”; of unknown tongues, “ Thou shalt 
 not use them”; of the cup, “ Drink ye all of it”; of 
 marriage, “It is honourable in all”; and of the Virgin 
 Mary, “ Woman, what have I to do with thee?” 
 
 “ Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words 
 shall not pass away ” (Matt. 24. 35). “ The grass withereth, 
 the flower fadeth, but the word of our God shall stand for 
 ever ” (Isaiah 40. 8). 
 
THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 THE BIBLE SOCIETY’S HOUSE. 
 
 THE PRINTING AND BINDING OP THE BIBLE. 
 

 
 
 
 ' 
 
 i'J Si :•?'/ 
 
 ,d au-i • .• mvax 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE BIBLE HOUSE. ITS LIBRARY. WICLIF’s TESTAMENT. TYN- 
 
 DAL’s BIBLE. COVERDALe’s BIBLE. THE GENEVA BIBLE. 
 
 THE BISHOPS’ BIBLE. AUTHORISED VERSION. WELSH BIBLE. 
 
 EUROPEAN LANGUAGES. SWEDISH BIBLE. POLYGLOTS. DUTCH 
 
 BIBLE. — LUTHER’S BIBLE. BOHEMIAN BIBLE. EASTERN LAN- 
 GUAGES. PERSIAN TESTAMENT. PALI, HINDUWEE, BENGALEE, 
 
 ETC. SEPARATE TRANSLATIONS OF THE BIBLE INTO CHINESE. 
 
 THE LORD’S PRAYER IN ALL LANGUAGES. THE DOUAY VERSION. 
 
 THE SOCIETY’S DEPARTED FRIENDS. THE MANUSCRIPT LI- 
 BRARY. THE BRETON BIBLE. WALES AND BRITTANY. SYRIAN, 
 
 PERSIAN, CHINESE, ETHIOPIC, AND AMHARIC, MANUSCRIPTS. THE 
 
 AMHARIC BIBLE. MR. JOWETT’s ACCOUNT OF IT. HOW THE 
 
 SOCIETY OBTAINS ITS TRANSLATIONS. THEIR REVISION. THE 
 
 GENERAL COMMITTEE ROOM. THE CASE OF BIBLES. THE BIBLE 
 
 FOR THE BLIND. THE SUB-COMMITTEE ROOM. PORTRAITS. 
 
 THE BIBLE WAREHOUSE. 
 
 We have now given you the history of what are called 
 “ the manuscript ages of the Bible,” when it could only 
 be written out with great labour, and much cost ; and we 
 have alluded to the years in which it was first multiplied 
 by printing, but not in any measure adequately to the 
 wants of the world. 
 
 You have, therefore, it is probable, some desire to hear 
 all you can about the House of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society, in Earl-street, built within the precincts of- 
 the old monastery of the Black-friars, — the spot from 
 which the word of God now goes out to all the earth. 
 
 13 
 
178 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Do you think, as we did, that there are warehouses 
 and workshops, somewhere in the back premises of this 
 Bible House, where they print all their own books, and 
 
 bind them before 
 they send them 
 away, at the rate 
 of many thou* 
 sands a week, all 
 over the world, 
 and all the year 
 round ? Well, 
 then, this was a 
 mistake; for the 
 Bible House it- 
 self consists only 
 of warehouses for 
 its Bibles, offices 
 for its depositary 
 and accountant, 
 rooms for its 
 committees and 
 secretaries, and a 
 library of the va- 
 rious editions of 
 The Bible Society’s House. the Holy Scrip- 
 
 tures, and works relating to the numerous translations. 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 contains some curious literary treasures. You would find 
 there at least one copy of the Scriptures in every lan- 
 guage in which they have been printed, and in many 
 cases several editions of each. Here is Wiclif’s New 
 Testament, printed in 1810, — 426 years after his death. 
 The spelling is very different from that which we now 
 use. The following is a specimen; John 1. 1-5: — 
 
VERSIONS OE WICLIF, TYNDAL, AND COVERDALE. 179 
 
 1 INT the bigynnynge was the word and the word was at god, and 
 god was the word, 2 this was in the bigynnynge at god, 3 alle 
 thingis weren made hi hym : and withouten hym was made no thing, 
 that thing that was made 4 in him was liif, and the liif was the li5t 
 of men, 5 and the lijt schyneth in derknessis i and derknessis com- 
 prehendiden not it. 
 
 You may also see Tyndal’s Bible in black letter, of 
 which tbe following is a specimen; John 1. 1-5: — 
 
 1 £$ trjc kgtmtgnge Snus tbe fcorbe, anh tbe irrorhe bias 
 ©ah : anh tlje foot he foag ©oh. 2 ©be same fcras in tbe bz- 
 gtrmgnge fcritb ©oh. 3 <&\\ tinges tore mahe fcg it, anh irn'tfj 
 out it, teas tnahe notfjmgc, tfjat boas mahe. 4 Ttn it fcjagTgfe, 
 anh t^e Igfe hrns tbe Iggbt of men, 6 anh tbe Iggbt sbgnetb in 
 tbe haretmes, hut tbe harcknes eomprebenheh it not 
 
 This is the version which our forefathers welcomed so 
 warmly, and for which they suffered so much, — the New 
 Testament which Anthony Dalaber “ read on his knees, 
 with many a deep sigh and salt tear.” The date of this 
 is 1524. 
 
 Then there is Coverdale’s Bible, printed in 1535, 
 dedicated to Henry VIII. This is the version of which 
 it was said, by that capricious king, “ Let it go abroad 
 among my people,” — “ the Boke of the whole Bible in 
 English,” which was laid in the choir of every church 
 “ for every man that willed to look and read thereon,” — 
 not that Henry continued his permission to the end of 
 his own reign, for the clergy persuaded him that the 
 people made a bad use of it. By another act which he 
 passed, he forbade the lower classes to read it, but allowed 
 it as an indulgence to “ noblemen, gentlemen, and ladies 
 of quality, in their houses, orchards, and gardens, quietly; 
 and to read it to themselves alone, not to others.” Still, 
 from 1526 to 1546, when Henry VIII. died, a period of 
 twenty years, thirty- one impressions of the Bible or New 
 
180 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 Testament issued from the press, besides several editions 
 of separate books of Scripture. 
 
 In his son Edward VI.’s short reign of seven years, the 
 word of God was read with greediness, and every one 
 that could read bought the Book, and busily read it, or 
 heard it read, — many elderly persons learning to read on 
 purpose. Eleven editions of the Bible and seven of the 
 New Testament were published in Edward’s reign. 
 
 Then, as we know, in the reign of Mary, the Bible 
 was once more banished from the churches, and its friends 
 exiled or brought to the stake. 
 
 Many of these exiles, however, took refuge in Geneva, 
 and thence, after Mary’s death, came the English Geneva 
 Bible, which was but a revision of Tyndal’s version, 
 executed after his immortal work had been diligently 
 compared with the Hebrew and Greek texts. This whole 
 Bible was published at Geneva, in 1560, the second year 
 of Elizabeth’s reign. This was the Bible most generally 
 used in private houses, and was the first English Bible 
 divided into verses. 
 
 In this library may be seen the u Bishops’ Bible,” a 
 folio book, one of the two new translations published in 
 the reign of Elizabeth, under the superintendence of 
 Archbishop Parker, who employed in the work eight 
 bishops, and six other persons, himself revising the whole, 
 — a work that occupied three years. It was published in 
 1568, and when finished, the archbishop said, with good 
 old Simeon, “ Now, Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart 
 in peace, according to thy word, for mine eyes have seen 
 thy salvation.” The copy of this Bible, belonging to the 
 Bible Society, is much worm-eaten, but has been pre- 
 served by a new binding, in the style of the olden time. 
 
 Then, of course, there is the Authorised English ver- 
 sion, made in the reign of King James, — the only one 
 which the British and Foreign Bible Society has ever cir- 
 culated : all others it keeps as curiosities in its library, as 
 well as for the purpose of comparison and reference. This 
 
WELSH VERSION. 
 
 181 
 
 version was compiled from all previous translations col- 
 lated with the original versions, by forty-seven of the 
 most eminent scholars of that time, and the basis of the 
 version was still Tyndal’s. It was published in 1611, 
 and continues to be our Bible to the present day. 
 
 Here also you will find the first Welsh Bible ever 
 printed, — the version of Dr. Morgan, afterwards bishop 
 of St. Asaph. It was printed in 1588, and is in black 
 letter. Here is a specimen ; John 1. 1-5 : — - 
 
 g iitcTjrettatK 2 r wtto 2 jjatt, a*r gate aetft rfgfo a 3Buto, a 
 Sxfirr aetilf 2 gatr. 
 
 2 Pfftm aeljlj gn 2 iterfiratati ggb & 
 
 3 Etfngfctw it 2 gbjnaet^p&jg^ P c ^> ac zt ni 
 
 tataei turn ah a fonaetftpfcgti. 
 
 4 fSnttw tf gt 0 bW fcgfogtf, E>r oztiti oletmt igraotu 
 
 5 %'x gohunt a IctogrcTjoljda gu 2 tgtaglterij, ah* tgfogHtori) 
 nth 0£t3lj gu rt amggJtofc* 
 
 But now, you must look round on the cases of Bibles 
 in all the various European languages. Among them 
 you will see an old Swedish Bible, which is a remarkable 
 curiosity in binding. A picture has been painted on the 
 edges of the leaves, which you cannot see when the book 
 is closed, but one cover being thrown back, and the 
 leaves slightly separated, you perceive an antique picture 
 of “ Christian” on his journey up the straight and 
 narrow way to the heavenly city. 
 
 Not far off, is a case of “ Polyglots,” a word which 
 signifies, the Bible printed in many languages at once , in 
 separate columns ; for instance* Hebrew, Greek, Latin, 
 and English, very necessary for learned persons to com- 
 pare. If you were making a fresh translation of the 
 Bible, you would find it convenient to consult a Polyglot. 
 These books, as you may imagine, are large. Here is a 
 Bible in Dutch, weighing forty pounds, with its brazen 
 clasps, and cover of solid wood, “ bound in boards,” 
 
182 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 which did not mean pasteboards in the days when that 
 was printed, — a great contrast to the pocket Bibles of 
 the present times, weighing only eight or nine ounces, 
 and to the tiny edition of the book of Psalms in short- 
 hand, found in this library. 
 
 Would you like to see Luther’s German Bible ? The 
 following is a specimen ; John 1. 1-5 : — 
 
 3nt 2lnfang trat ba3 SBort, unb ba3 SBort n>at bet) ©ott, unb ©ott 
 war ba0 2Bott. 
 
 2 ©affelbige tear tm 2(nfang bety ©ott. 
 
 3 2ttle SDtnge finb burc^ baffelbige gemaeijt, unb ol)ne baffef&ige 
 ifi nid)t3 gemad)t, wa§ gentaefyt ift. 
 
 4 3n i$nt roar ba3 Seben, unb ba3 Seben tear baa Sic bt ber 
 2Renfd)en. 
 
 5 Itnb baa Sic^t fd)einct in ber Sinflerntg, unb bie ghijlerniffe 
 Jjabm ea nidjt begriffen. 
 
 Here is his Testament of 1524, and the whole Bible of 
 1567. He was the man “ ordained to present his nation 
 with the written word.” He was shut up on purpose to 
 do it, in the solitary old castle of the Wartburg, where 
 the narrow windows of his turret looked out on “ dark, 
 untrodden, boundless forests,” and here he sat down to 
 his Hebrew and Greek Bibles, as he would never have 
 been able to do in the city of Wittenberg, to fashion 
 that weapon of heavenly temper — the Scripture — in the 
 tongue of the common people, without which all his 
 battles against the corruptions of the Church of Rome 
 would have been in vain. 
 
 He brought forth from* his seclusion a deeper faith in 
 God s word than ever, and with it, as the “ sword of the 
 Spirit,” he cut asunder the bonds of Christendom. This 
 version was, however, before it went forth among the 
 families of Germany, revised most diligently by Luther 
 wid his learned friends. They were known sometimes to 
 return for fourteen days to the re-consideration of a single 
 
BOHEMIAN AND PERSIAN VERSIONS. 
 
 183 
 
 line, and even a word. Melancthon assisted in this re- 
 vision. Luther's own copy of the edition of 1541 is now 
 deposited in the British Museum. 
 
 Here is the version of the Bible for Bohemia, — that 
 important section of Austria, which will make you think 
 of the poor, persecuted Bohemian Christians. They were 
 the very first people who turned to account the art of 
 printing for the more general distribution of the Scrip- 
 tures, A. D. 1488. This fact is stated in a letter recently 
 addressed by the Bev. P. La Trobe to the committee of the 
 Bible Society, enclosing one hundred pounds as a Jubilee 
 offering from the Brethren’s Society for the Furtherance 
 of the Gospel. The Bohemian version in this library is 
 dated 1596. The following is a specimen ; John 1. 1-5 : — 
 
 91a £ocatfu f v)f o ©Potto, a to ©Potto P tyFo ®ot)a, a to ©Potto 
 fyV SSulj. 2 So BtyPo n a ^ocdtfu 0 SSo^a. 3 SBffedty ttec^ ffqe 
 tie Ocinmty fau, a fcej nel;o nic nenj Ocineno, coj Ocineno gejt 4 SB 
 nent Jittot otyF , a gtoot PtyF fttetFo libf 5 11 to fttetFo tt temno* 
 ftecf) frojti, ale tmty ge neobfdljFty. 
 
 On another side of the room are versions of Scripture 
 in the Asiatic languages, the tongues of the sons of Shem. 
 
 This is the Persian Testament translated by that be- 
 loved missionary, the Eev. Henry Martyn, published by 
 the Bible Society in 1827, also in 1837, and in 1847 ; 
 John 1. 1-5: — 
 
 faib j 1 Ar?-- ^ IaIjI fa 
 
 fib j * tlj) 1 Oj j * JjJ 
 
 ^ ^ < J . — -•< j\j t — 1 
 
184 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 A recent traveller, Mr. Southgate, declares that he found 
 copies of this version in every city in Persia through 
 which he passed. Ah ! how this result would have 
 cheered the heart of that “man of God,” as, feeble and 
 lonely, in the garden beneath the walls of Shiraz, he 
 sacrificed his life to his determination to accomplish the 
 translation of this Testament ! How interesting is the 
 history of the conversion of the Persian Mollah Mahomet 
 Bamah, from the gift of this New Testament! We will 
 give it you, in his own words : 44 There came to Persia, 
 an Englishman, who taught the religion of Christ, with 
 a boldness we had never seen, in the midst of much scorn 
 and ill-treatment from the rabble. He was young, and 
 feeble with disease. I was then a decided enemy to in- 
 fidels, and I, too, visited this teacher to treat him with scorn 
 and contempt. These evil feelings left me beneath the in- 
 fluence of his gentleness ; and before I quitted Shiraz, I paid 
 him a parting visit. The memory of our conversation will 
 never fade from my mind : it sealed my conversion. He 
 gave me a book ; it has ever been my constant companion, 
 — the study of it my most delightful occupation. On one 
 of the blank leaves was written, 4 There is joy in heaven 
 over one sinner that repenteth (signed) Henry Martyn ! ” 
 This is the Pali version, the language of the Buddhists 
 of India; John 1.1, 2: — 
 
 One of the Buddhist priests became a sincere convert 
 while translating it, and finished and revised the work 
 after the sudden death of his teacher, Mr. Tolfrey. The 
 great translators for the continent of India have been 
 Dr. Carey, Dr. Marshman, and the Bev. W. Ward, 
 Baptist missionaries at Serampore. They reached India 
 
CHINESE VERSION. 
 
 185 
 
 in 1793 ; and in 1806 they were engaged in printing or 
 translating the Scriptures in six languages. In 1819, 
 they were printing the word of God in twenty-seven 
 languages. This great and glorious work was carried 
 on chiefly at the expense of the Bible Society. The 
 result of these vast labours in India, as of the Chinese 
 Scriptures in China, is yet to be seen in full ; but it is 
 beginning to appear. The whole arose from the quiet 
 proposition of one man, who was then obtaining a live- 
 lihood by the labour of his hands, to an association of 
 ministers, “ whether it was not a practicable duty to 
 attempt the conversion of the heathen.” This man, 
 Mr., afterwards Dr., Carey, had been teaching himself a 
 language as he sat at his work. God was preparing him 
 to become the first of oriental scholars, for the sake of 
 his word. The first collection, in 1793, for this magni- 
 ficent object, among the Baptists, amounted to 13Z. 2s. 6d. r 
 but since then the British and Foreign Bible Society have 
 afforded assistance to Dr. Carey and his associates, and to 
 the various Bible Societies of India, to the amount of 
 more than two hundred thousand pounds ! 
 
 Two or three days before the death of Dr. Carey, in 
 1834, he was carried down-stairs in a state of extreme 
 exhaustion ; and the Rev. G. Gogerley, then a missionary 
 in Bengal, and his intimate friend, tells us, that the last- 
 revised sheets of the last language into which he had 
 translated the Scriptures, lay upon the table. His work 
 was done, and he was ready to depart. He had laboured 
 in India for forty years, and had given to her the word 
 of God, in whole or in part, in about thirty different 
 languages. His simple faith in the Lord Jesus, and his 
 deep humility in that last hour, were very beautiful. 
 
 Here is the Chinese Bible, — the book that may soon, 
 we hope, be read by 360 millions of people, who are 
 almost all still ignorant of its message. Two different 
 translations were made about 30 years ago. Dr. Marsh- 
 man with the help of other missionaries, and of Johannes 
 

 Lassar, a native of China, made a translation, md printed 
 it, for the Bible Society, at Serampore, in 1822; Dr. 
 Morrison and Dr. Milne, who had laboured in China from 
 the year 1807, completed their version about the same 
 time, and the former presented a printed copy at the 
 anniversary of the Bible Society in London, in the year 
 1824. 
 
 Each translation was good in its way, and thfey were 
 made independently of one another. Dr. Medhurst and 
 other Protestant missionaries at present in^China, have 
 recently completed a revised edition comprising both the 
 Old and New Testaments. 
 
 It is said that the Chinese Testament can now be 
 printed in China for the small sum of fourpence ! 
 
 The library of the Bible House also contains a present 
 from councillor Auer, the Director of the Imperial print- 
 ing office at Vienna, — a specimen of the Lord’s Prayer 
 written in every known language of the world, and in 
 every dialect of the language, and in every age of the 
 dialect. These large sheets give you a very comprehen- 
 sive impression of earth’s many tongues. You can read 
 the Lord’s Prayer in English, as it was written in the 
 year 1160, in 1370, in 1430, in 1526, and so on, with 
 slight variations, up to the year 1800, which is the last 
 given. This collection is called the “ Sprachenhalle,” 
 and was printed at the expense of the Emperor of Austria, 
 under the superintendence of councillor Auer. 
 
 We will now look at the Douay Bible, which is also 
 contained in this collection, for you may often hear it 
 mentioned, and it is right that you should have a little 
 history of this translation. 
 
 The Douay version was made by the Romanists them- 
 selves ; for, as they found, “ by the Bible being printed 
 so often in English, that it was impossible to keep it out 
 of the hands of the common people,” they resolved to have 
 an English translation of their own. 
 
 The New Testament they first printed at Rheims, in 
 
 < 
 
 \ 
 
 y 
 
 % 
 
 0 
 
THE DOUAY VERSION. 
 
 187 
 
 1582, 44 translated out of Latin, with notes and necessary 
 , helps (as they say) for the better understanding of the 
 text, and the discovery of the corruption of other trans- 
 lations.” It is not , you perceive, the Bible without note 
 or comment. 
 
 The Old Testament was printed at Douay, in 1609. 
 Fuller says of it, 4 6 It is a translation that had need to 
 be translated”; a great number of Greek words, such as 
 azymes , pasche , etc., are left untranslated, which perplexes 
 common readers ; and the learned Fulke observes, 44 that 
 it is not truly translated ; that the translators have always 
 laboured to suppress the light of truth, under one pre- 
 tence or another.” The notes connected with this Douay 
 version are considered by Protestants as even more inju- 
 rious than the text itself, which has been frequently re- 
 vised and reprinted to this day for circulation among 
 Roman Catholics, and is somewhat more conformed than 
 it was to our own Authorised version, but it always con- 
 tains the apocryphal books. We need hardly add , that 
 the Douay Bible is never circulated by the Bible Society . 
 
 If any persons possessing rare editions of the Scriptures 
 wish to present them to this library, they may confer a 
 benefit on the Society, and are sure to have their gifts 
 carefully preserved. 
 
 To those who have long known this Bible House, the 
 library is hallowed ground, as having witnessed, from 
 time to time, the presence of so many of its beloved 
 friends and founders, now gathered to their rest. Of the 
 latter, two only, and those near the end of their pilgrim- 
 age, have survived to witness its Jubilee, — Dr. Steinkopfif, 
 and the venerable Vm. Alers Hankey, Esq. 
 
 The devotedness of those who first laboured in this 
 noble cause, was illustrated in the sentiment expressed by 
 its first president, Lord Teignmouth, who, in his dying 
 hours, said, 44 1 would rather have been president of the 
 Bible Society, than governor-general of India.” This 
 devotedness, it is evident, still animates those who are 
 
188 
 
 THE '.BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 k 
 
 t J. I 
 
 honourably empl^ed in conducting the proceedings of 
 the Society, — ana never may it be wanting ! rf 
 
 THE MANUSCRIPT AND DUPLICATE LIBRARY. 
 
 Adjoining this interesting apartment (the library) is a 
 lesser one, called the Manuscript Library, and here, in 
 several locked and numbered cases, are contained the 
 written versions in the possession of the Society, — some 
 of them yet unprinted, and some the treasured originals 
 from which the Bibles circulated by the Society have 
 been printed. 
 
 The Old Testament in the language of Lower Brittany 
 is here.. It is called the “ Breton Bible.” Brittany is a 
 large country in the north-west of France, 800,000 of 
 whose people speak or understand a language very like 
 Welsh. Those who live in the large towns can under- 
 stand French, but nearly half a million of persons in the 
 country villages can only speak the Breton language, in 
 which, as yet, the Old Testament has never been printed. 
 The manuscript version in this library was made more 
 than twenty years ago, by Legonidec, a learned Breton, 
 who also made one of the New Testament, which was 
 printed in 1827. 
 
 Though in many respects an excellent version, it is not 
 an intelligible one to the common people in general, and 
 the Bible Society in 1847 printed, and has since circu- 
 lated, another version of the New Testament made by 
 the Rev. J. Jenkins, missionary of the Baptist Missionary 
 Society, labouring in that country; and this version is 
 found to be better understood. 
 
 Let us hope that very soon this locked-up jewel, the 
 Old Testament , of Legonidec’s translation, may be called 
 for by the people of Brittany, revised, simplified, if need 
 be, and distributed throughout the country. 
 
 A Welshman requires but little study to enable him to 
 converse, read, and write, in the Breton language. It might 
 
VARIOUS MANUSCRIPT VERSIONS. 189 
 
 please you to see the 1st Verge- of the 1st chapter of John 
 in the Welsh aijJ.in the Breton tongues: — 
 
 Welsh— “ Yn 'f dechrehad yr oedd y Gair, a’r Gair 
 oedd gyd a Duw} a Duw oedd y Gair.” 
 
 Breton . — “Ef gommansamant e oa ar Ger, hag ar Ger 
 a gand Doue, hag ar Ger a oa Doue.” 
 
 It is said , by those who have visited that country, that 
 Brittany is the darkest part of France, and the most 
 under the dominion of the priests of Eome. The priests 
 read the liturgy in Latin ; hut in the country districts 
 they preach in Breton. They do not favour the growth 
 of the French language ; and Breton will yet probably 
 long be spoken by the common people. 
 
 Here is another treasure — a Bible in manuscript, once 
 belonging to the Nestorian Christians, bearing the marks 
 of water, fire, smoke, and hard usage. 
 
 We cannot but look with great interest on the precious 
 book in its old manuscript form, — in the form which it 
 took long years so carefully to transcribe, and which was 
 then preserved in its pocket of thick leather, and slung to 
 the shoulder of the pilgrim-missionary, and carried by 
 him, perhaps, many hundred miles. 
 
 Look at this ancient Syrian Pentateuch, written on 
 vellum. It has been badly used befbre it came here ; its 
 edges are stained with damp and mould. 
 
 These beautiful characters, delicately emblazoned in 
 red, and black, and gold, are Persian. 
 
 And here is a copy of the Ethiopic Scriptures, in 
 manuscript ; the penmanship of which is most beautifully 
 executed. Every page is guiltless of blot or erasure. 
 Another Ethiopic manuscript, emblazoned with grim 
 figures, has been presented to the Bible Society by that 
 kindred institution, the Church Missionary Society. 
 
 The Eev. William Jowett, in an admirable paper he 
 has written for the Bible Society, concerning its Jubilee 
 Year, tells some interesting particulars concerning the 
 Amharic version to be seen in this library. 
 
1 90 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 More than forty years ago, the French consul at Cairo, 
 M. Asselin, met with a learned old Abyssinian, who had 
 been the instructor of Bruce the traveller, and of Sir 
 William J ones. M. Asselin, having saved this man’s life, 
 employed him afterwards in translating the Scriptures, 
 book after book, from the ancient into the modern 
 tongue of Abyssinia. You will remember that, into the 
 ancient language, Gheez, they had been translated by 
 Frumentius, A.D. 330. 
 
 When finished, the work long remained on M. Asselin’s 
 hands. He offered it to the French King, to the Emperor 
 of Russia, and to the Vatican library, in Rome ; but they 
 all looked coolly upon it. At last, in the year 1820, the 
 Bible Society, having heard of this version from Mr. 
 J owett, who had resided in the East, asked him to return 
 to Egypt and purchase it for them. He ascertained its 
 accuracy by comparing the first, middle, and final verse 
 of every chapter, — a process which occupied him eleven 
 days : the purchase-money was 1250/. It was then revised 
 by T. P. Platt, Esq., Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, 
 and printed, and is now distributed in Abyssinia. 
 
 There are many instances recorded of the readiness 
 with which the people there are now receiving the word 
 of God. Mr. Gobat, the missionary, persuaded some of 
 their own priests to distribute it. He says, “ If I had 
 had some thousands of New Testaments, I could have 
 given them all away to eager readers. I know some in- 
 stances where persons have given all their property to 
 purchase a New Testament. One man gave two oxen 
 for a copy of the four Gospels, and another gave four 
 oxen for the same.” 
 
 Mr. Jowett also tells us, with regard to the Turkish- 
 Greek and Arabic versions, that remarkable and provi- 
 dential circumstances have prepared and placed these also 
 in the hands of the Bible Society, — circumstances which 
 the Society could not have ordered for itself, — showing 
 that the finger of God had prepared, in different parts of 
 
HOW TRANSLATIONS ARE OBTAINED. 191 
 
 the world, the persons competent to translate the Scrip- 
 ture (which is indeed no easy task), and all in readiness 
 for these times of its universal circulation. 
 
 Do you wish to know the way in which the Bible 
 Society has generally obtained its later translations? It 
 is in this manner : the missionaries who are sent to preach 
 the gospel in heathen countries, make it their first care 
 to learn the language of those countries, and to translate 
 the Scriptures into it, if they do not already exist, — for 
 the missionary is nothing without the Bible. The mis- 
 sionaries translate, and through the Societies with which 
 they are connected, they present the manuscript trans- 
 lation to the Bible Society, with a request that the 
 same may be printed. If the translation be approved 
 of, this is readily done, or else a grant of money is 
 made to get the translation printed, at the missionary 
 station, under the eye of the translator himself. The 
 Bible Society not only bears the expense of printing, 
 but in many cases the expense of making the translations 
 by different missionaries. 
 
 It does not trust the excellence of the version, how- 
 ever, to the judgment of the missionaries only, but has 
 its own editorial committee and translating superintend- 
 ent, who minutely inquire into, and report upon, every 
 version. 
 
 When a second edition of any Bible is called for, the 
 first edition is thoroughly revised, and re-revised, and so 
 each version improves by degrees. 
 
 Such men as the late T. P. Platt, Esq., Mr. W. Green- 
 field, and the Rev. Joseph Jowett, who were very learned 
 in languages, assisted the Bible Society in this particular 
 portion of its work. Many other gentlemen not officially 
 connected with it have also rendered essential service in 
 this department. 
 
 The greatest literary talent will find its highest occupa- 
 tion in the service of the Bible Society. Buchanan says, 
 “ He who produces a new version of the Scriptures is a 
 
192 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 greater man than he who founds a kingdom.” A mis- 
 sionary tutor, at Basle, used to give this excellent advice 
 to his pupils : “ Whatever you are studying, even if it 
 be the driest grammar, think that you are doing it for 
 Christ, and you will find it easy and pleasant.” 
 
 Professor Gaussen has given us a thought concerning 
 these translations, which we will give you as briefly as 
 possible, ere we bid farewell to the library : — 
 
 “ If some friend, returning from the East Indies, bring 
 you a letter from your father, written in Bengalee, and 
 you do not understand it, you will get it translated ; you 
 will not be indifferent to it, because it is in Bengalee. 
 You might have translations of it made into several other 
 languages that you do understand, — into English, French, 
 Latin, German, Spanish, Dutch, till you had no more 
 doubt of the original meaning of the letter, than if you 
 had been a Hindoo, and could have read it in the original. 
 Every separate translation casts light on what the original 
 must have been.” 
 
 In this place you have stood in the midst of all these 
 lights upon the letter, — the letter from “ our Father who 
 is in heaven.” It is now written in 150 languages, and 
 in 177 versions, — the lights of the dark world. The 
 letter can never now be hid, lost, or destroyed! 
 
 We may now pass on to — 
 
 THE COMMITTEE ROOMS; 
 
 and, first, let us begin with that of the General committee. 
 
 There is a long table in the middle of this room, 
 covered with purple cloth, — the president’s chair being 
 somewhat raised at one end of it ; and down the sides 
 are fixed benches, retiring row behind row, on a raised 
 stage, till the room is filled up. 
 
 In this room, a committee of thirty-six gentlemen meet 
 together, on every alternate Monday, in every month, 
 
PLEASING INCIDENTS AT THE CRYSTAL PALACE. 1 93* 
 
 and oftener, if necessary, to transact the general business 
 of the Society. Six of them must be foreigners, living 
 in or near London, for it is a British and Foreign Bible 
 Society. Fifteen must be members of the Church of 
 England, and fifteen belong to other denominations of 
 Christians. Such is the constitution of the Society — a 
 noble illustration of the maxim, “ Union is strength.” 
 These gentlemen are all laymen; but every Minister 
 who becomes a member of the Society, by subscription, 
 may attend and vote at all meetings of the committee. 
 
 At the upper end of this room is the case of Bibles 
 which was exhibited in the Crystal Palace, in Hyde 
 Park, in 1851. All these Bibles of the Society, in the. 
 different versions, are open, with a small ticket appended 
 to each, defining its language to unlearned eyes, and 
 stating the number of Bibles which the Society has 
 printed in that particular language. 
 
 The attendant at the stall in the “Palace” says, that 
 he found the existence of the Bible Society was compara- 
 tively little known by those world- wide visiters. Many, 
 when it was explained to them, said, “ This is a noble 
 work, indeed!” and some among the poorest, possessing 
 little of this world’s goods, exulted as they passed it, say- 
 ing, “This is the glory of the whole Exhibition! and 
 how it is hidden in a corner, when it ought to have had 
 a place like the Koh-i-noor ! ” 
 
 We can quite understand how the friends of deceased 
 translators were anxious to see the work of those they 
 loved, and who had rendered such great service to the 
 Society. One said, “ My husband, now in glory, trans- 
 lated this.” Russian, Dutch, German, Norwegian, Italian, 
 Welsh, and even Chinese visiters, looked on the Bibles 
 with gladness, while two French ladies asked for papers 
 to take home with them, saying, “We are looking to 
 England: France, Switzerland, all the nations are looking 
 to England: the pope has put his foot into England, but 
 we look to you and your Bible.” 
 
 14 
 
194 
 
 THE BOOK A KB ITS STORY. 
 
 All! how high a position is this for England! Will 
 not every one of you help her to send her Bible to the 
 nations who are looking for it? — who are looking with 
 wonder on her peace and prosperity founded on her 
 Bible, and who expect to see her conquer with her Bible, 
 and with nothing else, even the Pope of Borne ! 
 
 We may be allowed to suppose that this committee- 
 room in the Bible House is a glorious room in the eyes 
 of angels. If they could envy any among mankind, it 
 would be those who sit at this table, and dispense the 
 bread of life, sent down from heaven ! 
 
 Memory can people this room with the forms of the 
 good men who have sat here in days gone by, but whose 
 tongues are now silent in the grave, — who always thought 
 of the days when they met here as their best days, as the 
 happiest days of the week. Perhaps some of the youths 
 who read this book may have the honour to sit here in 
 days to come ; and we really cannot wish them a higher 
 honour, though their descent were from England’s oldest 
 nobles ! 
 
 There are a few things in this committee-room to 
 which we must call attention. Over the fire-place, and 
 beneath the clock, you may observe Mr. Wyld’s Bible 
 Society map, showing the moral state of the world by 
 the aid of colours, and pointing out where Bibles have 
 been circulated, how many copies, in what language, and 
 other valuable statistics. There is the portrait of William 
 Tyndal, whose grave, mild countenance seems to look 
 dovvoi with complacency on those who are carrying out 
 the work which he began: there also are the portraits 
 of the former presidents, Lord Teignmouth and Lord 
 Bexley, the old and tried friends of the Society, both 
 gone also to their reward. A portrait of Wiclif ought 
 certainly to be found there also. 
 
 We noticed on the table a large book, loosely bound, 
 like a series of papers slightly tacked together, and, on 
 opening it, found that the characters, instead of being as 
 
THE BIBLE FOB THE BLIND. 
 
 195 
 
 usual printed in black on a white ground, were un- 
 coloured, but large, and raised in relief upon the paper, 
 like the impression of a seal. On the under side of the 
 paper, the letters seemed pressed in, as on a seal. Those 
 who have ever seen these raised characters, will know at 
 once that this was a book printed for the blind . It was 
 the Gospel of John, in English, and in a new and very 
 simple character. 
 
 This new and simple character is the invention of Mr. 
 Moon, the master of the blind-school, at Brighton, him- 
 self a blind man ; and his system is said to be so great an 
 improvement upon those previously invented, that blind 
 persons, who have been for years endeavouring in vain 
 to learn to read on other systems, have in ten days ac- 
 complished their desire by the help of this. 
 
 It is a very good work, and within the power even of 
 children to purchase for any poor blind person they may 
 know. An alphabet of these new letters, with instruc- 
 tions by Mr. Moon, costs threepence, and a card con- 
 taining the Lord’s Prayer in raised letters, fourpence: 
 with them, persons who have learned to read before they 
 became blind, may read with their fingers in a week. 
 
 There are several other systems for teaching the blind 
 to read, such as Gall’s, Alston’s, Howe’s, Frere’s, and 
 Lucas’s, all possessing various excellencies, and having 
 their separate advocates. The system invented by Lucas 
 is the one used by “ The London Society for Teaching 
 the Blind to Read.” An hour’s visit to the house of this 
 Society, in the Avenue Road, Regent’s Park, where the 
 blind may be seen reading, working, and even preparing 
 their own books, would be an hour well spent. The 
 Bible Society has aided this Institution, as well as other 
 parties, by making grants to assist in embossing the Scrip- 
 tures, and by purchasing copies to be given, or sold, to 
 the indigent blind. 
 
 There are supposed to be about 27,000 blind persons 
 in Great Britain, of whom only about 2000 are under 
 
196 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 instruction in schools. What, then, becomes of the other 
 25,000? They spend many weary, solitary hours, which 
 might be relieved and cheered, if they were enabled to 
 read, and ponder over (as only a blind person can) the 
 word of God. It is computed that not more than 1350 
 out of this 27,000 were born blind. Blind persons are 
 very numerous in the neighbourhood of mines and manu- 
 factories. We hope that our young readers will endea- 
 vour in this way to become “ eyes to the blind.” 
 
 A blind girl, in France, who gained her livelihood by 
 manual labour, had obtained a copy of Mark’s Gospel, 
 and also an alphabet for the blind. Being quick and 
 intelligent, she was able in the course of a few days to 
 decipher a whole page; but being herself desirous of 
 making even faster progress, she took a penknife, and 
 pared the skin from the tips of her fingers, thinking to 
 render their touch more sensitive. Alas ! this only 
 rendered them in a few days more callous, and she found 
 she could no longer read at all. In a moment of despair, 
 she took up her treasured volume, and pressed it to her 
 lips, to bid it a last farewell; when, lo ! to her great joy, 
 she discovered that she could thereby discern the letters, 
 and from that time forth she has been reading w T ith her 
 lips. She has not only read the whole of Mark’s Gospel, 
 but has actually committed it to memory. 
 
 Let us now pass on to — 
 
 THE SMALLER COMMITTEE ROOM. 
 
 The General committee of the Bible Society divides 
 itself into several sections, which are called by different 
 names. 
 
 The Editorial committee is composed of those who are 
 able to judge of the translations. The Depository com- 
 mittee is that which superintends the printing and bind- 
 ing of the Bibles. The Agency committee is that which 
 directs the operations of the agents of the Society. There 
 
THE BIBLE WAREHOUSE. 
 
 197 
 
 are also Finance and other sub-committees, conducted by 
 men of business. 
 
 Each member of the General committee is placed on 
 that sub-committee for which his talents best fit him. It 
 is Bible- work in which they all find themselves engaged, 
 and it is conducted in a Bible-spirit. 
 
 Around this sub-committee room are hung more por- 
 traits of the Society’s faithful servants and friends, to 
 some of whom it has been said, “ Enter ye into the joy 
 of your Lord.” Here are those of the three first secre- 
 taries, the Rev. John Owen, the Rev. Joseph Hughes, 
 and the Rev. Dr. Steinkopff. Here are also those of its 
 warm friends, — of Wilberforce, Granville Sharp, Admiral 
 Gambier, the Bishop of Winchester, Charles of Bala, 
 Broadley Wilson, Dr. Adam Clarke with his Buddhist 
 priests, and of Oberlin, the pastor of the Ban de la Roche, 
 of Mr. W. Greenfield, of Alexander, the late Emperor of 
 Russia, and one of a Belgian colporteur, — a portrait 
 esteemed worthy of a place, even here. 
 
 But we must now leave what is called the “ Bible 
 Society’s House,” and enter— 
 
 THE BIBLE WAREHOUSE. 
 
 Here the ever-varying stock of Bibles, in various lan- 
 guages, is kept, and from hence they are sent, east and 
 west, north and south, by land and by water, as they 
 may be ordered by Auxiliaries, or as the benevolence of 
 the committee may direct their distribution in this and 
 other countries. One compartment consists of English 
 Family Bibles : they are most beautiful volumes, and 
 their price is one sovereign each. 
 
 From the largest, let us turn to the smallest. This 
 Diamond Bible, with marginal references, bound in roan, 
 and with gilt edges, is sold at the low price of Is. 3d.: 
 the same book, handsomely bound in morocco, sells for 
 Is. 11 d. These are the Bibles that weigh eight and nine 
 
198 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOBY, 
 
 ounces, and this is their cost price ; for it is not the object 
 of the Society to make any ‘profit by the sale , but to extend 
 the circulation as widely as possible. 
 
 Ascending the stairs, we shall find ourselves still in a 
 true place of business. As from the lower floor, so also 
 from this, Bibles go out to all the world. See the wagon 
 standing below to receive its precious load, to be taken 
 to the docks, or perhaps to the railway stations, thence to 
 give joy and spread light in our own country, or in some 
 far-distant land. One feels something akin to reverence 
 for that great iron crane. No other “ crane ” in all Lon- 
 don lifts such true riches ! 
 
 Close to the trap-door in this floor lies a pile of Italian 
 Bibles. One of the warehousemen said to us, “ Those 
 don’t move now. Since the pope has come back to 
 Borne, he will not let Bibles into Italy. That lot, too, 
 are Spanish, and this, Malagassy: they are both very 
 dead. English Bibles are lively, and move away as fast 
 as they are ready.” “We sent out 9000 of these 
 Diamonds last month,” added our guide. 
 
 Precious “ Pearls,” “ Bubies,” and “ Diamonds ” (for 
 these are really the names of the different types in which 
 the Bibles are printed), may the demand for them con- 
 tinually increase ! Blessed be God ! Malagassy Bibles 
 are dead no longer! After seventeen years of bitter 
 persecution, on the part of the queen of that country, 
 instigated by her prime minister, the God who rules over 
 all has removed the blind and wicked man; and now 
 we may hope that her son, her own son , whose heart 
 the Lord has turned to Plimself, will, with his prime 
 minister, — the son of the very minister who persecuted 
 and sent the missionaries out of the island, — recall them, 
 and all the Christians, and open the ports to English 
 commerce. 
 
 And so the blood of the martyrs has been the seed of 
 the church, as it always was. The suffering Christians 
 have wandered about in forests, and dwelt in caves, have 
 
THE BIBLE WAREHOUSE. 
 
 199 
 
 been obliged to bury their Bibles, have been poisoned, 
 beaten, and slain, but, in spite of all, have multiplied; 
 and it is said, there are 5000 now, in Madagascar, who 
 love the Lord Jesus, out of a population of 4,000,000, 
 and 500 native teachers ready to go back to them from 
 the Mauritius. 
 
 Speed, then, over the deep, Malagassy Bibles, in the 
 hands of devoted English missionaries ! May one of your 
 number win its way to the eye and the heart of the queen 
 herself, leading her to weep like Saul of Tarsus over her 
 work of persecution, and to apply for pardon to Him 
 who alone has power to forgive sin ! 
 
 These are the Chinese Testaments . The words are not 
 arranged across the page, but in columns from top to 
 bottom. The paper is very thin, and printed only on 
 one side, and the plain sides of two pages are folded 
 together, like one of our uncut books. The paper for 
 these is made, and the books are printed, in China. The 
 cover also is Chinese, made of yellow paper, like silk, 
 shot with gold dust. They are printed from wooden 
 blocks, on which the characters are cut, after the manner 
 of our woodcuts. Here, again, is a Chinese book, printed 
 in this country, on English paper, on both sides of the 
 sheet, and bound after the English fashion. From this 
 circumstance it may become, perhaps, an attractive book 
 to the Chinese themselves. 
 
 More piles of books of all sizes, and another floor of 
 them ! Swedish Bibles, Portuguese, French, Russian, 
 Amharic, Tahitian, Malay, etc. 44 This stack of English,” 
 said our companion, 4 4 came from Oxford this morning. 
 The boxes which strew the warehouse contain 20,000 
 Bibles and Testaments for Toronto. Yesterday we could 
 scarcely get ready as many more for Ireland, chiefly for 
 the use of the schools of the Hibernian Society.” 
 
 There is a little room on the second floor, which be- 
 longed to Mr. Cockle, known for thirty years at this 
 
200 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Bible House, as its faithful and unwearied depositary: 
 when, during his latter years, he was most busily engaged, 
 he sought refuge from intrusion in this place. We have 
 often found him here, in past time, but now we find him 
 not. He, too, is “ gone up on high,” having devoted the 
 greater part of his life to the service of the Bible Society. 
 His little, empty, desolate room was the only sad corner 
 •of this rich storehouse. 
 
 When the attendants were all gone, we stood alone for 
 awhile among the great piles of Bibles, — alone with all 
 those written voices of God, — the voice that answered 
 Job out of the whirlwind, that thundered in the deserts 
 of Sinai, that spoke by the prophets, and in the sweet 
 harp of David; — the voice that clothed its majesty in 
 tenderness from the lips of the Redeemer of the world, 
 and through evangelists and apostles is come down even 
 to us — to our homes, to our hearts, and daily lives ! 
 
 Without ascending another floor, still more heavily 
 laden with unbound Bibles, in various languages, you 
 have noticed enough for the present at the Bible Society’s 
 House and warehouse, and you are invited to accompany 
 us to those interesting places, where the Holy Scriptures 
 are “ printed,” and “ bound.” 
 
201 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 13 IBLE -PRINTING AT SHACKLEWELL. ANCIENT PRINTING-OFFICE. 
 
 THE COMPOSITOR. THE READER. 
 
 THE PRINTING AND BINDING OF THE BIBLE. 
 
 Those who live near Oxford and Cambridge, where a 
 great part of the Bibles circulated by the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society are printed, may - visit the Bible 
 .presses in those celebrated universities : there are others 
 who may find it more convenient to visit a third great 
 Bible-printing establishment, that of the Queen’s Printers’ 
 at Shacklewell, in the suburbs of London. At this place 
 .a very large proportion of the Society’s Bibles, both in 
 English and Welsh, are printed. 
 
 Most young persons in the present day have seen a 
 printing-office : but we will suppose that we are describ- 
 ing one to children in the age of Wiclif, when there was 
 not one to be seen. 
 
 In the early ages of Printing, in the latter end of the 
 sixteenth century, it was reckoned so far one of the 
 liberal arts, that it was practised only by men of birth 
 and education. The compositors, or persons who set up 
 the types, had an ancient privilege, w T hich proves this, — 
 they were allowed to wear swords. In old pictures of a 
 printing-office, you may see the master-printer, a grave 
 and bearded personage, dressed in a fur-trimrned robe, 
 apparently giving directions to the workmen. These 
 ^consist of several compositors, comfortably seated on 
 cushioned stools, their dirks and swords resting against 
 
202 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 a column by their side. Near them is an old man in 
 spectacles, probably the reader; others are working at 
 rude presses. 
 
 We have been astonished in remarking the beauty and 
 perfection of the type of some of those early Bibles, 
 printed with so few aids from that principle of division 
 of labour which is now’ so thoroughly understood; but 
 then the impressions were not required in the numbers 
 they are at present. It would be possible to print 4500 
 Bibles a-day at this one establishment of Messrs. Eyre 
 and Spottisw r oode. Let us see what the compositors do 
 towards it. 
 
 They each w r ork at a desk, or frame, and they work 
 silently, in a room by themselves. It is not now thought 
 necessary that they should be gentlemen by condition, 
 or even ambitious men; — they must be those who are 
 content to begin the work at its beginning, and to do it 
 steadily and patiently. 
 
 Their desk or frame contains two pairs of cases, one 
 furnished with Roman letters, and the other with Italic. 
 These cases are divided into nearly 100 partitions, some 
 larger than the rest, for the letters that are sure to be 
 most wanted. The letters 1, in, n, a, e, i, o, u, are far 
 more frequently needed than j, k, q, x, z. 
 
 These partitions are not labelled. A stranger to the 
 art is surprised at the accuracy with which a compositor 
 dips his fingers into the division containing the letter he 
 requires ; but it is a fact, that the youngest boy in a 
 printing-office very soon learns the places of the letters, 
 without any difficulty. Those letters which he will want 
 
 most are placed in the 
 divisions nearest to his 
 hand ; and, standing 
 before the pair of cases 
 Composing stick. which contain the Ro- 
 
 man letters, he holds in his left hand what is called a 
 composing-stick. 
 
THE COMPOSITOR. 
 
 203 
 
 This is a little iron or brass frame, one side of which 
 is movable, so that it may be adjusted to the required 
 width of the page or column which the workman has to 
 set up. ' It is made perfectly true and square, and will 
 hold about twelve lines of such type as the present. The 
 copy of the Scriptures, which the compositor we saw at 
 work was imitating, lay on the least used part of the 
 upper case. 
 
 He seemed to take into his mind a line at a time, 
 which it is easier to do from a printed book than if 
 he had been reading very care- 
 lessly-written manuscript, though 
 even this can be done by a prac- 
 tised eye. One by one, he places 
 the letters for each word into his 
 stick, his right hand going to the 
 box, and his left securing each 
 letter. He showed us that in every 
 letter there was a nick which he 
 always placed upwards the mo- 
 ment he touched it, without look- 
 ing at it. This nick is one of 
 those pretty contrivances for sav- 
 Compositor. ing labour, which experience has 
 
 introduced into every art. 
 
 His mind was now fully engaged with his work : he 
 had to attend to the right spelling of the words, the right 
 placing of the capital letters, the right positions for the 
 stops, the placing of the words at right distances in his 
 stick, without crowding, or giving them too much space; 
 for, as the letters are not all of the same thickness, the 
 spaces necessarily vary, though, on the whole, they are 
 regular, and regularity in spacing distinguishes a good 
 compositor. 
 
 When he had filled his stick, he cleverly grasped all 
 the type, and took it out, as if it had been one solid 
 piece of metal. A practised compositor can do this, but 
 
204 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 a young apprentice lias liis patience tasked to the utmost, 
 if, after toiling for an hour or two in picking up several 
 hundred letters, he drops the whole while moving them , 
 as he has then to mourn over the broken heap, which 
 printers call pie , in the same way as children sometimes 
 mourn over their fallen towers of bricks. 
 
 The words are now lifted out into what is called a 
 galley, and the galley is filled by the contents of succes- 
 sive sticks. When as many lines are set up as will fill a 
 page, they are bound tightly round with cord, and placed 
 under the frame, and when as many pages are set up as 
 will fill a sheet, they are arranged in proper order upon 
 the imposing-stone. Each page is surrounded with a piece 
 of wood, called furniture, which provides an equal margin 
 for every page, and the whole is wedged tightly together 
 in a stout iron frame. This is termed a form, and being 
 perfectly tight and compact, it can be carried about with 
 as much ease as if it were composed of solid plates of 
 metal, instead of being made up of forty or fifty thousand 
 movable pieces. From this form a proof is taken for 
 the reader : the first sheet printed is called a proof. 
 
 The first portion of the compositor’s work is now com- 
 pleted; and if it has been well and carefully done, the 
 reader will have very little trouble with it. It may pre- 
 sent, and often does, a specimen of what industry and 
 care can effect at once : there will not be a wrong letter 
 in twenty lines, — a gross mistake., seldom. The printer’s 
 reader looks over the proof while another person reads 
 the copy aloud : he marks in the margin all the errors, 
 and then returns the proof to the compositor, when he 
 commences a second portion of labour and difficulty. If 
 he has omitted a whole sentence, it will perhaps compel 
 him to alter many pages, in order to insert it. 
 
 In this new process, new blunders are often committed, 
 and, when again revised by the reader, it is once more 
 given back to the compositor, who has need of much 
 patience and perseverance ; indeed, he is a very principal 
 
STEREOTYPING. 
 
 205 
 
 person in the production of a Bible or any other book ; it 
 will require a little patience, on your part, even to read 
 the account of his labours. 
 
 The proof being now tolerably perfect, the labour of a 
 second reader is called in. It is his business to read “for 
 press,” that is, to search for the minutest errors, with the 
 most industrious criticism. 
 
 The form of type being at last corrected for press, the 
 work of the compositor is at an end ; and when the 
 desired number of copies have been printed off, it is a 
 part of his business to return the type to the cases, in 
 order to furnish material for another sheet, and this opera- 
 tion is called distributing the type . 
 
 This is a beautiful process in the hands of an expert 
 compositor, who shows the dexterity acquired by long 
 practice. He will distribute four times as fast as he com- 
 poses, and, if necessary, return to their places 50,000 let- 
 ters a-day. To “know his p’s from his q’s” is considered 
 a great difficulty for a beginner. 
 
 We expected to find, that, as the Bible is a book in 
 very large and constant demand, we should hear that it 
 was generally printed from what are called stereotype- 
 plates. These are made by taking a mould in plaster 
 from each page of movable type, and then casting metal 
 into the mould. This is altogether rather a delicate and 
 difficult operation: the types must first be thoroughly 
 cleaned, and then rubbed over with an oily composition, 
 to prevent the adhesion of the plaster. If the least 
 morsel does adhere, and it often does, the mould is 
 spoiled. If, when removed, it is found perfect, the mould 
 is baked, and this also is critical, for, if the oven be too 
 hot, the moulds warp : then there is the casting, and the 
 very best casting of metal into the mould cannot prevent 
 occasional defects on the surface of the plate, which re- 
 quires afterwards minute examination by a workman 
 called a picker . He removes the small globules of metal 
 which occasionally fill up such letters as the a and the e, 
 
206 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 inserts here and there a new letter, by soldering, and 
 removes with his graver any impurities which fill up the 
 lines : this workman must possess a keen eye and steady 
 hand. 
 
 You may judge, from this description, that stereotyp- 
 ing, or making a sheet of metal types all in one piece, is 
 a process which requires much skill and experience. 
 Still, as the Bible is constantly in request, we thought 
 we should find it was mostly printed from stereotype- 
 plates : but it is not. It is considered that stereotyping 
 is the more expensive mode of printing of the two ; 
 because, with all the improvements that have- now taken 
 place, in hardening the metal of which the plate is com- 
 posed, a set of stereotype-plates will only print 150,000 
 copies of the Bible before they require to be renewed. 
 On the other hand, from movable type, or type set up 
 letter by letter in its form, it is possible, without renewal, 
 to print a million copies. Here, however, there is re- 
 vision made of the types, after every edition of about 
 5000 copies. 
 
 Perhaps you would not imagine the value of the type 
 required for a Bible : it astonished us. The value of the 
 
 A D. 31. I 24 Verily, verily, I say unto yon, p He that type foi a BiaiUOnd Bible, 
 
 I I heareth my word, and believeth on him that * 
 
 \p ch.3.16,18. sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not OI WlUCh tlllS IS 2b SPCCimen, 
 
 I & 6. 40, 47. come into condemnation; ybut is passed # 1 7 
 
 , & 8.51., etc. I from death unto life * g ge y era l thoUSand pOUnds J 
 
 therefore type, of course, is carefully preserved. 
 
 We inquired whether Messrs. Eyre and Spottiswoode 
 now printed any Bibles with the Apocrypha ; because 
 these gentlemen print for other parties besides the Bible 
 Society. The reply was, that the copies printed with 
 the Apocrypha decreased in number from year to year, 
 and that not a thousand copies were printed in the space 
 of two years. 
 
ANCIENT SCRIPTORIUM. — MODERN PRINTING. 207 
 
 THE PRINTING ROOM. 
 
 The contrast between the Ancient Scriptorium and the Modern 
 Printing Machine. 
 
208 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 You would now wish to pass into the printing-room. 
 Here we did not find a cylinder-press, as for the printing 
 of the The Times newspaper, but twelve steam-presses, 
 of considerable cost, and each one attended by a man 
 and four boys. 
 
 These presses are set in motion separately, but all by 
 one steam-engine in an adjoining room : the ages of the 
 boys employed to attend them are from fourteen to sixteen, 
 and they are said to become, from habit, almost a part of 
 the machinery. This is an interesting fact to the young, 
 is it not ? — that the actual printing of the word of God 
 (after the careful labours of the compositors and cor- 
 rectors of the press) is accomplished by young persons! 
 This used not to be the case, when hand-presses only 
 were used, which, in this establishment, are still worked 
 in another department. 
 
 About 150 persons are now employed upon the print- 
 ing of the Bible, at Shacklewell, instead of fifty, which 
 used to be the number formerly, — showing the increased 
 demand for the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 But now let us begin to print. 
 
 On the solid iron table at each end of the machine, lie 
 the forms of type from which both sides of the sheet are 
 printed. At each end of the machine is a pile of wet 
 paper : this paper is wetted, quire by quire, before it 
 comes to the machine-room. It is dipped two or three 
 times, according to its thickness, in a trough of water, 
 and then opened, and powerfully pressed, to diffuse the 
 moisture ; for, if not thus moistened, the printers’ ink 
 would lie upon the surface of the paper, and smear. 
 
 By this pile of paper, at each side of the press, stand 
 two boys; they are called laying-on boys; they feed the 
 press with the paper, sheet by sheet, and two other boys, 
 standing below them, take away each sheet as it is 
 printed : some ten or tw T enty spoiled sheets are first 
 passed over the types to remove any dirt or moisture. 
 
 At the first movement of the great wheel, the inking- 
 
MACHINE-PRINTIX G. 
 
 209 
 
 apparatus at each end has been set in motion, and the 
 steel cylinder attached to the reservoir of ink has begun 
 to move. Printers’ ink is not fluid like writing ink, but is 
 a stiff soft, paste. The ink-receivers are long, soft, elastic 
 rollers, and are composed of a mixture of glue and 
 treacle ; they are renewed every week : we noticed a num- 
 ber of fresh rollers hanging up against the Avail. Two en- 
 gineers are in constant attendance to keep the engine, 
 the machines, and all other parts in daily repair. 
 
 The first roller is called the doctor: it turns over on 
 the surface of the ink-reservoir, and takes up a small 
 quantity, which it communicates to an inking-table , over 
 the surface of which three or four distributing rollers 
 spread it equally. 
 
 This even surface then communicates to two inking - 
 rollers that which they shall impart to the forms which 
 are to be printed: the ink is thus conveyed from roller 
 to roller, that it may be all of an equal fineness or con- 
 sistency, and to prevent blots, and faint places, techni- 
 cally called monks and friars. 
 
 All these beautiful operations are accomplished in the 
 sixteenth part of a minute, by the travelling backward or 
 forward of the table upon which the forms rest, while 
 each roller revolves on a fixed axis. 
 
 The moment the form, or mass of type has passed 
 under the inking-r oilers, one of the boys places the damp 
 sheet upon a frame, when it and the form are conveyed 
 together under a smooth iron flat-surface, which power- 
 fully presses the damp sheet upon the face of the types. 
 After being thus printed, it is conveyed back to its 
 former place, and the sheet is then removed by another 
 boy to a heap at the side. When the ink becomes firm 
 or set, the other side of the sheet is printed by the sam© 
 process. It is so contrived that each page shall be printed 
 exactly at the back of another page. 
 
 If there be no extraordinary hindrance or obstruction, 
 one man and four boys can print 500 sheets in an hour; 
 
210 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 indeed, there is not much for them to do, except to 
 attend upon and watch this wonderful, unconscious giant, 
 the steam-press, in his operations. 
 
 They feed him with paper, which he takes, adjusts, 
 prints, and renders hack, always supplying himself with 
 fresh ink for the printing of every sheet; and all so 
 quickly, that the boys can scarcely move fast enough to 
 give and receive the work from his hand ; and when we 
 think what is the work he is doing at Shackle well, how 
 glorious is the outlay of his strength ! 
 
 If these twelve presses were all at full work (thirteen 
 sheets being necessary to the completion of a Bible), 450 
 of these written voices of God might go forth from this 
 room in one hour,— 4500 might be issued in a day. 
 Oh! that the British and Foreign Bible Society might 
 ever have occasion to order so many ! 
 
 Twenty-seven thousand might be issued in a week, 
 nearly one million and a half in a year, from this one 
 source of supply alone ! and it must be remembered, 
 that this is but one of the establishments at work for 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society. It can employ 
 the giant, when needful, in all quarters of the world 
 at once ; for, by the wonderful inventions and improve- 
 ments of this nineteenth century, the books can be pro- 
 duced at the cheapest possible rate, and circulated with 
 the greatest possible speed. 
 
 In the process of placing the pages of type for the 
 formation of the sheet, a small mark is inserted at gra- 
 duated intervals on each sheet, so that when the book is 
 folded and gathered together, a diagonal line is formed by 
 these little printed marks across the back, thus enabling 
 the binder’s collator to detect at a glance a missing or a 
 misplaced sheet. 
 
 After the sheets are printed, they must be dried, which 
 is done by hanging them in rooms and passages fitted 
 with hot-air pipes; and they are lifted with an instru- 
 ment called a printer's peel 
 
HANDS REQUIRED TO PRINT A BIBLE. 211 
 
 They are then pressed in a hydraulic press, and after- 
 wards laid down in piles of about 1000 of each signature, 
 on boards forming a square, in alphabetical order, and 
 then gathered , as it is called, by a boy, who stands in 
 the middle of a square space, and collects the sheets in 
 succession, according to the letter which is printed at the 
 bottom of the page, called a signature , for the guidance 
 of the binder. 
 
 Every sheet is then collated, to see that the whole are 
 in proper alphabetical order, that no sheet is wanting, 
 or one too many: when collated, the sheets are folded, 
 separated into books, again pressed, and then tied up to 
 go to the Bible Society’s warehouse. 
 
 The number of hands the Bible passes through in the 
 course of printing is as follows:* — - 
 
 Compositor, 
 
 Four readers, 
 
 Beviser for press, 
 
 Corrector, 
 
 One pressman and four boys, 
 Looker-over, 
 
 Hanger-up, 
 
 Cold-presser, 
 
 Gatherer, 
 
 Collator, 
 
 Folder, 
 
 Booker, 
 
 Presser, 
 
 Tier-up, 
 
 “twenty-one persons in all ; not to speak of- — 
 
 Type-founders, Printers’-joiners, 
 
 Iron-founders, Printing-ink-makers, 
 
 Wholesale-stationers, Paper-makers, and 
 
 Composition-roller-makers, Engineers, 
 
 who must each, with the whole series of workmen in 
 their several factories, have combined to the production 
 of the Book. There are about fourteen processes, in the 
 making of the printing-paper alone ; — and yet we have 
 to bind it. 
 
 Furnished by Mr. Leighton. 
 
212 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOBY. 
 
 THE BINDING OF THE BIBLE. 
 
 it is a sort of principle among bookbinders, that tlie 
 subject of a book shall be known by its cover. This, 
 however, refers to ornament, and the Bible Society do 
 not provide ornamented Bibles ; their great aim is ex- 
 treme cheapness combined with good and strong work ; 
 and they take every means to secure this. They have all 
 their books bound by contract. We paid an interesting 
 visit to the premises of the present contractor (Mr. Wat- 
 kins), and found ourselves in a large, airy, and well- 
 warmed room, furnished with long tables, at which sat 
 numbers of neat, healthy, and happy-looking girls, their 
 ages from twelve to eighteen, not sitting crowded to- 
 gether, but each having room for her work — her pleasant 
 work. 
 
 As we looked at them and inspected their proceedings 
 in detail, that we might describe them to you, we 
 thought how much rather we would choose to work for 
 our living as Bible-binders, than as milliners — 
 
 Fashion’s poor, pale slaves, 
 
 Working to their graves 
 
 — with so few hours’ rest allowed in the twenty-four. 
 
 At Mr. Watkins’s establishment, the girls work ten 
 hours a-day, and they are paid according to the quantity 
 of the work they get through, and this tends to make 
 them industrious. They have many checks over their 
 performance, and the contractor is under an engagement 
 to replace, at his own cost, any books found to be badly 
 bound ; therefore, for bad folding and stitching they are 
 fined : that they are, however, generally careful, is proved 
 by the fact, that the fines do not amount to five pounds 
 a-year among 200 workpeople. 
 
 When you think that the Bible is printed in large 
 sheets, sometimes sixty-four pages in a sheet, you will, of 
 
FOLDING AND SEWING. 
 
 213 
 
 course, perceive that these large sheets will need folding, 
 even if the printer fold them once, for the convenience 
 of tying up. 
 
 They are received at the binder’s by a warehouseman, 
 who gives them out to each folder, in as many successive 
 sheets as will form the whole Bible. 
 
 Each folder sits by a table on which she spreads out 
 the sheets. In her right hand she holds a small ivory or 
 bone folding-knife, with which she flattens the foldings 
 of the sheet : this folding seemed to us very quickly 
 done, but it is so only from practice, for it requires accu- 
 racy, as the first and last lines of the print must range 
 evenly with the opposite page. In taking up the sheet 
 she looks merely at what is called the signature , — a letter 
 standing by itself at the bottom of the page, which you 
 perhaps have never noticed. It is placed there chiefly as 
 a direction to the binder. 
 
 She takes up first letter A, folds the sheet down the 
 middle, and then across, and also once more down the 
 middle ; she then takes up the next sheet, letter B. 
 folds it in the same manner, and lays it upon letter A; 
 and proceeds in the same way with all the letters of the 
 alphabet, till she begins it again ; only to the second A 
 is attached a small a, to the second B, a small b, and so 
 on : you can find these printers’ marks, if you look 
 through the Bible. 
 
 After these folded sheets have been taken from the 
 rolling-press lor binding, the collator takes the whole 
 in his hand to see that they are laid in proper order, 
 that no sheet is wanting, and that the folding is correct, 
 and this is very expertly done : the sheets are held at 
 one corner, and allowed to spring back, one after another, 
 leaving, to the experienced eye, just time enough to catch 
 the signature letters : this collation takes place in a sepa- 
 rate room, and any error is at once adjusted. 
 
 And now the book is to be sewn. A girl, sitting side- 
 ways against the table on which the sheets are laid, first 
 
214 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 takes up that marked A, and places the back of it against 
 three strings or tapes (or, if it be a large book, against 
 four tapes), fastened in a sewing- 
 press, then passing a needle, filled 
 with strong thread, through the 
 sheet, from the inside, she brings it 
 out at the back, and carries it over 
 one of the tapes, pushing the 
 needle through the paper again 
 from the outside, — thus causing 
 the thread to embrace the tape. 
 
 Her left arm, as you see in tne 
 vignette, passes round the press, 
 and returns the needle from one 
 side to the other; thus sheet by 
 Sowing. sheet is fastened to the tapes. 
 
 This process is conducted with wonderful quickness: 
 the polished needle flies in and out and over the tapes, 
 in far less time than it takes to tell about it, for practice 
 makes perfect, and this is the sewer’s whole employ from, 
 day to day, and from week to week ; and her wages 
 depend not on the number of hours she sits at her press, 
 but on the number of books she sews. 
 
 One little girl we accidentally selected, who was a 
 learner, and only thirteen years of age, told us she had 
 been in the establishment nearly three months : she said 
 she had earned Is. 3 d. the day before ; but we found she 
 was considered, by the forewoman, a naturally quick as 
 well as a steady child. The young people get accustomed 
 by degrees to the close attention that the work requires, 
 and that is necessary to ensure good wages. 
 
 After the Bibles are sewn, they are again taken to the 
 re-collating-room to be examined. Every sheet is looked 
 at, to see if it may have been torn by accident, carelessly, 
 or improperly stitched : this examination requires, also, 
 that the mind be entirely fixed on its occupation, for the 
 least distraction may cause an error to be overlooked. 
 
CUTTING, GILDING, AND POLISHING. 215 
 
 Presuming that no such faults have been discovered, the 
 books are carried into another building, occupied solely 
 by men. Here they are first placed in piles, a sheet of 
 iron or zinc between each book, in a hydraulic-press, 
 and pressed with immense force. In this press they are 
 left some time; and, when taken from it, are passed into 
 the cutting-room. There a cutting-press, with a large, 
 sharp knife, is employed. The books are very carefully 
 placed under the knife, the size to which they are to be 
 cut being regulated by a scale at the side of the machine, 
 and then, by means of a lever, the whole quantity is cut 
 at one stroke of the knife. 
 
 The gilder next receives the books, and screws them 
 up in a powerful horizontal press; the edges are then 
 scraped, washed with a composition of red chalk and 
 water ; and while this is drying, the leaf-gold is blown 
 out from the book in which it is sold by the goldbeater, 
 on to a cushion covered with leather, where it is placed 
 smoothly, by the aid of a knife. On the work-bench is 
 a cup containing white of egg, beaten up with water, a 
 little of wdiich is laid by a camels’-hair pencil on the 
 still damp surface of chalk and water. The gold is then 
 taken up, piece after piece, and laid on the book’s edge: 
 this is done to all the three edges in succession, and to 
 many books together, all squeezed tightly in the press, to 
 produce a solid and even surface. 
 
 After a few minutes, the gold has become sufficiently 
 dry and set, for polishing, by a process which would 
 seem adapted to rub off every atom of gold, but it does 
 not do so. 
 
 The workman holds in his hand a long-handled bur- 
 nisher, at the lower end of which is fixed a very smooth, 
 straight-edged piece of agate; this he places on the gilt 
 surface, and, with his left elbow resting on the work- 
 bench, and the handle of the burnisher resting on his 
 right shoulder, he rubs the gold with great force, not 
 along the edge, but across it: no gold is rubbed off, but 
 
216 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 the whole is highly polished by this treatment ; and when 
 the gilding is complete, paper is wrapped round the edges 
 to prevent their being soiled while the book is finishing. 
 
 When Bibles are required with sprinkled edges, the 
 books are tied up in quantities between two boards: 
 they are then placed edges upwards, and a man holding 
 a brush dipped in ochre and water, or umber and water, 
 and sometimes in Venetian red, high in the air over the 
 books, with one hand strikes the brush with a stick held 
 in the other, and thus sprinkles a fine shower of the co- 
 louring matter over the edges ; this is often repeated with 
 another colour; and the cheap, buff-coloured sheep covers 
 of Testaments for schools, are sprinkled in the same way. 
 
 The marbled edges of books are produced by sprink- 
 ling pigments of several colours upon a fluid preparation, 
 contained in a large trough, where they float, the colours 
 being mixed with oil ; and the edges of the books, being 
 alternately placed for a moment upon this surface, imbibe 
 the colours. 
 
 After the edges have been thus prepared, the books are 
 then each singly hammered, to 
 give a rounded form to the 
 back, and a concave surface to 
 the front: the back, being pre- 
 viously covered with glue, re- 
 tains the shape thus given to it. 
 
 It is then placed between 
 two boards, and again in a press, 
 with the back uppermost, and 
 the back once more hammered, 
 so that it shall flatly incline 
 over the boards ; and after va- 
 rious minor processes, the book 
 which seemed to lie passive in 
 the hands of the workmen, to 
 be moulded round or square by turns, as they pleased, 
 emerges from all its battering, into the care of its “ ease- 
 
 Bounding. 
 
HANDS REQUIRED TO BIND A BIBLE. 217 
 
 maker,” who will dress it in sheep, calf, or morocco, 
 according to the price at which it must be sold. The 
 leather, of whatever kind, being cut half an inch larger 
 than the book, all round, is pared at the edges with a 
 keen knife: this leather is partly stamped, before it is 
 attached to the book, which attachment is an affair of 
 very great nicety, as overlapping the edges, and turn- 
 ing in the corners, require the greatest exactness, other- 
 wise the book would be spoiled. 
 
 The little head-band of bright silk or calico, crimson 
 or purple, is now applied. 
 
 The granulated appearance of the morocco bindings 
 is produced by a curious mode of rubbing the leather 
 against itself. If the book is to be stamped or embossed, 
 the process is aided by heat, and performed by a machine. 
 
 W e cannot enter into any further detail of the “ decora- 
 tion,” as it is called, of the cover of the Bible. From 
 time to time, new patterns and devices are presented for 
 this purpose; and, after all this inspection, it is a greater 
 wonder to us than ever, that a book, which requires the 
 aid of— 
 
 14 persons to make its paper, 
 
 21 persons to print it correctly, 
 
 19 persons to bind it neatly, 
 
 54 persons in all, 
 
 (not to speak of those of other trades, who must have 
 combined to its production,) can be sold by the Bible 
 Society for one shilling ! 
 
 The number of hands which a Bible with gilt edges, 
 bound in roan, passes through, in process of binding, is 
 as follows:* — 
 
 Binder’s warehouseman, First collator, 
 
 Folder, Sewer, 
 
 Roller, Second collator, 
 
 Furnished by Mr. Watkins. 
 
218 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Paperer, F orwarder, 
 
 Presser, Letterer, 
 
 Cutter, Yarnislier, 
 
 Examiner of cutting, General examiner of binding, 
 
 Gilder, Wrapper in paper covers, and 
 
 Cutter out of cover, Packer. 
 
 Embosser, 
 
 When the books are sent borne to the Bible House, 
 which they are to the number (on an average) of nearly 
 three thousand daily, another examination takes place, 
 and frequently defective copies are returned to the binder 
 to be made good. 
 
 Any person discovering an error in a Bible printed for 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society, confers a benefit 
 on them by returning it to the Bible House, as it makes 
 all the parties employed more careful. 
 
 No Bibles are voted by the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society to other societies, or for any purpose whatever, 
 in sheets . Every Bible it sends forth is bound : this is to 
 prevent the possibility of the Book afterwards being 
 bound up with any of the apocryphal books, or with any 
 note or preface whatsoever. The Society circulates the 
 word of God alone, “ without note or comment.” 
 
 And, now, farewell to the externals of the sacred Book. 
 We hope it has pleased you to examine even these, in 
 contrast to the age of ancient manuscript. We pass on 
 to the history of the Bible in the nineteenth century. 
 
THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 PART III, 
 
 THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY’S 
 RISE, PROGRESS, 
 
 AND PRESENT OPERATIONS. 
 

 
 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 REV. T. CHARLES. PARTICULARS OF HIS YOUTH. HIS MISSIONARY 
 
 SPIRIT. HIS USEFULNESS TO THE YOUNG. SCARCITY OF THE 
 
 SCRIPTURES IN WALES. CIRCULATING SCHOOLS. — COMMITTING 
 
 THE BIBLE TO MEMORY. GROWN-UP SCHOLARS. MEETING OF 
 
 TWENTY SCHOOLS. THE LITTLE GIRL WHO HAH NO BIBLE. THE 
 
 TWELVE PEASANTS. MR. CHARLES^ VISIT TO LONDON. TRACT 
 
 COMMITTEE. WANTS OF WALES, AND OF THE WORLD. FORMA- 
 TION OF THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY. COLLEC- 
 TIONS IN WALES. — INFLUENTIAL FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS. 
 
 OBJECTS AND CONSTITUTION OF THE SOCIETY, FORMED ALIKE FOR 
 HOME AND THE WORLD. ITS PRINCIPLE. UNION AND CO-OPERA- 
 TION OF ALL PARTIES. — REV. J. OWEN. REV. J. HUGHES. 
 
 We are coming at last to tlie sunshiny portion of the 
 Story of the Book, — having now nothing but bright and 
 happy work before us. We have been obliged to go and 
 weep over the graves of the ancient martyrs and trans- 
 lators, that we might know the price which had been 
 paid for our precious Bible. We hope that many young 
 persons will henceforth take the treasure into their hands, 
 with loving, reverent, and grateful hearts; and perhaps 
 with more gladness than they ever felt before, and pass 
 on to the true and wonderful tale of the last fifty years . 
 
 If we were to tell you one-tenth of what there is to be 
 told, of the times in which this Book has been allowed 
 and enabled to travel freely round the world, our book 
 w r ould be too large for you to buy, or read. 
 
 You will wish to know, first, how the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society arose. It has been said, very 
 
222 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 truly, that it 44 grew out of a want ,” — the want of the 
 Bible in Wales . 
 
 You will best under- 
 stand this want, if we 
 recount to you some 
 incidents in the life 
 of the Kev. Thomas 
 Charles. He has been 
 called the 6 4 Apostolic 
 Charles of Bala” (a 
 town in Merioneth- 
 shire), and was a man 
 of a truly missionary 
 spirit. At the begin- 
 ning of this century, 
 he was about fifty years 
 of age, and had been 
 twenty years labour- 
 ing in Wales, 44 wan- 
 chakles. dering up and down,” 
 
 as he says, 44 that cold and barren country, to preach the 
 everlasting gospel.” 
 
 At the age of eighteen, being deeply impressed with 
 the value of his own soul, and of the glorious plan of 
 salvation set forth in the gospel, he became anxious also 
 for the salvation of others. His first efforts to this end 
 began at home, in his father’s family, and being naturally 
 of a mild temper and disposition, he was beloved by all 
 his relations: notwithstanding his youth, and, as he says, 
 his little knowledge, he was enabled to maintain much 
 influence for good, and by his means family-worship was 
 soon established in his father’s house. 
 
 His education commenced at Caermarthen, and was con- 
 tinued at Oxford, where he was supported by remarkable 
 supplies of God’s providence, afforded as he needed them; 
 speaking of which, he remarks, 44 There are no difficulties 
 with God: difficulties exist wholly in our unbelieving 
 hearts.” 
 
MR. CHARLES. 
 
 223 
 
 In the year 1777, he spent his vacation with the Bev. 
 John Newton, of Oiney, the friend of the poet Cowper, 
 and he seems greatly to have valued the visit, during 
 which he also heard Mr. Eomaine preach. Intercourse 
 with men such as these, in early life, is a great privilege, 
 and often fixes the character and pursuits of young 
 persons. 
 
 If these two good men could have foreseen in Mr. 
 Charles, one of the fathers and founders of the noblest 
 Society in the world, they would still more have rejoiced 
 to take him by the hand, and speed him on his way. 
 His character was evidently remarkable for ingenuous- 
 ness and humility, — the sweet fruits of true piety. He 
 . was ordained deacon at the age of twenty-three, at Ox- 
 ford; and he says, “ I felt, on that day, an earnest desire 
 that God would enable me to devote myself wholly to 
 his service, for the rest of my days on earth.” 
 
 We cannot go into all the details of Mr. Charles’s 
 history. He had an excellent wife, for whom he waited 
 several years. His income from his curacy, at one time, 
 was not more than forty pounds a year, but this did not 
 prevent his doing much good among his parishioners; 
 for although he had not silver and gold to give, he could 
 offer medicine for the healing of the soul, and hold forth 
 the promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus. 
 
 His labours were especially useful to children and 
 young people. Finding many of them at Bala and the 
 neighbourhood very ignorant, he invited them to his 
 house, where he gave them religious instruction, and 
 catechised them, on the Sabbath evenings. His preach- 
 ing, being of a deeply-impressive and faithful character, 
 gave offence to many who were not willing to live accor- 
 ding to its standard. His services were rejected, to his 
 great grief, by three churches in the establishment — a 
 circumstance which will show the state of religion at that 
 time in North Wales. He was therefore, though a church- 
 man, as he says, from education and principle, compelled 
 
224 THE BOOK AND ITS STOllY. 
 
 to remain unemployed, and feel himself an “ unprofitable 
 servant,” or else to itinerate, which means, to preach from 
 place to place; and, in choosing the latter course, he espe- 
 cially devoted himself to the spiritual good of children 
 and young people. 
 
 The fruits of his labours, and the results of his long and 
 toilsome journeys, are still visible in Wales, in the 
 superior knowledge of the Scriptures possessed by many 
 ■whom he caused to be taught as children. Many thou- 
 sands at the great day of account will probably acknow- 
 ledge him as the instrument of their salvation, during the 
 thirty years of his earnest ministry. 
 
 In many parts of the country the sound of the gospel* 
 had scarcely been heard for centuries, and the people 
 were as ignorant as those in a heathen land. The Welsh 
 Bible, though printed long previously by private efiort, 
 and repeatedly afterwards by the Society for Promoting 
 Christian Knowledge, instituted in 1698, was scarcely to 
 be found in any poor cottage in Wales, in the year 1783. 
 In many parishes, not ten persons could read. 
 
 Where such darkness existed, of course the works of 
 darkness would be carried on, and the people were to a 
 great extent immoral and ungodly. Mr. Charles soon 
 perceived, that, in order to do any permanent good, the 
 children must be regularly instructed : this, therefore, he 
 undertook as his special work. 
 
 There had been established a few years before, by the 
 liberality of a lady, named Mrs. Bevan (who left ten 
 thousand pounds in her will for the purpose), what were 
 called “ circulating schools,” movable from one place to 
 another, at the end of nine or twelve months. These 
 schools are still to be found in different parts of Wales; 
 but at the period we refer to, they had ceased, owing to 
 some legal dispute .about the property which supported 
 them. 
 
 Mr. Charles wished to re-establish such schools, to pro- 
 cure teachers, and to raise money to support them. Some 
 
PROGRESS OF EDUCATION IN WALES. 225 
 
 of the first teachers he taught himself. It was said by 
 the Duke of Wellington, “ If you want anything done 
 thoroughly, you must do it yourself.” Mr. Charles raised 
 the money by the help of benevolent English friends; and 
 he began with one teacher, — a small beginning for the 
 great and glorious results which followed ; for there is now 
 no district of Wales without the means of learning to read 
 the word of God, either in week-day or Sunday schools. 
 
 Mr. Charles wished chiefly to teach those children to 
 read the Bible in their own language ; and as the work 
 advanced, the principles and morals of the people, where 
 the schools had been instituted, visibly improved : soon 
 the whole country was filled with schools of one kind or 
 another, and then a general concern for eternal things 
 began to appear in many large districts. 
 
 He paid every teacher 12/. a year. Three quarters of 
 a year were found sufficient to teach the children to read 
 the Bible well, in Welsh ; and then Mr. Charles visited 
 the schools by turns, and catechised publicly, — a plan 
 suited to a wild and mountainous district. 
 
 After a while, the parents also began to attend the 
 schools, and the teachers did not refuse to accept grown- 
 up scholars. Many an old person was obliged to buy 
 spectacles for the sake of learning to read the word of 
 God, for neither age nor dimness of sight deterred them. 
 The young often spent part of the night in learning 
 chapters, or searching the Scriptures on points given them 
 to seek out and prove. Boys and girls from eight to 
 sixteen learned whole books of the Bible ; parents and 
 children recited together; and one little girl is mentioned, 
 who, at five years old, could repeat a hundred chapters, 
 and went on learning another every week. 
 
 This will remind you of the children of the Yaudois, 
 before mentioned, whose parents taught them so to lay 
 up the word of God in their hearts, that it could not be 
 taken away from them. They, too, lived among moun- 
 tains and rocks, as these Welsh children did; but the 
 
 16 
 
226 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 poor, persecuted Vaudois could never enjoy meetings such 
 as were sometimes held in North Wales, where several 
 schools met, that they might be publicly catechised to- 
 gether. They were frequently held when the Sabbath 
 was fine, on which occasions the children, accompanied 
 by their teachers, walked perhaps ten miles, in the quiet, 
 early morning, to the appointed place, from many a cot- 
 tage hidden among the hills. Twenty schools would thus 
 be assembled — 
 
 “ In the still valley, with the mountains round”; 
 and to this vast concourse of persons Mr. Charles preached, 
 after the examination had been concluded. 
 
 We are told, that, in the year 1802, as he was walking 
 in the streets of Bala, he met with a child who attended 
 his ministry. He inquired if she could repeat the text 
 from which he had preached on the previous Sunday: 
 she was silent, and the inquiry was repeated. At length 
 she answered, “ The weather has been so bad that I could 
 not get to read the Bible. ,, The reason of this was soon 
 ascertained : there was no copy to which she could gain 
 access, either at her own home, or among her friends ; 
 and she was accustomed to walk seven miles over the 
 hills, every week, to a place where she could obtain a 
 Welsh Bible, for the purpose of reading the chapter from 
 which the minister took his text. During that week, the 
 cold and stormy weather, it seems, had hindered her jour- 
 ney. Are we, who have Bibles of our own, always so 
 anxious to consult them after we have listened to a sermon ? 
 
 Another incident, proving the want of the Scriptures 
 in Wales, may be mentioned. 
 
 Twelve Welsh peasants subscribed together to purchase 
 a copy of the Bible, which, like the schools, was to cir- 
 culate among the hills. Each family was to keep it a 
 month, and then pass it forward. On its arrival among 
 them, an old man, who had been the last subscriber, find- 
 ing his name at the end of the list, wept bitterly, say- 
 ing, “Alas! it will be twelve months before it comes to 
 
ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE SOCIETY. 227 
 
 me, and I dare say I shall be gone before that time into 
 another world ! ” 
 
 Mr. Charles was deeply grieved that there were so few 
 Bibles in Wales, — so few in comparison with the wants 
 of the people. The Society for Promoting Christian 
 Knowledge had, in addition to former supplies, printed 
 10,000 Bibles, and in the year 1799 this edition was 
 distributed. They were no sooner published than sold. 
 Not a single copy was left, and still not a fourth part of 
 the country was supplied. The Society above named 
 hesitated about printing another edition ; and, notwith- 
 standing the earnest entreaties of the Rev. T. Jones, of 
 Creaton (who, like Mr. Charles, felt for his countrymen), 
 seconded by the Bishop of Peterborough and others, all 
 hopes of receiving further supplies from that quarter were 
 abandoned. Hence it became necessary to devise some 
 other means to provide Bibles for Wales. * “ The joy of 
 those who received the Bibles amounted to exultation, 
 while the grief of such as could not obtain a copy fell 
 little short of anguish. ,, * 
 
 In December, 1802, Mr. Charles visited London, in- 
 tending to interest his friends in certain plans for securing 
 his object. The subject of the Bibles was much on his 
 mind; and, one morning, lying awake and thinking, the 
 idea of having a society for distributing the Bible alone, 
 on a plan similar to that of the Religious Tract Society, 
 established in London, occurred to him. He was so 
 pleased with it, that he instantly arose, and went out to 
 consult with friends, with a view to carry out this idea. 
 
 The first friend he met with was Mr. Tarn, who was 
 one of the committee of the Tract Society; and’ at the 
 next meeting Mr. Charles was introduced, and represented, 
 with all the ardour of his character, the dearth of Bibles 
 in his native Principality, and the longing desire of the 
 Welsh to have them. At the moment when this appeal 
 
 * Owen’s “ History of the Bible Society,” p. 1 L 
 
228 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 was made for Bibles for the Principality, the Rev. Joseph 
 Hughes, who was at that time one of the secretaries of 
 the Tract Society, gave expression to these memorable 
 words: “ Surely a society might he formed for the purpose; 
 and if for Wales , why not also for the empire and the 
 world?” In this thought, all present shared and rejoiced. 
 The meeting instructed its secretary to follow up the sug- 
 gestion, and prepared a letter, inviting Christians of every 
 name to unite to form a Society to send the word of God, 
 without note or comment, all over the world. 
 
 On the 7th of March, 1804, the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society was actually established, at a meeting held 
 in a room at the London Tavern, in Bishopsgate-street, 
 about 300 persons being present. On that very spot, at 
 
 the commencement of 
 its Jubilee Year, its 
 friends met once more, 
 but there was only one 
 out of this number (the 
 venerable Dr. Stein- 
 kopff) spared to join 
 hands with the present 
 supporters of the old 
 and tried Society, — a 
 Society which has fur- 
 nished a platform on 
 which all Christians 
 could so harmoniously 
 unite in one labour of 
 love, and which has 
 gone on , notwithstand- 
 ing difficulties and ob- 
 jections, doing its own work, conquering and to conquer, 
 in every region to which its operations have been ex- 
 tended. 
 
 In his “ History of the Bible Society,” the Rev. John 
 Owen, a clergyman of the Church of England, who early 
 
THE FIRST MEETING. — ITS HAPPY EFFECT. 229 
 
 became one of its secretaries, has given a touching ac- 
 count of the effect of this first meeting on his own mind. 
 He had received during the previous summer, from Mr. 
 Hughes, two copies of his essay, entitled, “The Excel- 
 lence of the Holy Scriptures : an Argument for their 
 more General Dispersion,” with a request that he would 
 accept one for his own use, and present the other to the 
 Bishop of London. He did present the one copy as re- 
 quested, but “ took little pains either to understand or 
 recommend the other”; in fact, he scarcely thought 
 of it again, until he received a circular letter inviting 
 him to attend the meeting for the formation of the 
 Society ; and then, perceiving the name of his intimate 
 and valued friend, Granville Sharp, Esq., at the head of 
 the signatures, he was induced to attend, though almost 
 against his will. On entering the room, he had scarcely 
 taken the station assigned to him by the committee, before 
 he perceived, as he says, to his great astonishment, that 
 three of this committee, from their dress, and from their 
 wearing their hats, were Quakers. 
 
 Now, Mr. Owen at that time shared deeply in the 
 popular prejudice and belief, that the Quakers, or, more 
 properly, members of “ The Society of Friends,” did not 
 read or love the Bible ; and noble is his confession, that 
 his after- experience of their conduct in the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society repeatedly made him ashamed of 
 this prejudice. 
 
 The business of the day was opened by Robert Cowie, 
 Esq.; William Alers Hankey, Esq., followed, and was 
 succeeded by Samuel Mills, Esq., and the Rev. J. Hughes. 
 Each spoke of the want of the Holy Scriptures through- 
 out the world, and urged the necessity of fresh means of 
 supply, in a strain of good sense and temperate zeal. 
 
 Mr. Owen sat and listened, and felt that he must give 
 assent, though with half reluctance ; for the thought of 
 uniting with all denominations of dissenters, for any 
 purpose on earth, was exceedingly distasteful to him; 
 
230 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 but when good Dr. Steinkopff, a German Lutheran clergy- 
 man, arose, the representation he gave of the scarcity of 
 the Scriptures, which he had himself observed in foreign 
 parts, the unaffected simplicity and tender pathos of his 
 appeal for his own countrymen, subdued at once both 
 the mind and heart of Mr. Owen; and, “ by an impulse 
 which he had neither the inclination nor the power to 
 disobey,” he rose and expressed his conviction that such 
 a society was needed, and that its establishment should 
 not be delayed. 
 
 There had been hitherto no point where Christians, for 
 ages kept asunder through different systems of discipline 
 in their communities, and regarding each other too often 
 with a sort of pious horror, could meet, to make one 
 united and loving effort against the evil which is in the 
 world ; but Mr. Owen now felt, that the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society would afford this meeting-point ; 
 for that, whatever might be the differences of opinion 
 and discipline, all who became its members would declare 
 that they belonged to the most ancient and venerable 
 Church of the Book ; and, in the desire to give it to all 
 nations, “ the multitude of them that believed were of 
 one heart and of one soul.” 
 
 In a letter from Mr. Tarn to Mr. Charles, describing 
 this first meeting, and telling him that 700Z. had been 
 subscribed upon the spot, he says, “The Bev. John Owen 
 did the cause great service. He spoke, of his own accord, 
 after the other friends, and, in a most powerful, argu- 
 mentative, and scriptural manner, showed that the Society 
 was founded on the sure word and promises of God.” 
 
 Mr. Charles was not present at the formation of the 
 Society. He was at home among his schools and his 
 people; but he rejoiced to hear of it, and took no honour 
 to himself. He exerted all his influence to obtain sub- 
 scriptions for the support of the new Society, and he and 
 his Welsh friends prayed much for it; so that the contri- 
 butions of the Principality, in the first year, amounted to 
 
ME. OWEN. — MR. PRATT. 
 
 231 
 
 nearly 1900/., “contributed chiefly,” says Mr. Owen, “by 
 the plain and lower orders of people.” Dr. Warren, the 
 bishop of Bangor, and Dr. Burgess, the bishop of St. 
 David’s, were, however, amongst the earliest supporters 
 of the Society in Wales. 
 
 Around this point of union soon rallied many of the 
 noble and the good, who were desirous to come back to 
 the two grand, simple principles of union which prevailed 
 in the early church, to “ hold fast the faithful word,” and 
 to “ love one another .” 
 
 Mr. Owen took great care to make Bishop Porteus, the 
 bishop of London, with whom he was on intimate terms, 
 regularly acquainted with the proceedings of the com- 
 mittee; and the bishop, who felt a lively interest in their 
 affairs, recommended Lord Teignmouth to become their 
 president. Wilberforce, too, the never-to-be-forgotten 
 friend of the slave, at their second general meeting, en- 
 couraged the Society to “ proceed in its work with an 
 ardour and a discretion becoming its object and its end.” 
 
 We can never sufficiently admire the overruling power 
 and grace of God, who had provided instruments so well 
 fitted to the great work of conducting the arrangements 
 of this Society, as Mr. Owen and Mr. Hughes, its first 
 secretaries. These good men are now beyond the award 
 of human praise; therefore we may look back upon the 
 points of character which constituted their fitness. For 
 six weeks after their memorable meeting of the 7th of 
 March, 1804, the Rev. Josiah Pratt (who likewise filled 
 the office of secretary to the Church Missionary Society 
 for twenty-one years) had kindly consented to fill the 
 office of clerical secretary, till a suitable person could be 
 found to undertake it. During this short period, he 
 effected the re-organisation of the committee, which was 
 to consist of thirty-six members of all denominations of 
 Christians, and concerted a plan which should define their 
 respective proportions. 
 
232 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOBY. 
 
 Having established this point, Mr. Pratt begged to pre- 
 sent to the committee the Rev. John Owen, in his own 
 stead, — the duties of his other secretaryship being found, 
 by himself, more than sufficient; and though he thus 
 voluntarily ceased to be connected officially with the 
 concerns of the Bible Society, he continued its firm friend 
 and advocate to the close of his life. 
 
 There is, we are sorry to say, no biography of Mr. 
 Owen, which we can condense for your benefit; but his 
 name will live for ever on the records of the Bible Society. 
 F or the last eighteen years of his life, he devoted him- 
 self almost entirely to its interests, “ with talents that en- 
 livened every topic, and a temper that conciliated every 
 heart.” From the time that, under the influence of the 
 Spirit of God, at its first meeting, he felt the necessity 
 for such a union of Christians, and such a forgetting of- 
 personal prejudices, for the sake of the wide circulation 
 of the Divine word, he never wavered. He had “ en- 
 throned the Bible Society in his heart; and he thought,, 
 and spoke, and wrote, from day to day, as if all his in- 
 terests were staked on its support and advancement.” 
 
 God had endowed him eminently with the tongue of 
 an eloquent speaker, and the “ pen of a ready writer.” 
 He had the higher praise of a disciplined judgment, and 
 a piercing intelligence, combined with frankness, can- 
 dour, urbanity, and diligence, which hardly allowed itself 
 a pause. “ Whether he ascended the pulpit, or entered 
 the crowded hall, or prosecuted the details of business, or 
 carried on a vast correspondence, or undertook the task 
 of the historian, or became a fellow-traveller, or spared a 
 few hours to the social circle, or rejoined his family, he 
 was still the gifted, the judicious, the admirable Owen.” 
 These particulars are chiefly derived from the affec- 
 tionate yet considerate statements of the man who knew 
 him best, in connection with the Society which they both 
 served and loved, — the Rev. Joseph Hughes, minister of 
 
MR. HUGHES. 
 
 23 ^ 
 
 a Baptist church, at Battersea, who for almost thirty 
 years was also the faithful and invaluable secretary of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society. 
 
 It was he whose warm heart and enlarged views first 
 
 dictated the words, “ If 
 for Wales, why not for 
 the world ?” He also 
 wrote the essay which, 
 first announced the 
 plan of “ the proposed 
 society,” deeply inte- 
 resting to read, now 
 that his voice is silent 
 in the grave, while the 
 Society keeps its J ubi- 
 lee, and is fulfilling its 
 promise to the whole 
 earth. 
 
 In this essay, the 
 Societies which had 
 already begun to dis- 
 hughes. tribute the Scriptures 
 
 are enumerated. They are as follows : — 
 
 The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 
 founded in 1698 ; 
 
 The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Fo- 
 reign Parts, in 1701; 
 
 The Society, in Scotland, for Propagating Christian 
 Knowledge, in 1709; 
 
 The Society for Promoting Religious Knowledge among 
 the Poor, in 1750; 
 
 The Bible Society for the Use of the Army and Navy, 
 in 1780; 
 
 The Society for Support and Encouragement of Sun- 
 day Schools, 1785. 
 
 After describing their arrangements, which, though 
 excellent, were insufficient to meet the wants even of 
 
234 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOEY. 
 
 Christendom alone, Mr. Hughes sketched the idea of the 
 Society which “ should be supported by Christians in 
 general, should smile alike on Britons and on Foreigners, 
 should conquer the wide empire of darkness, and, by the 
 light of truth, should scatter the watchful spirits that 
 guard its frontier.” 
 
 The “ universal effort,” which Mr. Hughes suggested, 
 has been made, and the light of truth has gone forth, 
 and is welcomed by u the nations”; but it is for you of 
 this generation to take up the work which your fathers 
 have begun. We hope to show you what fifty years have 
 seen accomplished ; but it is as nothing to the magnitude 
 of that which remains to be done. 
 
 “We need more men like Hughes, and Owen, and 
 Steinkopff, with their self-denying energy, and their 
 sanctified temper, for the service of the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society. We require also that the gold 
 of this world should flow into this noble channel, with 
 something like the tide which attends a single scene of 
 festive pleasure, — such as the race-course at Epsom : and 
 we believe that, when God sees fit, we shall have it; for, 
 at the close of this fifty years, are not China and India , 
 with their 500 millions of souls , yet unevangelised , though 
 the Scriptures are translated into their languages , and many 
 of the harriers to their circulation have been removed ? 
 
 With this fact before our eyes, is one hundred thousand 
 pounds too much to look for from this age of gold, 
 as its Jubilee-offering to the Book of God, from all the 
 world ? 
 
 Is there any one who can consider the Book itself, and 
 mark its history, although struck only in broad outline 
 to arouse young minds to seek it further, and yet refuse 
 to aid in this noble service ? 
 
 We know that the class to whom this volume is more 
 particularly addressed, prefer facts to inferences, example 
 to precept, anecdotes to statistics, and that principles sink 
 deepest into their minds by the power of biography and 
 
THE SOCIETY THE RESULT OP EDUCATION. 235 
 
 narrative. They must, however, follow us for a little 
 while into the statements of the first proceedings of the 
 Society, before we claim their further attention to the 
 lives and histories of its secretaries. 
 
 In concluding this chapter, we may observe, that the 
 Bible Society would not have been, at the commence- 
 ment of the nineteenth century, the want of the age , but 
 for the advance of popular education, which had then 
 begun to prepare the world to receive the seed of God’s 
 holy word. The Sunday-school Societies, the Missionary 
 Institutions, the National, and British and Foreign School 
 Societies, the design of which is to educate the labouring 
 and manufacturing classes, all arose about this time, and 
 in one luminous host led the way into the kingdom of 
 darkness; each and all called upon the Bible Society to 
 supply them with the Scriptures, that they might dis- 
 pense them abroad. The schools could not do without 
 cheap Bibles. The missionaries required the Bible in 
 ancient and modern versions. The united action of all 
 those Societies has distinguished the nineteenth century 
 above every other. It is the age in which people are 
 educated, and the age in which provision is made to 
 supply them freely with the Holy Scriptures. 
 
236 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 ARRIVAL OP BIBLES IN WALES. ANSWER TO PRAYER FOR MR. 
 
 CHARLES. HIS VISIT TO IRELAND. HIS FUNERAL. WANT OF 
 
 THE SCRIPTURES IN SCOTLAND AND IN FRANCE. REVOCATION OF 
 
 THE EDICT OF NANTES, AND ITS RESULTS. SUFFERINGS OF THE 
 
 HUGUENOTS AND VAUDOIS. — REACTION OF INFIDELITY. DESIRE 
 
 OF ENGLAND TO CIRCULATE THE BIBLE IN FRANCE. OBERLIN 
 
 AND THE BAN DE LA ROCHE. SCRIPTURE -READERS. BIBLE 
 
 SOCIETIES AT WALDBACH AND NUREMBERG. SCARCITY OF THE 
 
 SCRIPTURES EVEN IN EUROPE. THEIR CIRCULATION AMONG 
 
 FRENCH AND SPANISH PRISONERS OF WAR. BIBLE SOCIETY AT 
 
 BERLIN. WILLINGNESS OF A PRIEST TO DISTRIBUTE THE NEW 
 
 TESTAMENT. THE FIELD OF LABOUR IN ASIA. CHINESE GOSPELS 
 
 IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. INDIA AND THE TAMIL LANGUAGE. 
 
 AFRICA. — AMERICA. 
 
 One of tlie earliest efforts of tlie committee of tlie Bible 
 Society was, naturally, to provide an edition of Welsh 
 Bibles and Testaments: they first inquired, as has ever 
 been their practice in like circumstances, whether a pre- 
 vious revision might not be necessary ; and since this was 
 the case, some delay necessarily took place, so that the 
 supply of 20,000 Bibles, and 5000 large Testaments, 
 printed for the first time by stereotype-plates, was not 
 ready for distribution until July, 1806. An eye-witness 
 thus describes its reception: “ When the arrival of the 
 cart was announced, which carried the first sacred load, 
 the Welsh peasants went out in crowds to meet it, wel- 
 comed it as the Israelites did the ark of old, drew it into 
 the town, and eagerly bore off every copy as rapidly as 
 they could be dispersed. The young people consumed 
 
ANSWER TO PRAYER FOR MR. CHARLES. 237 
 
 the whole night in reading it, and labourers carried it 
 with them to the fields, that they might enjoy it during 
 the intervals of their labour.” 
 
 Mr. Charles, with whose memory we cannot but con- 
 nect these Welsh Bibles, was travelling, in the autumn 
 of 1799, over a mountain in Merionethshire, one frosty 
 night, and had his hand frost-bitten : an illness followed, 
 and his life was in danger. Under these circumstances, 
 his friends met to pray for his restoration, and one person, 
 alluding to the fifteen years added to Hezekiah’s life, of 
 old, entreated God to spare Mr. Charles’s life also fifteen 
 years: “ Fifteen years, 0 Lord! add but fifteen years to 
 the life of thy servant ! Spare him for fifteen years more 
 to thy church and thy people ! ” Mr. Charles heard of 
 this prayer, and it made a deep impression on his mind. 
 He mentioned it to several friends during the last years 
 of his life, for his death did occur just at the close of the 
 fifteen years. 
 
 It was during this period of fifteen years that the most 
 important acts of his life took place — the most valuable 
 of his works were written — the complete establishment 
 of the Sunday-schools was effected ; and it was during 
 this period he was made one of the honourable instruments 
 employed by Providence to originate the Bible Society. 
 What great and glorious answers were these to the fervent 
 prayer of the poor, simple, old Christian pilgrim at Bala ! 
 
 Mr. Charles was a most industrious man, usually rising 
 between four and five in the morning. He lived ten 
 years after the commencement of the Bible Society. His 
 visit to Ireland was paid, in company with Mr. Hughes, 
 Dr. Bogue, and S. Mills, Esq., for the Hibernian Society, 
 taking with them one thousand Testaments to distri- 
 bute on their way. He noticed that the poor in their 
 cabins were very civil and communicative, but entirely 
 ignorant of the Bible. In Ireland, at this time, not 
 above a third even of Protestant families possessed a 
 Bible, while, amongst Homan Catholics, far more nume- 
 
238 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 rous, a Bible was probably not to be found in more tlian 
 one out of 500 families. He was of opinion that religion 
 could not be diffused among them without Bibles, and 
 preaching in their own language, and schools to teach 
 them to read Irish. “We have not met,” says he, “ with 
 one person who could read Irish, and there are no ele- 
 mentary books in the language. Circulating schools 
 might do wonders here.” 
 
 All these four measures of improvement have been 
 adopted. Bibles have been printed in Irish, schools have 
 been opened to teach it, Scripture-readers are appointed, 
 and the gospel is preached to the people in their own 
 tongue. Much of this good has issued from the visit of 
 Mr. Charles, Mr. Hughes, and their companions. 
 
 The former was called not long after this visit to 
 receive his reward. He died in the fifty-ninth year of 
 his age, and his good wife followed him three weeks 
 afterwards. 
 
 All who had ever known him, spoke of him as “ the 
 good Mr. Charles.” Vast multitudes attended his funeral, 
 and in procession sang hymns from Bala to Llanycil, the 
 parish church, about a mile distant. He had been an 
 “ epistle of Christ, known and read of all men.” His 
 very countenance was heavenly in its expression, and 
 showed the serene mind within. By his works “he, 
 being dead, yet speaketh.” 
 
 Having thus ascertained the state of Wales and of Ire- 
 land, at the commencement of its operations, the attention 
 of the Bible Society was about this time called also to the 
 Gaelic Scriptures ; and it was ascertained that in the 
 Highlands of Scotland very few persons were in possession 
 of a complete Bible. The Gaelic Bible had been pub- 
 lished in four volumes, and about one in forty persons 
 might possess one of these. A complete copy was, from 
 its cost, quite beyond the ability of any poor person to 
 purchase, and, in fact, was not easily to be procured at 
 
THE GAELIC BIBLE. — FRANCE. 
 
 239 
 
 all. In the Isle of Skye, then containing about 15,000 
 persons, and since so memorable for misery and famine, 
 scarcely one Gaelic Bible was to be found. 
 
 A circular was in the summer of 1807 dispatched to 
 the ministers of the Church of Scotland throughout the 
 Highlands, saying, that the whole Gaelic Bible would be 
 sold to subscribers, in October following, at 3s. 3 d., and 
 the Testament at 10 d. ; — information which excited the 
 liveliest joy and gratitude in every manse and cottage. 
 “ I do not suppose,” says one minister, “ that, among 
 4000 souls under my pastoral care, there are a dozen 
 Gaelic Bibles.” Another says, “We are very grateful for 
 this prospect of providing ourselves with the Holy Scrip- 
 tures in our native mother-tongue, — a thing long wished 
 for over all the Highlands of Scotland. Many of the poor 
 of Glasgow, on hearing of these cheap Scriptures in their 
 native tongue, expressed their gratitude with tears of joy. 
 Each copy has hitherto cost 25s. at least.” 
 
 There was, therefore, proof enough that the Society 
 was wanted at home. But while it began to fulfil its 
 mission throughout the Isles of Britain, it had also to 
 look abroad , and in Boman-Catholic, Mahomedan, and 
 Heathen countries, to find the word of God comparatively 
 and almost utterly unknown. 
 
 We purpose to give, in the first place, a picture of the 
 want of it in France. 
 
 You have heard of the two translations of the Bible 
 which had been made in the sixteenth century, by Olive- 
 tan and De Sacy, and carried forth to a wide extent by 
 colporteurs. There were various horrible decrees issued 
 by the parliament at Paris against the book-carriers, who 
 had travelled all over the country, and excited thereby, 
 to the fullest extent, the wrath of all those who wished 
 to hide the Book. Beza, in his “ Ecclesiastical History 
 of the Reformed Churches,” quotes the names of several 
 Bible-colporteurs, who expiated in the flames, and by the 
 
240 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 most dreadful tortures, the crime of having distributed 
 the word of God. 
 
 After this, the very existence of colporteurs, in France, 
 ceased ; and then, towards the close of the seventeenth 
 century, on the 2nd of October, 1685, came the fatal re- 
 vocation of the edict of Nantes. Nantes is a town in 
 Brittany, where Henry IY. had signed an edict in their 
 favour, proclaiming liberty of conscience, and appointing 
 places of safety for the Huguenots : this edict had passed 
 in 1598. 
 
 The old chancellor of Louis XIV., Le Tellier, at the 
 age of eighty-three, being a violent Romanist, and think- 
 ing he did God service, requested the king to afford him 
 the consolation, before he died, of signing the revocation 
 of this edict. His desire was accomplished, and all the 
 Huguenots in the kingdom were abandoned to military 
 execution. The dying chancellor, on signing the edict, 
 actually quoted the beautiful words of Simeon. 
 
 Then began the destruction of the Protestant churches, 
 the shutting up of the schools, and the banishment of all 
 ministers of the reformed faith, within fifteen days. 
 Compliance was to be enforced with the sword ; troops 
 were spread over Normandy, Brittany, Languedoc, and 
 Provence ; and, by their bitter cruelties, a fourth of the 
 kingdom was depopulated, its trade ruined, the whole 
 country being abandoned to the pillage of dragoons. 
 
 “ By this edict,” says St. Simon, “ punishment and 
 torture awaited thousands, families were stripped of their 
 possessions, relations armed against each other, and our 
 manufactures transferred to the stranger. The world saw 
 crowds of their fellow-creatures proscribed, naked, fugi- 
 tive, guilty of no crime, and yet driven to seek an asylum 
 in foreign lands. Their own country was, in the mean- 
 time, subjected to the lash and the galleys, the noble, 
 the affluent, the aged, the weak, often distinguished by 
 their rank no less than by their piety and virtue ; — and 
 all this on no other account than that of their religion. 
 
REVOCATION OF THE EDICT OF NANTES. 241 
 
 Meanwhile, vast numbers were either forced to conform, 
 or feigned to do so, and sacrificed their conscience to their 
 worldly interests. Within twenty-four hours, the same 
 persons were frequently conducted from tortures to ab- 
 juration, from abjuration to the communion-table, at- 
 tended to each alike by the common executioner.” * 
 
 “ On the most moderate computation, the numbers who 
 left the kingdom were 400,000, while an equal number 
 perished, on going into exile, of famine or fatigue, in 
 prison, in the galleys, and on the scaffold; and a million 
 besides, seemingly converted, maintained* in secret, amid 
 tears and desolation, the faith of their forefathers. 
 
 “Bossuet, Flechier, and the Roman hierarchy, were in 
 raptures at the daily accounts of conversion: 6000 abjur- 
 ing in one place, 10,000 in another, the churches could 
 not hold the converts; but it is not thus that the real 
 conversion of mankind is effected ; dragoons and stripes 
 will never permanently enchain the human mind; and 
 this single act of Louis XI Y. did more to enfeeble France, 
 than all his victories had done to strengthen her.”f 
 
 Of course this persecution extended to the Yaudois 
 valleys. There , their inhabitants were henceforth and 
 for ever to cease and discontinue all the exercises of their 
 religion: all the churches and schools were to be razed 
 to the ground ; and whosoever on their sick-beds refused 
 the sacraments of the Popish Church, were to be drawn 
 out on a hurdle, and thrown upon the way-side to die. 
 Every new-born child was, at a week old, to be taken to 
 the cure, and admitted into the Roman-Catholic Church, 
 or the mother was to be publicly whipped with rods, and 
 the father sentenced for five years to the galleys. These 
 and other monstrous threats, the Yaudois, acting as one 
 man, resolved to resist to the last gasp, and they did so; 
 but, oh ! at what a price ! — betrayed and massacred with 
 cruelties of which we will tell you no more. Out of the 
 
 * St. Simon’s “ Memoirs.” f Alison’s “ History of Europe.” 
 
242 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 15,000 Vaudois, who constituted the population of the 
 valleys a few months before, only 2656 reached a refuge 
 in Geneva. One half of the generous population came 
 out to meet them at the Arve, the river which bounds 
 their sublime territory, and there competed, as for an 
 honour, who should receive into his hospitable dwelling 
 these poor sufferers. From Geneva they were afterwards 
 scattered to Brandenburg, to Wurtemburg, to Holland, 
 to America; and so, through the Yaudois valleys, reigned 
 once more the silence of death and desolation. 
 
 “ But it was by enduring, not inflicting tortures, that 
 the apostles established Christianity on an imperishable 
 foundation. The tears of the innocent Huguenots were 
 registered in heaven. They brought down an awful visi- 
 tation on the third and fourth generations; and from the 
 revocation of the edict of Nantes is to be dated the com- 
 mencement of a series of causes and effects which closed 
 the reign of Louis XIV. in mourning, and brought on the 
 re-action of infidelity and atheism, which issued in the 
 devolution that overthrew the throne and the church, 
 and covered France with indelible stains of bloodshed 
 and disgrace.” 
 
 In November, 1804, a letter was received from M. 
 Oberlin, the pastor of the Ban de la Eoche, a dreary and 
 secluded territory, in Alsace, at twelve leagues’ distance 
 from Strasbourg, of a very interesting character. The 
 Ban de la Eoche was favoured in a peculiar degree with 
 the benefits of education amidst surrounding ignorance, 
 through the labours of this excellent Lutheran clergyman. 
 Like Mr. Charles of Bala, he prepared his people to re- 
 ceive the Scriptures, and excited the desire for them, and 
 at the same time he sought in every way to improve their 
 temporal condition, teaching them to make roads, build 
 cottages, raise crops, etc. : still they were extremely poor, 
 and destitute of the word of God. He therefore, at Basle, 
 at great expense, procured three copies of the French 
 
M. OBERLIN. 
 
 243 
 
 Bible, from which purchase ensued most gratifying re- 
 sults. Three poor villagers, to whom they were given, 
 being devoted Bible-missionaries, went from cottage to 
 cottage to read to the inmates the sacred volume, lending 
 it to one for a day, to another for a shorter period, every 
 time that a desire for such loan was manifested. These 
 were indeed colporteurs, whose labours were only stopped 
 by the wearing out of the three copies, passing, as they 
 did, through so many hands little used to take care of 
 books. 
 
 Then Pastor Oberlin heard of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society, and begged its help in his work : to him 
 the committee made their first grant in favour of France, 
 of 20/. His letter, describing the three devoted women 
 to whom he meant to give the first new Bibles, is pre- 
 served among its records. Sophia Bernard, — who had 
 undertaken the support and education of three helpless 
 boys, whom their wicked father often trampled under his 
 feet, when, starving with hunger, they dared to cry for 
 food, and who had likewise saved the lives of four Roman- 
 Catholic children, a prey to want and famine, supporting 
 all seven by the labour of her own hands, and bringing 
 up these poor children in the most careful and excellent 
 manner, — was to have a new Bible, considering that her 
 own was so often lent out in different Roman- Catholic 
 villages. 
 
 A second was to be given to Maria Schepler, who lived 
 in a part of the parish where all the people were so poor 
 that they were obliged to lend their clothes to each other, 
 when they attended the communion. Maria was mother, 
 benefactress, and teacher, to the whole village where she 
 lived, and also to neighbouring districts; she, too, brought 
 up orphans, kept a school for them, and was always lend- 
 ing her Bible to those who were destitute of it. 
 
 The third Bible was to be given to Catherine Scheid- 
 degger, another mother to orphans, and teacher of the 
 poor: “ and the eyes of all of them,” said Oberlin, u will 
 
244 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 overflow with grateful tears, if they are favoured with the 
 present of a Bible.” 
 
 It is worthy of notice that the active benevolence of 
 thousands of the ladies of England, as well as in France 
 and other countries, in promoting the interests of the 
 Society during the last half century, may be said to have 
 derived its origin from the humble efforts of these poor 
 women in the Ban de la Roche. This was the small 
 rivulet among the mountains that has given rise to the 
 majestic river. 
 
 Mr. Owen visited M. Oberlin’s parish, in 1818, and saw 
 44 two of these interesting peasants, — the other had been 
 removed to her rest. He told them that he felt as if he 
 had known them for nearly fourteen years, and that they 
 had stirred up the zeal of many to labour after their 
 example. 4 Oh sir ! ’ said Sophia Bernard, 4 this does indeed 
 humble us’; adding many remarks in relation to their 
 obscurity, the imperfection of their works, and the 
 honour they considered it to labour for Him who had 
 done every thing for them.” 
 
 From the first year of the establishment of the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society, Pastor Oberlin, his son Henry, 
 and M. Legrand, formed a small committee in the parish 
 of Waldbach, ■which became a central point for scattering 
 the Scriptures throughout France; and more than 10,000 
 Bibles and Testaments were circulated throughout that 
 country before the Paris Bible Society was formed. During 
 a journey in the south of France, in 1815, for that Society f 
 the excellent Henry Oberlin caught a severe cold, in assist- 
 ing to extinguish a fire in some town; and, returning to 
 the Ban de la Roche, died of consumption, amid the 
 regrets of his friends and neighbours. 
 
 At Nuremberg, also, an imperial city of Germany, a 
 Bible Society was formed, in 1814, to co-operate with 
 that in London, to which the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society presented 100/., to enable it immediately to print 
 
245 
 
 PRISONERS OF WAR, AT PLYMOUTH. 
 
 5000 German Testaments, selling them at fivepence each. 
 This auxiliary proved “ the cradle of our continental 
 greatness.” 
 
 It is very interesting to refer back to these small begin- 
 nings of the British and Foreign Bible Society itself, and 
 to the rise of its first tributary streams. The number of 
 these steadily and rapidly increased ; for the secretaries 
 made it their chief business, ill its early days, to obtain all 
 the information they could, respecting the want of the 
 Scriptures in every part of the world. 
 
 But it was now' a time of war all over Europe — a time 
 which may be distinctly remembered by some of the 
 parents of our young friends, but which they, the children 
 of an almost forty years’ peace, have little power to 
 realize. 
 
 Great Britain, from her immense resources, was univer- 
 sally allowed to be the arbiter of nations, and the most 
 powerful of kingdoms; and after the peace of Amiens, in 
 1802, was engaged in hostilities against the power of 
 Napoleon. 
 
 Among the French and Spanish prisoners of war, the 
 Bible Society occupied itself in distributing the Scrip- 
 tures in their native languages. They directed 2000 
 Spanish Testaments to be printed, and expended 100/. 
 upon the purchase of Testaments, in French, preparing, 
 meanwhile, a stereotype edition of the latter. It appeared, 
 that out of a number of 5000 French prisoners, at Ply- 
 mouth, nearly half were able to read, and out of 1700 
 Spanish, 800. A correspondent says, “ Many sought the 
 books with tears and entreaties, and received the words of 
 eternal life; since which, I have witnessed the most pleas- 
 ing sight that my eyes ever beheld — nearly one thousand 
 poor prisoners sitting round the prison-walls, reading the 
 word of God, with an apparent eagerness that would have 
 put many professing Christians to the blush.” 
 
 From time to time, exchange of prisoners was made, 
 and thus the word of God crossed the water, with the 
 
246 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOBY. 
 
 returning soldiers. Several of these stray Bibles were 
 known to have led to the foundation of Protestant 
 churches ; and some of the present colporteurs have been 
 powerfully aided in their mission, by men who were 
 formerly prisoners of war in England. 
 
 Besides making this happy use of the quarrels of 
 nations, the Society continued to avail itself of every 
 possible point of access to the continent, and to aid every 
 association established abroad, to sell the Scriptures in 
 their own lands, at reduced prices. 
 
 The foundation of a Bible Society was laid at Berlin, in 
 1806, and received the sanction of his majesty the King 
 of Prussia. To this institution, as to that of Nuremberg, 
 100/. was voted by the British and Foreign Bible Society. 
 
 If this was the field of labour that lay before the 
 Society in Europe, when it passed over to Asia, it be- 
 held almost the whole of that wide continent yet to be 
 possessed. Its first attention was drawn toward China, 
 by the notice of a manuscript, in Chinese, existing in 
 the British Museum, of the chief part of the New Testa- 
 ment, which it was at first proposed that the Society 
 should print, with the view of circulating it among 360 
 millions of people. It was found, however, that, owing, 
 to the intricacy of the Chinese characters, this could only 
 be done at the expense of two guineas each volume, and 
 the intention was relinquished until a future day. In 
 the meantime, the indefatigable Dr. Morrison went to 
 work in his cellar, at Canton, on a fresh translation, to 
 which, however, the former was of some service. 
 
 As we have before observed, God provided men for 
 the secretaries, just such as He needed ; and now He 
 provided suitable men for translators, or rather for the 
 foundation of the work of translation ; for that, during 
 the last half century, has in every version made progress 
 by degrees towards perfection. 
 
TAMIL VERSION EOR INDIA. 247 
 
 When Carey, Marshman, and Ward sat down to render 
 the word of God into the fifteen polished languages of 
 India, with its millions of souls, that word existed only 
 in the Tamil, the translation of Schultze, the missionary of 
 the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. The 
 ^ important territory in which the Tamil is spoken includes 
 Madras, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, Madura, Tinnevelly, and 
 Coimbatoor. It came under British government in the 
 year 1801, and the inhabitants have been estimated at 
 more than six millions. They are chiefly Hindus of the 
 Brahminical sect. 
 
 The scarcity of the Scriptures in the Tamil country 
 was first pressed upon the notice of the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society, by Dr. Buchanan, in 1806. He 
 speaks of ten or twelve thousand Protestant Christians, of 
 whom not one in a hundred had a New Testament. In 
 consequence, the committee bought up all the copies of 
 the Tamil Scriptures that could be obtained, and sent 
 them to Tanjore, in 1810, where they were received with 
 the most lively gratitude. 
 
 The spirit in which the Society’s liberal grants of help 
 to the missionaries and translators in India were made, 
 is shown by the letter they wrote to accompany the gift : 
 “ The committee would by no means have you under- 
 stand, that their design of aiding you in your glorious 
 work is ended with these donations : on the contrary, they 
 consider your undertaking as vast and progressive, and 
 are determined to sustain you in it, to the utmost of their 
 ability, by liberal and successive supplies.” This was a 
 letter written in 1810. 
 
 Meanwhile, over the islands of the Pacific and the Indian 
 Archipelago lay the vail of deep darkness. The state of 
 Africa was that of unexplored ignorance, except that here 
 and there the margin of the south was illumined by Bibles 
 from Holland ; but for the interior there was no Bible. 
 
 The only region upon which the light of revelation 
 
248 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOBY. 
 
 could be said in any degree to shine, was the northern 
 line, where Arabic is spoken ; for, although versions of 
 the Coptic and Ethiopic had, as we have seen, in early 
 times been made, yet by the mass of the people they 
 were neither read nor understood. 
 
 America, in her northern regions, fared more gener- 
 ously : the colonies of England were partially supplied. 
 The Bible constituted the inheritance of the magnificent 
 Union of the States: the pilgrim fathers had conveyed it 
 in the “ Mayflower,” in the year 1620; Oglethorpe bore 
 it to Georgia, and thus it was embalmed in the memory 
 of his people. Captain Norton, a chief of six nations of 
 Indians in Upper Canada, translated the Gospel of John 
 into the Mohawk dialect — the current language of those 
 six nations — and, in the first year of its existence, the 
 Bible Society printed 2000 copies of this Gospel, for cir- 
 culation in Canada. John Eliot’s version of the New 
 Testament, in the Virginian language, had been circulated 
 in Massachusetts, in 1661, also to the number of 2000 
 copies ; but in Mexico, the western isles, and the king- 
 doms of the southern hemisphere, although the people 
 were called Christians, and acknowledged a belief in reve- 
 lation, few had ever seen a Bible. 
 
 Such was the “immense range” on which the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society looked forth in the year 1807 ; 
 and, measuring, as they say, from north to south from. 
 Iceland to the Cape of Good Hope, or from east to west 
 from Hindustan to Buenos Ayres (China was not then 
 open to the Bible), “ they saw no other limits to the 
 beneficial operation of this Institution, than that which 
 their funds might prescribe ; but they indulged the ani- 
 mating hope, that, by the progressive efforts of the So- 
 ciety, in circulating the Holy Scriptures, ‘ the earth shall 
 be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as 
 the waters cover the sea (Habak. ii. 14\ 
 
249 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE BIBLE SOCIETY’S “ REPORTS ” NOT BULL BOOKS I WHAT IT IS 
 
 THAT THEY CONTAIN. THE SWAY OF GREAT BRITAIN AND ITS 
 
 PURPOSE. THE WORLD’S INHABITANTS, IN FIVE DIVISIONS. THE 
 
 WORK OF THE BIBLE SOCIETY AMONGST EACH. THE WAY IT IS 
 
 ACCOMPLISHED, BY DIVISION OF LABOUR, AND BY VARIOUS AGENTS. 
 
 THE BIBLE SOCIETY LIKE THE BANIAN TREE. ITS FIBRES 
 
 TAKING ROOT IN THE PROTESTANT COUNTRIES, FIRST IN ENGLAND, 
 
 BY THE BIBLE ASSOCIATIONS AND AUXILIARIES. THE SYSTEM 
 
 GRADUALLY MATURED. DIVISION OF DISTRICTS. LADIES’ COM- 
 MITTEES. THE SYSTEM OF CO-OPERATION. OBJECTIONS TO THE 
 
 SOCIETY. LORD TEIGNMOUTH’s ANSWER. MR. DEALTRY’s. MR. 
 
 WARD’S. OPERATIONS AT HOME. EXTRACTS FROM REPORTS OF 
 
 COLLECTORS. THE DYING CHILD. THE OLD WOMAN AND THE 
 
 WOOL. THE BIBLE-BEES. THE GUN AND THE BIBLE. MR. DUD- 
 LEY’S REVIEW. THE DEATH OF MR. OWEN. DISTRIBUTION OF 
 
 THE SCRIPTURES IN IRELAND. ANECDOTES. 
 
 It is by no means easy to arrange and condense tbe mass 
 of information which we wish to convey to your minds, 
 concerning the rise and progress of this most magnificent 
 of Societies. 
 
 You are not likely to read through sixteen volumes 
 of “ Keports,” five of “ Monthly Extracts ” from the corre- 
 spondence of the Society, Mr. Owen’s three volumes of 
 its History, and Mr. Dudley’s admirable Analysis of its 
 system. It is possible, that, in glancing at them in your 
 fathers’ libraries, you may have even thought them “ dull 
 books,” or at least books which it did not concern you to 
 examine ; nevertheless, we shall try and make you wish 
 to read them. 
 
 These books contain in truthful detail the history of 
 
250 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 the progress of God’s word through the world, — of the 
 uttering of his voice to all the earth. It is uttered in 
 more majestic (because in more perfected) form than it 
 was to Israel at Sinai. The whole Bible is ours , “ upon 
 whom the ends of the world are come.” We have not 
 only a Pentateuch, but a New Testament ; and “ freely 
 as we have received, freely we should give.” 
 
 We are not as the Jews were, — simply the early guar- 
 dians of the oracles of God, but we are their dispensers 
 to all the earth. F or this God has raised Great Britain to 
 her pre-eminence amongst the nations ; for this has He 
 placed under her island sway vast continents and distant 
 climes, and has given her a dominion so extraordinary, 
 that, as we trace its boundaries, its extent seems scarcely 
 to be credible. 
 
 The population of the British Isles alone is greater than 
 that of Spain, Portugal, Sweden, and Norway, added to- 
 gether; and besides her Home Empire, England holds, 
 in Europe , the Channel Isles, Gibraltar, Malta, and the 
 Ionian Isles. 
 
 In America , her possessions are Upper and Lower 
 Canada, a territory larger than France and Spain; New 
 Brunswick, larger than Scotland ; Nova Scotia, Prince 
 Edward’s Island, and Newfoundland, comprehending to- 
 gether as great a space as England and Wales ; with the 
 Hudson’s Bay territory, extending to the pole ; thirteen 
 islands in the West Indies, with the Bermudas, the 
 Bahamas, and the Virgin Isles ; Honduras, larger than 
 Holland ; and British Guiana, the size of Wales. 
 
 In Africa , Sierra Leone, in whose capital, Free-town, 
 she has a community of 50,000 freed slaves ! Cape Coast 
 Castle, and the adjacent settlements ; the islands of Ascen- 
 sion and of St. Helena ; Port Natal, and the Cape Colony 
 (equal in extent to France, and with a climate similar to 
 that of Spain), to which she has lately given a free con- 
 stitution. 
 
 In Asia, the Mauritius; with other isles in the Indian 
 
GREAT BRITAIN'S SWAT, AND ITS PURPOSE. 251 
 
 Ocean ; Ceylon, the isle of palms, of spices, and of pearls, 
 nearly equal in size to Scotland ; and India — a kingdom 
 including 448,000 square miles, yielding a revenue ex- 
 ceeding the revenue of all the Russias, and whose gover- 
 nor-general has at his command an army of 300,000 men. 
 
 Further India, likewise, with its divisions of Malacca 
 and Singapore ; Penang ; and Hong Kong, in China ; 
 with Australia, the island continent, only to be compared 
 in space with three-fifths of Europe; Van Diemen’s Land, 
 as large as Ireland ; and New Zealand, nearly the size of 
 Great Britain itself 
 
 The Rev. Vm. Arthur, formerly a missionary in India, 
 who has given a picture of this vast extent of power, 
 in a lecture delivered to the young men of London, ob- 
 serves, that “ our Queen reigns over more Roman Catho- 
 lics than the Pope, over more Mahomedans than the 
 Sublime Porte, and over more Pagans than there are in 
 the whole continent of Africa !” 
 
 Now, it is for God’s word’s sake that Great Britain has 
 been thus made the mistress of the world. We read with 
 glowing hearts of her possessions and her conquests, often 
 gained with comparatively little bloodshed, and as it were 
 ceded to her acknowledged right, and feel the pride of 
 Britons that we were born under her temperate and 
 changeful skies. And can we possibly think the history 
 of her noblest deeds, which these Bible Reports record, 
 dull and unworthy to be read? Surely those who read 
 and love the Bible, — those to whose hearts it has effec- 
 tually revealed its tidings of great joy, and its solace in 
 the hour of sorrow, — those in whose homes it is the law 
 of love, and the rule of faith and practice , — must care to 
 know the history of that noble Society whose object it is 
 not only to distribute this Bible in every country of the 
 world, but to put it into the hands of every human being. 
 
 You will look with reverence on a “ Bible Report,” as 
 it is called, if you are prepared to understand it , — if you 
 have in your mind’s eye that portion of the earth, the 
 
252 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 wide continent, or the smiling island, to which the word 
 of God has been carried in its own language, whether for 
 the first time, or in repeated abundance, and if you know 
 what has been the need of the word there, which called 
 for that supply, — if you could see, also, the change which 
 the reception of that word has produced, and, if it were a 
 heathen country, the moral conduct, the upright dealing, 
 the purer manners, and the decorous dress, which, as 
 experience testifies, are “ sure to follow, wherever the 
 reading of the Bible becomes general.” 
 
 In order, therefore, to assist your memories, we shall 
 divide the world into separate regions, not according to 
 their geographical order, but according to the general 
 religious belief of their several inhabitants, and survey the 
 proceedings of the Bible Society within each range. 
 
 We must have five divisions — 
 
 1. The Protestant countries. 
 
 2. The Jews, and remnants of ancient Chris- 
 tian Churches. 
 
 3. Those where the Roman-Catholic religion 
 and the Greek Church prevail. 
 
 4. The Maiiomedan countries. 
 
 5. The Heathen or Pagan countries. 
 
 What has been the work of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society in each of these? And in what way, and 
 by whom, was it accomplished ? We must answer the 
 latter question first. 
 
 It has been accomplished upon the principle of division 
 of labour. Fifty persons, as you have seen, are em- 
 ployed upon the mere paper, and printing, and binding 
 of a Bible. When the Book is in existence, as a book, 
 it is scattered over the world by various agents. 
 
 Many laborious servants of the Society join to spread it 
 abroad: — the missionary, in his exile from his friends and 
 country, his own heart cheered by the Book, and his 
 hand distributing it wherever he goes ; — the travelling 
 
LABOURS OF THE SOCIETY’S SERVANTS. 25$ 
 
 agent, “ ‘plying his unwearied round of visits,” often amid 
 those who care but little to receive them, but often, 
 also, where he is warmly welcomed and encouraged ; — 
 the depositary and accountant, with their assistants, work- 
 ing at their desks with tireless zeal and fidelity for a long 
 term of years; — the invaluable secretaries, carrying on the 
 correspondence with all nations; — the translators, who, in 
 the land where the language is spoken, sit down to create 
 first, perhaps, its grammar and its dictionary, nay, its 
 very letters, before they can approach their noble task 
 itself ; — then the colporteur, in various countries and in 
 all weathers, exposed to numerous difficulties and hard- 
 ships, sometimes received with welcome, it is true, but at 
 others with unkindness, and even menace, and sometimes 
 subject to slanderous accusations and unjust imprison- 
 ment ; — then there are the unpaid collectors, the life-blood 
 of the Society, who also, for the true love of the work, 
 engage in their weekly rounds, unnoticed save by Him 
 for whose sake they labour. It is by all these that the 
 seed is scattered; — “the seed is the word,” and “the 
 field is the world.” 
 
 It is to the persevering labours of all these, as the 
 Earl of Carlisle told us at the late memorable Jubilee 
 meeting, that the nations owe their 8000 Bible Societies,, 
 their Bibles in 148 languages, and their forty-six millions, 
 of copies, — the fruit of the first half century of the exist- 
 ence of the Bible Society. Well might Mr. Dudley once 
 compare it to “ the sacred tree of India,* bending its 
 branches to the earth, whence they again sprang forth, 
 and extended their refreshing shade throughout the 
 land.” 
 
 He meant the banian tree, the Jicus Indica , whose 
 nature it is to cover with its branches a space sufficient 
 to shelter a regiment of cavalry, and which is often used 
 as a natural canopy for great assemblies. It was at an 
 
 * See Dudley’s “Analysis,” p. 135. 
 
254 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 encampment under one of these trees, on the river Sutlej, 
 that Eunjeet Singh, the robber chief, compelled Shah 
 Sujah, the representative of a race of kings, to yield up 
 to him the Koh-i-noor, that jewel which was the object 
 of his insatiate ambition. It is said, that, for a whole 
 hour, the exiled monarch gazed on Eunjeet Singh, with- 
 out speaking, who, still unmoved by this mute eloquence, 
 insisted on his demand. 
 
 The Banian Tree. 
 
 The branches spread to a great extent, dropping their 
 fibres here and there, which take root as soon as they 
 reach the ground, and rapidly increase in size, till they 
 rival the parent trunk, and cover a quantity of ground 
 almost incredible. Eeinwardt says, that he observed, on 
 the island of Semao, in the Indian Archipelago, a large 
 wood, whose trunks all proceeded from the stem of a 
 single ficus, united with each other by their branches. 
 
 The Bible Society may well be likened to this tree ! 
 
ENGLAND. 
 
 255 
 
 Let us see how its fibres took root in the PROTESTANT 
 countries of the world, during the first twenty-five years 
 of its existence, — in England , Scotland , Ireland , Holland , 
 half of Germany , three fifths of Prussia , three fifths of 
 Switzerland , Sweden, Norway , Denmark , Iceland , 
 
 in the United States of America , m Canada , < 2/50 m 
 
 the West-Indian Islands , subject to Dutch and Danish , 
 Swedish and British sway. 
 
 ' ENGLAND. 
 
 During the first year of the Society, there were no 
 Bibles issued, — the printers being unable to complete 
 their work. They did not then print by steam-presses. 
 Stereotype-plates were, at this time, made for the English 
 Testament ; and its circulation was effected, at first, very 
 much by the agency of individuals, and by Sunday- 
 schools, as also by grants to the Naval and Military 
 Bible Society, for the benefit of soldiers and sailors. 
 
 As its Reports became public, its sphere of usefulness 
 increased. The production of the first supply of Welsh 
 and Gaelic Scriptures, and their reception, have already 
 been noticed. Some Bibles and Testaments were also 
 provided at low prices for the inhabitants of the Isle of 
 Man ; and two years after its formation, i. e ., in 1806, its 
 first fibre took root, and the committee acknowledged a 
 donation from an association of young men, in London, 
 formed for the purpose of contributing to its funds. In 
 the same year a similar contribution was received from 
 the town of Birmingham, where a Bible Association had 
 been formed ; and these voluntary associations, Mr. Owen 
 says, “ contained the rudiments of Auxiliary Bible So- 
 cieties.” 
 
 In the same year, and in 1807, further associations 
 were established at Bath, Glasgow, and Greenock, which 
 proposed to receive small monthly subscriptions ; and thus, 
 by collective additions, the Parent Society, in its third 
 
256 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 year, told of an increase of 3007. in its annual subscrip- 
 tions, while more than 1000/. came in from Wales, and 
 4000/. from Scotland. During the same year, also, a 
 lady added a bequest of 1000 guineas, side by side with 
 which appears the contribution of 18/. from the children 
 and teachers of the Holborn Sunday-school. It is a 
 memorable fact, that Juvenile Bible Associations consti- 
 tuted the earliest auxiliaries or helps to the Parent In- 
 stitution, and have continued to the present day to pour 
 their small but unfailing rills into that mighty river by 
 which all the nations are refreshed. 
 
 But it was reserved for the town of Reading, in 
 Berkshire, to give to Great Britain and the world the 
 first example of a regular Auxiliary Bible Society. 
 Dr. Yalpy, well known to many by his “ Latin Grammar,” 
 was also an earnest and early friend of the Bible Society. 
 He first preached in its behalf, and declared its object ; 
 and then, with other gentlemen, convened a meeting in 
 the town-hall, under the sanction of the mayor, on the 
 28th of March, 1809, at which meeting it was determined 
 to adopt, as far as possible, the rules and regulations of 
 the Parent Society. 
 
 Now this auxiliary had in view two principal objects, — 
 one to collect subscriptions (as the former associations had 
 done) in aid of the general funds ; and the other, with 
 half the money it should collect, to purchase Bibles and 
 Testaments from the Parent Society, to be distributed in 
 its own town and neighbourhood. After the example of 
 the Parent society, it appointed a clergyman, a dissenting 
 minister, and a layman, for its secretaries. 
 
 The year ending in May, 1810, saw the establishment 
 of ten societies like this in England, and three in Scotland. 
 But the system was not yet perfect ; they had not de- 
 termined on the way to find out the want of the Bible 
 among the poor of their own neighbourhoods ; and Mr. 
 Richard Phillips, who, in 1810, was elected a member 
 of the Parent committee, was the first to point out the 
 
USEFULNESS OF THE AUXILIARY SYSTEM. 257 
 
 extent of usefulness to which this auxiliary system was 
 capable of being applied. 
 
 According to the plans which he proposed and pub- 
 lished, and which were adopted by the Society as their 
 own, the respective auxiliary committees were recom- 
 mended (for the Parent Institution assumes no control 
 over its dependent societies) to pursue the orderly and 
 effective way of raising subscriptions, by dividing their 
 town or neighbourhood into districts, and appointing two 
 or more of their members as visiters in each, to make 
 minute and personal inquiries among the habitations of 
 the poor, and encourage the sale of Bibles among them, 
 at cost or reduced prices, in preference to absolute gift. 
 
 The calls upon the richer part of the population were 
 to be made in the same way, with a request for their sup- 
 port and approbation. A meeting of the committee was 
 to be held every month, and a general and public meet- 
 ing every year. 
 
 To every auxiliary of this kind might be attached, if 
 it embraced a wide sphere of labour, twelve or more 
 Bible Associations, to be carried on by the same rules and 
 regulations. 
 
 The Southwark Auxiliary Bible Society, established in 
 1812, afforded a fair example of the working of the system, 
 which speedily extended itself over the kingdom of Great 
 Britain. The members of the twelve associations con- 
 nected with this auxiliary, met monthly, each in their own 
 committee, transacted their business, and passed over their 
 collections to the auxiliary society, which again passed 
 them to the Parent committee. 
 
 For two years and a half these twelve committees, all 
 composed of gentlemen, were in full operation, and the 
 results were very cheering. Many thousand Bibles and 
 Testaments were distributed, and 4600Z. was remitted to 
 the auxiliary society. Still, various cases occurred in 
 which subscriptions could only be suitably solicited from 
 
 females, by members of their own sex, and the consequent 
 
 18 
 
258 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 formation of ladies’ associations, in South. walk, completed 
 the efficiency of that valuable auxiliary. 
 
 Twelve committees of ladies then met, and conducted 
 their own business, passing over the proceeds of tlieir 
 collections to the treasurer of the gentlemen’s committee, 
 and these again to the auxiliary, which, thus receiving 
 twenty-four constant tributary streams, not only distri- 
 buted large numbers of Bibles and Testaments in its own 
 neighbourhood, but added greatly to the funds of the 
 Parent Society. 
 
 In Great Britain there are now 445 of these auxiliaries, 
 with 2825 branches and associations ; therefore, if you 
 have had patience to follow the business-detail of the 
 last two or three pages, and if you have gained an idea of 
 the system of the British and Foreign Bible Society, as 
 carried out in one place, you have only to multiply this 
 idea in your mind, and conceive of thousands of such 
 associations, at work, every week and ever y month, in 
 many parts of the world. 
 
 The establishment of the ladies’ associations, in South- 
 wark, in 1814, brings us to the beginning of those times 
 of peace which have happily endured ever since in Eng- 
 land. 
 
 The machinery of the Society was now perfect, and it 
 has continued to act on the same principle and system 
 ever since. 
 
 Amid the calamities of an expensive war, its constitu- 
 tion had been thus far matured, and its treasury supplied. 
 Among convicts at Portsmouth, felons in Newgate, and 
 to all gaols, hospitals, workhouses, and hulks, its gifts had 
 been abundant. 
 
 Meanwhile, you would scarcely believe it, but this 
 Society had enemies, — men who, hardly knowing what 
 they did, misunderstood and maligned it. Some earnest 
 friends of the venerable and excellent Society for Pro- 
 moting Christian Knowledge, which, as we have seen, 
 
MR. DEALTRY S AMUSING FABLE. 
 
 25 9 
 
 had circulated and translated Bibles as far as its funds 
 would allow, conceived that the Bible Society interfered 
 with its province, and diminished its income. This So- 
 ciety was supported, and still is, entirely by members of 
 the Church of England. 
 
 To this, Lord Teignmouth, an attached member of 
 that church, and also the president of the committee in 
 Earl-street, replied, that “ he was informed, and he be- 
 lieved most correctly, that the annual amount of sub- 
 scriptions to the Society for Promoting Christian Know- 
 ledge, had considerably increased since the establishment 
 of the Bible Society 5 ’; and the Rev. W. Dealtry, M.A., 
 Eellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, in the form of an 
 amusing fable on the subject, strongly recommended a 
 good understanding between the two Societies. 
 
 “ Once upon a time,” said he, “ in the midst of a 
 parched and dreary land, there gushed from the top of a 
 mountain a fine spring of water : the wilderness was con- 
 verted into a garden, where it flowed, and verdure was 
 the sure companion of its progress. 
 
 “After some time, a similar stream began to flow from 
 the summit of a neighbouring hill. It became the parent 
 of many branching rivulets, which cheered the face of 
 nature on every side, and carried happiness and abundance 
 into the remotest lands. 
 
 “ The good old stream was a little touched with jealousy, 
 and addressed its neighbour in the following terms : 6 Do 
 you not know that you are intruding into a country which 
 I have pre-occupied, and that you and your rivulets in- 
 terfere with, impede, and curtail, the inestimable benefits 
 of grass and green fields which I have so happily pro- 
 moted?’ 
 
 “ 4 Why,’ said the other, 6 how can that be ? Are not 
 my streams as pure as your own, and does not the desert 
 smile likewise wherever I go ? J 
 
 44 6 Your streams do indeed profess to be pure, though 
 I have something, if I choose, to say on that point ; but 
 
260 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 I insist upon it, that I am the good old stream, and that 
 you are an interloper : I should not err much if I called 
 you a thief/ 
 
 44 4 A thief ! Have I ever stolen anything from you ?’ 
 44 4 Yes, you have : it can need no proof \ that, if your 
 mouth were closed, some of the water which now courses 
 along your channels would, by filtration through the 
 mountain, fall into mine/ 
 
 4 4 4 It is certainly very possible that some fifteen or 
 twenty drops might have reached you by this under- 
 ground filtration ; but see what a noble body of water I 
 possess, and I employ the whole for the benefit of these 
 parched and thirsty lands ! ’ 
 
 4 4 4 What business, I ask you, have you to flow at all ? 
 I existed for ages before any one thought of you ; and I 
 am by no means convinced, notwithstanding your impos- 
 ing and devouring claims, that you confer any benefit 
 whatever. Your very complexion is offensive ; and, on 
 the whole, you offer great possibilities of evil, and are a 
 very shabby current ; yet, little as I admire you, I would 
 rather that you would become a feeder to me, than move 
 in this unauthorised manner through the world alone/ 
 
 44 4 My good friend, it is quite impossible : some of my 
 rivulets might possibly be turned so as to fall into your 
 channel, but there are copious branches, which, from the 
 nature of the country, roll on in other directions, and 
 cannot by any process be made to combine with yours : 
 neither, as I believe, would you be willing to receive 
 them ; while, therefore, we carry cheerfulness and delight 
 on every side, let us be content to pursue our own chan- 
 nels in quietness and peace/ ” 
 
 Lord Teignmouth’s assertion, that the first Society wa3 
 benefited by the second, was shown to be true, by another 
 clergyman, the Eev. W. Ward, rector of Mayland, near 
 Colchester. 44 1 consider them,” said he, 44 not as rivals, 
 but the reverse. I consider the new as helpful to the old, 
 and that both will promote a more general diffusion of 
 
COMPARATIVE ISSUES OF THE SCRIPTURES. 261 
 
 Christian knowledge. The harvest is great, and the Lord 
 of the harvest seems now to he raising up a great host of 
 labourers to reap it. Now, the funds drawn exclusively 
 from the members of any one church, even from the Church 
 of England itself, are not sufficient to this general diffusion 
 of the gospel ; but the unlimited resources of the Bible 
 Society, the united contributions, legacies, and donations of 
 all descriptions of Christians, can do wonders, — can abso- 
 lutely supply the place of miracles, and the gift of tongues. 
 The object is so glorious, so grand, so sublime! — the 
 scheme is so full of the love of God, the love of our 
 country, and the love of our fellow-creatures, — that it 
 should have our last prayers when we lie down at night, 
 and our first when we awake in the morning.” 
 
 Mr. Ward also showed, that, in 1803, the year before 
 the Bible Society commenced, the subscriptions to the 
 Christian Knowledge Society were 2119/., but that in 
 1809, they were 3413/. — an increase of above one-half; 
 while, as to the issues of Bibles and Testaments, the 
 issues from the old Society alone were, in 1803, 17,779, 
 but in 1809, they were 22,611 ; while the sum-total of 
 Bibles, Testaments, and Psalters, circulated by both 
 Societies, in 1809, was 99,883 ; — more Bibles, Testa- 
 ments, and Psalters, issued in 1809, than in 1800, eighty 
 six thousand! This proof was unanswerable.* 
 
 The triumphant defence which the Bible Society had 
 obtained, from the exertion of these distinguished advo- 
 cates, contributed not a little to elevate the spirits of 
 those on whom the toil and responsibility of conducting 
 its affairs devolved ; and they turned with renewed zeal 
 to the field of exertion which lay before them in their 
 own country, and in the wide wide world. 
 
 There was still great need of exertion at home . In the 
 
 * We have much pleasure in stating, that the Society for Pro- 
 moting Christian Knowledge has circulated 7,000,000 of Bibles 
 and Testaments, and that its annual distribution amounts to about . 
 250,000 copies. 
 
262 
 
 THE BOOK A KB ITS STORY. 
 
 county of Flint, in a circle of ten parishes, 1300 families 
 were found without a Bible, and similar investigations all 
 over the country showed similar results ; nevertheless, in 
 1817, the committee stated, that, as the infancy of their 
 Society had given promise of a vigorous youth, so the 
 growth of thirteen years had amply confirmed it. They 
 looked round on the pleasing fruits of Christian union, 
 and attributed to Divine favour alone, successes astonish- 
 ing in their magnitude; for they found they had labourers 
 for every soil, — coadjutors in every quarter of the globe. 
 
 Such, indeed, was the interest which the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society had excited, that the prayers of 
 thousands attended its progress, and its extinction would 
 have been felt as a calamity all over the world. The 
 minute-books of the ladies’ committees, whose members 
 find easy access to the cottages of the poor, and an ear- 
 nest welcome from their inmates, tell many a touching 
 tale. They prove that collectors of Bible Associations 
 are almost invariably greeted with joy, and that, punctual 
 in their 'weekly visits, they are sure to find their humble 
 subscribers ready with their money, and grateful for the 
 trouble they take to call for subscriptions, and bring the 
 Bible to their doors. 
 
 Some say, “ The Bibles delivered this month were 
 thought most beautiful.” One woman exclaimed, “ I 
 am sure I should never have had my Bible in any other 
 way ; and if I had had to come to you, instead of your 
 coming to me, I much fear I should not have begun yet.” 
 
 In another district, a poor woman, showing signs of 
 indifference whether she possessed the Scriptures or not, 
 was accosted by her son, a little boy, who said, “ Mother, 
 if you do not subscribe for a Bible, I must.” He thus 
 persuaded his mother to pay her first penny. 
 
 A subscriber to the Reading Ladies’ Bible Association 
 related the following incident to one of the collectors : — 
 
 “ A few weeks ago, a young man came to my shop, 
 when the subject of the Bible Society was mentioned. 
 
PLEASING ANECDOTES. 
 
 263 
 
 On this his indignation was immediately kindled, and he 
 expressed the bitterest feeling against it. Bemonstrance . 
 with his passion would then have been useless : we were 
 silent, and he left us. My little girl was then lying on her 
 death-bed, and though young in years, was old in Christian 
 experience. I mentioned the circumstance to her, and 
 asked her what should be done. 4 Oh father V she replied, 
 
 6 subscribe for a Bible for him .’ This we did; and when 
 I presented it to the young man, I told him of the desire 
 of the dying child. He received it with gratitude, took 
 it home, read it, and read it to his fellow-servants, who 
 soon wished to possess it for themselves. He brought me 
 six shillings for this purpose, and we received it with 
 gladness, believing that it is the work of God, and that 
 nothing shall impede its triumphant progress.” 
 
 The mother of a large and helpless family regularly 
 subscribed for a Bible, during four months. She was 
 frequently asked whether, indeed, she could spare the 
 weekly penny, and her reply was, “ I never miss it ; we 
 were very poor indeed when I began to subscribe, but this 
 book seems to have brought a blessing into the house ; 
 we were very lonely without it.” 
 
 You. may also like to hear the history of the old woman 
 and the wool. A poor widow living on the side of the Black 
 Mountains, in Caerrnarthenshire, attended a public meet- 
 ing. She had only one shilling in her possession, part of 
 which she intended to lay out to buy wool for making an 
 apron, and the other part in candles, that she might see 
 to spin it in the evenings, after finishing her day’s work 
 with the farmers. Having heard the speakers describe 
 the sad condition of the poor heathen without Bibles, she 
 felt for them so much, that she determined to give six- 
 pence out of her shilling to the collection, thinking that 
 she would do without the apron for some time longer, 
 and spin her wool by daylight, when the summer evenings 
 came. As the speaker proceeded, the old woman felt 
 more and more, till at last she determined to give the 
 
264 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 shilling altogether; 44 because/’ she said, “X can do better 
 without an apron, than the heathen can without the 
 word of God.” She cheerfully gave her shilling, went 
 home, and slept comfortably that night. At daybreak 
 the following morning, a neighbouring farmer called at 
 her door, and said, 44 Peggy, we have had a dreadful 
 night ; several of my sheep have been carried away by 
 the flood. There are two lying quite dead in the hedge 
 of your garden. You may take them if you like, and you 
 will get some wool from them.” She thankfully accepted 
 the gift ; and thus she had wool enough to make three or 
 four aprons, and tallow to make candles to spin it. As no 
 one knew what she had done the day before but herself 
 and her God, she looked upon that occurrence as a very 
 kind providence towards her. 
 
 And now, here is another history, just as good, about 
 the Bible-bees. 
 
 In the year 1809, at the formation of a Bible Associa- 
 tion, at Barton, in Lincolnshire, before Mr. and Mrs. W. 
 went to the meeting, Mrs. W. said to Mr. W., 44 We must 
 give a guinea to the Bible Society.” 44 Nay,” said her 
 husband, 44 that is too much ; the rich do not give more 
 than a guinea, and we are not rich ; it will even look 
 like ostentation in us to give so much.” 44 Still,” said 
 Mrs. W., 44 if you will not give it, I will' 1 44 And where 
 are you to get it?” said he. 44 1 have it by me,” said 
 she ; 44 do you not remember that you gave me a guinea, 
 with which to buy a hive of bees ; now, I will give that 
 guinea to the Bible Society.” “Then,” said Mr. W., 
 44 you will go without your bees.” 44 It is well,” said 
 Mrs. W.; 44 for I love the Bible Society, better than I 
 should love the bees.” So they went to the Bible- 
 meeting, and the guinea was given. 
 
 They had no sooner reached home, than the wife said 
 to her husband, 44 Oh ! see ! A swarm of bees has set- 
 tled on our beech tree : if no one claims them in four-and- 
 twenty hours, the swarm will be mine.” No one did 
 
THE BIBLE-BEES. THE GUN - AND THE BIBLE. 265 
 
 claim them, and they were hived. A day or two after- 
 wards, Mr. W. said to his wife, “ It appears to me very 
 remarkable that Providence should send to us, just now, 
 that swarm of bees. Suppose we dedicate these bees to 
 the Bible Society?” To this Mrs. W. gladly gave her 
 consent. The first year, the hive produced two swarms, 
 and they gave two guineas to the Bible Society ; the 
 second year the three hives produced ten swarms, and 
 they gave ten guineas to the Bible Society. It was then 
 proposed to them, that instead of giving a guinea for 
 each swarm, they should keep a regular account of debtor 
 and creditor, placing the expenses of hives, etc., on one 
 side, and the produce of wax and honey on the other. 
 In the third year, having had some loss from two or three 
 of the swarms dying in the winter, the honey and wax 
 sold only for 7/., which was given to the Society. In 
 the fourth year, the produce was 11/., which was also 
 given to the Society. 
 
 In 1835, Mr. and Mrs. W. removed into Wiltshire, and 
 the bees were then left under the care of other persons. 
 The Rev. Mr. Methuen of Devizes mentioned that the 
 Society had received ten guineas from the Bible-bees, 
 both in 1836 and 1837. 
 
 In the Monthly Extracts is recorded a mournful in- 
 cident occurring in a district in Cornwall, where there 
 was not a Bible Association. A young man, engaged 
 in the mines, had become the subject of serious impres- 
 sions, and wished to possess a Bible of his own. He had 
 fixed his choice on the quarto edition, at 22s., which he 
 found he could have from Truro, and had laid by 16s., 
 when, in an evil hour, he fell into bad company, and was 
 tempted to buy a gun with his savings for the Bible. 
 His parents remonstrated, but in vain. The first day he 
 went out with it, his worthless gun exploded, the stock 
 was shivered, and a part of it penetrated the forehead 
 of the unhappy lad, who in an instant fell a lifeless 
 corpse. Ah ! had there been a faithful collector calling 
 
266 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 at liis door, she would have received his 6rf. or Is. as he 
 put it by from his earnings, and the Bible — the blessed 
 Bible — might have been furnished instead of the awful 
 instrument of death ! 
 
 It would be easy to multiply incidents : the difficulty 
 lies only in selecting them. Every one, who has ever 
 been a steady and patient collector of weekly pence from 
 the poorer classes, whether to supply them with Bibles 
 for themselves, or to afford them an opportunity of cast- 
 ing their mite, precious as the poor widow’s, into the 
 treasury of God, will be able to add to such records from 
 their own practical knowledge. 
 
 Whatever be the cause to which we contribute labour, 
 and for whose sake we exercise self-denial, we acquire 
 a deep interest in it : but this is especially true of the 
 Bible Society, from the vast importance and singleness o t 
 its object, and its ever-extending influence. 
 
 When Mr. Dudley, who had been one of the most 
 indefatigable agents in planting and regulating these 
 tributary committees, looked round him in the year 
 1821, he spoke of 1000 Bible Associations organised in 
 the United Kingdom, of 600 similar institutions in other 
 quarters of the globe, of 900,0007. expended in this noble 
 effort to circulate the word of God, and of the translation, 
 printing, and distribution of the whole, or portions of 
 that word, into eighty languages and dialects, in which 
 it had never before been printed; and he also announced 
 the fact, that, in the seventeen years since its formation, 
 it had just doubled the supply of the Scriptures which it 
 found in existence at the period of its birth. 
 
 In the year 1824, the committee thus addressed their 
 subscribers — 
 
 “ The true state of the world has been brought more 
 fully to light than before. A view has been obtained, 
 that, however great and however commendable your 
 past labours may have been, reduces them to a cypher. 
 
NECESSITY FOR PERSEVERANCE. 
 
 267 
 
 and makes them still appear but as the sowing of the 
 grain of mustard-seed, — a view that might appal the 
 stoutest heart, were it not written, 4 I am with you : fear 
 not,’ and, 1 Is anything too hard for the Lord ? ’ He who 
 has shown you such great things,, will show you yet 
 greater: your success must only incite you to more ear- 
 nest, more zealous, more cheerful exertion than ever.” 
 
 On the 3rd of August, 1827, a bramdh association was 
 established at J arrow colliery. Sixty families were found 
 destitute of the Scriptures. This place Is rendered sacred 
 as having been the residence of the Veuea^able Bede, the 
 first translator even of parts of the Bible ifor itftie Anglo- 
 Saxons, and the mind is led with devout gratitude to 
 contrast the facilities now ^njjoyed fbr and 
 
 distributing the sacred volume in that loenSBty, with the 
 barbarism and ignorance which. ;ait & former period im- 
 peded the progress of Divine truth. 
 
 In the twenty-fourth Report, fifty new societies were 
 said to have been added to those already existing ; yet, not- 
 withstanding the vast number of copies diffused through 
 the nation, the demand was not nearly satisfied, — a fact 
 which proved that there had been a great destitution of 
 the Scriptures in the community, and that a desire to 
 possess the holy Book had been created and extended to 
 a wonderful degree. 
 
 “ There is something at once grand and inspiring in 
 the thought, that the written voice of God, the best Book 
 in the world, has acquired, in mere number of copies, an 
 immense superiority over every other book in the world, 
 placing itself by all the good books to improve their 
 usefulness, and by all the bad ones to baffle their malig- 
 nity ; and this in contrast to the times when millions of 
 each successive generation passed through life, and out of 
 it, without any dissatisfaction that they had never read, 
 or that they had never been able to read, one chapter 
 or verse of the Bible.” 
 
 At the close of the year 1822, the Society had to mourn 
 
268 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 the loss of its clerical secretary, the Rev. John Owen, by 
 the unsparing hand of death. He had for some time been 
 
 course, and the lamp of life only flickered for awhile to 
 dwindle and disappear. “ Those are the things” said he 
 to his attached co-secretary, Mr. Hughes, who was then 
 laying hold of his dry, cold hand, and comforting him 
 with the passage, “ Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, 
 and afterwards receive me to glory,” u Those are the 
 
 things ,” said he, when death prevented him from 
 
 finishing the sentence. 
 
 He had done the work of a long life in those few years. 
 It is strange that no biographer has yet been found to tell 
 its tale; for he seems to have been universally beloved 
 and deeply regretted by all who knew him. He had 
 been given of God to the Society on the very day of its 
 formation, and had guided it with wisdom and unwearied 
 energy, during its early and critical years, and he left it 
 towering in its strength, — the noblest moral pyramid that 
 the nations of earth ever combined to build. 
 
 declining in strength, 
 — the combined result 
 of excitement, fatigue, 
 and anxiety. No frame 
 could have withstood 
 the exhausting and de- 
 structive efforts of la- 
 bours so varied, so ex- 
 tensive, and so inces- 
 sant, as those in which 
 he had been eighteen 
 years engaged. A brief 
 amendment gave hope 
 to his friends and ad- 
 mirers of a perfect re- 
 covery; but the vital 
 energy seemed spent in 
 the meridian of his 
 
IRELAND. 
 
 269 
 
 If when there was no written word of God to he circu- 
 lated on the earth, on the tower of Babel was inscribed 
 Confusion, — on the vast pile of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society is now graven Union; and the noblest 
 names of earth would be honoured, could they claim to 
 be written on the stones that compose it. Those of Owen, 
 Hughes, and Steinkopff, are deeply traced upon its base; 
 and our young friends may remember, that there is room 
 yet for many a name more, of those who shall become its 
 devoted and faithful servants, seeking not honour from 
 men, but only the praise of Him who seeth in secret. 
 This pyramid is still building. It shall never be finished 
 till the day when “ the knowledge of the Lord shall cover 
 the earth, as the waters cover the sea. ,, 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 The committee early turned their thoughts to the 
 Roman Catholics of Ireland, amongst whom there was 
 said to be a Bible to about every 500 families. Their 
 informant then stated, that to print an Irish Bible, at 
 that time, would be but of little use, for the people, if 
 they read at all, read English. The Society transmitted 
 to a clergyman, in Ireland, 1000 copies of the Protestant 
 FTew Testament, and found that they might be circulated 
 among the Roman Catholics of Ireland with little diffi- 
 culty. One thousand copies of a smaller Testament were 
 also granted to schools in Ireland, which were numer- 
 ously attended by Roman-Catholic children. 
 
 In 1813, most zealous and successful exertions seem to 
 have been made in Ireland, for the circulation of the 
 Scriptures. The number of Bible Societies, in connec- 
 tion with the Hibernian Society, rose from eight to 
 thirty-five, and the number of Bibles and Testaments 
 issued w'as 40,000. What had been the previous need 
 of the Scriptures, may be gathered from the following 
 anecdote : — 
 
270 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 u A young man, bred a Catholic, having learned to 
 read, and a New Testament happening to lie neglected 
 in his master’s house, it became the constant companion 
 of his leisure hours. His apprenticeship to his master, a 
 linen- weaver, being finished, he begged the New Testa- 
 ment as a reward for his faithful services. The master, 
 refused to give it to him, unless he served six months 
 longer. The young man, thinking that a New Testa- 
 ment might be obtained on easier terms, at Castlebar* 
 declined this, and made diligent inquiry at all the shops 
 to find one. Alas ! not a Testament was for sale at that 
 time in the principal town of a populous county in Ire- 
 land ! He could not live loithout it ; it was never absent 
 from his thoughts; he dreamed of nothing else; and, 
 finding no rest, he returned to his master, and agreed to 
 serve him for the Testament six months more.” A gen- 
 tleman of respectability in Ireland vouches for this as a 
 fact, in a letter dated 24th December, 1811. He adds 
 that u the young man became, and continues, a steadfast 
 and exemplary Protestant.” 
 
 In 1812, the Bible Society sent 1525 Bibles and Testa- 
 ments to Londonderry, to be sold at half their cost. A 
 correspondent says, “ The times are trying to the poor; 
 yet many who come to Derry market, to buy food for 
 their children, came to my house, and said in my hear- 
 ing, c We will buy a little less meal, and take home the 
 word of God with us, as we may never get Testaments 
 for 7 d, each again.’ Several of the common beggars 
 bought Testaments with the halfpence they begged in 
 the streets. About 200 of these books have been sold to 
 Homan Catholics. Do not leave me to the chiding of 
 the people, without a fresh supply: 1525 more will not 
 last me a month. Oh ! may God bless his word every- 
 where, and abundantly reward the work of faith and 
 labour of love of the British and Foreign Bible Society!” 
 
 In 1815, it was stated that the Irish had manifested 
 an increased anxiety to read the Scriptures in their na- 
 
IRELAND. 271 
 
 tive tongue; and the committee determined to print an 
 edition of the whole Bible in the Irish language. 
 
 In 1821, it was said, “ Seven counties in Ireland yet 
 remain strangers to the beneficent labours of the Bible 
 Society, and eight more are but partially supplied; so 
 that in the greater proportion of fifteen counties, the in- 
 fluence of the Society is not yet experienced. Still much 
 was doing in Ireland.” “ The ladies of Dublin,” say the 
 Parent committee, “were the first agents in this kingdom, 
 who, nobly casting away all apprehension, and commit- 
 ting themselves to the protection of Almighty God, made 
 the experiment of female influence in disseminating the 
 word of God among the poor; and,” it is added, “in their 
 very great success they have already enjoyed more than 
 a compensation for all their sacrifices, and their example 
 has not been lost to the country.” 
 
 In the Reports of the Hibernian Bible Society for 1827, 
 it was said, “We are now given to see, as it were, the 
 fruits of the labour bestowed for many years past upon 
 this country. May God grant that it may prove to be 
 the first-fruits of an abundant harvest ! The circulation 
 of Bibles here, this year, is 40,000 copies.”* This Report 
 also mentions, that, on occasion of some recent discussions 
 on religious subjects, which took place in Ireland, scholars 
 were in the habit of borrowing, night after night, every 
 Bible in their schools, in order that their parents and 
 friends might compare one passage of Scripture with 
 another;— such Bibles being invariably returned on the 
 following morning. 
 
 * We have much pleasure in stating that a society, in Dublin, 
 called “ The Association for Discountenancing Vice, and Promoting 
 the Knowledge and Practice of the Christian Religion,” had circu- 
 lated, between the years 1794 and 1806, not less than 23,925 Bibles, 
 and 36,608 Testaments, at a cost of 4767 L 
 
272 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE BIBLE SOCIETY IN HOLLAND. PRAYER FOR BIBLE SOCIETIES. 
 
 GERMANY. ITS RELIGIOUS STATE PREVIOUS TO THE EXISTENCE 
 
 OF THE BIBLE SOCIETY. DR. SCHWABE’s TOUR. MR. QWEN’s 
 
 LETTERS. PRUSSIA. ROYAL PATRONAGE. SWITZERLAND. 
 
 ANTISTES HESS. DR. STEINKOFFF’s REPORT. LAUSANNE BIBLE 
 
 SOCIETY. — SWEDEN. NORWAY. ICELAND. MR. HENDERSON* S 
 
 LETTERS. DENMARK. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 HOLLAND. 
 
 We have now to pass on to the continent, and there ob- 
 serve what had been the labours of Mr. Owen and those 
 of his coadjutors, among the nations of Europe, and their 
 correspondence with the world in general, during the 
 first five-and-twenty years of the existence of the Bible 
 Society, taking first, as we have proposed, the Protestant 
 countries. 
 
 The Parent committee in their tenth Report announced 
 that a Bible Society had been formed at Amsterdam, 
 for the purpose of supplying the Holy Scriptures, in 
 English, to the British churches in Holland, and of 
 promoting the establishment of a Dutch Bible Society, 
 which might furnish the Scriptures to the poor of the 
 Netherlands in their own language, and circulate the 
 same to all nations. The Prince of Orange became the 
 patron of the English Bible Society in Holland, and its 
 directors consisted of Englishmen and Dutchmen of the 
 first respectability. The British and Foreign Bible So- 
 ciety offered to this newly-formed Society a grant of 500 
 Bibles and 1000 Testaments, and promised the sum of 
 500/., as a donation, on the establishment of a National 
 
HOLLAND. — THE NETHERLANDS. 
 
 273 
 
 Bible Society. When the committee’s correspondent men- 
 tioned this liberal offer, in the presence of three of the 
 wealthiest citizens of Amsterdam, one of them shed tears, 
 another seemed overcome with astonishment, and the third 
 exclaimed, “ The English are a pattern to all nations ! ” 
 
 Rotterdam, the Hague, and other cities of the United 
 Netherlands, soon afterwards became the seats of zealous 
 auxiliaries. Thirty-two Bible Associations were formed 
 in the city of Amsterdam and its suburbs. 
 
 The Bible Society had issued an edition of 5000 copies 
 of the Dutch New Testament in 1809, chiefly for the use 
 of prisoners of war in England. Considerable numbers 
 of the copies were afterwards forwarded to the Cape of 
 Good Hope, and were most thankfully received; for it 
 was ascertained that not a single Dutch Bible could be 
 obtained for money throughout that extensive colony. 
 On receipt of this intelligence, the Society immediately 
 commenced a large edition of the entire Dutch Bible. 
 
 In 1819, in the town of Hoorn, in Holland, scarcely 
 a single servant could be found without the Scriptures : 
 350 Bibles had been placed in the workhouse; and the 
 large halls of that institution, formerly filled with dis- 
 graceful mobs, now resounded with hymns of praise. 
 
 The Society at Rotterdam had upwards of 1000 mem- 
 bers. Sunday-schools promoted Scripture-reading, and a 
 Bible was reckoned the highest reward for diligent scho- 
 lars. Schoolmasters in Zigp were ordered not to let a 
 day pass without reading a chapter to the children, “ for 
 the Bible places everyone in the sphere where he ought to 
 be : it is in itself the best rule, the most faithful counsellor, 
 and the safest refuge.” 
 
 In the Netherlands, in 1820, a certain day in October 
 was appointed, throughout the whole kingdom, to offer 
 up, at six o’clock in the evening, prayers and supplications 
 to God for the success of the circulation of the Bible. 
 
 In 1821, the Dutch Society furnished with the Scrip- 
 tures all the sufferers by a dreadful inundation that oc- 
 
 19 
 
274 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 curred in the country; and a very active Marine Bible 
 Society was formed for the benefit of persons engaged 
 in the shipping. They also undertook a version of the 
 New Testament for Java, and a Malay version for Am- 
 boyna, in both which the Society afforded them aid. 
 
 u Let us therefore,” say they, “ continue to communi- 
 cate the Bible to all classes of people, without exception. 
 The heavenly comfort it contains will not be felt and 
 valued more in palaces than under the thatched roofs of 
 cottages. The Bible is indeed a Divine legacy to the -whole 
 human race.” (May, 1822.) 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 During the war, correspond^ ^ was opened in different 
 parts of Germany, to ascertain the want of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, particularly among Protestants; and through the 
 untiring labours of the Foreign secretary, Dr. Steinkopff, 
 the Society commenced its operations in various quarters. 
 The numerous calls from the poor for the Scriptures were 
 met by grants of money and Bibles from England, to the 
 amount of 271 21. New editions of the German Bible 
 were likewise undertaken at Basle and Berlin. 
 
 The religious state of Germany, when the Society’s 
 agents first entered it, was that of almost universal apostasy 
 from the saving doctrines of the gospel of Christ, even in 
 the Protestant German churches. Rationalism had taken 
 the place of Divine Revelation. Her professors of theo- 
 logy and her doctors of divinity were, alas ! the propaga- 
 tors of that infidelity which, for three generations, had 
 filled her pulpits and her schools with error: they had 
 poisoned the literature of the nation at its source, and 
 altered the very hymns and catechisms of the reformers. 
 
 Then it was that the agents of the Bible Society began 
 to spread the word of God, without note or comment, as 
 tne most powerful of all means for stemming this tide of 
 neology. The remnant of pious Christians, who had not 
 
GERMANY. — DR. SCHW ABE’S TOUR. 
 
 275 
 
 bowed the knee before the Baal of the times, gladly wel- 
 comed them, and willingly joined in the work; but the 
 indifference prevailing among all classes on the subject of 
 religion was a great obstacle to the spread of the Scrip- 
 tures ; the churches were nearly empty in all parts of the 
 country ; and it was no easy matter to persuade the people 
 to purchase and read even the Bible ! 
 
 Bible Societies in Germany being established from this 
 time, we hear of more frequent inquiry among the poor, 
 for the German Scriptures, than had hitherto been known 
 to exist. Meanwhile, the various German committees 
 were assisted with frequent grants of money, and the poor 
 exiles from Hamburg, and the sufferers by war, in different 
 parts of the country , were supplied with copies of the 
 Scriptures, which were most thankfully received. 
 
 The Eev. Dr. Schwabe, who made a tour of inquiry 
 for the Society, on the continent, often along the track 
 of country through which the retreating and pursuing 
 armies had passed, describes the ruined villages, the lost 
 Bibles, the scattered schools, the churches even left with- 
 out the Scriptures necessary to the performance of Divine 
 worship. He established a Bible Society at Erfurt, his 
 native town, and the locality of Luther’s monastery, once 
 well supplied with Bibles, but where the destitution was 
 then great. Among the mines of Salfeld, children came 
 to bring him, with tears of joy, the -whole little treasure 
 they had gained by picking ore, in exchange for a Bible. 
 
 Among the silver-mines at Freyberg, among the orphan 
 children at Dresden, and in many other towns and vil- 
 lages, this agent dispensed the bounty of the Society. A 
 great part of the ground over which he passed had not 
 before been visited by any Bible-agent ; and through evi- 
 dences like these of the sympathy of Great Britain with 
 this suffering country, Germany learned to view her with 
 no less admiration when holding out the palm and the 
 olive-branch, than when girt with the sword of war. and 
 striking terror into the hearts of her enemies. 
 
276 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 Attached to the fifteenth Report of the Bible Society, 
 are a series of letters received from the Rev. John Owen, 
 while on a tour on the continent, which was undertaken 
 partly with a view of restoring his failing health. During 
 his journey, he greatly aided the interests of the Society, 
 to which, “ living and dying, he was unalterably devoted.” 
 He travelled in the times when it took two days and a 
 half to get from Calais to Paris, where he visited Pro- 
 fessor Kieffer, in his study, — finding him engaged in the 
 revision of the Turkish New Testament, collating it with 
 Greek, English, German, French, Tartar, Arabic, and 
 Persian. Mr. Owen also paid a visit to one “ who laid 
 hold,” as he says, “on his warmest affections,” — to Pastor 
 Oberlin, and his Ban de la Roche. Two of his letters are 
 dated from Basle in Switzerland, which he calls “ the fa- 
 voured asylum of sound learning, evangelical piety, and 
 Christian friendship.” He offered to their Bible Society 
 a contribution from London of 500/., to assist them in 
 printing the quarto German Bible, and presided at a meet- 
 ing, at which were present the great and good men of the 
 city, with Dr. Pinkerton and the Rev. Mr. Blumhardt, who 
 gave an account of their tours in Germany and Holland. 
 
 The German Bible Societies continually increased in 
 number, and were favoured with much royal patronage; 
 yet still the supply of the Scriptures was not equal to 
 the demand, in many parts of impoverished Germany. 
 The president of the Giessen Society laments that, in ten 
 villages, an entire copy of the Bible is rarely to be seen. 
 The gratitude evinced for the gift of the Scriptures is 
 seldom shown more earnestly than it was by a poor Ger- 
 man workman, who had been presented at the anniver- 
 sary of the Neuweid Society with a Bible, and brought 
 fifteen silver groschen to the clergyman whose ministry 
 he attended, saying it was his “ little all,” but that he felt 
 bound to offer it to the Bible Society, in gratitude for 
 that excellent Book which he had received from it the 
 year before. 
 
THE PRUSSIAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 
 
 277 
 
 PRUSSIA. 
 
 The Prussian Bible Society was established in August, 
 1814. “ The first clergyman in the city, Probst Hanstein, 
 rose with a Bible in his right hand, and represented with 
 striking eloquence the floods of infidelity and wickedness, 
 the ravages of war, and the general misery under which 
 the Prussians had suffered for so many years, and pointed 
 out, as the source of all those sins and sorrows, the dis- 
 respect and contempt which had been poured upon that 
 best of all books — the Bible.” 
 
 This account is contained in a letter from the Eev. Dr. 
 Pinkerton, who, with Messrs. Paterson and Henderson, 
 had been introduced to the Bible Society, in the year 
 1812, and had proved its invaluable foreign agents. All 
 three were natives of Scotland. 
 
 The introduction of the Scriptures into the schools of 
 Prussia was effected by a decree promulgated by Frederick 
 William III., the first German sovereign who became the 
 patron of Bible Societies. 
 
 In 1817, the Prussian Bible Society continued diligently 
 and successfully to pursue its course. Twenty auxiliaries 
 w T ere added to it before the expiration of its second year, 
 and one of these had seven branches ! 
 
 The British and Foreign Bible Society offered to its 
 members a grant of 500 1 . They were engaged in printing 
 the German Bible, Luther’s version, and also an edition 
 of the Scriptures in the dialect of the Wends, in Lusatia, 
 which the Prussian secretary said was “ one of the most 
 useful works ever undertaken.” Though the higher 
 classes in the country speak German, the lower speak 
 Wendish. They are a people who have a particular ob- 
 jection to the Bible without the Apocrypha, and are 
 remarkable for their indifference to the New Testament, 
 when printed alone. 
 
 The London committee observed, with admiration and 
 
278 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 gratitude, tlie steady march by which the Prussian Society 
 advanced towards the attainment of its object. For much 
 of its success it was indebted, under the blessing of God, 
 to the warm and decided encouragement which it received 
 from his Prussian majesty, and several branches of the 
 royal family, besides the personal co-operation of minis- 
 ters of state, dignified clergy, and numerous persons of 
 property and influence. 
 
 The Bible Society has never especially courted royal 
 patronage ; it can do without it : but when we consider 
 its object — the circulation of the word of Him “ by whom 
 kings reign, and princes decree justice,” — it is meet that 
 crowned heads should cast into its treasury, and that it 
 should comprise, within its vast constituency, alike the 
 hearts of kings and of peasants. 
 
 In 1821, Dr. Steinkopff, in a tour, attended the anni- 
 versary of the Prussian Bible Society, which had then 
 translated the Bible into five languages. The number 
 of auxiliaries was thirty-eight, and it had distributed 
 50,000 Bibles and 33,000 Testaments. His majesty the 
 King of Prussia had declared to the Bishop of Potsdam, 
 that he rejoiced to support Bible Societies in his domi- 
 nions, because he considered them one of the most peace- 
 ful and efficacious means of cherishing a spirit of order 
 and piety among his people. 
 
 SWITZERLAND. 
 
 From a very early period, the objects of the Bible 
 Society had met wdth a warm sympathy in Switzerland : 
 kindred institutions rapidly sprang up in all its principal 
 cantons and cities, and the Scriptures were making silent 
 but effectual progress, even amidst the confusion and dis- 
 asters occasioned by a desolating war. The Zurich and 
 the St. Gall Bible Societies were diligent and liberal in 
 their distributions. 
 
 The Kev. Antistes Hess, senior of the Zurich clergy, 
 
SWITZERLAND. A.NTISTES HESS. 
 
 279 
 
 wrote, in 1815, a letter to Lord Teignmouth, in which, 
 after alluding to the work of the Bible Society, “ as 
 promoting the increase of the invisible Church of Christ, 
 which is limited by no boundaries of countries, or na- 
 tional dissimilitudes, or peculiarity of form and ritual,” 
 he says, “ Permit an old man to speak also a little of 
 himself. I have, from my very youth up, had a great 
 desire to visit two countries, in preference to all others, 
 viz., Palestine and Britain; — Palestine, on account of 
 its having been the scene of the miracles of our Lord ; 
 and Britain, on account of its inhabitants, who have ren- 
 dered themselves so illustrious in the cause of the Bible : 
 yet I have not been permitted to see either. In some 
 measure, however, I have obtained my desire, partly by 
 correspondence, but particularly, as regards England, by 
 reading the most interesting works written by your 
 countrymen, and of which I have a select library.” 
 
 A correspondent of the Bible Society, at Lausanne, 
 says: “The plan of the British and Foreign Bible Society 
 was first imperfectly developed to me, at an annual 
 meeting of the clergy of Geneva; and being struck with 
 its high importance and noble aims, I was anxious 
 that my country also should participate in its benefits. 
 An English lady, who was well acquainted with its plan, 
 progress, and principles, soon afterwards presented me 
 with ten of its Annual Reports, and, with an English 
 guinea, laid the foundation-stone of our Society. We 
 have now distributed 227 Bibles and 271 Testaments. A 
 minister of one of our villages thus writes : ‘We do 
 indeed require a Bible Society in the canton de Vaud. 
 Since that excellent law has fallen into disuse, which com- 
 pelled every couple to produce their Bible at the altar, 
 many families are without it in the villages of the J ura, 
 where they no longer read the Scriptures even on the 
 Lord’s-day, or during the violent storms, as was once the 
 custom. In many ancient families they used to sanctify 
 the hour of dinner, on the Sabbath, by reading the word 
 
280 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOEY. 
 
 of God : tliis was done by the youngest member of the 
 family, who always dined first. This habit has been 
 neglected really for want of books.’” 
 
 Another correspondent thus writes: “ I was singularly 
 struck with your idea of introducing young children to 
 assist in founding the Bible Society. It is for two young 
 orphans that I desire this favour, — Jeanne Isaline Zink, 
 and Jean Louis Zink. On offering each the moderate 
 sum of 2s. 6d ., may they be admitted into your honour- 
 able Society ? — and I will take care to instil into their 
 minds, that, having been received in the years of weak- 
 ness and infancy, they are bound to devote to its service 
 those of maturity and strength.” 
 
 The Beport of the Lausanne Bible Society, in 1824, 
 states, that it was one of the chief designs of the original 
 founder, that, in a canton containing a population of 
 160,000 inhabitants, not a single family should be un- 
 provided with the sacred Scriptures ; but though, since 
 1815, upwards of 6000 Bibles and far more New Testa- 
 ments have been circulated, the design is still far from 
 being accomplished. 
 
 SWEDEN. 
 
 Mr. Paterson found, in Sweden, a destitution of the 
 Scriptures truly mournful. In 1812, it was calculated 
 there might possibly be a copy of the Scriptures among 
 every eighty-one persons. The Swedish Bible Society 
 was then formed, and was assisted, like the others, by the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society. This produced such 
 gratitude in the breasts of the people, that when, in the 
 above year, Sweden had been forced to make peace with 
 France, and to declare war against England, and the 
 usual war-prayer was read in all their churches, the 
 people inquired who were their enemies ; and being in- 
 formed that the English were intended, u No ! no !” ex- 
 claimed they ; “ the English are not our enemies ! They 
 
SWEDEN. 
 
 281 
 
 are our best friends ; they sent us corn to sow our land 
 when we had consumed all our reserve ; they sent us 
 medicine and blankets for our sick and wounded ; and 
 now, more than all, they have sent us the Bible ! ” They 
 said they could not use that war-prayer, and it was dis- 
 continued accordingly. 
 
 At the commencement of the present century, the re- 
 ligious condition of Sweden, as well as of other countries, 
 had been at a low ebb, owing to the system of philosophy 
 prevalent at the time. The reading of the sacred Scrip- 
 tures was generally neglected, for the few who possessed 
 the treasure held it in contempt, and it was comparatively 
 scarce among the mass of the people. It was an ex- 
 pensive book, and few could afford to buy it ; added to 
 which, the teachers of religion declared that the common 
 people had no need of it, and that it would do them more 
 harm than good. 
 
 Mr. Paterson met with many difficulties, but he suc- 
 ceeded so far as to form an Evangelical Society, whose 
 immediate object it was to publish religious tracts. The 
 Swedish Bible Society was established in the year 1814, 
 and the number of Bibles it issued soon proved that the 
 gloomy forebodings expressed with regard to the circula- 
 tion of the Bible, unaccompanied with the apocryphal 
 books, were without foundation. 
 
 In 1818, the committee of the Swedish Bible Society 
 say: “A name which we have all learned to reverence, 
 is that of the British and Foreign Bible Society , — the 
 Parent Society of every Bible Institution throughout the 
 world. We have this year received from them 300/. 
 and powerful aid in support of our auxiliary societies. 
 We have, therefore, been enabled this year to publish 
 13,000 Bibles and 5000 Testaments, making 160,000 
 Bibles and Testaments, since the commencement of the 
 Society.” 
 
 In 1824, there is an account of Bibles distributed, 
 greater than in any preceding year. The Plernosand 
 
282 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Ladies’ Bible Society, tlie first of the kind instituted 
 in Sweden, continued its progress with uninterrupted 
 success. 
 
 The president of the Stockholm Society, Count Rosen- 
 blad, spoke much to Dr. Pinkerton of the “ pleasing 
 effect that had already resulted from the labours of the 
 Swedish Bible Society, and the great change that had 
 taken place in many minds in favour of the sacred writ- 
 ings and of Christianity, — the voice of infidelity being less 
 frequently heard both in public and in private circles.” 
 He adds : “I conceive the present to be a serious crisis, 
 which will perhaps determine, for centuries, the moral 
 state of mankind. God is abundantly sowing the good 
 seed, but the enemy is no less active in sowing tares. 
 Had not Bible Societies been established, through the 
 merciful providence of God, to counteract the evils of 
 ignorance and infidelity, to what a state of degradation 
 must the world have sunk at this moment ! ” 
 
 NORWAY. 
 
 A grant of the holy Scriptures was made to the poor 
 of Norway, by the British and Foreign Bible Society, in 
 1812 ; but the example set in Sweden soon extended 
 itself to the sister kingdom of Norway, under the liberal 
 patronage of the crown prince, from whom it received a 
 munificent donation. The foundation of the Norwegian 
 Bible Society was laid in 1816. Support was speedily 
 and regularly furnished by the committee in London, up 
 to the year 1828, when, in consequence of the decision 
 of the British and Foreign Bible Society not to assist in 
 the circulation of the Apocrypha, the Norwegian Society 
 commenced an independent agency of its own. Pre- 
 viously to this, however, large numbers of copies of the 
 Scriptures had been circulated, and measures adopted for 
 the translation of the New Testament into the Norwegian- 
 Lapponese dialect. 
 
ICELAND. — STATE OF EDUCATION THERE. 283 
 
 ICELAND. 
 
 But we must now turn to tliis large and interesting 
 island of the North Atlantic Ocean, crossed by its ridges 
 of rugged mountains, with its population scattered on the 
 banks of the fiords or inlets of the sea, which run up 
 towards the glaciers of the interior. Iceland contains an 
 area of 30,000 square miles. It is divided into 305 
 parishes, and its centre is a dreary desert, through which 
 one may travel far, without meeting any trace of human 
 existence. You have heard, perhaps, of its magnificent 
 glaciers, its boiling springs, its burning mountain, and 
 its forests of a former age. The Icelanders are the 
 genuine descendants of the old Norsemen, and their 
 language is still pure as they imported it from Norway, 
 in the ninth century. 
 
 About the year 1057, Isleif, the bishop of Skalholt, 
 introduced among them the art of writing, at the same 
 time with the Latin language. The feats of their ances-. 
 tors were recorded in songs, like those of the Druids ; 
 their historical compositions were called “ sagas,” and 
 literature was cultivated as soon as they acquired the art 
 of writing. The corrupted Christianity of the times was 
 established in Iceland, in A. D. 1000. In 1529, the art 
 of printing was introduced, and in 1550, the Lutheran 
 Deformation reached these frozen shores, "which led to 
 the overthrow of the convents, and the loss of many 
 valuable national manuscripts. 
 
 Elementary education, with a certain degree of supe- 
 rior information, is very generally spread among the Ice- 
 landers. Children are educated by their parents, with 
 the assistance of the parish clergyman ; and, owing to 
 their unchanged language, the humblest peasant can read 
 and understand the most ancient written documents on 
 the island. In the “ Young Edda,” a composition of the 
 eleventh century, it is' said of the Anglo-Saxons and the 
 
284 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 Icelanders, “ JVer erum einnar tunguf u We are of one 
 tongue.” 
 
 Oddur, the son of a bishop of Holum, in Iceland, was 
 educated in Norway, and shared in the sensation which 
 the doctrines of the Reformation produced through the 
 north of Europe. 
 
 We are told that for three nights, on his knees, he 
 besought the “ Father of lights” to open the eyes of his 
 understanding, and show him whether the principles of 
 Rome, or of Luther, were from heaven ; and afterwards 
 repairing to Germany, he attended the lectures of Luther 
 and Melancthon. On his return to Iceland, he entered 
 upon a translation of the Scriptures ; and, to avoid perse- 
 cution, he commenced his important labours in a small 
 cell in a cow-house. He completed a version of the New 
 Testament, in 1539; but, finding it impossible, from the 
 force of public opinion, to print it in Iceland, he sailed 
 for Denmark, and published it under the patronage of 
 King Christian III. He also translated and printed the 
 53rd chapter of Isaiah. The entire Bible was not printed 
 in Iceland till 1584, and Oddur’s translation of the New 
 Testament was adopted in this version. 
 
 This edition consisted of 1000 copies, and has been 
 called “a faithful mirror of Luther’s German version.” 
 Five editions of the Icelandic Bible were published after 
 this, some of them of 2000 copies each, and the latest in 
 the year 1750. Still, in the year 1806, the following is 
 the report of the scarcity of the Scriptures 
 
 At this period, the Rev. E. Henderson and the Rev. J. 
 Paterson, who had devoted themselves to the mission- 
 field of India, visited Copenhagen, with a view to obtain 
 a passage to Tranquebar. Disappointed in doing this, 
 their attention, during their stay in Denmark, was directed 
 to Iceland, whose population, consisting of 46,000 persons 
 able to read , almost without exception, had, however, 
 among them but forty or fifty Bibles, — for the only print- 
 ing-press in the island was out of repair ; and yet no 
 
THANKFUL RECEPTION OF SOCIETY’S GRANT. 285 
 
 people in the world were more fond of reading. As they 
 could not, however, print books, they recurred to the 
 older fashion of transcribing them, and the Scriptures 
 were no longer to be obtained for money. These affect- 
 ing particulars touched the hearts of those excellent men 
 with compassion for the people of this island, and they 
 made an earnest appeal on their behalf to their friends in 
 Scotland, who conveyed the intelligence to the committee 
 of the Bible Society, in London. Lord Teignmouth, the 
 president, then wrote a letter to the Bishop of Iceland, to 
 the following effect. 
 
 After informing him that the Society had then been 
 established only two years, but that it had been the means 
 already of circulating the Holy Scriptures to a great ex- 
 tent upon the continent, he says that “ it would have felt 
 much gratification immediately to be able to supply the 
 wants of Iceland; but Icelandic Bibles can neither be 
 printed nor procured in England. We therefore adopt 
 the only means in our power, and offer to contribute one 
 half of the expense of printing an edition of 5000 copies 
 of the New Testament, and we shall have great pleasure 
 in learning that the offer is accepted by the bishop and 
 clergy of Iceland.” 
 
 To this letter came an earnest and thankful response, 
 stating, that the grant was truly welcome, that the best 
 farmers in the parishes had warmly contended which of 
 them should have the loan of the one Bible, which was 
 sent to their parish, for themselves and their children. 
 
 These Testaments were then printed at Fuhnen, in 
 Denmark, and 1500 dispatched to different parts of Ice- 
 land, in the spring of 1807. The war between England 
 and Denmark prevented the transmission of the remain- 
 ing copies, and it was thought that they would have been 
 destroyed in the bombardment of Copenhagen, yet they 
 were preserved when almost everything around them was 
 laid in ashes. Two bombs entered the warehouse where 
 they were lying, and it was nearly burnt to the ground, — 
 
286 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 “ that part only having escaped the flames in which these 
 Scriptures were deposited ! ” 
 
 In the year 1815, another edition of 5000 entire Bibles 
 and 5000 extra Testaments left the press, for Iceland, 
 under the Rev. E. Henderson’s superintendence, who 
 then followed to witness their distribution. He writes, 
 on his voyage thither, with a heart filled with joy, “ Our 
 vessel is freighted with corn for the needy inhabitants of 
 Iceland, and also with the bread of life, — the glorious gos- 
 pel of the blessed God.” His reception was most gratify- 
 ing to himself, and to the Society which he represented. 
 
 Mr. Henderson spent nearly two months in perilous 
 journeys into the interior. Wherever he went, he was 
 welcomed with enthusiasm, and scarcely left a place with- 
 out being followed by the benedictions of the inhabitants. 
 The ardour of the people to obtain a copy of the Holy 
 Scriptures was excessive; — they really “hungered and 
 thirsted” after the word of God. Mr. H. says: “ From 
 all that I have been able to learn, there are more marks 
 of religious disposition directed towards the proper Object 
 of worship among the Icelanders, taking them as a body, 
 than among any other people in Europe.” In the appen- 
 dix to the eleventh Report are contained Mr. Henderson’s 
 most interesting letters, while on this journey. He left 
 a copy of the Bible here and there, as he went along, 
 and announced the coming large supply. The Bibles 
 were to be sold at the reduced price, viz., 45., and the 
 Testaments at Is. 3 d. At this time there was only a post 
 to Iceland twice a-year, but for the Bibles there was to 
 be a post on purpose. At the house of the Dean of Ice- 
 land, he saw a Bible of the former days : it was a folio 
 edition, nearly devoured by the tooth of time, but the 
 defective pages had been all neatly pasted in, and the 
 text supplied in the most accurate manner in a hand- 
 writing which would have done honour to any school- 
 master in Europe. It was the work of a common peasant. 
 
 Mr. Henderson underwent many perils on this journey. 
 
MR. HENDERSON’S TOUR. — DENMARK. 287 
 
 He forded on horseback upwards of sixty rivers, flow- 
 ing cold from the snow and ice mountains, which are 
 reckoned very dangerous. He travelled for five succes- 
 sive days without seeing any of the habitations of men. 
 The road was cheerless and gloomy, with scarcely a 
 tuft of grass to relieve the eye, or the note of a bird 
 to charm the ear; but he had a delightful companion in 
 a Danish officer, and he was carrying the lamp of life to 
 those who longed for its light. He descended from the 
 mountains into the beautiful valley of Eyafiord, and 
 in that neighbourhood fell in with a clergyman who 
 had been seeking in vain to obtain a Bible for the long 
 period of seventeen years ! He passed through a parish in 
 which there were only two Bibles, and another in which 
 there were none at all ! It was then fifty years since the 
 last supply of Bibles had arrived in Iceland ! “ Wherever 
 I have come,” says he, “ I have been welcomed as an 
 angel from heaven. The people often asked me whether 
 old King George had sent them the Bibles; and when I 
 told them of the Bible Society, and the spirit it was dif- 
 fusing in every quarter of the world, • 4 It is the word of 
 God/ was the reply they frequently gave ; and they often 
 quoted some passage relative to the diffusion of the know- 
 ledge of the Lord in the latter day.” 
 
 An Icelandic Bible Society was instituted in 1815; and 
 in 1823, the dean reported, “ It is a well-founded opinion, 
 that every family throughout this island is now in pos- 
 session of a Bible or Testament, and many have more 
 than one copy. The sacred volume is read with diligence 
 during the long winter evenings.” 
 
 It is with difficulty that we cease to quote from the 
 religious annals of this interesting people, but we must 
 pass on to — 
 
 DENMARK. 
 
 In August, 1812, the king of Denmark granted per- 
 mission to the Rev. E. Henderson to reside at Copenha- 
 
288 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 gen, for the purpose of completing the Icelandic Bible; 
 and not the least valuable privilege allowed him was 
 that of an unrestricted correspondence, — an extraordinary 
 concession to the subject of a nation with whom his 
 Danish majesty was at that time at war ! The result of 
 this permitted residence was the foundation of a Bible 
 Society in Copenhagen, under the royal sanction, on the 
 22nd of May, 1814. 
 
 The wide-spread principles of infidelity presented, at 
 the outset, the most formidable discouragements: but 
 success came by perseverance. Prince Christian of Den- 
 mark paid a visit, in 1823, to the committee of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, in Earl Street, and 
 attended with marked interest to their proceedings. We 
 shall have more to say of Denmark, when reviewing the 
 proceedings of its Bible Society from the Jubilee-field, in 
 1853; but we must now leave the Protestant countries of 
 Europe, which are said to comprise altogether a popula- 
 tion of fifty-five millions, and pass over the ocean to — 
 
 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 The first Society established in the States of this great 
 republic was that of Philadelphia, which dates from the 
 year 1809. This Society ascribed its formation to the 
 example and influence of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society, which Institution immediately voted the sum of 
 200/. to this transatlantic auxiliary, whose fibres quickly 
 took root, like those of the original tree, in several other 
 principal states of the Union, to each of which was trans- 
 mitted the usual token of friendly interest, in a donation 
 of 100/. 
 
 The case of the colonists, also, in the North- American 
 possessions of Great Britain, soon attracted the attention 
 of the committee, and grants were freely sent out to 
 meet their wants, in the French, Gaelic, and English 
 languages. 
 
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 289 
 
 It was for some of the aboriginal tribes of this district 
 that the Society's funds were first applied towards print- 
 ing the Scriptures in a foreign tongue, viz., Captain 
 Norton's translation of the Gospel of John into the Mo- 
 hawk language. But as America is not a country or a 
 province, — as she is, in fact, half the world,— she has 
 records of her own, too many to be even noticed here. 
 In 1817, America had 149 Bible Societies scattered over 
 her continent, 130 of which were in the United States 
 alone ; and the American Bible Society has ever since 
 continued to extend the scale of its operations by the 
 enlargement of its funds, the increase of its issues of 
 Bibles, and the multiplication of its auxiliaries. Many 
 delightful reports of her proceedings does this noble 
 daughter transmit to her mother across the waves of the 
 Atlantic; and ere long you shall listen to what she said 
 at our Jubilee. She bids fair to evangelise her own vast 
 continents, and also to be our most glorious ally in 
 spreading the light of God's word over the Old World. 
 
 We have little space to notice, in detail, the West-In- 
 dian colonies of the Protestant nations : they have always 
 had the warm sympathy of the Society, and grants were 
 made in very early years to many of them. The Barba- 
 does Auxiliary was instituted in 1817, under the auspices 
 of Lord Combermere, for the benefit of the negroes, who 
 received the Scriptures with much gratitude. Six years 
 after the foundation of this auxiliary, there were 1000 
 children in Bridge-town under religious instruction. 
 
 It would be in vain to attempt to enter fully into the 
 state of each separate island at this period. Associations 
 were instituted in almost every one of any magnitude; 
 and those belonging to the Danish crown received large 
 and continuous grants, which were conveyed through the 
 devoted Moravian missionaries. No case of attested want 
 of the Scriptures was addressed to the committee, with- 
 out finding a ready ear. 
 
 20 
 
290 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 We shall here close our review of the preliminary 
 work of the Bible Society, in the Protestant kingdoms of 
 the world, and must reserve, for another chapter, its pro- 
 ceedings during the same twenty-five years, in still darker 
 regions, and in the remaining four divisions of the earth’s 
 population. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE JEWS, AFTER THEIR DISPERSION, IN ROME, SPAIN, PORTUGAL, 
 PRANCE, GERMANY, TURKEY, AND ENGLAND. — THEIR SUFFERINGS, 
 
 AND TIIE REMISSION OF THESE. THEIR NUMBERS ALL OVER THE 
 
 WORLD. WHAT THE SOCIETY DID FOR THEM IN ITS FIRST TWENTY- 
 
 FIVE YEARS. LETTERS OF DR. PINKERTON FROM RUSSIA. JEWS 
 
 AT TIIESSALONICA AND CONSTANTINOPLE. JEWISH CONVERTS. 
 
 THE SOCIETY’S WORK AMONG THE SYRIAN CHRISTIANS, IN THE 
 
 ARMENIAN CHURCH, IN THE NESTORIAN, AND IN THE ABYSSINIAN. 
 
 LETTERS FROM MR. PEARCE. — GRANTS TO THE VAUDOIS CHURCH. — 
 ITS GRATITUDE. 
 
 We have now to examine what was the work of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society among the Jews, and 
 the remnants of the ancient Christian Churches during 
 the first twenty -five years of its existence. 
 
 We shall take a distinct but rapid glance at the Jewish 
 nation, in its long term of exile, to whom we have not 
 referred since the period of the destruction of Jerusalem. 
 
 The dispersion of the Jews over the world, which is 
 commonly dated from the destruction of Jerusalem, had 
 in reality begun long before. The Ptolemies had formed 
 large colonies of them in Egypt; and in the time of Cicero, 
 B.c. 63, there was a wealthy Jewish community in Italy. 
 
THE JEWS AFTER THEIR DISPERSION. 291 
 
 Pliilo enumerates the countries in which they were settled 
 in the time of Caligula, A.D. 37, viz., in Syria, and in all 
 parts of Asia Minor and Greece ; and after the captivity 
 of Babylon many J ews remained in Mesopotamia. 
 
 In 131, A.D. the Emperor Adrian slew 580,000 of them 
 in battle, and issued a harsh edict against the rest; but 
 this being allowed to lie dormant under succeeding empe- 
 rors, they erected new synagogues, opened schools, and 
 acquired considerable wealth. During this period the 
 “Mishna” and “Gemara,” — their books of tradition, — 
 were composed. 
 
 Constantine called them “ the most hateful of all 
 nations,” and made several prohibitory laws concerning 
 them. Adrian had forbidden them to approach the walls 
 of J erusalem ; and these harsh laws caused insurrection 
 in Judea, and tumult in Alexandria. 
 
 Julian the Apostate favoured them, and attempted to 
 disprove the Christian prophecy, that their temple should 
 not be rebuilt ; but his work was miraculously destroyed 
 as fast as it was completed. 
 
 The Gothic kings of Italy protected the Jews, who 
 had at that time the slave-trade of Europe chiefly in their 
 hands. 
 
 The Emperor Justinian w r as one of those who enacted 
 very cruel and oppressive laws against them. He re- 
 jected their testimony in courts of law, cut them off from 
 all offices of dignity in the state, debarred them from 
 authority even over their own children, and prevented 
 them from bequeathing their property unless to Christians. 
 This persecution, which was chiefly directed against the 
 Samaritan Jews, almost extinguished that once flourish- 
 ing community ; and in subsequent history they no longer 
 appear as a separate people. 
 
 The rise of Mahomedanism brought an unfavourable 
 change to the Eastern Jews. Mahomet endeavoured at 
 first to win them over ; but as they would not acknow- 
 ledge a descendant of Hagar, the "bond- woman, as the 
 
292 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 greatest of prophets, Mahomet revenged himself upon 
 them without mercy, in Arabia, where they were very 
 numerous. The caliphs were afterwards more favourable 
 to them; and the Jews, following them in their tide of 
 conquest along the coast of Northern Africa, contributed 
 also materially to the triumphs of the crescent in Spain. 
 
 In Spain, under the Gothic kings, this people experi- 
 enced the first of those sweeping proscriptions which they 
 were doomed to suffer in every country of Christian 
 Europe. They were commanded even to forsake their 
 religion, or leave the country. Lashes, chains, and muti- 
 lation, with the surrender of all their property, were the 
 punishment of all who would observe Jewish rites, on the 
 old principle of compelling men to believe by force : this 
 was in A.D. 653. In Moorish Spain, the Jews had after- 
 wards a golden age, which lasted for centuries. There 
 they cultivated science and learning ; and the names of 
 Benjamin of Tudela, and Isaac of Cordova, attest their 
 proficiency. It was in Spain and Portugal, after the ex- 
 pulsion of the Moors, that the Jews suffered most. The 
 Inquisition undertook the task of punishing relapsed con- 
 verts among them, and finally expelled them from Spain, 
 to the number of half a million. Soon afterwards, they 
 were driven away from Portugal, under circumstances of 
 still greater barbarity. The expulsion of the Jews and 
 the Moors drained Spain of its most useful subjects : this 
 took place, A.D. 1492. 
 
 Charlemagne protected the Jews like his other subjects. 
 They were, in his reign, physicians and bankers, and even 
 ambassadors of state ; but under the third or Capet dy- 
 nasty, they suffered bitter persecution throughout Prance. 
 Philippe Auguste banished all the Jews from his do- 
 minions, and declared all debts due to them null and 
 void: again they re-entered France, and were once more 
 expelled, under Philip the Fair, on the 22nd of July, 
 1300: their synagogues were converted into churches, 
 and even their grave-stones torn up to be used in building. 
 
PERSECUTIONS OF THE JEWS. 
 
 293 
 
 In Germany, about the same period, viz., in the thir- 
 teenth and fourteenth centuries, the Jews were massacred 
 repeatedly, at the cry of “Hep ! Hep ! Hep !” the initials 
 of the words “ Hierosolyma est perdita,” i. e ., “Jerusalem 
 is destroyed.” In 1236, they were accused of killing 
 Christian boys for the sake of their blood for the passover, 
 and were again hunted down. They suffered from fire 
 and sword, in 1298, at Nuremberg ; and in the thirteenth 
 century, at Vienna, they were forbidden the use of the 
 same baths and rivers with the Christians. 
 
 In Turkey and Barbary they have since settled in great 
 numbers. In the eighteenth century, a milder spirit of 
 toleration manifested itself towards the Jews in most of 
 the countries of Europe. In Holland they have long 
 formed a flourishing, numerous, honourable, and intelli- 
 gent community. 
 
 It appears that the Jews were settled in England as 
 early as the Saxon period, A.D. 750. From the time of 
 the Conquest, they increased in number, suffered griev- 
 ously under Stephen and his successors, who were rapa- 
 cious of their gold, and were cruelly persecuted by rich 
 and poor, priest and people. 
 
 In 1290, under Edward I., all Jews were banished from 
 the kingdom. After the Bestoration, in 1660, they re- 
 turned, and again settled in England ; and since that time 
 they have lived in the United Kingdom unmolested. 
 
 Through the times of their worst oppression, in spite 
 of banishment, robbery, and slaughter, the Jews have 
 survived, as a standing miracle, in the midst of Chris- 
 tendom — preserved of God for the fulfilment of his own 
 purposes, and in large numbers. 
 
 The following is a description of the present state of 
 the Jews, by Professor Gaussen : — 
 
 “ The restless feet of God's ancient people are pressing, 
 at this very hour, the snows of Siberia, and the burning 
 sands of the desert. The missionary Gobat found num- 
 bers of them in the elevated plains of Abyssinia ; and 
 
294 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY, 
 
 when Denham and Clapperton (the first travellers who 
 ventured across the Great Sahara) arrived on the hanks 
 of Lake Tchad, they also found that the wandering Jew 
 had preceded them there, by many a long year. When 
 the Portuguese settled in the Indian peninsula, they 
 found three distinct classes of J ews ; and when the 
 English lately took possession of Aden, in the south of 
 Arabia, the Jews were more in number there than the 
 Gentiles. 
 
 “ By a census taken within the last few months, in 
 Russia, they amount to 2,200,000; Morocco contains 
 300,000, and Tunis 150,000. In the one small town of 
 Sana, the capital of Arabia-Felix, they assemble together 
 in eighteen synagogues. Yemen counts 200,000 ; the 
 Turkish empire 200,000, of which Constantinople alone 
 contains 80,000. At Brody, where the Christians, who 
 are 10,000 in number, have only three churches, the 
 Jews, 20,000 in number, have 150 synagogues. Hungary 
 has 300,000; Cracovic 22,000. In a word, it is ima- 
 gined, that, were all the Jews assembled together, they 
 would form a population of 7,000,000; so that, could 
 you transport them into the land of their fathers this 
 very year, they would form a nation more powerful 
 and more numerous than the inhabitants of Holland and 
 Belgium.” 
 
 Mr. Dudley, in 1821, mentioned numerous testimonies 
 from various quarters, which evidently indicated a desire 
 on the part of many Jews to receive and study the Holy 
 Scriptures. 
 
 In the thirteenth Report of the Bible Society, it is stated, 
 that “ the late wars and commotions on the earth, with 
 the present wonderful exertions to spread the Holy Scrip- 
 tures among all nations, seem to have made a deep im- 
 pression on the minds of many of that ancient people. 
 Dr. Pinkerton, in the course of his journeys on the con- 
 tinent, collected some very interesting information to this 
 effect. The committee, therefore, have procured, from 
 
ME. BURCKHARDT. — HIS DEVOTED ZEAL. 295 
 
 tlie Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews, 
 copies of the Gospels and Acts, in Hebrew, and dis- 
 patched supplies to the Russian, Polish, and Frankfort 
 Bible Societies.” 
 
 A clergyman, travelling in Syria, says: 44 I informed 
 you of the rapidity -with which I sold a considerable 
 number of Hebrew Testaments to the Jews, at Aleppo. 
 The day before my departure, the chief rabbi issued a 
 prohibition against the purchase of the book. A cheap 
 edition of the Hebrew Old Testament would have an easy 
 sale in Aleppo.” 
 
 Aleppo brings to mind the name of the lamented 
 Burckhardt, — a young man of superior talents, and the 
 most enterprising zeal, who, after succeeding in opening 
 many acceptable channels for the distribution of the 
 Scriptures, and making various important discoveries in 
 connection with this object, in Egypt and Syria, was 
 suddenly carried off by a fever, at Aleppo, from his work 
 to his reward. 
 
 Of Mr. Burckhardt, Dr. Naudi, secretary to the Malta 
 Bible Society, thus writes: 
 
 44 We have seen many here who appeared to be well 
 adapted to take Bibles and Testaments into Egypt, but 
 most showed some fear, either of the bashaw, or of the 
 Mussulmans, or of the different denominations of Chris- 
 tians, or of the Jews. But our esteemed Burckhardt left 
 Malta, on board a Greek vessel, with six large cases full 
 of Bibles and Testaments, in various languages, without 
 any fear. He read, conversed, and distributed, in the 
 most open manner; and Divine Providence, which, with- 
 out doubt, conducts these great and important objects, 
 assisted him in every step, — as well in giving him a right 
 discernment in his enterprises, as in preparing the people 
 for the reception of the word of truth. 
 
 44 On his arrival at Alexandria, Mr. Burckhardt landed 
 courageously with all his cases, which he took to an inn, 
 where he with difficulty obtained a little garret, which 
 
296 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 hardly held him and his possessions. After two or three 
 days, some masons came to make some alteration in the 
 inn, and began to pull down his room ; but he, thinking 
 the situation favourable for the sale and propagation of 
 the Scriptures, would not quit the house, but removed 
 with his health-giving merchandise into a shed belonging 
 to it. Here he conversed with every one that passed 
 by, — peasants, strangers, and merchants, both foreign and 
 from the interior of the country. The seamen, who are 
 very numerous at Alexandria, came so often to him, that 
 he wrote to us, saying, that the Greek Testaments which 
 he had dispersed would only be like so many drops 
 thrown into the sea, so great was the demand for the 
 word of God. 
 
 “ He departed for Grand Cairo on board a country- 
 boat, surrounded by a great number of Bibles. After ex- 
 periencing some dangers, he arrived, took a little lodging, 
 and, as before, exposed his wares to public sale. Here 
 he found that his mission was not only known to all, but 
 that he was actually waited for. Jews, Turks, Syrians, 
 Copts, Christians, and Pagans, went to visit him, and, 
 what is of more importance, to profit by the books he 
 sold. 
 
 “ A few days after his arrival, he wrote to me thus: — 
 ‘ My dear friend, I have nothing more now to give these 
 people. All my stock is expended. If I had had with 
 me twice or thrice as many copies of the Scriptures, I 
 could have disposed of them without difficulty/ 
 
 “ In this central situation, he had the pleasure to arrange 
 various things for the future success of our Malta Bible 
 Society, in those extensive countries, with the bishops, 
 patriarchs, and other persons of rank. The Coptic patri- 
 arch has requested an edition in Coptic- Arabic, for the 
 use of his flock, which most useful measure will be, I 
 hope, attended to. 
 
 “From Cairo Mr. Burckhardt went to Jerusalem, where 
 he visited all the convents and public places, and furnished 
 
KARAITE JEWS AT LUTZK. 
 
 297 
 
 them everywhere with the word of God. At length, 
 leaving Jerusalem, going by Syria, and visiting many 
 places on his road, he came to the great and commercial 
 city of Aleppo, in the neighbourhood of which, a fatal 
 fever put an end to his valuable life; and thus, alas ! we 
 have been deprived of his earnest services. 
 
 “ His memory will ever remain dear to us. All the 
 friends of the Bible, who have any knowledge of what 
 he has done in the Levant, have shed tears for him. By 
 means of a friend who left this place yesterday, we have 
 written to announce the sad event to his father, in 
 Switzerland, and have enclosed the last letter his son 
 wrote to us, dated from Antioch.” 
 
 In the year 1822, Messrs. Henderson and Paterson sent 
 some very interesting reports to the Society, from Russia, 
 concerning the Jews. A Bible Association was formed 
 in the town of Berditchev, which is inhabited by 16,000 
 Jews, several of whom aided it by their subscriptions, 
 and not only purchased copies of the Old, but seemed 
 also anxious to obtain the New Testament. On this 
 journey they received the most convincing proofs of the 
 eagerness of Jews to receive and read the testimony of 
 the Messiah. The travellers had previously ordered sup- 
 plies of Hebrew New Testaments to be sent from St. Pe- 
 tersburg, to meet them at the more important stations. 
 In the town of Jitomir, in particular, their lodgings were 
 almost besieged by Jews, who form by far the most 
 numerous part of the population, to whom they gave 
 copies, after ascertaining their ability to read and under- 
 stand the Hebrew. 
 
 Having learned that there was a settlement of Karaite 
 or Reformed Jews in the town of Lutzk, Mr. Henderson 
 visited that place, from Ostrog, to ascertain how the 
 Scriptures might be distributed among them. In their 
 appearance, their manners, and mode of worship, these 
 people form a striking contrast to the other Jews. Un- 
 shackled by the trammels of the Talmud, they are more 
 
298 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 open to conviction, and better able to judge of the truth 
 of what is proposed for their belief. The travellers wrote 
 thus: “We had entertained the hope, that some of the 
 Hebrew New Testaments might be advantageously dis- 
 posed of among them, but, to our no small joy and sur- 
 prise, found they were already in possession of the Book, 
 and seemed to be perusing it without prejudice. The 
 rabbi himself produced a copy from his library, in the 
 course of our conversation relative to the fulfilment of 
 ancient prophecy, and he spoke of its contents with high 
 respect, before a large company, who had collected at his 
 house, in order to listen to our communications. 
 
 “ They are not convinced that the Messiah is already 
 come, but their minds seem to be interested in no ordinary 
 degree by the subject; and, were proper measures adopted 
 for directing their attention to the true meaning of their 
 own Scriptures, the paramount authority of which forms 
 one of the most distinguishing parts of their creed, there 
 is every probability that many of them would be brought 
 to the acknowledgment of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, 
 as their Messiah. It deserves to be recorded, to the honour 
 of the Karaites of Lutzk, that, for the space of 200 years, 
 no instance of law-suit or prosecution against them is to be 
 found in the public documents of the place. They still 
 retain the use of the Tartar language in their daily inter- 
 course, and also in the synagogue for the purpose of ex- 
 plaining the Hebrew text of the Law.” 
 
 In the old Turkish town of Khotim, the master of the 
 inn at which they slept was a Jew. He told them, that, 
 on the next day, the whole Jewish population, men, 
 women, and children, were to repair to the banks of the 
 Dniester, in order to welcome a new rabbi, from Poland, 
 who is reputed to be as holy, and to possess the power of 
 performing wonders as great, as any of the ancient pro- 
 phets in the land of promise. Before leaving Khotim, 
 the agents presented their landlord with a copy of the 
 Hebrew New Testament, which he accepted with every 
 
PUECHASE OF THE BIBLE BY JEWS. 299 
 
 mark of gratitude, and they left him and another intelli- 
 gent Jew busily engaged in reading the history of Christ, 
 to whom all the prophets gave witness. 
 
 In a letter from Dr. Pinkerton (1825), which describes 
 a severe illness that had compelled him to return home, 
 and relinquish, for a time, his tour in Greece and Turkey, 
 he mentions two interesting facts; viz., that an African 
 Jew had lately purchased thirty-three Hebrew Bibles, at 
 Malta, and carried them with him to Tunis, for the use 
 of his brethren there ; and that at Gibraltar another Jew 
 had purchased 132 Hebrew Bibles, to carry with him to 
 Leghorn, for the schools of his brethren in that place. 
 
 At Thessalonica, or Saloniki, where Paul himself first 
 preached the gospel after his release from imprisonment 
 at Philippi (Acts 17. 1-10), there are still from 25,000 
 to 30,000 Jews who speak the Jewish- Spanish language, 
 and for whom the New Testament, in that version, will 
 be particularly serviceable, if a way should, in the pro- 
 vidence of God, be opened for introducing it among 
 them.* At first these Jews declined to purchase the 
 Hebrew Scriptures offered them by Mr. Barker ; but even- 
 tually they took his whole stock, and requested that more 
 might be sent. How interesting for them to find, in the 
 17th chapter of the Acts, the subject of the apostle’s own 
 mission to their ancestors, nearly 1800 years ago! How 
 delightful to be a successor of the apostles, in the charac- 
 ter of a Bible Society agent, and return to the children 
 that which we have received from their fathers ! 
 
 The Hebrew New Testament appeared to obtain access 
 immediately to the minds of many Jews who had never 
 before seen it. Dr. Pinkerton gave away five New Testa- 
 ments in Poland, to those who had never read the doc- 
 trines of Christ and his apostles in Hebrew. They all 
 commenced reading with great avidity, and before he left 
 
 * See forty-first Eeport. The printing of this version was com- 
 pleted at Athens, in 1845. 
 
300 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 them, gave proofs of their understanding well what they 
 read. In other places, he says, he could have distributed 
 hundreds of copies, had he possessed them. 
 
 In 1827, a very pleasant account is given by the late 
 Rev. H. D. Leeves, the Society’s agent at Constantinople* 
 of some Jewish converts, who suffered much for their 
 belief in Jesus. They had read the New Testament 
 secretly for three years, and were ready to confess Christ 
 before men, which they were shortly called to do. The 
 Jewish rabbins denounced those Jews who had visited 
 the Bible-agents. Three of them were seized, one basti- 
 nadoed, and all thrown into prison, where they were put 
 in irons. When brought before the grand vizier, they 
 boldly declared themselves to be Christians, and said the 
 only reason why they were persecuted by their fellow- 
 countrymen was, that they believed that the Messiah was 
 come. These Jewish enemies used all their efforts to 
 obtain the execution of one of their number, saying, like 
 the Jews of old, “We demand the death of this accursed 
 man, whose blood be upon us!” This is the more re- 
 markable, as the Jews never allow (if it be possible to pre- 
 vent it, by the forfeit of even thousands of piastres) any 
 one of their nation to be put to death by the Turks: but 
 the dragoman of the Porte, to his honour, refused to dip 
 his hands in innocent blood ; and, in a conversation with 
 Mr. Hartley, actually compared their conduct to that of 
 their forefathers before Pilate. The accused were, how- 
 ever, thrown into prison for a term of six months. 
 
 When cruel accusation had failed, the J ews assailed 
 them with all the temptations of persuasion : a full pardon 
 with immediate deliverance was promised to them if they 
 returned to their old religion; and, when they still stood 
 firm, it was falsely announced to them, that next morn- 
 ing they would be led to execution. Thus, for a whole 
 night they had the view of death before their eyes, and 
 they spent that night in reading the New Testament with 
 weeping and prayer. Through the agency of these cruel 
 
THREE JEWISH CONVERTS. 
 
 301 
 
 Jews, their labour and sufferings in the prison to which 
 they were condemned were multiplied tenfold, but their 
 faith and love to Christ put to shame those who had long 
 borne the Christian name. 
 
 Mr. Leeves says of them: “ Their Christianity is in- 
 deed the work of the New Testament, and the members 
 of the Bible Society may rejoice over their conversion, as 
 the fruit, under God, of their exertions in the circulation 
 of the Scriptures. One of these good men, when bap- 
 tized, chose the name of J ohn Baptist, from his wish to 
 imitate his example, and, like him, to prepare the way of 
 the Saviour by preaching to his brethren the Jews.” 
 
 In the letters of Mr. Leeves, appended to the twenty- 
 fourth Report of the Society, the following particulars, 
 concerning these converted Jews, are given. They were 
 subjected to long-continued trial of their faith and pa- 
 tience in the prison. Two of them remained steadfast, 
 one of whom was John Baptist. The third, whose name 
 was David, relapsed to Judaism. He still, however, re- 
 mained in prison with the rest; and it was generally 
 believed that the Jews would not pardon him though he 
 returned to them, as, having been baptized, he would 
 always be esteemed by them as a polluted person. 
 
 The imprisonment was lengthened out to three years , 
 and any one during that period daring to demand their 
 deliverance, was to be thrown into the same prison with 
 them. The unfortunate backslider shared in their con- 
 tinued punishment, and the Jews willingly gave him up 
 as a sacrifice. He therefore gained nothing by his denial 
 of his Master. 
 
 In the year 1829, it was announced that these Jews had 
 been released from their imprisonment, and that the two 
 remained steadfast. The reports of them continued satis- 
 factory, and they were successful in bringing over several 
 others to the knowledge of the truth. Thirteen converts 
 were, through their means, baptized, and made ready to 
 suffer persecution. They were banished to Cesarea; and 
 
302 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 it was among the most pleasing of Mr. Barker’s duties to 1 
 forward copies of the Scriptures for their comfort during 
 their banishment. John Baptist afterwards visited Mr. 
 Barker, at Smyrna; and it was considered that the way 
 was preparing for the further triumph of the gospel 
 amongst the Jews of the Levant. Thus much for the 
 mission of the British and Foreign Bible Society, for five- 
 and- twenty years among the Jews. And now we take in 
 order the remnants of the Ancient Christian Churches. 
 
 THE BRITISH, THE SYRIAN, THE ARMENIAN, THE 
 NESTORIAN, THE ABYSSINIAN, AND THE 
 YAUDOIS CHURCHES. 
 
 The ancient British Church was cared for by the Bible 
 Society in their early gift of the Scriptures to Wales and 
 to Scotland ; and for the blessing on the descendants of 
 the ancient primitive Church in Ireland, we must look 
 from the Jubilee-field, and also under the head of Pro- 
 testant Countries. 
 
 THE SYRIAN CHURCH. 
 
 We did not say much, in the former part of this Book, 
 about the ancient Syrian churches, as existing in India. 
 “ Their remnants are now to be found,” says the Bombay 
 Report for 1818, “in Cochin, which, of all the places 
 within the reach of this Society in India, is the most 
 interesting.” 
 
 The Christians of St. Thomas had been long seated on 
 the coast of Malabar, when the Portuguese first opened 
 the navigation of India. They were probably converted 
 to Christianity by the Syrian, Mar Thomas, a Nestorian, 
 who has been confounded with the Apostle St. Thomas. 
 During the seventh century, their church was consider- 
 ably increased by the labours of two Syrians, Mar Sopor, 
 and Mar Pedosis. 
 
THE SYRIAN CHURCH. 
 
 303 
 
 “ On the arrival of the Portuguese, these Christians,” 
 says Mr. Gibbon, “ excelled the natives of Hindustan in 
 arts, in arms, and probably in virtue. The husbandmen 
 cultivated the palm-trade, the merchants were enriched 
 by the pepper-trade, the soldiers preceded the nobles of 
 Malabar, and their hereditary privileges were respected 
 by the King of Cochin himself. They were governed 
 by the Bishop of Cranganore, who asserted his ancient 
 title of 4 Metropolitan of India’; he executed his juris- 
 diction in 1400 churches, and was intrusted with the 
 care of 200,000 souls.” 
 
 It was the first desire of the ministers of Rome, now 
 arrived from Portugal, to intercept all correspondence 
 with the Nestorian patriarch, and many of his bishops 
 expired in the prisons of the holy office. The power 
 of the Portuguese, the arts of the Jesuits, and the zeal 
 of the Archbishop of Goa, who personally visited the 
 coast of Malabar, greatly troubled, if it did not destroy, 
 this Protestant Church in India, while they had also to 
 complain of the cold and silent indifference of their 
 brethren of Europe. 
 
 Many of these Syrian churches, are found to be still 
 in existence ; and the Bombay committee of the Bible So- 
 ciety took care to present them with the few copies of the 
 Syriac Gospels which they had received from England. It 
 was proved that they would very thankfully receive larger 
 supplies. 
 
 The eighth Report of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society contains a reference to the Christians dispersed 
 over Hindustan, including Ceylon, and in number said to 
 be nearly 1,000,000, — few of them having the happiness 
 to possess the sacred Scriptures. 
 
 Many of the descendants of these ancient Christians 
 have, from the want of these precious records, relapsed 
 into idolatry, and are Christians only in name. It was 
 determined to aid them, by a grant to the Society at 
 
304 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 Calcutta, of Bibles, Testaments, and printing-paper, to 
 the value of 1000/.* 
 
 When Dr. Buchanan, in 1806, visited the Syrian 
 Christians in India, he found several important manu- 
 scripts of great antiquity, which he brought with him to 
 England. The last years of his useful and laborious 
 life were devoted to the preparation of a printed edition 
 from these manuscripts ; and he died, so to speak, with 
 the sheets of the Syriac Testament in his hands. A 
 short time prior to his decease, he was walking with a 
 friend in the churchyard at Clapham, when he suddenly 
 stopped and burst into tears. As soon as he had reco- 
 vered his self-possession, he said to his friend, “ Do not 
 be alarmed ; I am not ill ; but I was completely over- 
 come with the recollection of the delight with which I 
 had engaged in the exercise of preparing the Syriac 
 Scriptures. At first I was disposed to shrink from the 
 task as irksome, and feared I should find even the Scrip- 
 tures pall by the frequency of this critical examination. 
 But, so far from it, every fresh reading only seemed to 
 throw fresh light upon the word of God, and to convey 
 additional joy and consolation to my mind.” 
 
 In 1811, also, Dr. Buchanan, forwarded some intelli- 
 gence respecting these Indian Christians. He spoke of 
 fifty-five churches in Malay ala (comprehending the region 
 between Cape Comorin and Cape Illi) acknowledging the 
 patriarch of Antioch. “These,” said he, “are Syrian 
 Christians : they derive their liturgy from the early church 
 at Antioch. What copies they have of the Scriptures 
 are in Syriac, and they need them translated into the 
 Malayalim, They have attempted to do this themselves, 
 but in vain. When a proposal was made, that a Mala- 
 
 * Paper was sent out as a grant from the Parent Society, owing 
 to the enormous price of that article in India, at this time. A small 
 edition of the New Testament, in 1811, of 1000 copies only, if 
 printed in India, would cost 1000/., on account of the high price of 
 paper. 
 
THE SYRIAN VERSION. — DR. BUCHANAN. 305 
 
 yalim translation should be sent to each of their fifty-five 
 churches, as a standard book, on condition that they 
 would transcribe and circulate the copies among the 
 people, the elders replied, that, so great was their desire 
 to have the Bible in the vulgar tongue, that it might be 
 expected that every man who could write would make 
 a copy on ollas (palm leaves) for his own family.” 
 
 Perhaps you have never seen these ollas on which 
 the natives of India used to write ; they now chiefly use 
 paper. They are long, narrowish leaves, very much like 
 our stiff, flat Iris leaves, with the top and bottom cut off, 
 only of a stouter texture. They are dried in the sun, 
 and written upon with an iron style or pen. Over the 
 characters thus made, lamp-black is rubbed, and the 
 traced letters receive a black impression : the leaves are 
 strung together by a ribbon, two round holes being 
 stamped in each leaf. This kind of book is not now so 
 common as it was, but is rather a literary curiosity. 
 
 In the Report for 1819, the committee notice an edi- 
 tion of 4000 copies of the Syrian Old Testament, as being 
 ready to accompany the New Testament, before printed t 
 they also sorrowfully allude to the death of the Rev~~ 
 Dr. Buchanan, who had interested himself so zealously 
 for these Syrian Christians, and the last act of whose 
 life was preparing for them that holy Book which they 
 now possess and peruse with great satisfaction and thank- 
 fulness. Dr. Buchanan only lived to superintend the 
 issue of this impression, up to the close of the Acts of the 
 Apostles ; and the revision of the rest was completed by 
 Professor Lee. 
 
 In 1821, the Syrian Christians in Travancore had been 
 supplied with these New Testaments, and some Nestorians: 
 residing in Jerusalem were much pleased with them, and 
 said they would sell rapidly in Diarbekir. 
 
 Besides these Syrian churches, there is in Cochin a 
 large population of Protestants, the remains of the Dutch 
 
 colonists; and among the Christians who have settled in 
 
 21 
 
306 
 
 THE BOOH AND ITS STORY. 
 
 India, the Dutch, have very justly the merit of having 
 done much towards the promotion of Christianity. They 
 established schools, and caused the New Testament and 
 a great part of the Old to be translated into the Malabar 
 language. To these the committee sent a grant of the 
 Dutch Scriptures, as their establishments are now much 
 neglected and fallen into decay, having lost their pittance 
 of salary. 
 
 There is still also another race of people in Cochin, 
 particularly interesting, — the White and Black Jews 
 of Malabar, in whose record-chest, you will remember, 
 Dr. Buchanan, in 1806, found the old Hebrew roll, which 
 is now deposited at Cambridge. 
 
 Some of these Syrian Christians are found at Aleppo. 
 Mr. Barker, in 1825, mentions a visit from a Syrian 
 bishop, who came to Aleppo on his way to Jerusalem. 
 This prelate assured him, that, throughout all Mesopota- 
 mia, the Holy Scriptures in the Carshun language (Arabic, 
 with Syriac characters) would prove a most acceptable 
 gift to the Christians. The Syrian bishop was accom- 
 panied by a member of his church, who observed, that 
 the Arabic New Testament had proved a real consolation 
 to his brother, long deprived of the use of his limbs ; 
 and that he had read it again and again, and had found 
 in it things of which before he was wholly ignorant. 
 
 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 
 
 In the year 1815, the Armenian Bible, in quarto, was 
 being printed for the use of the Armenian inhabitants 
 of Russia, who had subscribed liberally to the Institu- 
 tion. They took a great interest in the publication of 
 the Scriptures, also subscribing for half the edition of 
 the New Testament of 5000 copies; and the Bible Society 
 agreed to assist this desirable undertaking by a donation 
 of 5007. From Russia, in the same year, Dr. Pinkerton 
 writes: “ Thus is the blessing of the Lord upon our la- 
 
THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 
 
 307 
 
 tours, and astonishing is the manner in which Divine 
 Providence breaks up the way before us, and gives us 
 hopes of soon seeing the word of God spread among all 
 the nations between us and India. Our Calmuc- Tartar, 
 Armenian, and Georgian editions of the Scriptures, are 
 the glorious links of a chain of life, which will soon unite 
 us with our Indian co-labourers.” 
 
 In 1814, the Calcutta Auxiliary Bible Society under- 
 took a large edition of the Armenian Scriptures, at the 
 earnest request of Johannes Sarkies, a principal Arme- 
 nian, at Calcutta, who himself came forward with 5000 
 rupees, as the united subscription of his countrymen to 
 that work. 
 
 These Armenians are scattered all over Asia. They 
 have churches in various parts of the Ganges’ side of 
 India, at Madras, Bombay, Surat, Bagdad, Busheer, Mus- 
 cat, and other places. Jerusalem, Diarbekir, and Con- 
 stantinople, are patriarchal seats. These people have 
 formed settlements wherever they have found an open- 
 ing for trade. They are found in many places in Hin- 
 dustan; and a very considerable number of them are 
 settled, as has been said, in Russia, and also at Ve- 
 nice. 
 
 At Venice, the most correct copies of their Bible had 
 been printed; but they were very dear and scarce. In 
 Calcutta, an Armenian Bible could not be purchased, in 
 1815, under sixty or seventy rupees ; indeed, it was only 
 procurable at that price, on the death of any gentleman, 
 at the sale of his books. In Calcutta, the Armenians 
 are rich; 4 4 and if,” says the Calcutta committee, 44 the 
 want of a Bible is so great here, what must it be in other 
 places ! ” 
 
 Two thousand copies of this old version, made in A.ix 
 460, and long existent in manuscript, were reprinted at 
 the Serampore press, in 1817; and in the same year the 
 St. Petersburg Bible Society printed 5000 copies for the 
 use of the Armenians in Russia. 
 
308 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 In the successive years of 1818, 1819, and 1823, the 
 Society purchased at Venice, and also printed at Constan- 
 tinople, various editions for the use of the Christians in 
 Armenia. The gradual influence of the dispersion of 
 this ancient or ecclesiastical version, on the educated part 
 of the people, will be made evident in further records. 
 
 Missionaries from America have laboured very much 
 among this people, who now speak a dialect called the 
 Modern Armenian, into which it has likewise been found 
 necessary to translate the Scriptures. 
 
 The British and Foreign Bible Society made the first 
 attempt, on record, to produce a version in this dialect. 
 A modern version of the New Testament was completed, 
 in 1824, by Dr. Zohrab, under their auspices ; and it was 
 printed at Paris, in parallel columns with the ancient 
 Armenian : the results of the distribution of this version 
 also, which are really unprecedented, will be stated on a 
 future page. We have said thus much about the Arme- 
 nians, because they are a people of much importance from 
 their numbers. Their merchants conduct all the traffic 
 and manufactures of Turkey and Persia, and their hier- 
 archy, in India alone, equals in numbers that of Great 
 Britain ; added to which, the Paulicians, a sect which 
 arose in Armenia, are, in some sense, through the Wal- 
 denses and Wiclif, enrolled among the spiritual ancestry 
 of our reformers. 
 
 THE NESTORIAN CHURCH. 
 
 Concerning the Nestorian Christians there is not much 
 at this era to say. The language they speak is nearly 
 identical with the Syriac. The edition for which they 
 petitioned left the press in 1829. “ So great is the anti- 
 
 pathy of this people to popery, that they have a singular 
 and most anti-Christian custom of cursing the pope regu- 
 larly every day, his grandfather, grandmother, and grand- 
 children !” 
 
THE ABYSSINIAN CHURCH. — MR. PEARCE. 309 
 
 THE ABYSSINIAN CHURCH. 
 
 In 1811, the committee, owing to intelligence brought 
 home by the traveller, Mr. Salt, concluded to prii^t an 
 Ethiopic version of the book of Psalms, for the use of 
 the nations of Abyssinia, and they endeavoured to pro- 
 cure a version of one of the Gospels in that language, 
 with a view to the same object. 
 
 There is a remarkable account of the reception of these 
 Psalters in Abyssinia, communicated in a letter from Mr. 
 Nathaniel Pearce, an agent employed by Mr. Scott, who 
 was then consul-general for Egypt. This agent was seen 
 by Mr. Jowett in 1819, and is described as a “ wild, tall 
 man, dressed in a sheepskin, waiting with his camels at 
 the gate of the consulate, just come from Abyssinia, a 
 journey of eighty-nine days, troubles having compelled 
 him to quit the country.” 
 
 The following is an extract from the letter: — “ The 
 books of the Psalters,” says Mr. Pearce, “in Ethiopic, 
 which you sent into this country, I have carefully and 
 diligently distributed to the different churches and holy 
 places, in the name of the Bible Society. I must tell 
 you that the people find some faults in them. The ink, 
 they say, is not black enough, the strokes too thin, the 
 letters too much crowded together, no red ink at the 
 name of God, etc., no books of the blessed Virgin, Solo- 
 mon, and the Prophets, written as they are in this coun- 
 try ; so they cannot accept them as church books ; but 
 in exactness they allow them to excel their own writing, 
 and they are very partial to those in red morocco bind- 
 ings ! I presented two to the king, Itsa Takley Gorges.” 
 Mr. Pearce says again: “I have the pleasure to inform 
 you, that I have had the honour of being called before 
 an assembly of not less than eighty of the most learned 
 priests in Abyssinia. This meeting was held in the pre- 
 sence of the king, on the top of the flat-roofed church, at 
 
310 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Axum, on the 6th of December, 1817. The first ques- 
 tion I was asked, was, 6 Who wrote those books ; and by 
 whose orders were they written?’ They next asked me 
 if one man wrote all those books, they being all exactly 
 alike? observing that these books could not be written in 
 ten years by ten men in this country. I did all in my 
 power to make them understand how they were printed, 
 but they would not believe that one man could engrave 
 the print in less than twenty years. The king said, 4 If 
 I were to try to cut the letters in wood, much more 
 in brass or any other metal, it would take me a whole 
 day to complete fifteen or sixteen ; and after they were 
 finished, how many years it would take me to put them 
 together!”’ 
 
 So you see the Abyssinians, in 1817, had not partaken 
 of the light from the printing-press, which had then per- 
 vaded the continent of Europe for nearly 300 years. 
 
 The four Gospels were completed in Ethiopic, for their 
 use, in 1826, and the entire New Testament was pub- 
 lished in 1830. 
 
 Ethiopic, however, is only the language for the learned 
 men of Abyssinia ; Amharic is its vulgar tongue : and, 
 concerning the Amharic translation, many interesting 
 particulars have already been given, in our account of 
 the library at the Bible Society House. The transla- 
 tion, purchased by Mr. Jowett, occupied M. Asselin and 
 his aged companion ten years. Tuesdays and Saturdays 
 they shut their door against everybody, and translated 
 from the Arabic, the Hebrew, and the Syriac, into the 
 Amharic. 
 
 The New Testament was published in 1829, and this 
 work was seen to be of immense importance, as the trans- 
 lation made for a people who were already students of 
 Scripture, as far as they possessed it, whose first study 
 was the Bible, whose first spiritual want the gospel, which 
 they read over and over again constantly every day. Mr 
 Jowett says, 44 How deeply Christianity must once have 
 
THE VAUDOIS CHURCH. 
 
 311 
 
 been seated in the hearts of the Abyssinians, appears 
 from a great variety of proofs. How delightful once more 
 to restore to them a general knowledge of the Scriptures ! 
 — to a country in the heart of Africa, — a continent which, 
 seems left to these latter ages of the world to remind the 
 benevolent of something they have not done, — the learned 
 of something they have not discovered.” 
 
 44 One day,” said the devoted missionary, Mr. Gobat 
 (now Bishop of Jerusalem), 44 I am all joy with the hope 
 that, in a short time, the Abyssinian mission will be 
 crowned with success : the following day I am cast down 
 to the very dust, by the idea, that all attempts will be 
 useless: for the Abyssinians very generally yield to the 
 truth, but it is only for awhile. They cannot make up 
 their minds to quit so much as one of their customs. 
 Thus, faith is tried for a time, yet the promise is sure, 
 that God’s 4 word shall not return unto Him void ’ ; and 
 the day perhaps is near, when Ethiopia will stretch out 
 her hands unto God.” 
 
 THE YAUDOIS CHURCH. 
 
 In the Report for 1816 it is stated that a Bible Society 
 has been organised among the Waldenses inhabiting the 
 valleys of Piedmont, which comprise thirteen parishes, 
 and a population of 17,000 souls; but such is the poverty 
 of the people that they were not able to collect more than 
 50 1. for the purpose of purchasing the Scriptures. The 
 committee, in consideration of their peculiar circum- 
 stances, and doubtless in recollection of their past history, 
 presented them with a donation of 200Z. 
 
 A letter from the secretary of this small Society says, 
 44 The misery is extreme in our valleys, which are inun- 
 dated with a legion of Piedmontese beggars, who, though 
 Catholics, come to implore the charity of the Protestants. 
 The continual wants of the body occasion almost an en- 
 tire forgetfulness of those of the soul ; and we cannot 
 
312 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 flatter ourselves that we shall receive more than, 1000 
 francs in our thirteen churches. Our brethren at Turin 
 have, however, promised to double our funds ; yet, even 
 with this addition, it will be impossible for us to furnish 
 the fiftieth part of the Bibles we want : few families here 
 possess the means of procuring them from foreign parts, 
 at heavy expense. The Basle Bible Society has twice gra- 
 tified us with a gift of 86 New Testaments, and 100 addi- 
 tional copies are speedily expected to arrive. We hope 
 that God who has favoured us with this supply, will in- 
 crease it. Next to Him, we look to the British nation, 
 and to your noble Society for support. Without England, 
 the Vaudois would long since have ceased to exist. Its 
 government has paid a kind attention to their temporal 
 wants. Its Bible Society will also deign, they hope, to 
 consider its spiritual wants.” 
 
 In answer to this request, the grant before mentioned 
 was made, and warm were the thanks which it brought 
 from the heart of the mountains. “ Your generosity ac- 
 tually electrifies us ; but to God we give thanks for what 
 we receive, praising and magnifying his Holy Name, at 
 the same time supplicating Him to bless your persons 
 and your labours. We laid the foundations and estab- 
 lished the first rules of the Yaudois Bible Society, on the 
 very day on which you were so kindly occupying your- 
 selves about us. How do we rejoice over the advantage 
 of being in connection, and as it were in contact of heart 
 and mind, with you, dear and honoured brethren ! ” 
 
 In 1818, the Bible Society established at La Tour, for 
 the valleys of Piedmont, had distributed 150 Bibles and 
 1865 New Testaments. “ The poor inhabitants of those 
 valleys, stirred up again by the spirit which so eminently 
 distinguished their pious ancestors, come and earnestly en- 
 treat to be received as members of the Waldenses’ Bible 
 Society, and urge the acceptance of such mites as they 
 are able to present.” 
 
313 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE WORK OF THE BIBLE SOCIETY AMONG ROMAN CATHOLICS. — 
 
 THE GREEK CHURCH. DISTRIBUTION OF THE BIBLE BY ROMAN- 
 
 CATHOLIC PRIESTS. GENERAL WILLINGNESS OF THE ROMAN- 
 
 CATHOLIC LAITY TO RECEIVE IT. ANECDOTES. LEANDER VAN 
 
 ESS. FRANCE. PROFESSOR KIEFFER. THE PRAYER OF THE 
 
 DYING SISTER, AND ITS ANSWER. AUSTRIA AND BELGIUM. 
 
 THE ROMAN-CATHOLIC PORTION OF GERMANY, PRUSSIA, POLAND, 
 
 AND SWITZERLAND. ITALY, SPAIN, AND PORTUGAL. RUSSIA I 
 
 THE BIBLE SOCIETY THERE; ITS EXTINCTION. THE TRIBE OF 
 
 BURIATS. TURKEY, EUROPEAN AND ASIATIC,* ITS MIXED POPU- 
 LATION. THE TURKS. FOREIGN AGENCY. MR. BARKER. 
 
 GREECE. — SOUTH AMERICA. DR. THOMSON. — A FEW WORDS ON 
 
 THE APOCRYPHA. THE MAHOMED AN COUNTRIES. THE HEA- 
 
 THEN COUNTRIES. 
 
 We must now pass on to inquire what had been the 
 distribution of the Bible among the members of Roman- 
 Catholic and Greek Churches, all over the world, during 
 the first twenty -five years of the existence of the Bible 
 Society. 
 
 In the very first Report of the Society, a singular 
 feature of its history was presented in the letter of a 
 Roman-Catholic priest, in Swabia, to Dr. Steinkopff. 
 “ He had heard,” he said, “ of the example of the Bible 
 Society, who were filled with a noble desire to send out 
 the pure word of God, as the best preacher, into the world, 
 and he wished it a thousand blessings. He allowed that 
 all blind bigots of his church had always spread the 
 opinion that it was entirely forbidden for all laymen to 
 read the Bible; but he declared there were many clergy- 
 men in Swabia who did everything in their power to 
 promote the reading of the Bible, especially of the New 
 
314 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Testament ; that their number was daily increasing ; and 
 that they even felt a desire to form a Bible Society among 
 themselves, but that, in the meantime, he would be glad 
 of Scriptures to circulate.” The Bible Society thought 
 this opening worthy of their particular attention, and they 
 authorised the Society at Nuremberg to furnish 1000 
 copies of the Protestant edition of the New Testament, for 
 sale or gift among the Roman Catholics of Swabia. 
 
 In 1810, from several parts in the south-eastern pro- 
 vinces of France, authentic accounts had been received, 
 that many Roman Catholics requested copies of the New 
 Testament, and had perused them with great eagerness 
 and gratitude. 
 
 In a yet earlier year of the Society, Pastor Oberlin had 
 given, in a letter to the committee, a vivid sketch of the 
 desire after Bibles in the interior of France. He told of 
 the villages of the Steinthal, in which he himself laboured, 
 and which had been evangelised fifty years previously, by 
 the good Pastor Huber, who sent for fifty French Protes- 
 tant Bibles from Basle, had them divided into three parts, 
 and bound in strong parchment, which made 150 books. 
 These he lent in the schools, even permitting the scholars 
 to take them home. 
 
 A Roman Catholic entered a house in one of these vil- 
 lages, and spied in the window a thick book with a lock. 
 Having heard that Bibles had this appearance, he took it 
 down, looked at the title, and asked if one could have 
 such a Bible for a crown. The owner answered, “ Yes.” 
 The Catholic threw down the crown, and ran away with 
 the Bible to his own village. From that time the demand 
 increased continually, and several hundred Bibles were 
 sold, given, or lent; many copies, however, were taken 
 by the priests from the people, as of old time, and burnt, 
 and sometimes violent contention took place about them. 
 
 “ Once a priest surprised one of his people over the 
 Bible, snatched it from him with bitter reproaches, and 
 was going off with it, when the man, who had seen the 
 
THE BIBLE AMONG- BOMAN CATHOLICS. 315 
 
 world, and often heard from his neighbours of the priests 
 taking away their Bibles, jumped up, seized his hanger, 
 placed, himself before the door, and cried out, 4 Mons. le 
 Cur£! replace that Bible on ‘the table! I respect your 
 character; but a thief is no pastor. I will rather cut you 
 in pieces than suffer you to steal a Bible which has been 
 kindly lent to me.’ The priest restored the Bible, but 
 ordered the man to return it to the owner; and thus many 
 were returned to us.” 
 
 About the same period, in Germany, a Boman-Catliolic 
 clergyman writes, 44 Blessed be God, we have at last a 
 cheap Bible for the people of our own persuasion ! The 
 printing is happily completed at Eatisbon, and several 
 thousand copies are now circulating in various Boman- 
 Catholic provinces of Germany. I myself distributed 650 
 copies. Eight of our clergymen have publicly announced 
 the excellent Eatisbon Institution, and most earnestly 
 recommend the reading of the Holy Scriptures. Imme- 
 diately after their sermons, numbers applied, and 2000 
 copies were not sufficient to satisfy them all. The Bible 
 is now read by students, by the people, and even by chil- 
 dren. My friend, Professor Sailer, sent 600 copies to his 
 friends in the Eoman- Catholic cantons of Switzerland, 
 and I did the same to mine in Austria.” 
 
 Several Protestant divines having seen this edition of 
 the New Testament translated by the Eoman Catholics at 
 Eatisbon, pronounce it to be faithfully translated from the 
 original Greek. 
 
 Some of the letters from Eoman Catholic clergymen, 
 attached to the first Eeports, excite a mixture of pleasure 
 and surprise. Whatever these good men may have called 
 themselves, they seem to have belonged in spirit to the 
 Universal Church of the Book, and in their own countries 
 they aided not a little in its dispersion in the early years 
 of the Bible Society. 
 
 The higher powers of the Eoman- Catholic Church did 
 not at first seem awakened to perceive what would be the 
 
316 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 results of this spread of the Bible. The country clergy 
 might then act as they pleased; and if they were now 
 free from the iron hand of spiritual despotism, under 
 which they groan, numbers of them would still probably 
 take their stand upon the word of God. 
 
 At the late Jubilee-meeting, in Exeter-hall, the Duke 
 of Argyll, who is president of the Scottish Bible Society, 
 expressed his “ firm conviction on this point, that the 
 great mass of the people in Roman-Catholic countries 
 would be ready and willing to read and acknowledge the 
 authority of the Bible, if allowed to act freely for them- 
 selves.” 
 
 By the year 1814, the Bible Society began to prove 
 that the Bible is not a book exclusively for the clergy 
 and the learned, but the Book for the human race. In 
 the Beport for that year, is first mentioned the honoured 
 name of Leander Yan Ess, Catholic professor of divinity, 
 at Marbourg. He was a clergyman who, with his bro- 
 ther, had produced an excellent translation of the New 
 Testament, from the Greek into German, and desired 
 help from the Bible Society to circulate it. They voted 
 him 200 Z., on condition that the few notes accompanying 
 his own impression should be struck out. Generously 
 sustained in succeeding years, by grant after grant from 
 the committee, and in defiance of mandates which began 
 to issue from Rome, of the old kind, in favour of tradi- 
 tion, and in cheek of Bible-distribution, this diligent pro- 
 fessor saw the dispersion of many editions of his New 
 Testament, and had the joy- of gratifying “ the great and 
 irresistible desire of the people to have the Bible.” Mr. 
 Owen saw him, at Basle, in 1818, and describes him as 
 “ a most interesting man, in the prime of life, apparently 
 about forty years of age: his countenance is intelligent 
 and manly, his conversation fluent and animated, and his 
 whole manner partaking of that ardour and vivacious 
 energy which so remarkably characterise all his writings 
 and operations. The dissemination of the Holy Scriptures, 
 
LEANDER VAN ESS. 
 
 317 
 
 and the blessed effects with which it is attended, are the 
 theme on which he delights to discourse: they seem to 
 occupy his whole soul, and to constitute, in a manner, 
 the element in which he exists. 
 
 The letters of Leander Van Ess to the committee are, 
 in themselves, treasures of Christian love and energy. 
 We cannot quote them, but they are all in these Bible 
 Reports, which now, as in a long-closed mine, contain 
 ungathered gems of history, — a history which would be 
 thought worth tracing even by the angels of God. 
 
 A child once said to us, “ Why do they not make 
 history-lessons from the lives of God’s men, who have 
 done good in the world, and give them to children, in- 
 stead of the histories of kings, and the men who have 
 made war in the world?” Such histories are laid up 
 here in great abundance. Here are the sacred relics of 
 hearts which burnt, with the pure flame of devotion and 
 zeal, in the noblest work in which man can engage on 
 earth, and whose “ work of faith and labour of love” the 
 All-seeing One has remembered, while perhaps man has 
 forgotten; for the circulation of his word is his own 
 design, and He has ever watched over it, and brought it 
 to pass. “ It shall prosper in that whereto He hath 
 sent it.” 
 
 In the wide glance we have wished to take over the 
 Roman- Catholic kingdoms, — over France , Austria , Bel- 
 gium, half of Germany , two fifths of Prussia , Poland , 
 two fifths of Switzerland , over Italy , Spain , and Por- 
 tugal, and also over Mexico, and the whole continent of 
 South America, together with the work of the Society 
 among the members of the Greek Church in Greece, in 
 European and Asiatic Turkey, and in European and 
 Asiatic Russia, — our heart almost fails us in entering into 
 detail ; — there is so much to tell, and so little space in 
 which to tell it. It were easy to write a book on the 
 dispersion of the Bible in any one of these kingdoms; 
 
318 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 but to give you a definite idea of its work in tzZZ, — that is 
 the difficulty. The Roman- Catholic religion in Europe is 
 professed by 120 millions of people, which is half the 
 European population. The Greek church numbers more 
 than 55 millions ; and, added together, they are 175 mil- 
 lions, as nearly as calculation can be made. Let us just 
 see what, in 1829, had been the result of the spread of 
 the Bible in — 
 
 FRANCE. 
 
 It is known to be a fact, that, even in 1814, some pious 
 Englishmen, who came to Paris, made an attempt to 
 meet with a French Bible of any version, and that they 
 were unsuccessful in their search. 
 
 In 1813, the Bible Society subscribed 25 OZ. to a stereo- 
 type edition of Le Maistre de Sacy’s Version of the New 
 Testament for the use of the Catholics in France. In 
 1818, when Mr. Owen paid a visit in Paris to Professor 
 Kieffer, and found him revising the Turkish Bible, his 
 thoughts were also busy on what might be done among 
 the Roman-Catholic portion of the population. His dis- 
 tributions among them in 1819 and 1820, cost the com- 
 mittee upwards of 2000Z. Professor Kieffer was appointed 
 as regular agent, in 1820, and continued So to act until 
 1833. His issues, during this period, amounted to more 
 than 730,000 copies, chiefly amongst Roman Catholics. 
 
 In 1830, when religious liberty was at its height in 
 France, a strenuous effort was made to aid the religious 
 movement which it had commenced in Paris, with a view 
 to evangelise the Roman Catholics. Several places of 
 worship were opened in the capital, w r hich were filled to 
 overflowing. 
 
 In the meantime, God was preparing for his own work 
 one, who, for twenty years, has since directed the agency 
 of the Bible Society in France, with consummate zeal and 
 prudence. Monsieur de P. was not appointed as agent 
 till 1833, and the account of his labours belongs to the 
 
a sister’s prayer answered. 319 
 
 second era of tlie Society’s history. But you will like 
 to know one or two instances of his early life. 
 
 He was the son of a Catholic father and a Protestant 
 mother (the latter being descended from the persecuted 
 Huguenots), and was brought up a Catholic, as it had 
 been arranged the sons should be. The whole family 
 emigrated to Holland at the Revolution, and the son 
 thus became a pupil of the J esuits, and was a second time 
 baptized by the reverend fathers, with great pomp. They 
 sought further refuge at Lausanne, and here the youth 
 came under Protestant influence, and more especially 
 under that of his elder sister, who was a confirmed in- 
 valid, and passed her days extended on an arm-chair, — 
 finding her whole consolation in the Family-Bible, which 
 was from morning till night before her. 
 
 Every day she called her brother to her side, for the 
 purpose of speaking to him of her hopes and spiritual 
 joys, with an unction and a rapture which would have 
 moved any heart. Several days before her death, feeling 
 her end approaching, she spoke to her brother with more 
 energy than ever. She read to him a number of the 
 most forcible passages of Scripture, and besought him to 
 give his heart to the Lord, while frequently she was 
 heard, by persons passing her room, imploring the Lord, 
 when alone, that her brother might become a servant of 
 his word . 
 
 And, oh ! how this prayer of the dying was answered, 
 let the whole history of colportage upon the continent 
 of Europe bear witness ! God has often answered such 
 prayers, and He never withdraws from his work on 
 earth the strength of an earnest soul, but He suffers 
 that soul, in departing, to cast some seed into the mind 
 of another, which shall “ spring up and bring forth fruit 
 abundantly,” and thus his work goes on ; and though 
 44 all flesh is grass, and the grass withereth, and the flower 
 fadeth,” still u the word of the Lord endureth for ever.” 
 
320 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 During the lengthened period that Prince Metternich 
 was prime minister, the Bible Society was not permitted 
 to take any open and active measures, in furtherance of 
 its object in this country, up to the year 1847 
 
 BELGIUM. 
 
 In Belgium, a small depot of Bibles, only 1000 copies, 
 were, in 1816, confided to the care of a few Christian 
 friends in Brussels : but even after twenty years there 
 were some remaining, which, at that period, were freely 
 given away. They might have deserved the name of 
 “ dusty Bibles”: not one copy was to be found in any 
 of the shops of Antwerp and Bruges. The friends of 
 Bible-circulation must here look to the second era of the 
 Society, for cheering and abundant success. 
 
 As the work of the Bible Society, in parts of Germany, 
 Prussia, Poland, and Switzerland, has already been no- 
 ticed, it is not necessary to say more than that, although 
 fin the words of Dr. Steinkopff) “ there was only one 
 Leander Van Ess,” still many faithful men were, during 
 all this period, labouring among the Roman-Catholic as 
 well as the Protestant population of these countries, and 
 that vast numbers of copies of the Scripture were granted 
 to the strong, personal desire of the people. Dr. Pinker- 
 ton, however, in his correspondence attached to the 
 twenty-sixth Report, speaks of comparatively little being 
 effected, because of the powerful opposition made by the 
 priests. “ They take up the books, examine them, and 
 exclaim. These are Protestant books, good for nothing 
 but for the fire P while, from the blind submission of the 
 people, they seldom fail to make it known at confession 
 when a Testament has been given to them, and this 
 generally leads to their being deprived of it.” 
 
RUSSIA. 
 
 321 
 
 In Italy, Spain, and Portugal, u doubly barred coun- 
 tries against the entrance of Divine truth,” little also 
 was accomplished, or, indeed, directly attempted, before 
 the year 1835, except grants to prisoners of war from 
 those regions, and some small circulation of Testaments 
 in their colonial possessions. But we have not yet ap- 
 proached the vast empire of — 
 
 RUSSIA, 
 
 with its surface of more than half that of Europe, embracing 
 about one-seventh of the whole land of the earth, and 
 about one-thirteenth of its entire inhabitants ; — Russia, 
 with its spreading corn-fields, its absolute monarchy, its 
 mixed population, its state of serfdom, and its slowly but 
 certainly extending power. 
 
 You will ask, Was there a Bible Society in Kussia? 
 Yes. It began in the province of Finland, in 1812; and 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society made it a do- 
 nation of 5507., to which the Emperor of Russia added 
 5000 roubles from his private purse. This in the follow- 
 ing year gave rise to its noble sister Society of St. Peters- 
 burg, which for fourteen years exercised so powerful an 
 influence for good over the extensive empire of the czar. 
 During these fourteen years, it translated the Scriptures 
 or parts of them into seventeen languages, in which they 
 had not been previously known. It printed them in thirty 
 languages, and circulated them in forty-five. 
 
 In 1806, not one in a thousand of the people of Kussia 
 could read, and it was generally known a hundred versts 
 off, where the treasure of a Bible was to be found. In 
 ten years the Russian Bible Society issued more than 
 800,000 copies ! 
 
 We will give you an interesting extract from the 
 speech of Prince Galitzin, at the seventh anniversary of 
 the Russian Bible Society: 
 
 “ A most striking feature in the accounts of that vast 
 
 22 
 
322 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 field, in which the word of life is now sowing, is the 
 indefatigable zeal exhibited in preparing versions of the 
 Holy Scriptures : this is manifest in Eussia. In the 
 different governments, both near and remote, — in the 
 desert, and in the village, — in snow-clad Siberia, and 
 upon the mountains of Caucasus and IJralia, — are to be 
 found lovers of the word of God, who, of their own ac- 
 cord, and without selfish views of gain, are engaged in 
 the work of translating the Gospels and other parts of 
 the Bible into the various languages and dialects spoken 
 by the tribes who inhabit Eussia, — people who never 
 before even heard of this Divine word.” 
 
 An imperial ukase, in 1813, decreed and authorised 
 the establishment of the Bible Society; but, alas! in 
 1826, another ukase of another emperor appeared to 
 suppress it. In the meantime it had circulated at the 
 rate of one copy at least to every twentieth family in the 
 wide empire. 
 
 The most important benefit conferred on its own 
 country by this Institution, while it existed, was the 
 bestowment of the New Testament, and the book of 
 Psalms, and the first eight books of the Old Testament, 
 in the modern Euss, on the poor serfs, who thereby ob- 
 tained the knowledge of the wonderful works of God in 
 their own tongue. The numbers printed were 324,000. 
 This seed of the kingdom seems buried ; but the Lord 
 can yet quicken it again, and cause it to spring up and 
 bring forth fruit to the praise of the glory of his grace. 
 A measure of patronage, we are thankful to say, is still 
 extended by the czar to the different Bible Institutions 
 established in the provinces of the Baltic, and security is 
 ensured to the agents labouring on the banks of the 
 Black Sea, and the Sea of Azoph. 
 
 The letters of Dr. Pinkerton, and also of Mr. Paterson, 
 during this period, witness to their labours in the northern 
 kingdoms of Europe. Could all that they have detailed 
 concerning the Book and its Story, in Eussia, in the 
 
RUSSIA.— PRINCE GALITZIN. 
 
 323 
 
 times -when sixteen wagon-loads of Bibles and Testaments 
 were dispatched in a month from the capital to different 
 parts of the empire, it might move the heart of the pre- 
 sent emperor to pass a third ukase, decreeing that those 
 times should return. 
 
 The following incident may serve as a specimen, though 
 it ought possibly to find a place among the records of the 
 desire of the heathen to become possessed of the word of 
 God : it took place in 1818. 
 
 A member of the St. Petersburg committee sent a copy 
 of a single Calmuc Gospel to a Buriat prince, in Siberia, 
 a vast district of Asiatic- Russia, to see if his people could 
 understand it. The prince replied, that they could not. 
 It was the first specimen they had seen of Calmuc typo- 
 graphy. A long while afterwards, a letter brought the 
 pleasing intelligence to St. Petersburg, that the Buriats 
 had found the key, and could make out the sense of the 
 Calmuc Gospel. His excellency Prince Galitzin then 
 wrote to the governor of Irkutsk, begging he would 
 appoint two learned Buriats to come to St. Petersburg, 
 and accommodate the version of the Calmuc Gospel to 
 their native dialect. 
 
 Two of their chiefs, persons of high family, aftd very 
 intelligent and inquisitive, accordingly came, and occu- 
 pied themselves with the translation of what they im- 
 pressively called, “ the beautiful sayings of Jesus”; and 
 such was the immediate effect of their occupation on their 
 minds, that when they turned to pray to their idols, as 
 usual, they felt an internal disquietude, of which they 
 had never before been conscious, and requested to be 
 more perfectly informed of the nature of the Gospel. 
 
 Their letter to their prince, in Siberia, is very affect- 
 ing : they say — 
 
 “ By your kind endeavours, we have reached the city 
 of St. Petersburg, where shines the brightness of the holy 
 doctrine, and here we have seen and heard the sacred 
 words of the most high and saving God. That we should 
 
324 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 ever see and hear such things, we never before had an 
 idea. 
 
 “ The word of God being so very clear, we cannot 
 sufficiently admire it ; and we feel that it is truth which 
 may be relied upon. This vehicle of a reasonable faith, 
 this pearl of a devout heart, although existing 1800 years 
 upon earth, has not hitherto come to our Mongols and 
 Buriats. 
 
 “ When, by the grace of God, our people shall forsake 
 their own faith, and receive the doctrine of Christ, they 
 will, under 4 the light and easy yoke/ adopt a good con- 
 versation and good manners. We are fully and firmly 
 resolved to receive the doctrine of the saving God, Jesus 
 Christ, although we are not yet acquainted with the 
 manners and usages of his religion ; and when we return 
 home we shall find no teacher upon whose breast we could 
 lean our head, neither any house of God ; yet after the 
 conviction we have obtained of the truth of the word of 
 God, we can no longer endure the want of it : we must 
 abide by this doctrine. 
 
 “We hope that our gracious sovereign, when he shall 
 hear that his subjects on the outermost borders of his 
 kingdom have adopted Christianity, will favour us with 
 wise and worthy teachers.” 
 
 It must be mentioned, that what is called a Protestant 
 Bible Society is still existing in Russia, and confirmed by 
 the emperor. This was formed, in 1828, to supply the 
 Protestants in Russia with the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 TURKEY, EUROPEAN AND ASIATIC. 
 
 The first circumstance that attracted attention to this 
 country was an application from Edinburgh, in 1807, to 
 assist in procuring Arabic types and paper, for printing 
 the New Testament in Turkish. The importance of this 
 undertaking was felt from the knowledge of the fact, that 
 Turkish was spoken throughout the whole of that empire, 
 
TURKEY. — ALI BEY’S TRANSLATION. 325 
 
 and in the greater part of Persia, besides being the writ- 
 ten language understood by all the numerous Tartar 
 tribes. The request was readily complied with, and the 
 work completed in 1813. 
 
 Two years afterwards, the committee became aware 
 of the existence of the very valuable manuscript of the 
 Turkish Bible, written by Ali Bey, and lying in the 
 museum at Leyden. The history of this manuscript and 
 of its revision is as follows : 
 
 Ali Bey, was born in Poland, stolen while a youth by 
 the Tartars, and sold as a slave in Constantinople. He 
 spent twenty years in the seraglio, became first dragoman 
 or translator to Mahomet IV., and was said to understand 
 seventeen languages. 
 
 At the suggestion of the Dutch ambassador, Ali Bey 
 translated the entire Scriptures into Turkish. The study 
 of the sacred volume was not without effect on the trans- 
 lator. It is recorded, that he entertained thoughts of 
 turning to the profession of Christianity, and that death 
 only prevented the accomplishment of his design. When 
 this version was ready for the press, the Dutch ambassador 
 sent it to Leyden to be printed ; but it was deposited in 
 the archives of the university, among other oriental 
 manuscripts, and there it lay for a century and a half, 
 apparently unnoticed. 
 
 When its existence became known to the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society, they recommended it to the atten- 
 tion of Dr. Pinkerton ; and he, having satisfied himself 
 that it was a worthy translation, placed it in the hands of 
 the Baron Yon Diez, a Turkish scholar of great eminence, 
 who with pious delight undertook to revise it. The baron 
 says, “ I wish with all my heart that the work may be 
 accomplished for the glory of God, and the good of my 
 fellow-men. Only one anxious thought sometimes enters 
 my mind : I am sixty-three years of age ; I shall pray 
 God to prolong my life till this work be completed ; for, 
 should it please Him to call me away in the midst of the 
 
326 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 undertaking, I certainly know not who would carry it on 
 after my death.” 
 
 The venerable senator, however, died when he had 
 completed but four books of the Pentateuch, and not a 
 little anxiety was felt about providing a suitable successor; 
 but, as it was truly observed by Lord Teignmouth, “ The 
 Bible Society has never wanted means or instruments for 
 the furtherance of its object , whenever they were required .” 
 The necessary editor was unexpectedly found in Professor 
 Kieffer, the professor of oriental languages at Paris. The 
 Testament was presented in a printed form at the Bible- 
 meeting at Paris, in 1819 ; but it was not until 1828, 
 that the entire Turkish Bible, with all its corrections, 
 was completed at press, of which edition 5000 copies of 
 the Bible, and 7000 of the New Testament alone, have 
 been issued by the British and Foreign Bible Society. 
 
 Dr. Pinkerton visited Constantinople in 1819. He 
 gives an account, in his letter attached to the sixteenth 
 Report, of a conversation he had with the venerable 
 Paul, the Armenian patriarch of Constantinople. A vast 
 Armenian population lies in and around the city, esti- 
 mated at upwards of 100,000 souls ; and the patriarch 
 undertook the dissemination of the Scriptures among 
 them, and also in Asia Minor. The conversation was in 
 Turkish, which is the common language of the Armenian , 
 population, and the only one properly understood by all 
 ranks. 
 
 Dr. Pinkerton also conversed with the patriarch of 
 Jerusalem, and secured his promise to circulate the Scrip- 
 tures among the pilgrims who annually visit the holy 
 sepulchre, said to be upwards of 2000 of the Greek com- 
 munion alone ; and as these resort thither from every 
 quarter of the East, an excellent opportunity occurs to 
 sow the word through their means. The patriarch 
 promised to give in charge, to one of the monks who 
 attended at the holy sepulchre, a number of New Testa- 
 ments, in different languages, for distribution. 
 
INDOLENCE OF THE TURKISH CHARACTER. 327 
 
 There were allotted for this purpose 1000 Modern 
 Greek, 500 Ancient Greek, and 500 Arabic Testaments, 
 without money and without price, for the poor pilgrims 
 assembling round “ the place where the Lord lay.” 
 
 In 1820, Mr. Benjamin Barker, the brother of the 
 consul at Aleppo, a gentleman whose knowledge of the 
 country and the languages of Syria made the acquisition 
 of his services very desirable, became the agent of the 
 Society, and still continues to be so. 
 
 Mr. Barker at once commenced his work. Some 
 Armenian, Turkish, and Greek Scriptures were readily 
 bought up, and many of the Armenian copies found their 
 way to Diarbekir. The result of this distribution lay a 
 long time concealed ; but the success which has since 
 attended the labours of the American missionaries in the 
 East, especially among the Armenians, is greatly ac- 
 counted for by the circulation of the Scriptures which 
 took place at this period. 
 
 In forming an idea of Turkey in Europe, a country 
 which comprehends a space of 200,000 square miles, and 
 a population of 15,000,000, we have to think of the 
 Turks as its despotic masters, who, while they treat the 
 Armenians, Jews, and Greeks, within their territories, very 
 scornfully,* yet form themselves but a minority in their 
 own country. There is said to be so little strength in 
 the Turkish empire itself, that it would probably have 
 been destroyed long ere this, but for the interference and 
 support of other powers. 
 
 Its great rival is Kussia, from whose encroachments it 
 has, however, a sort of natural shelter in the Balkan 
 range of mountains, which the Turks call “ Emineh 
 Dagh,” meaning “the mountains that serve as a defence.” 
 
 The indolent repose of the Turkish character is so 
 capitally given by Mr. Layard, the discoverer of Nineveh, 
 at the close of his last book, that we must transcribe a 
 portion of a letter, he .says he has in his possession, from 
 a Turkish cadi, in reply to some inquiries concerning the 
 
328 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 commerce, population, and remains of antiquity, of an 
 ancient city in which he dwelt : 
 
 “ The thing you ask of me is both difficult and useless. 
 Although I have passed all my days in this place, I have 
 neither counted the houses nor have I inquired into the 
 number of the inhabitants ; and as to what one person 
 loads on his mules, or another stows away in the bottom 
 of his ship, that is no business of mine. But, above all, 
 as to the previous history of this city ! Allah only knows 
 the amount of dirt and confusion that the infidels may 
 have eaten before the coming of the sword of Islam ! — it 
 were unprofitable for us to inquire into it. 
 
 “ Oh my soul ! oh my lamb ! seek not after the things 
 which concern thee not : go in peace ! After the fashion 
 of thy people, thou hast wandered from one place to 
 another, until thou art happy and content in none. We 
 (praise be to Allah !) were born here, and never desire to 
 quit. Is it possible, then, that the idea of a general in- 
 tercourse between mankind should make any impression 
 on our understandings ? Allah forbid ! 
 
 “ Listen, oh my son! There is no wisdom equal to 
 the belief in God. Thou art learned in the things that I 
 care not for. I praise God, that I seek not that which I 
 require not. Thine, the meek in spirit, — Imaum Ali Zade.” 
 
 Besides these lazy lords of the soil, there are in Turkey 
 more gipsies than in any other country of Europe, vast 
 numbers, as we have seen, of Armenian merchants, and 
 great numbers of J ews. 
 
 In 1828, Professor Kieffer finished his most careful 
 revision of the Turkish Bible for all these mixed races. 
 He corrected the sheets six times, as they passed through 
 the press. 
 
 In 1826, Mr. Barker speaks of most of the Armenians 
 at Aleppo, and nearly all the servants, knowing how to 
 read, though in general very poor; and in 1827, he says, 
 that, “at Smyrna, French officers and other Roman Ca- 
 tholics daily call for Bibles and Testaments, contrary to 
 
SEVERE DUTIES OF FOREIGN AGENTS. 329 
 
 the express command of Borne not to do so; yet,” he 
 adds, “ the difficulty of supplying such vast tracts of 
 country with the word of God can scarcely be conceived 
 by an Englishman not acquainted with these barbarous 
 regions. It appears an easy task, perhaps, to those who 
 are only familiar with their own favoured country, where 
 thousands are ready to exert their faculties in aiding the 
 circulation of the sacred Scriptures; but an agent of the 
 Bible Society, here, must do almost all his work himself \ 
 unless he can engage a few friends, as a favour, to render 
 him a little help.” 
 
 In all his transactions, also, the Bible- agent must keep 
 a vigilant eye over his own conduct, so that he does not, 
 by some imprudent step, excite the feelings of the autho- 
 rities against him. “ 1 could, likewise,” says Mr. Barker, 
 “ give a long account of the miseries experienced in travel- 
 ling here. Under the scorching rays of an eastern sun, 
 the traveller is deprived oftentimes of common food and 
 water. He arrives late at night at a dirty coffee-house, 
 occupied already by a number of savage and fanatical 
 Turks ; he carries with him the piece of carpet which 
 forms his only bed, and all night is attacked by hosts of 
 vermin. To this may be added the perils of the journey. 
 You may often meet with disbanded soldiers, who scruple 
 not to rob you and take away your life, — the fording of 
 rivers and torrents, — the plague, — unhealthy climes, — and 
 the sad prospect, should you fall ill, of being without 
 medical advice or attendance, as was the case with poor 
 Henry Martyn, at Tocat.” All these are incidents in the 
 life of a foreign Bible-agent in such places as the chain of 
 Taurus, or on the skirts of the desert of Arabia, — inci- 
 dents which make the patient toil of an English Bibie- 
 collector seem light and easy. To these may be added, 
 such separations from home and its felicities, as are re- 
 corded in Dr. Pinkerton’s letters from St. Petersburg, in 
 1820: “ After travelling four days and nights from Mos- 
 cow, I reached my home yesterday, and to my great joy 
 
330 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 found my beloved wife and three children in good health. 
 I leave the fathers in your committee to judge, for they 
 are best capable of doing so, of our gratitude to our 
 heavenly Father for this safe meeting, after a separation 
 of twenty long months. What changes had taken place 
 even in my own family during that period ! — changes so 
 numerous and great, and many of them so distressing, 
 that I was alternately roused to every feeling of regret, of 
 sympathy, of thankfulness, and of praise, of which my 
 heart was capable ! Flow often had I looked death in the 
 face during this long interval ! [He had once slept on a 
 mattress infected with the plague.] Flow many hundred 
 horses have borne me along my course ! Not fewer than 
 eleven different vessels have carried me from continent to 
 continent, and from isle to isle, during the last twelve 
 months, frequently in distress and sickness, but still pre- 
 served to praise the Redeemer of men, who suffered not 
 a hair of my head to be touched by the hand of violence, 
 nor a bone of my body to be broken by any unfortunate 
 accident.” 
 
 A foreign Bible-agent needs a heart warmly devoted to 
 his work, but it is work that recompenses him for every 
 privation. “ New opportunities are constantly occurring 
 here,” says Mr. Barker, in 1827, “ for a wider circulation 
 of the word of God ; and should we be blessed with tran- 
 quillity, we shall hail the opportunity of beginning to 
 diffuse Christian knowledge even among the Turks.” 
 
 Turkey in Asia comprises 450,000 square miles, but 
 only a population of 10,000,000, including Kurds and 
 Bedouin Arabs, — the old, unchanged, wild men of the 
 desert, with whom we began the Story of the Book, and 
 including alike Mesopotamia and Palestine, the cradle 
 lands of Judaism and Christianity; therefore, Turkey in 
 Asia is the most interesting country in the world, — 
 
 “ Over whose acres walked those blessed feet, 
 
 Which eighteen hundred years ago were nailed 
 For our advantage on the bitter cross.” 
 
GREECE. SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 331 
 
 It is also the seat of the old Assyrian and Babylonian em- 
 pires. 
 
 Could England ever do too much to repay to this land 
 the seeds of blessing which she has received from it ? 
 
 GREECE. 
 
 The work of the Bible Society in Greece was princi- 
 pally carried on from Malta, by its devoted friends and 
 agents, the Rev. W. Jowett, Dr. Nandi, Rev. H. D. Leeves, 
 and Mr. Lowndes. Mr. Jowett wrote thus, while Burck- 
 hardt was yet alive, in 1819 : 4 4 We reap now, in the suc- 
 cesses of our noble coadjutor, in the formation of the 
 Smyrna Bible Society, and in the pledges of co-operation 
 given us in various parts of Asia Minor and Greece, an 
 ample -reward of our first year’s pleasing toil. Ought 
 we not to be stimulated and encouraged to redouble our 
 labours in this holy work ? Surrounded by three conti- 
 nents, in each of which there exist such multitudes of souls 
 wholly destitute of the word of life, let us forget even our 
 past successes, and press forward in the work of faith, 
 hope, and charity ! ” 
 
 SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 We shall now turn to this vast region, and its Catholic 
 countries. We can only name them: Brazil, colonised by 
 Portugal; Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Chili, and La Plata, 
 colonies of Spain. Mexico, in North America, and Cuba, 
 an island of the West Indies, were also colonised by Spain. 
 It is too wide a field to enter upon, more than to notice 
 it as an example of a country, where religion, once known, 
 has become extinct, because the Bible was ivithheld from it 
 by those who nominally converted it to the faith. The 
 people of South America and Japan have, since their so- 
 called conversion, been sunk in the darkest superstition. 
 “ The light was put under a bushel by the men who in- 
 
332 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 troduced it into the house, and then the light itself, such 
 as it was, perished.” * 
 
 In the eighteenth Keport of the Society is the following 
 notice: — “ The Bible has found a new and unexpected 
 inlet into an unfrequented region of South America. A 
 chieftain of Patagonia has been discovered in possession 
 of a New Testament, printed by the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society. He procured it at Buenos Ayres, whither 
 he went to trade, and thence conveyed it to his home, 
 that he might explain its contents to his fellow-country- 
 men. 
 
 “ A native of Bio Negro was also so pleased by a copy 
 of the New Testament, that he requested more from 
 Buenos Ayres. In the region of Bio-de-la- Plata and 
 Chili, at Bio-de-Janeiro and Pernambuco, the Spanish 
 and Portuguese Scriptures are sought with eagerness, and 
 received with gratitude.” 
 
 . A small auxiliary had been formed at Buenos Ayres, 
 and supplies of the Scriptures transmitted to the Brazils, 
 Chili, and Peru, for the labourers in the salt mines at Bona 
 Vista, who, seating themselves in the shade, while resting 
 from their work at noon, might often be seen reading 
 the New Testament most devoutly to one another; but, 
 as this is also America’s own Bible and mission field, we 
 must leave its detail, with the exception of a quotation 
 from the letter of an agent of the American Society, 
 and one of Dr. Thomson’s letters, the agent for some 
 years of our own Society. 
 
 The American agent says: “What are these people? — 
 beings professedly Christian, baptised in the name of the 
 Trinity, and yet almost entirely without the Bible! By the 
 efforts of this Society and that of England, they have, 
 it is true, within a few years received seven or eight 
 thousand copies of this holy Book, but, 4 what are these 
 among so many?’ — scarcely a single copy to 2000 souls! 
 
 * “Bible of Many Tongues,” published by the Tract Society. 
 
SOUTH AMERICA. 
 
 333 
 
 Throughout the long road from Buenos Ayres to Chili, 
 except a very few in Mendoza, not a solitary copy of the 
 Book of God was found ; and I more than once presented 
 copies to aged priests , tottering over the grave , who told 
 me they had never before seen it in their native tongue . In 
 the interior of the country, some told me that they never 
 before were aware that the Scriptures existed in their own 
 language. Yet the Bible is here no longer excluded by 
 royal mandates and by papal bulls. The new governments 
 are not only willing, but anxious, that the Scriptures 
 should have a general circulation. The work here is 
 more than sufficient for the united energies of both the 
 American and British and Foreign Bible Societies.” 
 
 In anticipating the arrival of some supplies from Vera 
 Cruz, Dr. Thomson writes: “ Surely it is a new thing in 
 this land, to see twenty-four mules, loaded with Bibles 
 and Testaments, making their way up the mountains 
 and through the woods into the interior ! ” This active 
 agent gives a most interesting account of his favourable 
 reception in a convent, at Queretaro, where even some 
 friars had no objection to receive the lamp for their feet 
 in this dark world. They, however, greatly objected, as 
 the people do in most Homan- Catholic countries, to the 
 omission of the Apocrypha. Dr. Thomson distributed, 
 during his journey of two years, 4235 copies. He had 
 to contend with great difficulties. The authorities of the 
 church first countenanced his objects; but when they 
 found the Bible Society’s Bibles without note, comment, 
 or apocryphal books, their benevolent feelings were 
 thoroughly changed, and an edict was issued prohibit- 
 ing the Scriptures, and ordering those received to be 
 given up. 
 
 In Koman- Catholic countries, this constitutes a great 
 hindrance to the Society’s operations up to the present 
 day. They could distribute many more copies if the 
 different books which compose the Scriptures were inter- 
 mixed and bound up with the apocryphal books, as in 
 
334 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 the Roman- Catholic Bibles; but tlie Society cannot do 
 this. It is their fundamental principle to circulate the 
 pure word of God, whole and alone . In 1826, they made 
 fresh and distinct resolutions to abide by this fundamental 
 principle ; and, further, not to make any more grants to 
 any Bible Society circulating the Apocrypha, which ne- 
 cessarily closed the connection between the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society and many of the Bible Societies 
 on the continent. 
 
 To those who read the Bible, the evidence is obvious, 
 that the apocryphal books are of mere human com- 
 position; but the prejudice in their favour abroad, and 
 among those who have been educated as Roman Ca- 
 tholics, would seem to be irresistible; and a suspicion 
 arises in their minds, which the priests foster, that our 
 Bibles are not perfect, and that, if we have kept back some 
 books, we have perhaps also altered those we have printed. 
 England can only say, “ May God defend the right ! ” 
 and in the meantime we must adhere to the principle of 
 the old Yaudois Church — The Bible — whole and alone . 
 
 THE MAHOMEDAN COUNTRIES. 
 
 And now we approach the fourth division of the world’s 
 inhabitants, — the Mahomedan countries. It is supposed 
 that there are eight millions of Mahomedans in Europe. 
 The Arabs, the Turks, and the Tartars, have all been, 
 for more than a thousand years, the followers of a “ false 
 prophet,” who wrote a parody upon the Bible, called “ The 
 Koran.” There is no society for circulating the Koran : 
 the believers in it hide it from the polluting touch of the 
 Christian; but we have given them our Bible , in their 
 own tongue; and, as Wiclif said to Courtenay, — some 
 day “ truth shall prevail.” 
 
 It is almost impossible to calculate with any degree of 
 accuracy the number of people by whom Arabic is spoken. 
 Arabia itself may have twelve millions of inhabitants ; but 
 
THE MAHOMEDAN COUNTRIES. 
 
 335 
 
 Arabic is also spoken in Syria, Mesopotamia, in part of 
 Persia, on the Malabar and Coromandel coasts, in Egypt, 
 in Nubia, and in Barbary. 
 
 Arabic is also extensively used, as the language of re- 
 ligion and commerce, in Western, Eastern, and Central 
 Africa; and before the missionaries had reduced some of 
 the African dialects to writing, Arabic was the only 
 written language known to the natives of that vast con- 
 tinent. 
 
 Arabic, as the language of the Koran, is venerated and 
 studied, from the western confines of Spain and Africa 
 to the Philippine Islands, over 130 degrees of longitude, 
 and from the tropic of Capricorn to Tartary, over seventy 
 degrees of latitude.* 
 
 Henry Martyn felt all this when he undertook his new 
 version of the Arabic Testament. “We will begin to 
 preach,” said that devoted missionary, “to Arabia, Syria, 
 Persia, Tartary, part of India and China, half of Africa, 
 all the sea-coast of the Mediterranean and Turkey, and 
 one tongue shall suffice for them alir 
 
 It was in Arabia that the great apostle of the Gentiles 
 commenced his ministry : “ When it pleased God, who 
 called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I 
 might preach Him among the heathen, immediately I 
 conferred not with flesh and blood, neither went I up to 
 Jerusalem, but I went into Arabia” (Galat. 1. 15-17). 
 
 Whatever seed the apostle sowed there, the tares have 
 since sprung up and choked it. 
 
 From the year 1811, the Bible Society attempted to 
 present versions of the Scriptures, in Arabic, reprinted 
 from various previous editions ; but much prejudice exist- 
 ing against them among the Mahomedans, the need of an 
 improved translation, so long and deeply felt by the 
 Eastern Churches, has at length been met by the Society 
 for Promoting Christian Knowledge. This was begun in 
 
 Butler’s “ Horas BiblicseJ 
 
336 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 1839, and has been executed at Malta, by Mr. Fares, one 
 of the most learned Arabic scholars of the East. 
 
 A version of the New Testament, in Arabic, consisting 
 of 10,000 copies, was published by the above-mentioned 
 Society, in 1727. The copies of this edition are now 
 extremely rare, for none of them were sold in Europe. 
 Two, however, are preserved in Cambridge: the greater 
 part were sent to Russia, for distribution in Mahomedan 
 countries. It must have been some of those Testaments 
 which received from an Arab the following welcome : — 
 “ He received them almost in a transport of joy, kissed 
 them, and then kissed me for their sake. He said that 
 the persons who would read them should always wash 
 their hands three times before they opened those books.” 
 
 A version of the New Testament, in modern Arabic, 
 was printed at Calcutta, in 1816, designed principally for 
 the learned and fastidious Mahomedans in all parts of the 
 world, who, it was thought, might have been repelled 
 from the study of Scripture by the antiquated style of 
 former versions. This translation was made by a learned 
 Arabian scholar, the unhappy Sabat. Henry Martyn was 
 deeply interested in Sabat, and the production of his ver- 
 sion; but he did not live to see its completion. A second 
 edition was printed in London, by the Bible Society, in 
 1825, and a third in Calcutta, in the following year. 
 
 This version, though not considered perfect where the 
 language is spoken, is, by various testimonies, silently 
 accomplishing the purposes of God. In Western Africa, 
 the natives, on first receiving the copies sent them by the 
 Bible Society, “were astonished that a white man should 
 have written this book in their favourite language.” In 
 the eleventh Report it is stated that the ready reception 
 of some Arabic Bibles, at Yongroo, in Western Africa, by 
 the Mahomedans, encourages a hope that they may be 
 more extensively circulated, and has produced an applica- 
 tion for a further supply. The Rev. G. Nylander says: 
 “ I presented an Arabic Bible to the King of Bullom, 
 
MR. JOWETT’S VOYAGE UP THE NILE. 337 
 
 saying, 4 This is the Book which makes man wise and 
 good : it is God’s word. He speaks to us in this Book 
 by Moses, the prophets, and apostles, and by his Son 
 Jesus Christ.’ The king recommended to strangers this 
 4 white man’s book,’ Some time afterwards, I went to 
 see him, and found about twenty Mahometans sitting 
 together in deep conversation, and an aged Mahomedan 
 teacher in the midst of them reading the Bible. This 
 teacher visited me himself, and likewise begged for a 
 Bible, saying, 4 When I go home, I shall read this book 
 to all my people.’ ” 
 
 The Rev. William Jowett wrote an interesting letter 
 to the committee of the Malta Bible Society, in June, 
 1819, on his voyage up the Nile. He says, — 
 
 44 On my arrival at Esne, the last bishopric southward 
 in Egypt, I first opened my small but invaluable treasure 
 of Bibles. I waited on the bishop, gave him a copy of 
 the Arabic Bible, and begged him to recommend it 
 among his people. The price I fixed was twenty pias- 
 tres, or 10s. English, which was quite a reduced price, 
 for the people are so poor, and money is so scarce in this 
 country. There was scarcely any need of soliciting the 
 bishop’s recommendation, for the people, having seen the 
 book, and witnessed the pleasure with which he received 
 his present, came immediately to buy, and I could have 
 disposed of my whole stock, had I not had to think of 
 other towns beside theirs. I could only spare them three , 
 and it was really painful to see the eagerness with which 
 one after another came to the boat, to ask if I could not 
 let them have one copy more : yet I was obliged to think 
 of the other churches. 
 
 44 Stopping at Edfu, I learnt that this was the last town 
 where Christians (of the Coptic Church) were to be found. 
 They were very miserable and poor, and, alas! none of 
 them could read. It is wonderful how, under such cir- 
 cumstances, even the profession of Christianity is kept up. 
 Yet some of these poor people show their attachment to 
 
338 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 their religion, by setting off on the Thursday night, to be 
 present at vespers on Saturday evening, and return on the 
 Monday every week, — a reproach to many in Christian 
 countries, who live within half an hour’s walk of a place 
 of worship, and yet seldom attend. 
 
 “ At Essouan, though I found persons able to read, yet 
 I found no Christians. Here, and far higher up in Nubia, 
 are numerous relics of churches and convents, and other 
 marks which prove how far Christianity once extended 
 in these countries. It will be the blessed work of Bible 
 Societies to renew them.” 
 
 Afterwards, Mr. J owett passed a week at Thebes, com- 
 mencing the study of the Ethiopic, in reference to the Am- 
 haric version, under the shade of trees, and amid those 
 majestic ruins. He left one Arabic Bible at Luxor, not 
 with the priest, to be shut up in the church, but with a 
 clerk, called Mallem Jacob, whose nephew of twelve years 
 of age could read it, — a boy who loved to sit and read by 
 himself ; and he trusts that the Bible was fitly bestowed. 
 
 At Kemner, a town on the eastern bank, a Copt, on 
 seeing the Arabic Bible, recognised it as the same that he 
 had bought of a J ew, in Cairo. He offered Mr. J owett 
 fifty instead of twenty piastres for it ; but this the mis- 
 sionary refused. Two more copies were sent him to sell, 
 and he said the people “ snatched them up so quickly,” 
 that he had not one left for himself. He was next morn- 
 ing favoured with two more copies, as the town was a 
 grand thoroughfare for Mahomedan pilgrims. 
 
 The Bishop of Minie purchased the five remaining 
 Arabic Bibles ; and thus closes the account of the careful 
 dispersion of this precious seed, being twenty -five sold in 
 Upper Egypt, and fifty-five in Cairo. On his return to 
 Cairo, Mr. Jowett was immediately asked if he had any 
 more to dispose of.* Further details are equally inviting. 
 
 The number of Arabs, in Egypt alone, is estimated at 
 
 See Beport, 1820. 
 
CRUEL DEATH OF AN ARABIAN CONVERT. 339 
 
 from two-and-a-half to four millions. Moorish Arabic, 
 into which dialect a very recent translation of the Scrip- 
 tures has been made, is spoken by ten millions of people 
 in Morocco, and by thirty millions in that and the adja- 
 cent regions, all Mahomedans, and “ not inaccessible to 
 the distribution of the Scriptures.” 
 
 Abdallah, an Arabian of noble birth, was converted 
 from Islamism by the simple perusal of the Bible. When 
 his conversion became known, Abdallah, to escape the 
 vengeance of his countrymen, fled from Cabul in disguise, 
 but was met and recognised, at Bokhara, by Sabat, the 
 translator before mentioned. Abdallah, perceiving his 
 danger, threw himself at the feet of his friend, and be- 
 sought him, by all the ties of their former intimacy, to 
 save his life. “ But,” said Sabat, “ I had no pity. I de- 
 livered him up to Morad Shah, king of Bokhara.” 
 
 Abdallah was offered his life if he would abjure Christ; 
 but he refused. Then one of his hands was cut off; and 
 a physician, by command of the king, offered to heal the 
 wound if he would recant. “ He made no answer,” said 
 Sabat, “ but looked up steadfastly towards heaven, like 
 Stephen the first martyr, his eyes streaming with tears. 
 He did not look with anger towards me ; he looked at me, 
 but it w^as with a countenance of forgiveness. His other 
 hand was then cut off ; but,” continued Sabat, “ he never 
 changed, he never changed ! And when he bowed his 
 head to receive the blow of death, all Bokhara seemed to 
 say, What new thing is this?” Sabat had indulged the 
 hope that Abdallah would recant when offered his life, — 
 but when he saw that his friend was dead, he gave him- 
 self up to grief and remorse. He himself twice professed, 
 and twice abjured, Christianity. 
 
 HEATHEN COUNTRIES. 
 
 And now we must turn, at last, to the heathen or 
 pagan countries, — the fifth division of the world’s popula- 
 
340 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 tion, and by far its largest portion, — to China, with its 
 350,000,000 ! Japan, with its 25,000,000 ! India, with 
 its 130,000,000 ! the greater part of Africa, Australia, 
 and Polynesia; — and what has the Bible Society begun 
 to do for these ? 
 
 You must perceive, that the first thing it had to do for 
 them all was, to procure such a Bible as they could read, 
 or to assist and encourage those who were translating it. 
 We will tell you what various missionaries said about 
 their own work of translation. 
 
 Those who have never attempted to translate from one 
 language into another, or whose efforts have been limited 
 to rendering a Latin or French fable into English, can 
 form but an imperfect idea of the difficulties to be sur- 
 mounted in making a version of the Holy Scriptures in 
 the language of an idolatrous people. Of a fable, or a 
 story, it would be sufficient to give the general sense. 
 The narrative might be presented in an entirely new 
 dress, and yet be equally acceptable; but no such licence 
 may be allowed in the translation of the word of God! 
 In this case, the minutest shades of thought must be 
 transferred, if possible, from the original. 
 
 But how is this to be accomplished in the language of 
 a people who have had, up to that time, no ideas con- 
 formable to the subjects of which the Bible speaks, and 
 who have not therefore, of course, any words to express 
 such ideas? 
 
 How would you speak of holiness , for instance, to a man 
 who has no conception of holiness, or whose only notion 
 respecting it is that of having recently bathed in a sacred 
 stream? How would you express the Christian doctrine 
 of regeneration to a man who expects to be born again, 
 either in the form of an insect or of a loathsome reptile, 
 as a punishment for his sins, or in the form of a prince or 
 noble, in reward for his good actions? It is only as the 
 ideas and experience of any two nations coincide, that 
 the words of their languages will correspond. 
 
MR. CAMPBELL 1ST SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 341 
 
 The Rev. J. Campbell, missionary to South Africa, 
 "wished to tell a party of chiefs that he had made a three 
 months’ voyage from England, and had since travelled 
 six weeks in his wagon, from Cape Town, to visit them. 
 He had no difficulty in relating to them the latter fact, 
 for they saw his wagon, and the oxen that had drawn it: 
 but how was he to speak of the sea and ships to men to 
 whom ships and the sea were unknown ? He was obliged 
 to impress into his service what ideas they had. He said 
 that before he travelled six weeks in the wagon, he had 
 had to cross a large pond, — so large, that it took him 
 three moons to come over, which he did in a house built 
 in a large bowl, which had wings ; that there were many 
 men with him in the house, who spread out the wings to 
 catch the wind, all day and all night, while others guided 
 the great bowl. You will not be surprised, when we add 7 
 that he saw one of the chiefs whispering to another, and 
 overheard the words, “ He thinks we are such fools as to 
 believe him.”. Yet this singular account of a voyage 
 across the Atlantic came as near to the truth as the 
 language of that people admitted. 
 
 No such free translation as this could be allowed in 
 a version of the Bible. In the sacred writings, “ holy 
 men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy 
 Ghost.” A translator of the Scriptures is therefore bound 
 to present their thoughts in their own phraseology, as far 
 as the idiom of two different languages will allow. 
 
 The spirit of these remarks is contained in letters 
 from two missionaries, Mr. Swan and Mr. S tally brass, 
 who went to Siberia, and translated the Old Testament 
 into the language of those Buriat Mongolians, of whose 
 desire for the Scriptures, in 1818, you recently read. 
 These letters are dated, 1833. They say something 
 about the style or dialect of their version, — that there 
 might be three styles or dialects, among which the trans- 
 lation of the Buriat Bible takes the middle place. One 
 would be a vulgar colloquial style for the people ; another, 
 
342 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 the style for the court, or for learned men; tlie third, a 
 letter-writing and business style, or, perhaps, something 
 rather above that, so as to place the subject within the 
 reach of any competently-instructed person. The latter 
 style they adopted for the Bible. 
 
 Other difficulties arose in translating into the language 
 of idolaters: a word must be found lor God; — to them, 
 “ the unknown God.” In the Buriat translation, the 
 missionaries used the word “ Barchan ,” as the least ex- 
 ceptionable term they could employ. It is the word 
 used by the Buriats for the true God of Christians, when 
 they speak of Him, and it conveyed an idea to their 
 minds of a Being above their idols. 
 
 Then, what rule should they lay down for themselves 
 as to the rendering of words expressive of weights, 
 measures, and coins? Should these be translated by 
 the nearest weight, measure, or coin used in the country, 
 or should the name of the Roman weight or coin be 
 retained untranslated? 
 
 Points like these being agreed upon, the translators, 
 together or separately, took their Hebrew and Greek 
 Bibles, and read over the passage to be translated, very 
 carefully, in the originals. In this case they also con- 
 sulted Chaldee. Then, with the help of the English 
 Bible, and such other modern versions as they were able 
 to read, comparing them carefully with such aid from the 
 learned as they may have had at hand, they possessed 
 themselves of the exact sense of the sacred writers, and 
 proceeded to express the meaning, as nearly as possible, 
 in the new language. 
 
 Translators sometimes make a list containing every 
 word they have translated, the rendering given to it, and 
 the passage where it is found ; so that a concordance of the 
 Scriptures is formed as they proceed. This renders their 
 work uniform. It ensures that forms of expression, fre- 
 quently occurring in the original, shall be repeated pre- 
 cisely in the same terms in the new version. 
 
RAROTONGA VERSION. 
 
 343 
 
 Afterwards, all is revised again and again, in this case 
 with the assistance of one of the most learned and compe- 
 tent of the Buriats (generally a lama or priest); “and 
 with him,” says Mr. Swan, “ we went over the whole, 
 verse by verse, and sentence by sentence, attending 
 particularly to the idiom, and to the use of appropriate 
 terms for things not familiarly known. 
 
 “ A fair copy of the manuscript, thus revised and cor- 
 rected, was then made, and sent to our fellow-labourers, 
 who had copies taken for themselves, that they might 
 examine and make remarks at their leisure, and have them 
 at hand for reference. Some parts of our manuscripts 
 have thus undergone repeated inspection and alteration, 
 and we consider the final corrections not yet made. I 
 shall again revise my portion immediately on my return 
 to Siberia.” This letter is dated, 1834. 
 
 The same protracted process has been going on all over 
 the world. Morrison, in China; Carey and his learned 
 colleagues, in India; Williams, in the South Sea Islands; 
 and Moffat, in South Africa, have all, by the labour of 
 many years, been creating the material for the spiritual 
 treasury of the Bible Society, which it now scatters forth 
 with a munificent and liberal hand. The men are almost 
 all dead, but their work shall never die. 
 
 Incidental notice has already been taken of the difficulty 
 attending Dr. Morrison’s work in China ; and of the Indian 
 translations we must further speak, in describing the 
 country itself. The following is the testimony, on the 
 same subject, of the missionary Williams on the occasion 
 of presenting a copy of the Gospel of Matthew, in the 
 language of Rarotonga, to Lord Bexley, at the thirty-first 
 anniversary of the Bible Society. He said, — 
 
 u I feel great pleasure in presenting to your lordship 
 the first sheets of the Scriptures ever printed in England, 
 in a language of the South Sea Islands. 
 
 “ The work of translation has been attended with very 
 many hindrances. When the missionaries first went there, 
 
344 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 the people had no written language, no letters, no medium 
 of intercourse, no* hieroglyphic signs among them, and the 
 art of communicating with persons at a distance, by means 
 of writing, was a great mystery to them. King Pomare 
 was the first person who learned to write; and when it 
 was spread abroad that he could talk with the mission- 
 aries at a distance, by means of a few marks upon a piece 
 of paper, the people came from all parts to be eye-wit- 
 nesses of the wonderful deed. 
 
 “ Our own translation has been effected with all the 
 precaution that could be exercised, in order to have a 
 version as correct as possible. The work was divided 
 among the different missionaries, according to their know- 
 ledge of the language. Each took his portion to trans- 
 late, which, when accomplished, was sent round to all the 
 others, with a request that they would criticise and remark 
 freely upon it. It was then returned to the translator, 
 who corrected his work, carefully considering all the re- 
 marks that had been made. The translation was then 
 further circulated among the people, and the chiefs and 
 more intelligent natives were encouraged to make their 
 strictures also. Some of their remarks were of very great 
 value to us.” 
 
 The following is a specimen of the Karotonga version 
 alluded to; John 1. 1-5: — 
 
 I vai ana te Logo i muatangana, i te Atua ra oki te Logo, e ko te 
 Atua oki te Logo. 2 I te Atua ra oki aia i muatangana. 3 KTana i 
 anga te au mea katoatoa, kare ua aia i ngere i tetai mea i angaia ra. 
 4 Tei roto iaia te ora, e taua ora ra, to te tangata ia marama. 5 I 
 kaka mai ana te marama ki te poiri, kare ra to te poiri i ariki adu. 
 
 The same martyr-missionary adds : “It will be under- 
 stood, that a people of such barbarous character as those 
 amongst whom we have been labouring, had no names 
 for many of the animals mentioned in Scripture. They 
 never saw a horse till we introduced that animal to the 
 islands ; they had no sheejJ or cattle of any kind ; and in 
 many islands they had never seen any animals but rats y 
 
SECHUANA VERSION. 
 
 345 
 
 which were very numerous. In other islands they had 
 pigs in great abundance, and they called the horse c the 
 pig that carries the man.’ In translating the Scripture, 
 we had to supply names for these unknown annuals; and 
 for many other things, which they had not, we borrowed 
 a word from the English language. In the Polynesian 
 dialects, a vowel intervenes between every two consonants. 
 This rule made it impossible to transfer the word horse , 
 and, besides, the letter s is unknown in their language. 
 In this case we went to the Greek, and found the word 
 hippos , — we rejected the p and the s , and constructed the 
 word liipo, a word which any native can speak, and any 
 learned man might understand. Such a word as baptism 
 we left untranslated.” 
 
 Mr. Moffat’s description of the difficulty of acquiring 
 the Bechuana tongue, and the circumstances in which it 
 was acquired, will cause you to look with reverence on 
 the sheets of a Sechuana Bible. The following is a speci- 
 men of that version ; John 1.1-5 
 
 Lehuku le le le mo tsimologon, mi Lehuku le le na le 
 Morimo, mi Luhuku e le le Morimo. 2 Ye, le le na le 
 Morimo mo tsimologon. 3 Lilo cdtle li tsa rihoa ka yeona, 
 mi ga goa rihoa sepe sa tse li rihiloeii, ha e si ka yeona. 
 4 Botselo bo le bo le mo go yeona ; mi botselo e le le leseri ya 
 bathu. 5 Mi leseri ya phatsima mo hihin ; mi lehihi le si ka 
 ya le cula. 
 
 “ Often,” says Mr. Moffat, “have we all met together 
 to read the word of God, — that never-failing source of 
 comfort ; and, contented with being only the pioneers, 
 have poured out our souls in prayer for the perishing 
 heathen around. The acquisition of the language was an 
 object of the first importance, and this had to be accom- 
 plished under the most unfavourable circumstances, as 
 there was neither time nor place of retirement for study, 
 and no interpreter worthy the name. 
 
 “ A few, and but few, words were collected, and these 
 very incorrectly. It was something like groping in the 
 
346 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 dark, and many were the blunders that I made. After 
 being compelled to attend to every species of manual, and 
 frequently menial, labour for the whole day, working 
 under a burning sun, standing m the saw-pit, labouring 
 at the anvil, treading clay, or cleaning out a water-ditch, 
 it may be imagined that I was in no very fit condition for 
 study, even when a quiet hour could be obtained in the 
 evening for that purpose ; and when I was ready for in- 
 quiry, the mind of the native interpreter could never be 
 commanded at pleasure. 
 
 “ Those whose faculties have been expanded by a Eu- 
 ropean education, cannot conceive the stupidity, as they 
 would call it, of savages, in everything beyond the most 
 simple ideas. I have sometimes been obliged to allow 
 my interpreter to leave off the task when he had scarcely 
 given me a dozen words, it was so evident that the exer- 
 cise of the faculty of thinking so soon wore out his powers 
 of mental exertion. He would then betray by his list- 
 lessness and vacancy of countenance, that all thought was 
 gone, and complain that his head ached, when he always 
 received his dismissal for that day.” 
 
 Nevertheless, after ten years of difficulties, surmounted 
 by perseverance, there was in existence, by the year 
 1830, a Sechuana Gospel of Luke, and then came the 
 earnest of the first-fruits. A Matabele captive sat weep- 
 ing, with this portion of the word of God in her hand. 
 “ My child, what is the cause of your sorrow ?” said the 
 missionary. “ Is the baby still unwell?” “ No ; my baby 
 is well.” “ Your mother-in-law?” “ No ! no ! ” said she ; 
 “ it is my own dear mother who bore me !” and, hold- 
 ing out the Gospel of Luke, all wet with her tears, she 
 added, “ My mother will never see this good word ! She 
 will never hear this good news. Oh ! my mother, my 
 mother, and all my friends ! They will die without the 
 light that has shone on me ! ” 
 
 Mr. Moffat saw liis reward when he beheld this love to 
 souls kindled in the heart of Afric’s sable daughter ; and 
 
THE SOLITARY CHRISTIAN AND THE BIBLE. 347 
 
 in 1842, there was a whole New Testament, in Sechuana, 
 printed by the British and Foreign Bible Society, and 
 some thousands of copies were sent out to the interior of 
 South Africa, to supply the wants of a people rapidly 
 acquiring the art of reading, and multitudes of them 
 already able to read in their own language what the 
 Buriats called the “ sacred words of the most high and 
 saving God.” 
 
 We must give one anecdote with which Mr. Moffat 
 closes his delightful book of missionary labours : “In one 
 of my early journeys, I came with my companions to a 
 heathen village, oh the banks of the Orange river. We 
 had travelled far, and were hungry, thirsty, and fatigued ; 
 but the people of the village rather roughly directed us 
 to halt at a distance. We asked for water, but they would 
 not supply it. I offered the three or four buttons left on 
 my jacket for a little milk, and was refused. We had 
 the prospect of another hungry night at a distance from 
 water, though within sight of the river. 
 
 “ When twilight drew on, a woman approached from 
 the height beyond which the village lay. She bore on 
 her head a bundle of wood, and had a vessel of milk in 
 her hand. The latter, without opening her lips, she 
 handed to us, laid down the wood, and returned to the 
 village. A second time she approached, with a cooking 
 vessel on her head, and a leg of mutton in one hand, and 
 water in the other. She sat down without saying a 
 word, prepared the fire, and put on the meat. We asked 
 her again and again who she was. She remained silent, 
 till affectionately entreated to give us a reason for such 
 unlooked-for kindness to strangers. Then the tear stole 
 down her sable cheek, and she replied, 4 I love Him 
 whose servants you are ; and surely it is my duty to give 
 you a cup of cold water in his name. My heart is full ; 
 therefore I cannot speak the joy I feel to see you in this 
 out-of-the-world place/ 
 
 “ On learning a little of her history, and that she was 
 
348 
 
 THE BOOK A ND ITS STOKY. 
 
 a solitary light burning in a dark place, I asked her how 
 she kept up the light of God in her soul, in the entire 
 absence of the communion of saints. She drew from her 
 bosom a copy of the Dutch New Testament, which she 
 had received from Mr. Helm, when in his school, some 
 years before. ‘ This/ said she, ‘ is the fountain whence 
 I drink ; this is the oil which makes my lamp to burn ! * 
 I looked on the precious relic, printed by the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society ; and the reader may conceive 
 my joy, while we mingled our prayers and sympathies 
 together, at the throne of our heavenly Father.” 
 
 As we must look upon the heathen world in the light 
 of the future, and under the head of much land “ yet to 
 be possessed,” we will not at this point enter into more 
 detail, especially as India must be studied alone, and with 
 no wearied attention. For the heathen, the translations 
 were going on — are going on still — being revised and re- 
 revised ; and, as this takes place, they go forth and do 
 their work. The “ seed is the word,” and the “ field is 
 the world.” 
 
349 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 DEATH OP LOUD TEIGNMOUTII, AND OF ME. HUGHES. BIBLE COL- 
 
 PORTAGE UPON THE CONTINENT. — OSEE DERBECQ. CHARACTERIS- 
 TICS OF COLPORTEURS. THE YOUNG BIBLE-COLLECTOR IN JERSEY. 
 
 JUVENILE BIBLE ASSOCIATIONS. INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS TO DIS- 
 TRIBUTE THE SCRIPTURES. THE TESTAMENT AMONG THE FISHING 
 
 PEOPLE OF BOULOGNE. — A TRACT THE PIONEER OF THE BIBLE. — - 
 STATISTICS OF INFIDEL PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 In the year 1834, several of the attached friends of the 
 Bible Society — its president, Lord Teignmouth — one of 
 its secretaries, Joseph Hughes, — its eloquent advocates 
 and supporters, William Wilberforce and Hannah More, 
 — were removed from their earthly labours. 
 
 In the oriental affairs of the Society, Lord Teign- 
 mouth’s extensive knowledge of the languages, and his 
 intimate acquaintance with the manners and sentiments 
 of eastern nations (acquired while he was Governor- 
 General of India), were of the highest importance. His 
 introduction and recommendation to the agents, in their 
 travels, never failed to ensure a ready attention, and re- 
 moved many a difficulty in the way of their foreign 
 operations ; but the advantage attaching to the rank and 
 station of their president was of small account to the 
 Bible Society, when compared with the qualities of his 
 mind and heart. Many of the earlier Reports were 
 ■written by him ; and to the wide correspondence, carried 
 on for several years under his immediate direction, he 
 rendered the greatest assistance by the purity of his taste 
 and the elegance of his style. 
 
 Mr. Hughes had spent his strength and devoted much 
 of his time to the interests of the Society for nearly thi rty 
 years, as had Mr. Owen to the time of his death, in 
 
350 
 
 THE BOOK AKD ITS STORY. 
 
 1822, without fee or reward. When Mr. Owen died, the 
 committee felt how impossible it was to expect from any 
 besides these two men, the fathers and founders of the 
 Society, a similar sacrifice of time and talent, without 
 adequate remuneration, now that the business of the 
 Society had increased and was extending itself to all parts 
 of the world. Mr. Hughes was therefore obliged to con- 
 sent to receive the salary which would be allotted to his 
 future successor ; but his acceptance of it was accompanied 
 by a noble deed of consecration, on his own part, found 
 among his private papers after his decease. He says, 
 “ I have deliberately resolved to appropriate the whole of 
 what I may receive from this source, to the relief of such 
 private cases, and the support of such public institutions, 
 as shall appear most deserving of my attention and en- 
 couragement.” But he had little credit given him for 
 such secret resolve. 
 
 On one of his journeys for the Society, he found by 
 his side, on the coach, a grave and respectable-looking 
 person. In conversation on topics of general interest, 
 the Bible Society soon became the subject of conversa- 
 tion. His companion enlarged on its Utopian character, 
 and especially on its lavish expenditure, noticing in a 
 marked way the needless and extravagant expenses of its 
 secretaries, as well as their enormous salaries. No one, 
 from Mr. Hughes’s countenance and manner, would have 
 conjectured that he was a party concerned. 11 But what,” 
 he mildly expostulated, “ would be your conclusion, were 
 you informed that their services were gratuitous ; and 
 that, with a view of curtailing as much as possible the 
 expense of travelling, they usually, even in very incle- 
 ment seasons, fix on the outside , — as one of them is now 
 doing before your eyes ?” It need scarcely be stated, that 
 both the fact and the tone in which it was announced, 
 with the friendly conversation that ensued, converted an 
 enemy into a friend. 
 
 The memorial of the committee to this good man de- 
 
THE LAST ILLNESS OF ME. HUGHES. 
 
 351 
 
 dares, that all the friends of the Society were agreed to 
 reverence and love him ; that he had eminently con- 
 tributed to mature the plans which he had been instru- 
 mental in originating ; and that, by his intelligence and 
 piety, as well as by his remarkable freedom from asperity, 
 he succeeded, by maintaining a friendly feeling throughout 
 its discussions, in preserving the harmony of its councils. 
 The memorial concluded with the transcript of a passage 
 from his own beautiful letter of resignation, addressed to 
 them when he found himself no longer able to fulfil the 
 duties of his office : 
 
 44 The office has, I believe, greatly helped me in the 
 way to heaven ; but now my Lord seems to say, 4 1 have 
 dissolved the commission ; thy work is done ; yield cheer- 
 fully to my purpose, and prepare to enter those blessed 
 abodes where the labours of the Bible Society shall have 
 brought forth more glorious fruits than the fondest hope 
 had foreseen.’ ” 
 
 Mr. Foster, the celebrated essayist, and the old and 
 valued friend of Mr. Hughes, on hearing 44 that his life 
 was quivering in the socket,” wrote to him a most sym- 
 pathising letter, from which, when his son read to him 
 the following words, — 44 But oh ! my dear friend, ichither 
 is it that you are going ? — where is it that you will be a 
 few short weeks or days hence ?” — Mr. Hughes lifted up 
 his hands, as if to give effect to the reply, — 44 To heaven, 
 I am going ; there to dwell with God and Christ, and the 
 spirits of just men made perfect ! ” 
 
 But these devoted friends of the Society would not 
 wish us to linger even by the side of their dying beds ; 
 for when they died, the work went on, and they bore 
 their testimony that the Divine word, which it had been 
 their joy to circulate during life, was their own strong 
 consolation in the hour of death — the light of the border 
 land. Mr. Hughes was succeeded in the secretaryship 
 by his much-loved friend, the Rev. George Browne, minis- 
 ter of the Congregational Church, Clapham ; and the 
 
352 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 result has proved that the unanimous choice of the com- 
 mittee was made under the direction of Providence. For 
 twenty years the Society has been faithfully served, and 
 its interests efficiently promoted by his judicious counsels, 
 able advocacy, and extensive correspondence. May these 
 valuable services be long continued 1 
 
 We must now enter without delay on the subject of — 
 
 BIBLE COLPORTAGE UPON THE CONTINENT. 
 
 From the earliest days of the Society, the committee 
 sought to extend the circulation of the Bible upon the 
 continent, wherever it was possible to find entrance for 
 it. There, popery and infidelity reigned : the former, as 
 we have seen, hides the Bible ; the latter rejects it : for, 
 from all the five classes of the human family which we 
 have been considering, there might be gathered a larger 
 class than any one , spread among them all — the class of 
 infidels, or unbelievers of the written word altogether. 
 These abound also, we grieve to know, in our own 
 Protestant England ; and their infidelity often arises from 
 their want of knowledge. They do not know the history 
 of the volume they reject. Few of them have ever read 
 the Book itself, except with intent to ridicule it ; and 
 many have it not in their possession. 
 
 A new agency, at this period, seemed requisite in the 
 fioman- Catholic countries, where the common people 
 more willingly listen to persons of their own class than 
 to a minister of the gospel ; and as God “ has chosen the 
 weak things of the world to confound the mighty,” 
 abundant blessing has been poured out on the labours 
 of those who literally “ go out into the highways and 
 hedges,” with the holy word of God in their hands, to 
 distribute it day by day, and who are called Colpor- 
 teurs. 
 
 The British and Foreign Bible Society began to send 
 forth these colporteurs in the year 1837. For seven 
 
COLPORTAGE ON THE CONTINENT. 
 
 353 
 
 years before that time, 150 of them had been employed 
 by the Geneva and Paris Bible Societies, and their sales 
 of the Scriptures, at reduced prices, gradually increased, 
 and in the year 1835 amounted to nearly 45,000 copies. 
 But these colporteurs had circulated religious tracts as 
 ■well as the Bible, and the committee in Earh street con- 
 sidered this not to be desirable. Out of 100 persons who 
 applied to Monsieur de P., the agent in Paris, to become 
 colporteurs, he carefully selected forty-four, and in four 
 months they sold 45,000 copies. In the next year, there 
 were sold more than 100,000 copies ; and the number 
 circulated during fifteen years by colporteurs, in France 
 alone, amounts in all to almost seventeen hundred thousand 
 copies ! 
 
 These colporteurs now traverse the continent of Europe, 
 — a band of humble but zealous and valiant soldiers of 
 the Cross. They carry with them the “ Sword of the 
 Spirit,” and their weapon is “ not carnal, but mighty, 
 through God, to the pulling down of the strongholds of 
 Satan.” 
 
 From the shores of the Mediterranean to the Baltic, in 
 Belgium, in Holland, in France, and in Germany, they 
 unfurl the gospel banner, and wondrous are the tales they 
 tell of its willing reception among those who would never 
 have heard of it but through their means. 
 
 Some persons were apprehensive that it would shock 
 the feelings even of Protestants, to see the Scriptures 
 hawked for sale, from door to door ; others feared it 
 would so irritate the Roman Catholics, as to provoke 
 collision ; but all these fears have “ come to nought.” 
 The circulation of the holy word, in these countries, was 
 a thing to be accomplished ; and God has watched over 
 his own work from the beginning. His blessing has 
 never for a moment forsaken the faithful labourers, and 
 they have truly to rejoice over what they have been 
 enabled to do in his strength and name. 
 
 A colporteur carries his books in a leathern bag slung 
 
 24 
 
354 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 over liis shoulder. He makes the sale of the Bible his 
 only employment. It is not by once offering it that he 
 sells it, and he is often obliged to wait patiently the result 
 of repeated visits and conversations. 
 
 Colporteur. 
 
 It is calculated that one of these excellent men offered 
 the Scriptures and spoke of their contents, to more than 
 200,000 persons. He had been colporting eleven years 
 before he died, and sold at least 18,000 copies of the 
 Scriptures. His name was Osee Derbecq, and he laboured 
 in Belgium. The Bible Society never had a more faith- 
 ful servant. His whole soul was absorbed in his work ; 
 his deep piety and profound humility made him a wel- 
 
DEATH OF DERBECQ. 
 
 355 
 
 come visiter wherever he went ; and many persons who 
 had persecuted him, afterwards became his warmest friends. 
 His discussions with the Koman-Catholic priests and their 
 adherents were full of holy boldness and faithful testi- 
 mony to the grace of God. 
 
 A colporteur, who visited one of his old fields of 
 labour, wrote thus : “ Derbecq had been here, and had 
 penetrated, as everywhere else, into the most humble 
 cabin. Every moment my heart is pained at the thought 
 of his death, when I see the esteem in which he is held 
 by the inhabitants of this province, who have been a long 
 while waiting his return.” 
 
 In more than one locality, where there is now a 
 fiourishing congregation, he was the sower of the seed. 
 In June, 1847, he fell into consumption, but he con- 
 tinued his work till September, 1848, though in much 
 bodily suffering. At last he procured an ass to carry his 
 books, himself walking by its side as long as he could. 
 He died at the age of forty-two, and his death made a 
 strong impression on those around him, for it was full of 
 bliss. Many attended his funeral. He was called the 
 “king of colporteurs,” and it may be truly said, he died 
 a martyr to the Bible Society’s work. 
 
 It has been thought by the committee, that this year 
 of Jubilee, a season of which Isaiah speaks as the ac- 
 ceptable year of the Lord among the Jews, and which 
 was to be a season of “comforting all that illourn,” is a 
 very suitable occasion for commencing a fund which shall 
 meet the necessities of some humble and retired, but labo- 
 rious and devoted, servants of Christ, like Osee Derbecq. 
 
 The colporteurs being always chosen from their earn- 
 est and undoubted piety, it is almost certain that each of 
 the seventeen hundred thousand Bibles we have spoken 
 of has been accompanied by a prayer. They have all 
 likewise been sold , not given , and will therefore, proba- 
 bly, be more carefully preserved. Seven-eighths of them 
 have been of the version of De Sacy, sold in France, 
 
356 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 proving that the work has been carried on especially 
 among Roman Catholics. Alas ! many of these Bibles have 
 possibly been burnt, but perhaps the greater part have been 
 preserved. Our colporteurs frequently report that they 
 have been in districts in France where the New Testa- 
 ment is to be met with in almost every house ; and not a 
 month passes in which one or the other does not discover, 
 in various parts of the country, some few individuals or 
 whole families who unite for the purpose of reading the 
 Bible or Testament, to their great comfort. 
 
 One very remarkable fact concerning the colporteurs 
 is this, that, with but few exceptions, they have formerly 
 been Roman Catholics, and have become zealous friends 
 of the Bible through reading copies of the Scripture 
 purchased by themselves of some colporteurs. There are 
 continual changes upon the staff, as it is called, — from 
 280 to 300 individuals having been employed since the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society took up the work, and 
 among these there have been scarcely a dozen who have 
 not proved equal to the requirements of their calling. 
 All the rest have, in zeal, devotion, and fidelity, been 
 ornaments to the gospel ; and in the esteem of the public 
 generally, the name of colporteur signifies a man of order 
 and of peace, as well as a good and upright man. 
 
 Sometimes the French colporteurs are addressed in this 
 way: 44 As for you, you are men of the Bible; you never 
 speak of anything else : you certainly are not men of 
 this world. Whether Louis Napoleon or Louis Philippe 
 sits upon the throne, it matters very little to you ; you 
 are comical fellows ; you seem as if you belong neither 
 to the republic, the empire, nor to anything else ; and, 
 to look at you, and to listen to you, one might almost 
 say that God is always before you, and that it is He who 
 governs. How is this ? Explain yourselves.” 
 
 And then they do explain themselves : they stand by 
 many a dying bed, and are brought into sympathy with 
 many a strange and solemn scene; they sow the good 
 
THE BIBLE COLLECTOR. 
 
 357 
 
 seed through the field of the world, and they often reap, 
 years afterwards, the seed they have sown. 
 
 The work of the colporteur was never intended to in- 
 terfere with the work of the collectors for Bible Associa- 
 tions, whether at home or abroad. Jt consists in selling 
 Bibles at once , as many as he can in a day. The work 
 of the Bible- collector is, as we have seen, to receive the 
 weekly penny from those who at one time can spare no 
 more. It is carried on, of late years, very chiefly by asso- 
 ciations of ladies, who find many an opportunity of doing 
 good both to the souls and the bodies of those whom they 
 thus repeatedly visit. Both orders of agency are excel- 
 lent ; and both are found necessary, even in England. 
 
 In 1845, it was thus reported : “ The county of Radnor, 
 containing a population of 25,000, has only five Bible 
 Societies within its limit ; and of these five, two have little 
 more than an existence in name. A well-chosen colpor- 
 teur commenced his operations at the close of harvest, 
 in one of five districts into which the county was divided, 
 and within forty-six days he sold, at cost prices, in the 
 eight parishes comprised in the district, one thousand and 
 eighty-five Bibles and Testaments, among a popula- 
 tion of 5804, being in the proportion of a copy to every 
 family. He was a man of good muscular strength, as 
 well as piety ; he walked about fourteen miles a-day : 
 the farmers and labourers purchased with avidity, some- 
 times to the extent of a copy for every individual ca- 
 pable of reading ; all were astonished at the cheapness 
 of the books, and many were the blessings implored on 
 those by whom he was employed.” 
 
 Notwithstanding all the Bibles that have been supplied 
 in England, experience proves, that this history of the 
 county of Radnor, in 1845, would be repeated, by the use 
 of the same agency, in many an extensive tract of country 
 and in many a lonely hamlet, even in this year 1853. 
 
358 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 LADIES’ ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 But that you may not think that the whole work of the 
 Society is or can be done by colporteurs, and that those 
 who are ignorant of it may have an idea of it as at this 
 time carried on with zeal and perseverance by upwards 
 of 20,000 ladies in the British empire, we will give you 
 a few particulars concerning a Bible-collector, in one of 
 the Channel islands, which may induce some of you to 
 follow her example. 
 
 Attached to the second Beport of the Bible Society* 
 in 1806, is the following letter from the Kev. F. P. of 
 Jersey: — “A member of your Society has encouraged 
 me to lay before you the state of the island of Jersey, 
 as it respects the want of Bibles. I need not tell you 
 that by far the greater part of the inhabitants speak 
 French, and nothing but French, so that if they wish to 
 read their Bible, it must be in that language; but war has 
 interrupted all communications with Holland and other 
 parts, from which we had our Bibles, so that they are ex- 
 ceedingly scarce. I believe there is not one to be bought in 
 the whole island. I know many religious families who 
 are without it. They have not even the New Testament; 
 and though they would give any money for it, it is all in 
 vain. I have known old second-hand Family-Bibles to 
 sell at from two to four pounds sterling, so that none but 
 the rich can afford to buy them, while the poor people 
 are greatly in want of them.” 
 
 In answer to this letter, the committee directed 300 
 copies of the French Testament to be forwarded to their 
 correspondent, to be disposed of on terms suited to the 
 circumstances of the people. He preached in French to 
 2000 hearers, who had not amongst them 200 Bibles, and 
 from the pulpit told them, that it was to the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society that the churches must now look 
 for a supply of the word of God. 
 
THE MINISTER’S DAUGHTER OF ST. HELLER’S. 350 
 
 Other grants of New Testaments followed this, and 
 still, in a letter dated 1809, he says, “ I wish you could 
 have seen the silent tears of joy fall from many an eye, at 
 the thought that one day they would be possessors cf the 
 invaluable treasure. Many are anxiously waiting for the 
 completion of the Old Testament in French. When it is 
 finished, oh! pray forget not Jersey!” 
 
 It is a very interesting fact, that most of the families in 
 Jersey are descended from refugees who escaped from the 
 religious persecution in France. It is related of them, 
 that when they had to pass the gens-d’armes on the coast, 
 they always tried to hide their children, and one of the 
 means employed was placing them in baskets well covered 
 with fruit. They are therefore a part of the Protestant 
 Church of the Book, and it was delightful to the Society 
 to multiply to them their ancient treasure. The minister, 
 whose letters we have quoted, married an English lady, 
 a true Christian, who established a Ladies’ Bible Associa- 
 tion in Jersey, in 1807 or 1808, — one, therefore, of the 
 very earliest of these institutions which worked silently 
 and without official notice, probably paying its proceeds 
 into the hands of the gentlemen’s committee. 
 
 A ladies’ auxiliary, under high patronage, was esta- 
 blished in 1818, and its president describes Jersey, shortly 
 afterwards, as “ our little country still thirsting for the 
 word of life.” 
 
 But it was in the spring of 1837 that some friends of 
 the Bible Society, who visited Jersey, found the amiable 
 and interesting daughter of the good minister above men- 
 tioned following in the steps of her father, who was yet 
 living, and of her mother, who had been removed by 
 death, and very earnestly devoted to the work of spread- 
 ing the Scriptures in the romantic little isle, where she 
 had been born. These friends say : 
 
 “ We once or twice accompanied Marie in her visits to 
 her Bible-district, in the streets and lanes of the crowded 
 town of St. Helier’s, where the scenes are more foreign 
 
360 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 than English, and where she had to cope with the effects 
 of that Catholic superstition, which must be seen in detail, 
 in order to appreciate the difficulty of pouring light upon 
 its darkness. 
 
 “ From many and many a door we turned away, where 
 the offer of the word of life was rejected with anger and 
 scorn. The laugh of derision followed us up stair and 
 alley, or the look of surprise varied the vacant face of 
 ignorance, knowing nothing, and willing to know no- 
 thing, but what the priest ordained. Marie spoke fluently 
 in French, or in patois, when the latter only was under- 
 stood, and her English was equally ready. Three most 
 delightful visits were paid, in one morning, to persons 
 who had been led by this young messenger of mercy to 
 seek pardon for their sins, and lay hold on the hope of 
 heaven. 
 
 “ One very aged Frenchwoman welcomed her footstep 
 with all the ardour of her nation. We shall not forget 
 that large old-fashioned apartment, with its deep recesses 
 and its earthen floor, — the fine figure of its inmate, up- 
 right as a dart, though incapable of moving from her 
 chair, — the delicately-plaited and snowy cap and ker- 
 chief, — her knitting cast aside, on which, although blind, 
 she was constantly employed, — and both hands at once 
 held out to her ‘ chere, chere, petite Ma’amselle Marie/ 
 so often the cheerer of her lonely home. Marie came 
 frequently to read to her of Jesus, and the old woman 
 said, she had taken Him into her heart, and that He was 
 always with her. She looked very happy, and perfectly 
 contented, and seemed to live, from visit to visit, on the 
 words she remembered from the book. 
 
 “ In another part of her district, at Le Dicq, Marie 
 had established Sunday-schools, where she and her sister 
 had gathered together some children in a room on the wild 
 and rugged sea-shore, — a ragged school, — before ragged- 
 schools were thought of in London ; and after their early 
 labours, on the Sabbath, in the large schools attached to 
 
MARIES PERSEVERANCE AND DEATH. 361 
 
 her father’s church, and attending morning service, they 
 were accustomed to snatch a slight meal, and walk off in 
 all weathers to their new and untamed pupils here, who 
 must be taught to read* before they could receive the 
 Bible, and with whom it was evident that persevering 
 love and energy would soon be successful. 
 
 “We paid a visit with her to the Bible committee. 
 She had many home responsibilities, which were very 
 sweetly fulfilled, — and she was the light of the house- 
 hold to her widowed father; but these private duties did. 
 not prevent her from acting as secretary to more than 
 one benevolent institution ; and of the Ladies’ Bible So- 
 ciety, she was, steadily and quietly, the moving spring. 
 While others might take the honour and the appearance 
 of precedence, she was content to work untired, and to 
 bring all she could persuade by influence and example to 
 work too, yet herself claiming no praise and no observ- 
 ance. Her heart and soul were in the service, and her 
 zeal appeared only equalled by her self-knowledge and 
 her humility. 
 
 “We told her one day that she was born to be a mis- 
 sionary, when she replied, ‘ It must be a missionary to 
 France; but I have work enough in Jersey for many 
 years to come. God has placed us, you perceive, be- 
 tween two great nations, — England and France. He has 
 given us the government of the one, the language of the 
 other, and the privilege of unrestrained intercourse with 
 both ; and I often think why this is. England has the 
 gospel, and now gives it to us; France has it not; but 
 England has not the language of France, and so cannot 
 speak to her in her own tongue. Jersey ought to preach 
 the gospel to France. The light which is in her was 
 brought from France. I wish I ever might spread Bibles 
 there.’ ” 
 
 God did not suffer this desire to be realized. Ere she 
 reached her twenty-second year, He took her to himself, 
 to the great sorrow of all who knew her. She died of 
 
362 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 consumption on the 21st of August, 1839, the day twenty 
 years after her mother, who had been carried off by the 
 same insidious disease; and now, father, mother, and 
 daughter, are, we doubt not, together in heaven ! 
 
 But although these first sowers of the good seed in 
 Jersey are no more, the Bible Society continues its work, 
 and the seed has sprung up, and brings forth fruit abun- 
 dantly. Instead of the one association in which Marie 
 laboured, there are now fourteen associations, a ladies* 
 branch, and an auxiliary, — each association having eight 
 or twelve collectors, besides its officers : upwards of 3000 
 Bibles have been distributed by them. 
 
 JUVENILE ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 There is one more department of the agency now 
 at work for the Bible Society, which it is particularly 
 pleasant to contemplate. Children were among its earliest 
 friends ; and in associations organised for them by their 
 teachers, in schools and in families, they have always 
 contributed to its funds with delight. They are beings 
 who are apt to interest themselves in all that is going on 
 around them, and in their little hearts they always keep 
 their fathers’ jubilees: “ Seest thou not what they do in 
 the cities of J udah, and in the streets of J erusalem ? The 
 children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, 
 and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the 
 queen of heaven” (Jer. 7. 17, 18). If, therefore, the 
 children of idolatrous parents help them , what is to pre- 
 vent that the children of those who love God’s word, 
 and seek to circulate it, should help them also? Jesus 
 said, u Whoso shall not receive the kingdom of God as a 
 little child, shall in no wise enter therein.” The Story 
 of the Book of God is a story for all ages. It embraces 
 details almost too many and too mighty to be rendered 
 down to the ear of restless childhood; yet it has been our 
 highest ambition so to write it that a child might under- 
 
JUVENILE BIBLE ASSOCIATIONS. 
 
 363 
 
 stand it; and if we have succeeded, it will work its own 
 results. More children will come forward, with the ardour 
 and simplicity of their age, to help forward this great work 
 of God. 
 
 Every child and young person can help . There are 
 fifty-four Juvenile Bible Associations entered as tribu- 
 taries on the books of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society. Some of them have very pretty names, such as 
 “ Twig,” “Blossom,” “Rivulet,” “Drop,” and 44 Crumb;” 
 and they are spread over fourteen or fifteen of the coun- 
 ties of England. There is also one in Jersey, and seve- 
 ral in Wales. In Manchester there are four 44 Blossoms,” 
 one of which has in the last year contributed the hand- 
 some sum of 327. 95. 9 d. to the funds of the Society. 
 The different Juvenile Bible Societies of Manchester, 
 altogether, have raised this year the sum of 637. 25.; and 
 the money they collect now is not their chief benefit, 
 for it is hoped that many faithful and persevering little 
 labourers will thus be trained and raised up to support 
 the Bible Society in days to come. From among those 
 who are now children, must arise the future secretaries, 
 and translators, and home and foreign agents; and the 
 present small donations which they bring will be pro- 
 mises and pledges of larger donations in riper years. It 
 may be that some few will inherit fortune and estate ; 
 and if they have belonged to an early 44 Blossom Bible 
 Society,” it may influence their hearts to be the liberal 
 donors of the thousand guineas at a time, which can 
 nowhere be better cast than into the treasury for the 
 distribution of God’s word. Others will give time and 
 talent, as they may be needed. 
 
 They will be led to think of the wide wide world, 
 and its want of the Bible, and perhaps themselves make 
 some sacrifices to aid its distribution. In the Moravian 
 schools at Fulneck, numbers of the young people ab- 
 stained altogether from sugar, to give the amount allowed 
 them in lieu of it to the Bible Society fund. £ 
 
364 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Every child who can save, or give, or lead others to 
 give, hut fourpence a week to a Bible box or association, 
 may every week consider that this will be the means of 
 giving the four Gospels, if not a whole New Testament , to 
 a poor Chinese. These little “Twig” and “Blossom” 
 Societies have their regular meetings for business, their 
 account-books, and their accounts duly rendered in ; and 
 as children at school are sometimes lavishly supplied with 
 money by indulgent parents, this opens a source for 
 legitimate investment of much that might be thought- 
 lessly and selfishly spent. 
 
 One of the domestic agents of the Bible Society says 
 that he had the pleasure of exhibiting what is com- 
 monly called “The Bible Society Map”* to the pupils 
 under the care of Mrs. E. of Devizes, and that he shall 
 not soon forget the eager attention and deep feeling with 
 which the young ladies surveyed the whole. The moral 
 state of the population of the globe was explained by the 
 aid of the colours selected for the purpose. All were 
 struck with the very small space coloured pink , to re- 
 present Christianity, and the very large proportion of 
 blue and yellow , showing what countries arc still Ma- 
 homedan and Pagan. It was observed, that the great 
 work in which the Bible Society is engaged is to change 
 the moral state of the world, to obliterate the blue and 
 the yellow, and to pin k, that is, to Christianise, the whole 
 population of the earth. Soon after the little lecture 
 was finished, and while sitting at the breakfast-table, a 
 knock at the door was heard, and a little girl came in 
 and placed a paper containing something heavy in Mr. 
 
 ’s hand, without saying a word. It contained a 
 
 note, of which the following is a copy: “The young 
 ladies of Mrs. E.’s establishment beg Mr. ’s accept- 
 
 ance of the enclosed trifle towards pinking the world — 
 August, 1840.” 
 
 * See page 194. 
 
LES MATELOTS OF BOULOGNE. 
 
 365 
 
 it 
 
 The u trifle” amounted to the sum of twenty-three 
 shillings, contributed of their own accord towards an 
 object well worthy of it. May many schools do likewise 
 in this Jubilee Year! They had afterwards the gratifica- 
 tion to learn that this money would provide at that time 
 twenty-three Testaments and more than nine Bibles. It 
 would now provide many more. 
 
 As this chapter has been devoted to a consideration of 
 the agencies at work for the Bible Society, we must not 
 close it without a notice of those efforts which are put 
 forth from time to time, by individual friends, not offici- 
 ally connected with the Society, who have scattered the 
 seed of the word where they have resided or travelled. 
 The following is but a specimen of one among thousands 
 of opportunities occurring, to those who have the object 
 always in view, of circulating the Scriptures; and as we 
 have given many instances of the way in which mission- 
 aries and the friends of education co-operate with the 
 Bible Society, this incident will likewise show how a 
 tract will often act as a pioneer to the Bible. 
 
 You have heard of Boulogne-sur-Mer ; and any of our 
 readers who may have passed through that town on their 
 way to Paris, or may have resided there for awhile, will, 
 perhaps, know, that a separate portion of it consists of the 
 dwellings of the fishing-people, who devote themselves 
 especially, during the season, to the catching, curing, and 
 sale of herrings. Les Matelots , as they are called, are a 
 very interesting race. They have a peculiar costume, — 
 the women wearing short, thick, scarlet or striped skirts, 
 and dark-blue jackets, with a beautifully-plaited cap. 
 Their best suit is considered their fortune ; and the chief 
 piece of furniture in their cottages is a large wardrobe to 
 contain the riches of their dress, which the girls buy as 
 they earn money by selling fish, or carrying boxes and 
 parcels on shore from the steam-boats. They are a very 
 hardy and industrious race, and are continually making 
 
366 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 or mending nets for tlieir husbands and brothers, while 
 they are following their occupation at sea. 
 
 In their way, and according to their own estimation, 
 they are very pious. They pray perpetually to the holy 
 Virgin for safety in their perilous vocation; and, on re- 
 turning from a voyage, they go and kneel at the crucifix 
 on the top of the cliffs, and offer thanks for their preser- 
 vation. They are very ignorant, because no one teaches 
 them ; but many are ready to receive, if it were offered, 
 the true light of the gospel. 
 
 One of these fisher-girls, of a very interesting appear- 
 ance and kind disposition, was in the daily habit of bring- 
 ing water from the fountain, for the use of an English 
 family, who had taken up their residence for three 
 months in a house by the sea-side, not far from the fish- 
 ing-town: her name w&s Genevieve. One evening she 
 saw the lady at the window, and, somewhat to her sur- 
 prise, asked her if she would be so kind as to read a little 
 to her, as some English lady had done before. She said 
 that she liked histories, but had never been taught to 
 read, otherwise she would not ask the favour. 
 
 The lady was glad to comply with her request. She 
 read to her some chapters in the New Testament, a book 
 that Genevieve had never seen, and offered to read a por- 
 tion of it every day, if she would come to hear it. 
 
 After some days, the fisher-girl said that she had been 
 telling her father about this reading, that he could read, 
 and that he wished to have the book. The lady lent her 
 a French New Testament to take home with her, and the 
 fisherman read thirty pages, on first sitting down to it, 
 aloud to his family, and then he took it to sea with him. 
 
 It is usual for several fishermen to own a boat amongst 
 them, and this man read the New Testament to his part- 
 ners when they were out at sea, being particularly pleased 
 with those histories which are given in the Gospels, of the 
 Apostle Peter and his companions fishing. 
 
 After the glad reception of this one Testament, Gene- 
 
BOTJLOGNE-SUR-MER. 
 
 367 
 
 vi&ve was asked if she knew of any one else among her 
 people who wished for a Testament in their own lan- 
 guage. She said she thought she did ; and half-a-dozen 
 Testaments being procured from the depository of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, in the Rue de L’Ecu, 
 the fisher-girl accompanied the lady up and down the 
 alley in which she lived. That was a very different 
 alley from an alley in London. It stretches from the 
 top to the bottom of the steep cliff; and the houses on 
 either side, being built one above another, are reached by 
 flights of broad stone stairs, each landing-place having its 
 own sea-view. Here Genevieve’s mother was found spin- 
 ning the string which they afterwards make into nets. 
 
 At every door was offered a New Testament. Two 
 were bought, and four more thankfully received ; twenty- 
 eight were afterwards disposed of, and in three or four 
 houses the lady was eventually asked to come and read 
 to them. The best time for this was found to be on 
 the Sabbath afternoon, when the women came to listen 
 in groups of eight and ten. This is their only leisure 
 afternoon of the week, when they generally put on their 
 gayest dress and go up the cliffs to the crucifix, “ pour 
 prier Dieu, et adorer la Vierge.” The visiter met with 
 no single instance of incivility in all her intercourse with 
 this “ Billingsgate” of France ; and it appeared to her that 
 if God intends mercy to this large town, it is amongst 
 these despised “esclaves” of the population that it will 
 be first received. 
 
 Another incident occurred in the same year, 1847, 
 which made a good Frenchwoman say, “ The Lord’s time 
 is come, and He is going to work among those Matelots.” 
 
 A poor woman, who lived in the fishing-town, had a 
 tract lent to her called “ Le Bon Berger.” She lent it to 
 a cousin, an old fisherman past work, and he, reading it 
 with great interest, gave it a new name. He called it 
 “ La Brebis Egaree.” He read it to his wife and daughter, 
 and lent it to his friends, saying, “if this was the new 
 
368 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 religion, they would find it better than the old one.” 
 This was because the tract led the people directly to 
 Jesus, as the Good Shepherd for lost sheep, and not round 
 about, to ask for the prayers of the Virgin Mary. 
 
 It was wonderful, therefore, to see how it appealed to 
 the common-sense of the people ! It was read to twenty 
 of them at once, by a little boy, who was a good, clear, 
 loud reader ; and then it came back to the old woman 
 who had been its original lender ; but it never stayed at 
 home. First one borrowed it, then another: it was read 
 by the crews of five of the boats, and at last the lady 
 who was distributing the Testaments heard of it, and she 
 borrowed the dirty treasure, and read it with deep interest. 
 
 It was a simple allegory, and a fresh proof of the 
 power of allegory over the common mind. It depicted 
 the tender love of Christ to a lost sheep, — his living to 
 seek it, and dying to save it, — in a style particularly cal- 
 culated to please the French. 
 
 This tract continued to go, dirtier and dirtier, from 
 house to house, ever more welcomed, and always making 
 way for the Testament, which it seemed the instrument 
 designed to do. When it was re-claimed one day from a 
 fine old Pharisee, who had said, “ she had done so many 
 good works all her days, that God had never given her 
 an hour’s illness,” she was heard to say with tears in her 
 eyes, “ Mais je suis cette brebis egaree.” A neighbour of 
 hers had earnestly desired to have it, saying she would 
 then take it and read it from house to house, all through 
 the fishing-town. 
 
 A hundred copies of this tract were afterwards put into 
 circulation among the fishing people. In the early spring 
 of 1848, the fishing-boat in which Genevieve’s father and 
 brother were partners, went down one stormy night, with 
 all the crew, — so that the Testament and the tract were 
 sent to them in the last year of their lives : they read 
 both diligently ; and let us hope that they read to the 
 salvation of their souls. 
 
PERNICIOUS INFIDEL PUBLICATIONS, 369 
 
 Now this fact may present a picture of the state of 
 thousands of other districts and towns in Roman-Catholic 
 countries. The poor people would hear the gospel if 
 they might. How vast an account of souls those have to 
 render at God’s awful bar, who leave them alone in their 
 ignorance, or only fill their ears with the rubbisli of 
 popish miracles and saints’ lives, instead of the pure word 
 which God has given to guide all to Himself, as “the 
 Good Shepherd,” we scarcely dare to think. 
 
 And the friends of the Bible had need awake to their 
 responsibilities! They have on their side God and his 
 word, and the promise that “ truth shall prevail”; but 
 the prince of the power of the air has also his active 
 agents, and in numbers they far surpass the soldiers of the 
 Cross. He has, it is true, no mighty organisation like 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society, for circulating 
 any one book of falsehood that should deny our Book of 
 truth ; but he has earnest missionaries and zealous edu- 
 cators, and he causes to be issued an astounding total of 
 tracts and newspapers that serve his purpose; He has 
 until now maintained in China and India his giant fabrics 
 of idolatry. He is strengthening at every point the once 
 crumbling shrines of popery, and he has begun to give 
 to infidelity that spirit of co-operation and union which 
 was declared to be “the only thing wanting to make it 
 the most terrible enemy of the Church of God.” * 
 
 The writer of a book called “ The Power of the Press,” 
 informs us, that eleven millions seven hundred and twc 
 thousand copies of absolutely vicious and Sabbath-break- 
 ing newspapers are circulated every year in Great Britain, 
 while the sum total of the issue of Bibles and religious 
 tracts does not amount, in a year, to one-third of this 
 number. 
 
 There are about sixty cheap periodicals issued every 
 
 * “ Essay on Popery and Infidelity,” by Mr. Douglas of Cavers. 
 
370 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 week, of a positively pernicious tendency. Some of them 
 issue 100,000 a-week, some 80,000, some 20,000, having 
 amongst the whole a yearly sale of six millions two hun- 
 dred and forty thousand. 
 
 There are, besides these, infidel and polluting publica- 
 tions which make lovers of the Bible wonder where their 
 readers can be found, but which nevertheless have a yearly 
 circulation of ten millions four hundred thousand! 
 
 And there are yet others so intensely wicked, that the 
 rest denounce them as wicked, and which can only be 
 sold by stealth, whose issues this writer specifies as five 
 hundred and twenty thousand annually ! 
 
 He sums up his totals thus : 
 
 Ten stamped papers . . . 11,702,000 
 
 Six unstamped papers . . . 6,240,000 
 
 Sixty pernicious periodicals 10,400,000 
 
 Worst class 520,000 
 
 Total . . 28,862,000. 
 
 And this is only in our own Christian country. Week 
 after week, year after year, does this tide of evil roll on : 
 and what does the Church of God do to meet it ? Adding 
 together the annual issues of Bibles, Testaments, religious 
 tracts, newspapers, and periodicals of every kind, we find 
 a total of 24,418,620, leaving a balance on the side of 
 evil of, alas ! four millions four hundred and forty-three 
 thousand three hundred and eighty ! * 
 
 It may still be less generally known, that free-thinkers, 
 as they call themselves, have now instituted a confer- 
 ence-meeting for examining the progress of their various 
 societies, in different parts of the kingdom. They, too, 
 have perceived that “ union is strength,” and from Bolton, 
 Blackburn, Glasgow, Bradford, Manchester, Newcastle- 
 upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Paisley, Preston, Stafford, and 
 Sheffield, they, too, have their reports of each other’s 
 
 * See “ Church in Earnest,” pp. 94, 97 
 
NEED FOR CHRISTIAN PERSEVERANCE. 371 
 
 proceedings. This is a new feature of the times, and, sad 
 to say, the paper which makes known their results, and 
 gives union and emphasis to their efforts against the Bible, 
 is conducted with calm determination, not with low abuse, 
 by a man who was once a scholar in a Sunday-school. 
 
 There are annually issued — 
 
 Of infidel publications 12,200,200 
 Of atheistic ditto . . 624,000 
 
 Of popish ditto . . . 520,000 
 
 Making a total of . 13,344,200. 
 
 All these have their active distributors : they are met with 
 in the railway-carriage and on the steam-boat, scattering 
 industriously and gratuitously those seeds of evil with 
 confident expectation, that, when those are well sown, 
 England will be revolutionised. 
 
 Let us arise, then, against this host, to the help of all 
 that is holy, and especially to the diligent dissemination 
 of the word of God, which shall overcome them all — “ to 
 the help of the Lord, against the mighty ! ” 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 JUBILEE REVIEW OF THE HEATHEN COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD. 
 
 THE BIBLE IN INDIA. IN CHINA .* EXTRAORDINARY RELIGIOUS 
 
 MOVEMENT THERE : SEW-TSEUEN, THE LEADER OF THE INSUR- 
 
 GENTS. — JAPAN, IN ALL PROBABILITY, WITHOUT A BIBLE.— 
 LOOCHOO ISLANDS. 
 
 Let us now take up the forty-ninth Report of the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society, issued in this year 1853, and 
 see if we think it any longer a “ dull book,” being better 
 prepared to understand it. 
 
 Out Jive threads must also be resumed once more, on 
 
372 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 which to string the facts of chief importance that may be 
 collected from our “ Jubilee Review”; but we may be 
 permitted to reverse their order, and take, first, the 
 heathen and pagan countries of the world, and we shall 
 therefore open this Bible Report at page 79, upon — 
 
 INDIA. 
 
 “ The Indian empire of Great Britain, — that vast appen- 
 dage to an island throne, — is not merely a country but a 
 continent. In ancient days it contained numerous inde- 
 pendent kingdoms, stretching 1800 miles in length, and 
 1300 in breadth. It includes all varieties of climate, 
 scenery, and soil. The giant range of the Himalayas, 
 capped with eternal snow, the fertile plains of the river 
 Ganges, and the high table-land of the Mysore, alike rank 
 among its territories. Its 130,000,000 of people speak 
 thirteen different languages. Its lowland plains produce 
 the cheapest food of various kinds, and the warmth of 
 its climate requires but scanty clothing. Its mineral trea- 
 sures are abundant, and it has giant forests of the most 
 useful trees. Its noble rivers furnish a ready highway 
 for trade, and the cheapness of labour brings its vast pro- 
 duce into the market at a low rate. The taper fingers 
 of its natives can carve exquisitely in ebony and ivory, 
 and their shawls, their muslins, and their jewellery, are 
 yet unrivalled in all the world. Its population includes 
 the clever and insinuating Brahmin, the submissive and 
 patient Sudra, the poor outcast Paria, and the indolent 
 Mussulman. It includes the coward and cunning Bengali, 
 the spirited Hindustani, the martial Sikh and Mahratta, 
 the mercantile Armenian, the active and honest Parsee, 
 the busy Telugu, and the uncivilised tribes who now in- 
 habit the hill forests, but who once roamed as lords over 
 the outspread plains.” 
 
 These millions of people are chiefly idolaters, and caste 
 divides them into sections, each set against the other; but 
 
THE BIBLE IN INDIA. 
 
 373 
 
 they yield implicit obedience to the dictation of their 
 priests, and the assertions of their shastras or holy books ; 
 — for the greater part of this land is yet unprovided with 
 teachers of the gospel. 
 
 To obtain an idea of the extent of India, we must 
 remember, that, if Eussia be kept out of mind, it is as 
 large and populous as all Europe ; and to realize the 
 state of its missions, we must, at present, think of one 
 missionary to every 350,000 people! — no more! Let 
 France be thought of as Bengal, and suppose that France 
 were utterly heathen, and that Christian benevolence 
 sent thirty missionaries for Paris and the suburbs, two 
 for Guienne, a few for Dauphiny, but none for Brittany, 
 Normandy, Burgundy, Lorraine, Gascony, Champagne, 
 or Languedoc ; then let Bavaria be thought of as Bundel- 
 kund, Sweden and Norway as Oude, Great Britain and 
 Ireland as the various hill tribes, Italy as the Nizam’s 
 country, and Turkey and Greece as the Punjaub and 
 Scinde, almost altogether unsupplied with Christian 
 teachers ; — you need not wonder that scoffers return 
 home from their Indian travels, and say, “they never 
 met with a single missionary or a single convert.” There 
 has been a strange neglect of India hitherto as a mission- 
 field. In the West Indies there are not less than 350 
 missionaries to instruct a population of 2,500,000, but 
 in India there are but 403 missionaries to 130,000,000 
 of people ! 
 
 But now, what has the Bible, “ the missionary of mis- 
 sionaries,” done in India? 
 
 We have seen the great translators, Carey, Marslrman, 
 and Ward, commencing their work on this wide con- 
 tinent, in 1793. In 1806, they began to print the Scrip- 
 tures in six languages ; but in 1809, no English Bibles 
 had ever been sent to Madras for sale, and it was almost 
 impossible to procure one. In those times, when a con- 
 siderable army was in the field, and it became necessary 
 to obtain a Bible, it was with difficulty that a copy could 
 
374 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 be found with any of the European officers or men. 
 Bishop Corrie, in 1811, makes the following interesting 
 record: “In 1807, when I was stationed at Chunar, a 
 native Roman Catholic used to visit me for religious in- 
 struction. There was not at this time any translation ot 
 the Scriptures to put into his hand. [The Hindui Bible 
 had not then been published.] I therefore selected some 
 of the most important passages in the Bible, and dictated 
 a translation of them, very imperfectly, it is true, but to 
 the best of my ability, to the poor man, who wrote them 
 on a number of pieces of loose paper. I heard nothing 
 more of him for many years, but have been lately in- 
 formed by the Rev. Mr. Wilkinson of Gooruckpore, who 
 visited him on his death-bed, that, on entering into con- 
 versation with him, he was surprised at his acquaintance 
 with scriptural religion. He asked an explanation, and 
 the poor man produced the loose slips of paper on which 
 he had written my translations. On these it appears his 
 soul had fed through life , and through them he died such 
 a death, that Mr. W. entertained no doubt of his having 
 passed into glory.” 
 
 In 1821, the same excellent bishop avows his belief, 
 “ that future labourers will reap the fruit of the precious 
 seed which the Bible Society has been sowing in India 
 with so much diligence for many years past.” 
 
 And the reaping of that harvest has begun ; a gradual 
 change is taking place in India ; she has been given into 
 the hand of England for a great purpose ; and that pur- 
 pose is beginning to be accomplished. 
 
 The Report of 1853 refers us to the Bibles that have 
 been at work since Dr. Carey's time, who found in India 
 only the Tamil and Telugu Bibles. He published his 
 Bengali, Marathi, and Uriya Bibles ; then came Henry 
 Martyn’s Hindustani and Persian New Testaments, and 
 the Sanscrit Bible from the press at Serampore. Dr. 
 Buchanan provided the Syriac Scriptures; more perfected 
 editions in successive years appeared of the Hindui, the 
 
BIBLE-DISSEMINATION IN INDIA. 
 
 375 
 
 Persian, the Telugu, and the Tamil; then came the 
 Malayalim, the Canarese, the Punjahee Bibles', and the 
 Burmese Bible, prepared by the devoted American mis- 
 sionaries. We will not give you the whole list of dia- 
 lects, but they have each done their work, silently and 
 surely, or rather have begun to do it ; and from this 
 “ word of God, quick and powerful, and sharper than any 
 two-edged sword/’ the monstrous dragon of idolatry, bred 
 of old in the slime of the river of Egypt, awaits his 
 death-blow in the mud of the Ganges.* 
 
 AYhen the Calcutta Bible Association was first estab- 
 lished, which was the happy result of a memorable ser- 
 mon preached by Henry Martyn, just before he departed 
 on his lonely journey to Persia, its principal object was 
 to give the word of God to the destitute Protestant 
 Churches in India. In 1840, it declared that this object 
 was now effectually accomplished, “as, in recent visita- 
 tions made by the members of the committee, scarcely a 
 family of Protestant Christians has been found without 
 the Holy Scriptures. The Armenian Churches have 
 also been diligently supplied.” The Association then in- 
 tended to direct its attention more particularly to 
 the supply of native Christian Churches, and Christian 
 schools for the education of the young ; and as education 
 in the English language was continually on the increase 
 among the natives, new openings for usefulness were con- 
 stantly presenting themselves. 
 
 To the prosecution of this design we may, in 1853, trace 
 the issue of far larger numbers of copies of the Holy Scrip- 
 tures, and happy results therefrom. In three successive 
 years, 1849, 1850, and 1851, the circulation was 43,969 ; 
 and we have abundant proofs on every side that there is 
 now in this country a wide-spread general knowledge of 
 Christianity ; f that the Christian Scriptures are regarded 
 
 * See Katterns’ Sermon, on “ India, the Stronghold of Idolatry.” 
 f See “ Bible in India.” 
 
376 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 with reverence, and are partially understood by the 
 people ; that the blessings which have made England 
 great will shortly elevate also degraded India ; that the 
 mental vigour of the conqueror will be imparted to the 
 conquered; and that the justice, the moral tone, and truth 
 of England are capable of being infused into a people 
 who have not known them for ages. 
 
 The Rev. G. Gogerly , for twenty-five years a missionary 
 in Bengal, gives us the following incidents in proof of the 
 present willingness of the natives of India to receive the 
 Scriptures, in contrast to their former reluctance : — 
 
 In the early part of his ministry, in India, Mr. G. was 
 one day preaching, when a Brahmin came up to listen. 
 44 After the service was concluded, a tract was offered to 
 him with a respectful salutation, 4 Will you receive this, 
 my lord ? It concerns Jesus Christ the Redeemer of the 
 world. If you receive it, the Sudras will also receive it/ 
 He took it scornfully in his hand, turned over two or 
 three pages, tore it across, tore it again, spat upon it, and 
 cast it in my face.” This was in 1818. 
 
 In 1843, the missionaries, being on a journey, pitched 
 their tent near the encampment of a rajah, who sent to 
 inquire of them, 44 Who are you ?” The answer was re- 
 turned, 44 White people — those who possess the Book of 
 God, and beg to offer you a copy thereof in Hindustani.” 
 The rajah received it graciously, took off his turban, and 
 cast it on the floor, putting in its stead the book upon his 
 head : then he removed it, and pressed it to his heart, 
 saying, 44 As I have placed it on my head, I will receive 
 it into my mind. As I have clasped it to my breast, I 
 will welcome it to my heart.” We know the native cha- 
 racter well enough to remember, that this might be all 
 mere politeness, and possibly meant nothing more ; but 
 still it shows a different state of feeling from former con- 
 tumely, and may be taken as a specimen of the present 
 general reception of the Bible in India. 
 
 He adds, 44 We had the opportunity of conveying also 
 
HINDUI SCRIPTURES. 
 
 377 
 
 a copy of the Scriptures to Dost Mahomet, the potentate 
 of Afghanistan (that land of Mahomedans, so inveterate 
 in its opposition, and which will not admit colporteurs), 
 through the means of an English child with whom he 
 was fond of playing.’ , 
 
 The Bible, which has made England and America the 
 missionaries of the world, will destroy India’s idolatry 
 and caste, will purify her people from their immoralities, 
 and will raise her female population. But how is it now 
 being distributed in India? “In 1848, the committee 
 of the Calcutta Auxiliary perceived with deep regret that 
 only 35,429 Bengali Bibles had been issued in the space of 
 nine years, for the many millions of Bengal. While con- 
 templating this inadequate supply, they felt that it would 
 be good to institute an extensive succession of missionary 
 journeys, to inquire into the wants of the people.” 
 
 In 1852, they again resolved to make grants for these 
 missionary tours, and in the cold season planned nine 
 more journeys, three of which they proposed to the mis- 
 sionaries of the Church Missionary Society, and three 
 to the London Missionary Society, and others to the Free 
 Church and Baptist missionaries, etc. The demand for 
 Bengali Scriptures was thus again augmented, and in one 
 year amounted to 23,288, besides the copies issued from 
 Calcutta to the various stations and agents. 
 
 Owing to the same order of means, the Hindui Scrip- 
 tures have likewise been largely circulated. The Rev. 
 G. Schatz, of the German mission, writes : “ The cold 
 season having set in early and favourably, our brethren 
 were encouraged to march out sooner than we are gene- 
 rally able to do at Nagpore ; and they have met with 
 such a desire after the word of God, in the Chattra dis- 
 trict, that we have been obliged to send them one load 
 of books after another, and our stock of the Scriptures is 
 so thinned, that we shall in a short time have scarcely 
 any book left but Genesis. We hope you will make us 
 some grants of Gospels.” 
 
378 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 In reply to this welcome request, the Calcutta Society 
 ordered to press, in 1850, 125,000 copies of the Hindui 
 Scriptures. 
 
 The Key. J. R. Campbell of the American mission, at 
 Saharunpore, one of the most experienced missionaries in 
 the north-west of India, writes : “ Our principal distribu- 
 tion of the Scriptures, during the past year, was made at 
 the Hard war fair, where thousands of portions in Hindui, 
 Urdu, Persian, and Punjaubi, were given away to pilgrims 
 who could read them, and who expressed a desire to carry 
 them to their homes in different and distant parts of India. 
 The Bible is a book well known to the heathen in this 
 land, and every year’s experience convinces us more 
 thoroughly, that the word of God is not fettered, but 
 spreading rapidly through the masses of the community. 
 We find now but few men of common intelligence who 
 do not know something of the leading facts contained in 
 the Christian Scriptures ; and as but few have had an 
 opportunity of hearing the living preachers of the gospel , 
 whence could this information arise , but from the general 
 and extensive circulation of the word of God ? We must go 
 on distributing the precious seed” 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Hill, of the London Missionary Society, 
 said, in a letter written in 1835 : “One evening, whilst 
 preaching at Jaghooly, to about 150 persons at my tent 
 door, I observed a tall old man approaching, leaning on 
 a silver-headed cane. He sat down with the rest, and 
 listened with marked attention, and afterwards addressing 
 me, said, ‘Sahib, I have been to every holy place in 
 India ; I have consulted all the sages and pundits I have 
 met with ; I am two years short of eighty, and have not 
 found a religion in which I can hope for eternity. My 
 remaining days are few ; the evening of my life has set 
 in ; and oh P he exclaimed with emotion, 4 may it please 
 God to bring me at the close of my long life to know 
 and find a way by which I can die in peace ! Do give 
 me a book which will tell me this way, and I will read it 
 
SCRIPTURE DESTITUTION IN MADRAS. 379 
 
 earnestly/ I gave him a Gospel, and a letter to the Rev. 
 Mr. Murray of Chinsurah, for a New Testament. I also 
 led him by the hand into the tent, and had an hour’s 
 conversation with him, in which I told him that he must 
 expect persecution if he embraced the gospel of Christ. 
 I had another interview with him, and he heard another 
 sermon before I left the place. His name was Prankissen 
 Singh, and I have since learned that he obtained his 
 New Testament. Ah ! who can tell how many such 
 persons may in the jungles be like him, thirsting for the 
 waters of life, and endeavouring to feel after God, 4 if 
 haply they may find Him’ ?” 
 
 Dr. Buchanan, in 1807, said of the population of 
 India: 44 The best effects may be expected from the sim- 
 ple means of putting the Bible into their hands. All 
 who are acquainted with the natives, know, that in- 
 struction by books is best suited to them. They are, 
 in general, a contemplative race, patient in their in- 
 quiries, anxious also to know what it can be that is of 
 importance enough to be written . They regard written 
 precepts with respect ; and if they possess a book in 
 a language they understand, it will not be left long un- 
 read.” 
 
 How delightful, then, to know, from the Report of 
 the Madras committee, in 1853, that in Southern India, 
 — comprising 195,000 square miles, and a population of 
 21,000,000, — Christians are endeavouring to leaven this 
 great mass with the word of God, in the Tamil, Telugu, 
 Canarese, Malayalim, and Hindustani languages ! Since 
 this committee entered on their work, in the year 1820, 
 almost 800,000 copies of the Scriptures (though chiefly 
 in portions) have been put into circulation. During the 
 past year, the number distributed was 67,418 ; yet this 
 scarcely amounts to one copy for every ten of the estimated 
 population of the mere town and suburbs of Madras. 
 You see, then, the field to be sown ! In some of the vast 
 districts, there is lamentable need of more missionaries; 
 
380 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 and wherever a portion is reclaimed from the desert, and 
 pains bestowed upon it, a good measure of success is sure 
 to be realized. 
 
 For the districts of Tinnevelly and Travancore there 
 is a large staff of missionaries and catechists, chiefly those 
 of the Church of England. The same are needed in the 
 native states of Cochin and the Mysore. The Tamil 
 translation is still receiving further and further revision, 
 though that issued at Bellary was published after six- 
 teen years of indefatigable labour. The Scriptures have 
 become the text-book in all the native schools, which 
 are very numerous; and thus the native mind is opened 
 from infancy to perceive the hollowness of idolatry. 
 Large portions are also committed to memory. Much 
 attention has b£en paid by the Madras committee to the 
 system of colportage. It is now busily employing fifteen 
 or sixteen colporteurs, under the superintendence of the 
 Rev. T. Brotherton, who says : “ One of these, Mr. L., 
 speaks and reads Tamil, Telugu, and English. He has 
 visited every street and every house in a certain suburb 
 of Madras, and made an offer of a copy of the Gospel of 
 Luke and of the Acts to at least one member of every 
 family. Two others have visited, in one year, 365 towns 
 and villages, offering a copy of the Gospel at every house 
 in every street. It is of no use to wait,” continues Mr. 
 Brotherton, “ till we meet with missionaries learned in 
 all the wisdom of the Hindus, Romanists, and Mahome- 
 dans, who will be able to meet on their own ground the 
 Brahmin, the Jesuit, and the Mollah. We must send 
 out the native colporteurs to distribute the word of God. 
 If we cannot yet send the living preacher to these millions , 
 toe can send the living word , and perhaps we may find the 
 Lord honouring his simple word, making it as plain to 
 the comprehension of the Hindu peasant, as he often 
 does to that of the European cottager. Mr. Hill, of the 
 London Mission, when at one time proclaiming the love 
 of Christ and the blessings of salvation, could frequently 
 
THE POWER OF THE SCRIPTURES. 
 
 381 
 
 hear the expressions of ‘ What mercy ! ’ ‘ What words of 
 
 mercy ! ’ ‘We never heard such mercy ! * ‘ Tarry with us, 
 sahib, and teach us more of these things. Build a school, 
 and we will undertake to send, as a beginning, eighty 
 boys of respectable families.’ ‘ I told them,’ added Mr. 
 Hill, ‘ that I lived at Berhampore, eighty or ninety miles 
 off, that I was fixed, preached, and had schools there, but 
 I would give them books by which they might learn 
 more of God ; and that, if they would read them with 
 prayer, God would teach them to serve and love Him. 
 I gave them ten or twelve Gospels. The fields here seem 
 white — white unto the harvest.’ ” 
 
 In the months of November and December, 1852, and 
 in January of this year, the Rev. F. Morgan, a Baptist 
 missionary, visited numerous places where neither mis- 
 sionary nor Christian book had ever been seen before. 
 He says, “ The desire of the people to obtain the Scrip- 
 tures is most intense. Imagine a large market with from 
 one to two thousand people, myself on an elevated spot, 
 hundreds of hands stretched out, and hundreds of tongues 
 shouting, ‘ Oh sahib, a great thing ! oh give me a book !’ 
 Brahmins and Sudras rolling in the dust together, snatch- 
 ing the books from one another; respectable people with 
 children in their hands and in their arms, imploring me 
 to put the books in the hands of the little ones; books all 
 gone, missionary reeling from the effect of dust, noise, 
 and speaking ; people imploring for more books, and in 
 some places I have been obliged to go to police-offices to 
 rest for half an hour. I have seen Brahmin lads in tears, 
 because they could not get books, saying, ‘ Oh sahib ! I 
 ran when I heard you were here, and now what shall I 
 do?’ In many places, I have been permitted to preach 
 on the platforms of temples, Brahmins often assisting in 
 the distribution of the Scriptures.” 
 
 To meet this readiness to receive the word, the Parent 
 Society have made a grant of 500/. to the Madras So- 
 ciety, for colportage ; and they have already intimated 
 
382 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 to the secretaries of Missionary Societies, labouring in 
 Southern India, that they will meet the expense incurred by 
 any missionary on a tour, one main object of which is the 
 circulation of the word of God, they being furnished with 
 an estimate of the expense, and the plan of the journey. 
 
 “ What a blank/’ say the missionaries, “ would be 
 created in all our missions, if we had no Gospels or 
 Bibles to distribute among our new converts ! How soon 
 would they be led astray into all kinds of error, if they 
 had not the lamp of God’s truth to guide them into the 
 paths of righteousness and peace!” 
 
 Wherever a religious movement has taken place, it has 
 been characterised, in the first instance, by a desire for 
 the Scriptures. Some persons attempt to excuse their 
 disbelief of Christianity from witnessing its effects as 
 imperfectly exhibited in the lives of some of the native 
 converts ; and the heathens are glad to adduce their 
 inconsistencies as evidence that there is no difference of 
 practice between themselves and Christians. But in the 
 pure Book there is no failure ! The Yedas, Puranas, and 
 Shastras shrink before its light. In the Bible itself we 
 see what its followers should be; and this is always found 
 the best argument with the natives. 
 
 A most interesting instance of the power of the Scrip- 
 tures over the mind of a learned native is found in the 
 history of the Rev. Hormusjee Pestonjee, in whose hands, 
 eighteen years ago, a copy of the Gospel of Matthew was 
 placed by a travelling missionary. The next year the 
 father of this native took up the book, and read and re- 
 read it, and recommended his mischievous sons to read 
 it, especially the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters. The next 
 year, the family and its friends all feared that this book 
 might destroy the son Hormusjee’s faith in Parsiism. 
 The next year, he bought himself an English Bible and 
 the four Gospels, in Guzerathi, and read both together 
 for the sake of comparing the two languages. The next 
 year, which was 1839, the fears of the family and its 
 
INDIA A FIELD OF VAST IMPORTANCE. 383 
 
 friends were realized. A power from on high convinced 
 the hitherto blind reader of the Bible, that it was not the 
 language of literature, but the Divine instruction — not the 
 letter but the spirit that was to be pursued. Since that 
 time, he says himself: 44 Being first blessed, I have more 
 or less endeavoured, in my humble way, to become a 
 blessing to others, and to make the Bible itself an ever- 
 increasing blessing to both. Once a deluded wretch, I 
 have been recently set apart by the Great Author of the 
 Bible to undeceive and enlighten my fellow-countrymen 
 by means of this same sacred Book.” In the years 1852 
 and 1853, this learned native is mentioned as aiding in 
 the revision of the Guzerathi Scriptures. 
 
 But we must leave India, difficult as it is to turn away 
 from it, now that its idolatry is on the wane, and its 
 desire for truth on the increase. Mr. Bion of Dacca 
 says: “We have been surprised to see how things are 
 changed. Formerly, we were scarcely able to speak with- 
 out dispute and disturbance : now, we have always quiet 
 and attentive hearers; and when we asked a few days 
 ago, after preaching, whether any one had questions, a 
 Brahmin said, before 200 people, 4 Who can say any- 
 thing against your religion? It is all true that you say/ 
 Another, a Mussulman, said, 4 The words of the gospel 
 are all very good and true, and not, as we formerly 
 thought, mixed with Satan’s words.’ ” 
 
 Near the above-mentioned place, Dacca, in 1818, a 
 number of converts were found inhabiting certain ad- 
 jacent villages, who had forsaken idolatry, and who con- 
 stantly refused to pay to the Brahmins the customary 
 honours. They were also remarkable for their correct- 
 ness of conduct, and adherence to truth. They were , 
 occasionally visited by several of our Christian brethren, 
 both European and native, and were scattered through 
 ten or twelve villages. They were, however, the fol- 
 lowers of no particular leader ; they called themselves 
 44 learners,” and professed to be in search of a true law- 
 
384 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 giver and teacher. Some of our native friends, being 
 very desirous of knowing whence they had derived all 
 their ideas, were at length told that they had imbibed 
 them from a book which was carefully preserved in one 
 of their villages. They were shown this book, which 
 was much worn, and kept in a case of brass for the pur- 
 pose of preserving it, and which they were told had been 
 possessed for many years, although none of these persons 
 could say whence it came. On examination, this book 
 was found to be a copy of the Bengali New Testament , 
 printed at Serampore, in 1800. 
 
 “ Gain India for Christ,” says an eloquent preacher, 
 “ and the world will follow. Destroy idolatry there , and 
 the rest of your work will be but clearing the earth from 
 its wrecks. The old serpent has yet his throne there ; 
 and as you pass along you behold, in token of it, the 
 nest of the living reptile garlanded with flowers ; but 
 give India the Bible ! she is stretching out her hand to 
 receive it, and it shall carry into the innermost recesses 
 of her hoary temples the light of the glorious gospel of 
 God. 
 
 “It is impossible to read of the devil-worship of 
 Southern India, without astonishment and horror. De- 
 votees drinking blood, working themselves up into a state 
 of frenzy, and then with frantic violence whirling them- 
 selves about, in wild tumultuous dances, till they sink 
 down almost dead in a state of exhaustion, 4 led captive 
 by the devil at his will.’ In sight of this fearful picture, 
 the hideous amusement of the ignorant multitudes, let 
 the solemn fact be weighed and remembered , that there have 
 not been published three millions of Scriptures altogether t 
 for all the millions of India , who , since this century began , 
 have been passing away to death and judgment , and for its 
 living millions who are now hastening on to their eternal 
 doom , — a vast multitude of souls, reaching nearly to 
 500,000,000 — a number equal to half the population of 
 the globe !” 
 
CHINA. — MARBLE TABLET FOUND THERE. 385 
 
 CHINA. 
 
 There is no part of the world that at this time can 
 present so vast an extent of interest to the eye of the 
 Christian, as China, — earth’s most ancient kingdom, as 
 old if not older than Egypt or Nineveh, and which has 
 endured while they have decayed ! It must rival in his 
 thoughts even India. 
 
 A famous marble tablet was dug up at Se-gnan-foo, in 
 the province of Shense, in China, in the year 1625 : upon 
 it was a cross resembling that used by the Syrians in 
 Malabar, accompanied by an inscription in the Chinese 
 and Syriac languages, describing the principal doctrines 
 of the gospel, and recording the translation of the sacred 
 Scriptures into Chinese. It would appear that, in the 
 year 637, Olopen, a Christian missionary, arrived in China, 
 and obtained an interview with the emperor, who ordered 
 his minister, then the most learned of Chinese scholars, to 
 translate the sacred books brought by Olopen. 
 
 The tablet which gives this record was erected, accord- 
 ing to its own authority, in the year 782. The Chinese 
 discovered it in 1625 ; and neither they nor the Jesuits 
 (then their teachers) understood the Syrian part of the 
 inscription, till it was translated in Malabar, which is 
 not a small evidence in favour of its authenticity. 
 
 It may, therefore, hence be concluded, that the old 
 Nestorian Church — that purest primitive church of the 
 East — sent one of its missionaries into China, in the 
 seventh century ; which accords with the assertion of 
 Mosheim’s “ Church History,” that u in the seventh cen- 
 tury, the Nestorians penetrated into China, where they 
 established several churches.” Mosheim likewise says, 
 that the Nestorian Christians were found in China till 
 the beginning of the fifteenth century. 
 
 The above translation, made by the Chinese minister, 
 may or may not be in existence. In 1805, the committee 
 
 of the Bible Society, having heard of a Chinese manu- 
 
 26 
 
386 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 script version in tlie British Museum, instituted particular 
 inquiries concerning it. 
 
 They found that it contained a harmony of the four 
 Evangelists, the Acts of the Apostles, and all the Epistles 
 of St. Paul, excepting that to the Hebrews ; but it ap- 
 peared from the style and wording to have been made 
 from the Vulgate, under the direction of the Jesuits ; and 
 for this and other reasons it was considered better to obtain 
 an entirely new translation. 
 
 This version was, however, very useful in assisting Dr. 
 Morrison in acquiring the language ; and in 1807, he 
 was sent by the London Missionary Society to Canton. 
 
 The following curious characters are Chinese. This 
 specimen is a portion of the beginning of the first chapter 
 of St. J ohn’s Gospel : — 
 
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 Tfij 
 
 
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 nr 
 
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CHINESE LANGUAGE. — DR. MORRISON. 387 
 
 The Chinese have no alphabet : every written character 
 is a word. In different parts of China they speak the 
 language very differently, but it is everywhere written in 
 the same way. 
 
 Three thousand different characters are in very general 
 use. Some of them are simple, as |Jj a field, m » 
 horse, Zp* a sheep ; and some are complex, as ^}] le, 
 
 which means gain or profit. So it must be a difficult 
 task to learn Chinese. Dr. Morrison’s dictionary contains 
 40,000 characters. This is found in the library of the 
 Bible Society, in six volumes : it was printed in Ma- 
 lacca, and cost him ten years’ labour. He was unable to 
 print it in Canton, from the jealousy of the Chinese. 
 
 Dr. Morrison taught himself this difficult language, 
 that he might translate the Bible. He accomplished the 
 translation of the New Testament, in the year 1814, after 
 seven years’ incessant study, at first undertaken in a 
 cellar, by the light of an earthenware lamp, to avoid 
 observation ! The first Chinese convert found a blessing 
 to his own soul, while assisting Dr. Morrison to print his 
 New Testament. While thus engaged in preparing the 
 Bible for his countrymen, “ he began to see that the 
 merits of Jesus were sufficient for the salvation of all 
 mankind, and hence believed on Him, — the Holy Spirit 
 printing the word upon his heart.” 
 
 In May, 1814, by the sea-side, at a spring of water 
 issuing from the foot of a lofty hill, far away from all 
 human notice, was baptized by his rejoicing teacher, in 
 the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Tsae-ako, 
 — the first-fruits of a great harvest of souls yet to be 
 gathered in, after the sowing of the seed of the word. 
 
 Tsae-ako adhered to the profession of the gospel until 
 his death, which took place, from consumption, in 1818 
 
 The London Missionary Society afterwards sent out 
 Dr. Milne to the aid of Dr. Morrison. Dr. Milne was 
 
388 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 instrumental in the conversion of a Chinese named Leang- 
 a-fah, whom Dr. Morrison ordained to the work of an 
 evangelist among his countrymen. Leang-a-fah is still 
 living, a valued member of the Canton mission, and has 
 laboured for upwards of thirty-six years with unwavering 
 fidelity among those whom he says, “ are glued fast to ten 
 thousand forms of idols, but striving to set an example 
 that will move men’s hearts, — praying that the most high 
 Lord will convert them.” 
 
 The above is an extract from one of his letters, in 
 1828; but it is not till the Jubilee Year of the Bible 
 Society that God seems to have poured out a special 
 blessing on the efforts and prayers of this first Chinese 
 evangelist. 
 
 Leang-a-fah laboured with Dr. Morrison continually, 
 to scatter the word of life in separate portions among his 
 countrymen. He resolved to write short tracts to explain 
 the Scriptures, which he has called, “ Scripture Lessons, 
 or Good Words to admonish the Age,” for distribution 
 among the students at the literary examinations. 
 
 On the 1st of August, 1834, the beloved Morrison was 
 called away by death. He died at Canton, amidst the 
 few prayerful and sorrowing converts who were given 
 him for his reward during his twenty-seven years of' 
 patient toil; and it is said he died “panting after the 
 salvation of China.” 
 
 On the 20th of the same month, Leang-a-fah, with 
 two other Christian friends, went out to distribute his 
 “ Scripture Lessons,” at the examination of literary can- 
 didates. He distributed 5000 one day, and 5000 the 
 next. On the third day came persecution : one of his 
 friends received forty blows on the mouth, which rendered 
 him unable to speak ; the second was pjft to death ; and 
 Leang-a-fah fled to Singapore, and found refuge on board 
 one of the English ships at Lintin, and from thence he 
 thus writes : “ I call to mind that all who preach the 
 gospel of our Lord Jesus must suffer persecution; and, 
 
THE RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT IN CHINA. 389 
 
 though I cannot equal the patience of Paul or Job, I 
 desire to imitate these ancient saints, and keep my heart 
 in peace.” 
 
 Leang-a-fah little thought that one of the tracts, distri- 
 buted at such a risk, was to prove the first seed of revolu- 
 tion in China, and to turn her from her idolatry, 4000 
 years old, to the worship of the living God: but as the 
 oak is in the acorn, so it was ; and he who sowed the acorn 
 lives to see the springing up of the tree that he planted. 
 
 We must now recount to you the last information 
 received from China concerning the wonderful “ rebel- 
 lion,” as it is called, which threatens to overthrow the 
 Mantchoo or Tartar dynasty. 
 
 It appears that the insurgents have a leader called 
 Tae-ping-wang, or Sew-tseuen, whom they design to 
 elevate to the throne. They everywhere announce then 
 resolution to deliver the Chinese nation from the Tartar 
 yoke. They are well received by the population, and 
 obtain without difficulty large contributions in support of 
 their cause. But the most remarkable circumstance attend- 
 ing their progress is, that neither they nor their -chiefs 
 are idolaters. Wherever they appear, they destroy the 
 bonzes, the joss-houses, and the idols, and the latter are 
 seen floating in broken fragments down the rivers, — 
 Buddhas of twenty feet and more, floundering about in 
 the water, — idols esteemed only as blocks of wood, to be 
 hacked, and hewed, and broken in pieces. 
 
 Sew-tseuen has hitherto been victorious. Pie has taken 
 Nankin and many other cities, and is master of the great 
 canal by which grain is conveyed to Pekin. He has sum- 
 moned the mandarins to receive him as their legitimate so- 
 vereign, descending in the ninth generation from the last 
 prince of the Ming or native Chinese dynasty. His policy 
 seems to be to make war upon the Tartar authorities, but 
 to protect the people ; and among so methodical and in- 
 genious a nation as the Chinese, it is evident that the 
 state of disorder described will be but of short duration. 
 
390 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 “ Be the government of China what it may, it cannot 
 be worse than that which seems likely to be now over- 
 thrown. The Mantchoo dynasty has shown itself ready, 
 whenever it dared, to persecute the Christian religion, 
 to restrict the trade of the empire, and to evade its en- 
 gagements with foreign nations. But the disposition 
 which has of late years been manifested by the Chinese 
 themselves to adopt a purer faith, to extend their com- 
 merce, and even to emigrate to Australia, California, and 
 the Mauritius, shows that the oppressive policy of the 
 government is by no means the same with the views and 
 interests of the people.” 
 
 It seems that the chief, Sew-tseuen, has been the en- 
 lightener of his followers in religious matters, even more 
 than their leader in war, and he has given a history of 
 his own acquaintance with the scriptural truths which he 
 now publishes under an imperial seal, in some Chinese 
 tracts which have been carefully read by Dr. Legge, at 
 Hong-kong, who has communicated the information to 
 the Bible and Missionary Societies in London. 
 
 Sew-tseuen was one of the literary candidates who 
 received from Leang-a-fah and his companions, in 1834, 
 u Scripture Lessons, or Good Words to admonish the 
 Age.” This was the first thing that aroused his mind. 
 In 1837, after receiving the truths taught in the tract, 
 he suffered from some disease , during which he thought he 
 •was taken up to heaven, and records that u his soul saw ” 
 many things which confirmed the new doctrines with 
 which his mind had been occupied. Probably, in the 
 delirium of fever, he confounded the ideal with the real, 
 and hence may have arisen the visions with which he is 
 supposed to have been favoured. It is a fact that a kind 
 of divine origin or mission is ascribed to him, vrhecher 
 actually, or merely in the language of “ the flower}^ land,” 
 is not ascertained. His other name, “ Tae-ping-wang,” 
 signifies “ the prince of peace.” He forbids, by an edict, 
 any application to himself of the words supreme or holy, 
 
THE RELIGIOUS MOVEMENT IN CHINA. 391 
 
 hitherto assumed by the emperors of China, which he 
 declines on the ground that they are due to God alone. 
 
 In 1844, he composed various works; and in 1846, 
 resided in Canton, with Mr. Roberts, an American Mis- 
 sionary, seeking for further instruction. Some obscurity 
 rests over his subsequent course ; but there soon followed 
 the organisation of the rebellion, some few years of fight- 
 ing in the west, and then a triumphant progress from 
 strength to strength, till Nankin fell before him on the 
 19th of March, 1853. 
 
 Such is the history of the rebel chief. Now, what are 
 the truths his followers have been taught to believe? 
 
 They announce a belief in One only, the living and 
 true God ; this they hold firmly, and with the earnestness 
 of a nation newly awakened from idolatry. They base 
 their belief of it on the teaching of the Old Testament, 
 and on the most ancient books and practice of China; — 
 for their own books testify that the most ancient Chinese 
 must have known the true God ; while they also admit, 
 that, so early as the twenty-sixth century before Christ, 
 the “impish devil drew men into his toils, and taught 
 them to worship other and evil spirits.” 
 
 In a letter from Shanghai, it is said that the rebels will 
 not tolerate idolatry, either Catholic or Pagan. Shortly 
 after they obtained Nankin, the Roman Catholics were, 
 on Good Friday, performing their usual services in one 
 of their chapels. The insurgents inquired, “ What is all 
 this about?” They replied, “We are worshipping the 
 Lord of heaven.” “ Whose images, then, are these upon 
 the wall? ” It was answered, “ The images of Christ and 
 the Virgin Mary.” They were then instantly destroyed. 
 These deeds of summary determination seem necessary, in 
 order to strike at the root of that vast system of idolatry 
 which has hitherto ruled in China. We are told of an 
 immense temple, in which 500 heathen priests were offi- 
 ciating at once. They were all in a standing posture, 
 making their vain repetitions, “ Ometo feh ! ometo feh ! ” 
 
392 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 This is customary three times a-day. In the centre of 
 this temple stood three enormous idols, and all around 
 were multitudes of other idols of various sizes, enshrined 
 in great magnificence and costly splendour. 
 
 With the idols, much other heathenish nonsense has 
 been swept away, — all the distinction of days into lucky 
 and unlucky with which the Chinese almanacs have hi- 
 therto been filled. “ These,” say the rebels, “ were artful 
 devices of the devil. We have now expunged them all. 
 Years, months, and days succeed one another according 
 to the appointment of our heavenly Father. They are 
 all lucky — all good. Let a man reverence, with a true 
 heart, the great God, and he may hope for success in his 
 undertakings, whensoever commenced.” 
 
 The sincerity of their belief in one God has led those 
 rebels to understand that all men, as the children of God, 
 are brethren. They speak of the world as a whole, and 
 say, “It is one family.” “There are many men under 
 heaven, but all are brothers : there are many women 
 under heaven, but all are sisters. Why should we in- 
 dulge the wish to devour and consume one another?” 
 
 This is the noble idea that will break down the great 
 wall of China, — 1500 miles long, and 2000 years old,* — 
 which is said to contain material sufficient to rear all the 
 dwelling-houses in England, Wales, and Scotland, and 
 whose very towers would erect a city as large as London. 
 
 “ One family,” — “ all brethren,” — these are new words 
 for the Chinese to use, who have hitherto called all 
 nations, “ the outside Barbarians”! All hail to our new 
 brothers ! who, in themselves, form one-third of the great 
 family. And what gift have we sent them as a token 
 of our acknowledgment of the relationship ? — a million 
 copies of the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour 
 Jesus Christ! 
 
 They are deeply in want of this precious gift. They do 
 
 * See 44 The Chinese ; a Book of the Day,” by the Rev. T. Phillips. 
 
THE DELEGATES’ VERSION FOR THE CHINESE. 393 
 
 not seem at present to possess the best translation of the 
 Scriptures. They do possess, it appears, the whole of the 
 Pentateuch and portions of the Gospels, according to the 
 translation of the late Dr. GutzlafF ; but they have not 
 fully studied the life of Jesus, or the Acts and Epistles of 
 the apostles. A most correct and intelligible translation 
 of the Scriptures into Chinese, called 44 The Delegates’ 
 Version,” has recently been completed by several honoured 
 missionaries resident in the country, after labouring upon 
 it almost day and night for six years. Within three weeks 
 after it was completed, news reached them of this in- 
 surrection in the interior of China; and they saw that 
 God had made an opening for his word without 
 delay. 
 
 Let us therefore give the people this corrected transla- 
 tion. Their errors must be dispersed by the reception of 
 the whole ivord of God; for much error mingles with 
 truth in their belief and practice. They have not re- 
 nounced polygamy; they still make offerings of animals, 
 tea, rite, etc., to God; and they have faith in present 
 visions and revelations. 44 Means must be taken,” say 
 the missionaries, 44 at whatever personal risk, to put then- 
 in possession of the entire Scriptures.” 
 
 Under this impression, and enabled to do so by the 
 willing offerings which are flowing in, as it would seem, 
 from all the Christian families of England, The British 
 and Foreign Bible Society have resolved to print for 
 China, besides the million Testaments, fifty thousand 
 entire Bibles; and again we may say, 44 What are these 
 among so many ? ” — one million of Testaments, and fifty 
 thousand Bibles, among three hundred and sixty millions 
 of people ! They will, however, soon reprint them for 
 themselves, as, by their simple method of printing, they 
 are enabled, without screw, lever, wheel, or wedge, to 
 throw off 3000 impressions of any page in a day. The 
 whole apparatus of a printer in China consists of his 
 gravers, blocks, and brushes. These he may shoulder 
 
394 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 and travel with, from place to place, purchasing paper 
 and lamp-black as he needs them ; and, borrowing a table 
 anywhere, print editions by the hundred or the score, as 
 he may be able to dispose of them. 
 
 There are generals in the rebel army, — men of Kwan- 
 tung and Kwang-se, — who, it would seem, are deeply 
 influenced by the belief that God is always with them. 
 
 “ The hardships they have suffered, and the dangers 
 they have incurred, are, as they assert, punishments and 
 trials of their heavenly Father, and the successes they 
 have achieved are instances of his grace. With the 
 glistening eyes of gratitude they point back to the fact, 
 that, at the beginning of their enterprise, some four years 
 ago, they numbered only 100 or 200, and that, except 
 for the direct help of their heavenly Father, they never 
 could have done what they have done. 6 It is said,’ they 
 continue, ‘that we use magical arts; but the only magic 
 we have used is prayer to God. When our numbers 
 reached from 2000 to 3000, and we were yet beset on 
 all hands by greater numbers, — when we had no powder 
 left, and our provisions were all gone, — our heavenly 
 Father showed us the way to escape. So we put our 
 wives and children in the midst, and not only forced 
 a passage, but completely beat our enemies. If it be 
 the will of God that our prince of peace shall be the 
 sovereign of China, he will be the sovereign of China ; 
 if not, then we will die here.’ 
 
 u The man who used this language of courageous fidelity 
 to the cause in every extreme, and of confidence in God, 
 was a shrivelled-up, elderly, little person, who made an 
 odd figure in his yellow-and-red hood ; but he could 
 think the thoughts and speak the speech of a hero.” 
 
 Dr. Legge thinks that the rebels cannot have had 
 much, if they have had any, teaching from Protestant 
 missionaries. These, however, have been at work in 
 China, though few in number, at the free ports. 
 
 The Chinese Repository recently stated, that only 150 
 
THE GREAT MISSIONARY. 
 
 395 
 
 missionaries have laboured in China since the arrival of 
 Dr. Morrison in 1807, of whom seventy-three are now in 
 the field, twenty-nine have died, and forty-eight have 
 returned in ill-health or discouraged at the difficulties of 
 her peculiar language. Of those who remain, twenty- 
 three are Englishmen, forty-four Americans, and six 
 Germans, — only seventy-three Protestant missionaries for 
 360,000,000 of people! — eleven at Hong-kong; ten at 
 Amoy; twelve atFunchau; seventeen atNingpo, includ- 
 ing Miss Aldersey, a Christian English lady, who has 
 devoted herself to the education of native females; and 
 twenty- three at Shanghai ; — no more . Yet this handful 
 of men may have done much to send up the country “ the 
 Missionary they found in China” conversant with its lan- 
 guage, and diligently engaged in instructing the heathen. 
 Let us hear what Mr. Abeel, an American missionary, 
 one of those who had been in China, said of this Mis- 
 sionary at the thirtieth anniversary of the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society: 
 
 “This Missionary,” said Mr. Abeel, “had made re- 
 peated voyages along the coast of China, from island to 
 island, and from province to province, and the ships 
 which bore him thither had often left him alone ; and 
 what did he do ? Alone and unaided, he entered town, 
 hamlet, and village, and found that almost every one 
 among these civilised heathens understood him. He pe- 
 netrated up to the capital, and it is said that he even 
 entered the palace. This Missionary afterwards did me 
 the honour to accompany me, and such another com- 
 panion I never expect to find. Where I could not go, 
 he went ; and what I could not do he did. He laboured 
 successfully among the millions who had no teacher, and 
 he instructed for weeks together even one of the principal 
 priests of the empire, the chaplain of the emperor. This 
 Missionary, with all his powers, became my servant, I 
 sent him on board some junks that were returning to 
 China, and there he sat, day by day, teaching the mari- 
 
396 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 ners, and reading with them ; and at the end of their 
 voyage he again went forth, as he had done before. 
 
 “ Are you desirous to know who this Missionary is f 
 I will first tell you who he is not . He is not a Church- 
 man ; he is not a Dissenter ; he is not a Calvinist, nor an 
 Arminian ; he is neither an Englishman nor an American ; 
 he appears to hate all sects, many of the most prominent 
 of which I never heard him deign to mention. This 
 Missionary is The Bible , the only Missionary upon whom 
 myself and my fellow-labourers depend for the conversion 
 of the world. He is gone forth into China, and into 
 all the vast kingdoms and islands of the East. I had the 
 honour at some of the outposts to visit the junks carrying 
 on the China trade, and to supply fifty of these junks with 
 that Missionary ; and so by one means or another he will 
 traverse the length and breadth of the empire.” 
 
 He has done so for twenty years since then ! China 
 has eighteen provinces, and embraces a space of five 
 millions and a half of square miles, with a population so 
 dense, that they are obliged to cultivate all but their 
 most sterile lands for food, to live in junks upon their 
 rivers, and even to terrace their mountains for agriculture, 
 and grow water-lilies upon all their lakes, of which they 
 eat the seeds and roots. Its population are educated ; 
 and they can furnish books to each other for a mere trifle. 
 The works of Confucius, written on 400 leaves, can be 
 purchased for ninepence. Every peasant and pedlar has 
 the common depositories of knowledge within his reach. 
 Throughout the empire they can read the same character, 
 even although they speak different dialects ; therefore, 
 when the pure morality of the gospel, with all the stu- 
 pendous facts of Scripture history shall be once fully 
 brought before the minds of this intelligent race, “a 
 nation may be born at once” into an inheritance of all 
 the privileges of the gospel (Isaiah 66. 8). 
 
 Those who are familiar with the most interesting 
 journals of the Bishop of Victoria, of Dr. Medhurst, and 
 
INDIA AND CHINA NOMINALLY DESTITUTE. 397 
 
 of Dr. Gutzlaflf, will readily call to mind the times in 
 which the good seed was sown , in many an hour of de- 
 pression,— by Dr. Morrison, the first translator of the 
 Chinese Scriptures in this -century, as he made use of 
 grant after grant from the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society, and felt and said it was “ but a drop in the 
 ocean,” — by his indefatigable son and successors, often 
 amid privation and persecution, still revising and re- 
 revising the first translation of the Book of God, and dis- 
 pensing it to many a glad and grateful heart. The Bible 
 Society has always afforded every facility to such mis- 
 sionary labour, and China will now make an irresistible 
 appeal to England and America, for efforts on a nobler 
 scale than any of which they have hitherto even dreamed. 
 
 India and China, alone, present to the eye of the Chris- 
 tian the destitute population of half a world. We have 
 been honoured to create the hunger for the bread and the 
 thirst for the water of life, and now we must supply it, 
 and teach them how to supply themselves. 
 
 Their present destitution, and their willingness to 
 receive the Scriptures, are great facts, and the English 
 mind always bends to the power of facts, and acts upon 
 them, preferring to draw its own inferences. The Bible 
 Society has never wanted funds, since the first hour of 
 its existence, to carry out its necessary designs, and we 
 believe it never will. It cannot accomplish the work 
 that now opens before it, on what has for some time con- 
 stituted its free income, — about fifty thousand pounds. 
 Happily its Jubilee offering has arrived at the noble sum 
 of one hundred thousand pounds, inclusive of the money 
 raised for the million Chinese Testaments, which is a 
 certain proof that the willing gifts of the people have 
 been poured into its treasury. God has sent a blessing 
 on the information dispersed, and it has awakened the 
 minds of many to the importance of united effort for the 
 distribution of his word. Yet, what, to Britain’s merchant 
 princes “ casting in of their abundance,” is the sum of 
 one hundred thousand pounds towards such an object ? 
 
393 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 knowing, as they do, that it is our Bible which gives ns 
 our lofty position among the nations of the earth, and 
 which carries civilisation with it wherever it goes ! 
 
 A quarter of a million of* money is said to have been 
 expended upon the dress of one image of the Virgin 
 Mary, in the city of Borne ! Boman Catholicism has sent 
 forth her earnest teachers of tradition, who are afraid to 
 print the Bible, and she has 44 converts by millions, in 
 China.” In 1830, their mission cost the sum of forty 
 thousand pounds. Mahomedanism (not by fire and sword, 
 but by the milder arts of proselytism) has, in China, shamed 
 the puny efforts of those who send forth the more holy 
 Book. We may, indeed, almost wonder at our Protes- 
 tant successes. 
 
 In 1835, Mr. George Borrow superintended the print- 
 ing of a version of the New Testament in Mantchoo, a 
 dialect much used in the north of China. Dr. Morrison, 
 when he heard of this translation, remarked, how wonder- 
 fully unconnected labours were now brought to bear upon 
 each other, and blend in their effects; and he trusted that 
 the Mantchoo Bible would be of great use in the northern 
 dominions of the Chinese empire. 
 
 The missionaries among the Buriat Mongols, also, after 
 ten years of labour, completed a translation of the Scrip- 
 tures into Mongolian; and Mr. Stallybrass says: 44 When 
 we regard China as about to be opened for the reception 
 of the glorious gospel, this version rises much in import- 
 ance. It is intelligible to all those who inhabit the vast 
 tract of country between Siberia and the Chinese- wall, as 
 well as to many of the Chinese themselves.” Mr. Knill 
 adds, concerning this version, 44 Our Siberian Mission is as 
 near to China as Wales is to England, the same idolatry 
 being practised on both sides of the frontier. Some of 
 the young natives engaged in this translation used to come 
 to Mr. Stallybrass, almost every evening, with their New 
 Testaments in their hands, asking him to explain certain 
 passages, and they had (like our own good King Alfred) 
 little text-books, which they carried in their bosoms, in 
 
THE BIBLE AMONG THE MONGOLS. 399 
 
 which they have written passages which have particularly 
 struck them.* It is delightful to mark how a beam of 
 sacred pleasure lights up their features, when some new 
 view of Divine truth breaks upon them, — some fresh point 
 from which they can contemplate the love of the Saviour. 
 Last Sabbath, at our usual Mongolian service, I requested 
 one of them to read the third chapter of John’s Gospel. 
 When he came to the words, 4 God so loved the world, 
 that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be- 
 lie veth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life/ 
 his voice faltered, and with difficulty he read a little far- 
 ther; but when he came to the words, 4 This is the con- 
 demnation, that light is come into the world, but men loved 
 darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil,’ 
 his feelings completely overcame him, and his voice was 
 drowned with sobs and tears. I finished the chapter,” 
 adds Mr. Knill, 44 and preached to the people.” 
 
 This translation was completed in 1841. 44 We wait,” 
 say the Parent committee, 44 only for the opened door ; 
 for we grieve to say that the mission has, by authority, 
 been broken up. The Old Testament has been printed, 
 the Hew revised, the sanction of the committee is given 
 for printing 3000 copies; but when the work will be un- 
 * dertaken still remains to be seen. The faithful convert 
 Shagdur continues active in the distribution of portions 
 of the Mongolian Scriptures. In 1840, Shagdur went out 
 to distribute copies of the Scriptures in the districts im- 
 mediately bordering on the Chinese frontier. In a few 
 days, the whole of his stock was disposed of. He says he 
 felt like a man who had gone out with a bushel of seed- 
 corn to sow a field of ten acres. The Mongolian Scrip- 
 tures find their way to many who understand the language 
 in the Chinese empire, and we have been repeatedly told , 
 that the boohs are ivell understood , are much sought after , 
 and ice hope not read in vain” f 
 
 * See page 114. 
 
 f Thirty-sixth Keport, page xi. 
 
400 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 In 1848, the committee, at the earnest recommendation 
 of Dr. Barth of Germany, granted the sum of 100Z. to 
 Dr. Gutzlaff, for the Chinese Union, composed of con- 
 verted natives, a considerable number of whom traverse 
 the interior parts of China, introducing the word of God 
 into those portions of the country to which no missionary 
 had access. 
 
 “ Wong-shao-yet, the colporteur, lately went to Hang- 
 chau. The people are very willing there, as at other 
 places, to hear and receive the word of God. He has the 
 utmost facility in circulating single portions of the Holy 
 Scriptures. It is evident that there is a wide and invit- 
 ing field for Christian labour in China ; and, though re- 
 strictions exist as to the admission of foreigners, native 
 assistants can freely distribute to the countless multitude 
 the words of life. There is positively nothing in the way 
 of the unlimited employment of such agency ; and we are 
 fully persuaded that by this means, in a great measure, 
 China is to be evangelised and converted to God. The 
 gratifying reports of This colporteur are confirmed by the 
 personal observation of the missionaries.” 
 
 The Report for 1849, page 132, also contains the names 
 of the places where these portions of Scripture have been 
 circulated; and among them are found the very districts 
 or provinces of Kwang-tung , and Keang-se , named as the 
 native places of the leaders in the present movement. 
 
 The Report for 1850 says, “ Dr. Gutzlaff received from 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society two additional 
 grants of 100Z. each, for the distribution of Chinese Tes- 
 taments, and also 200 copies of the Buriat, Mongol, and 
 Mantchoo Scriptures.” 
 
 In 1852, the committee, at Shanghai, were encouraged 
 by the Parent committee to print a small edition of por- 
 tions of the New Testament in Mantchoo and Chinese, in 
 parallel columns ; and for this purpose the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society’s fount of Mantchoo type has been 
 forwarded to China, Dr. Medhurst having written, “ We 
 
JAPAN. 
 
 401 
 
 think that Scriptures printed in this form would be use- 
 ful, as there are many Chinese and Tartars partially ac- 
 quainted with both languages, who would be very glad 
 to obtain books printed in this manner, when otherwise 
 they might not give attention to them.” 
 
 With these types were also forwarded 200 more copies 
 of the Mantchoo New Testament, with 100 Bibles and 
 200 Testaments in Mongolian. 
 
 These, then, are some of the avenues by which the 
 word of God has entered China. Perhaps some day the trea- 
 sure may be returned with interest to the Buriat Mongols 
 when there shall be a Chinese ’and Foreign Bible Society, 
 and when China has learned to evangelise, not to exter- 
 minate, the Tartars. 
 
 JAPAN. 
 
 It does not appear that there is yet any Bible for the 
 islands of Japan, which contain a population, it is said, 
 of nearly fifty millions of inhabitants. Japan is a dark 
 and unknown world. Jesuit missionaries from Portugal 
 settled there in the sixteenth century, and induced great 
 numbers of Japanese to embrace their form of Christi- 
 anity; but these having offended the government, a 
 persecution was commenced against them to the death. 
 This happened in the seventeenth century ; and ever since 
 then, the penalty of death has been denounced against all 
 who refused to prove that they were not Christians, by 
 trampling on a picture of the “Virgin and Child”; and 
 all foreigners were banished from the empire, except a 
 few Dutch merchants, who are still confined to an island 
 in the harbour of Nagasaki. 
 
 As they will, therefore, hold no intercourse with other 
 nations, it is impossible to translate the Bible for them. 
 The Bible Society has desired to do so, from the year 
 1816. In the Report for 1817, will be found a very in- 
 teresting letter from the Rev. J. Supper of Batavia, on 
 
402 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 this subject. This gentleman had made inquiries of 
 persons who had formerly resided in Japan, and who 
 declare “ that the people have no books ; that the officers 
 of government pay frequent visits to every house, and if 
 they discover even a small piece of paper which relates to 
 the Christian worship, but particularly to the cross of 
 Christ, the dwelling in which such a paper is found is 
 immediately razed and destroyed, and the inhabitants 
 condemned to death.” 
 
 In November, 1831, a coasting-junk of about 200 tons 
 burden, bound to Yedo, the capital of Japan, with a 
 cargo consisting partly of rice and partly of tribute to the 
 emperor, was driven by a storm into the Pacific Ocean. 
 The crew, entirely ignorant of their course, let the vessel 
 drift wherever the winds and waves would carry her, 
 and, after being tossed about for fourteen months, were 
 cast on shore near the Colombia river. During this long 
 period they had subsisted chiefly on rice and fish. Eleven 
 had died of scurvy, and the remaining three were nearly 
 helpless when they landed. The Indians of that region 
 plundered them of everything, and kept them captive for 
 several months. 
 
 At last their history became known to a benevolent 
 factor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, who sent them to 
 England. In London, many persons took an interest in 
 their welfare, and they were thence sent to China, and 
 committed to the care of the superintendent of the 
 British trade, with the hope that they might at last reach 
 home. They arrived at Macao in 1835, and resided with 
 Dr. Gutzlaff, who regarded it as a good opportunity to 
 acquire some knowledge of their language. That admir- 
 able missionary made use of the power thus attained to 
 prepare a translation of the Gospel of John, in Japanese, 
 in which he availed himself of the aid of the natives. 
 These three wanderers, named Twakitchi or Lucky Bock, 
 Kinkitchi or Lasting Happiness, and Otokitchi or Happy 
 Sound, with four other shipwrecked Japanese, were taken 
 
LOOCHOO ISLANDS. 
 
 403 
 
 back to Japan, accompanied by Dr. Gutzlaff, in tbe ship 
 “ Morrison,” but the vessel was fired upon, and they were 
 not allowed to have any communication with the shore. 
 
 In 1849, Dr. Gutzlaff* being in this country, the Bible 
 Society presented him with 40/. towards the printing of 
 portions of the New Testament in Japanese, being, as he 
 termed it, a pioneer translation * — a version that must still 
 be tested. It does not appear that any opportunity has 
 yet offered for its circulation ; but should China be evan- 
 gelised, we may hope, that, from its shores, the gospel 
 would spread to Japan. The Chinese characters were 
 formerly used in writing Japanese, and the written lan- 
 guage now consists of modified and contracted Chinese 
 characters* The two languages are, however, different 
 in their structure and their idiom. 
 
 THE LOOCHOO ISLANDS. 
 
 These islands are thirty-six in number, lying 300 miles 
 south of Japan, and 500 miles east of China. The largest 
 of them has been for seven years the seat of a Protestant 
 Episcopal mission, the origin and history of which are 
 certainly extremely interesting. Lieutenant Clifford, a 
 naval officer, visited this island in 1816, on the occasion 
 of Lord Amherst’s embassy to China. Being himself, 
 then, as he states, in “unbelief, he lost the opportunity of 
 making known the truth as it is in Jesus,” but when he 
 afterwards felt the power of Divine truth, he remembered 
 earnestly the condition of those poor islanders, and for 
 fifteen years sought the means of sending to them the 
 good tidings of the gospel. 
 
 At last, in 1845, there was established the Loochoo 
 Naval Mission. The missionary appointed was Dr. Bettel- 
 heim, a learned Jew, but also a devoted Christian; he 
 was master, already, of ten languages, and in nine months 
 
 * Prichard’s “Researches.” 
 
404 
 
 THE BOOK ANL> ITS STOKY. 
 
 acquired the Loochooan. He has since endured every 
 variety of difficulty and privation imposed upon him by 
 the government (which is all but Japanese in its restric- 
 tions), during the work of compiling a grammar and dic- 
 tionary of the language, and the translation of the two 
 Gospels of Luke and John, the book of the Acts, and the 
 Epistle to the Romans. 
 
 The philanthropic support of the English Government, 
 and the sympathising visit of* the Bishop of Victoria, 
 have helped to sustain him, in his most difficult position, 
 of which he, with his heroic wife, feels all the importance, 
 and of which he thus writes : 
 
 “ We stand here on the threshold of Japan, cheered 
 by the one hope of diffusing the gospel in Loochoo ; and 
 through Loochoo to Japan, — the last kingdom that stands 
 out in proud enmity to the Saviour, teeming with millions 
 of human beings, who are liars, gamblers, lazy-bodies, 
 full of deceit and ignorance beyond belief. Brethren, I 
 entreat you, in the name of an all-merciful Saviour, to 
 pity Japan ! Nothing has as yet been done for it, and it 
 requires speedy aid.” 
 
 We have little room for further details of the sufferings 
 of this missionary, or the martyrdom of one of his con- 
 verts, by confinement in constrained postures, by slow 
 starvation, by beating on the head, by squeezing of the 
 feet, performed, too, by his own father and mother! 
 “The dark places of the earth are full of cruelty,” but 
 the name of Jesus supports the true believer under every 
 trial, as it has done poor Satchi-hama, even unto death ; 
 and his history, with that of his teacher, may be one of 
 those which shall arouse Christendom to perform its duty 
 towards Japan and towards Loochoo. 
 
 The importance of the Loochooan translation of the 
 Scriptures will be seen from the declaration of the Bishop 
 of Victoria, that the Loochooan is a mere dialect of the 
 Japanese language, with many Chinese terms engrafted 
 upon it. Dr. Bettelheim states, that the labours of the 
 
AUSTRALIA. 
 
 405 
 
 brethren who have translated the word of God into Chi- 
 nese, are often of very great assistance to him. He has 
 preached to, and made himself understood by, Japanese 
 sailors visiting the island ; while, in his own words, “the 
 gold of California, and the Atlantic pouring through the 
 Darien canal into the Pacific, will cause an immense Eu- 
 ropean and American trade, via Loochoo and Japan, with 
 China, which makes these islands of great importance.* 
 The journal of Dr. B~ must stir every Christian heart to 
 sympathy. He is lodged by the Loochooan government in 
 an idol temple ; they insist on finding his food, which is 
 •often unwholesome and insufficient ; and they surround 
 his house with guards, which they continually change, 
 lest he should convert them. He has, however, many 
 secret converts, of whom Satchi-hama was one. "When 
 the people are permitted to listen to his teaching, and to 
 read the word of God which he is preparing for them, 
 “ the truth shall prevail” — even in Loochoo. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 JUBILEE REVIEW CONTINUED. CIRCULATION OF THE BIBLE IN 
 
 AUSTRALIA, BORNEO, TAHITI, RAROTONGA, MAN GAIA, NEW ZEA- 
 LAND, AND SOUTH AFRICA. THE BIBLE AMONG MAHOMEDANS, 
 
 IN ROMAN- CATHOLIC COUNTRIES, IN AUSTRIA, IN SPAIN AND 
 PORTUGAL, IN SWITZERLAND AND ITALY, AND IN FRANCE. 
 
 AUSTRALIA. 
 
 Australia is one of the fields of labour especially con- 
 templated by the Society in this its Jubilee Year. The 
 Auxiliary Society at Sydney was first established in the 
 
 * -For further information concerning the Loochoo Mission, see 
 its 7th Report, published at 48, Salisbury-square, Fleet-street, price 
 one shilling. 
 
406 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 year 1817, and is stated never to have been in more 
 flourishing circumstances than at the present time. The 
 sales of Bibles and Testaments during the past year had 
 increased threefold. The following account of its anni- 
 versary meeting has just been received: “ The interest 
 throughout was well sustained; and the brilliant address 
 of the Bev. John Beorly told upon the audience with 
 electric power. The instant effect was a cheque for 1 10/., 
 handed to him on the platform, to aid the funds of the 
 auxiliary; and during the evening the intense interest 
 which had been excited was so well sustained by the 
 Bev. W. Gill and the other speakers, as to induce the 
 grand result of 400Z. towards the maintenance of colpor- 
 teurs, etc. We have never had such a meeting! Dr. 
 Boss’s large church was crowded, and every one seemed 
 greatly pleased and interested.” 
 
 The Society at Adelaide reports that the emigrants to 
 this land of gold are in general well supplied with the 
 Bible, principally owing to the efforts of the Bible Society 
 at home, and the parting gifts of friends. There are 
 auxiliary societies, also, in comparatively active operation 
 at Melbourne, Geelong, Hobart Town, Launceston, and 
 other places. By the instrumentality of these auxiliaries, . 
 upwards of 20,000 copies of the Scriptures were put in 
 circulation last year, while considerable amounts have been 
 sent by them for the general objects of the Society. 
 
 MALAYSIA. — BORNEO. 
 
 Borneo and its Dajack population are receiving from 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society the Dajack New 
 Testament. The Bev. A. Hardeland says : “ The first 
 edition is almost exhausted, and so would some few 
 thousand copies more be, if we had them. When, some 
 thirteen years back, we, in the name of the Lord God, 
 first planted the banner of the Cross in this place, not one 
 single Dajack was able to read, and for several years no 
 
MALAYSIA. BORNEO. 
 
 407 
 
 one evinced the least desire to learn : their food was the 
 most disgusting reptiles ; and their only relief from abject 
 idleness was the excitement of hideous devil-festivals, 
 and a greedy desire to possess human skulls . Oh ! how 
 swift were the feet of the idle Dajacks to shed blood ! 
 But now many hundreds have learned to read fluently, 
 and are provided with New Testaments. There are three 
 mission-stations, besides Pulopetak, and at least 1000 
 scholars ; and the desire after books is very great. We 
 are obliged to refuse many applications ; the books are 
 well taken care of and diligently perused : usually the 
 receiver makes a wooden box to contain his treasure, and 
 in this box it accompanies him wherever he goes. When- 
 ever they paddle abroad in their and (a trunk of a tree 
 hollowed out) on the broad rivers, the little box is seldom 
 absent, and has besides a covering of leaves ; and if the 
 arut is overturned amid the waves, by a gust of wind, 
 the occupant seizes upon his little box, swims with it to 
 the shore, and jumps for joy when he finds the book is 
 uninjured.” 
 
 Whoever has read of the Dajacks of Borneo, and has 
 imagined the large houses in which they reside, by hun- 
 dreds together, whose ornaments are human heads dan- 
 gling from the ceiling, will rejoice to hear that in such 
 buildings multitudes now sometimes listen to the Scrip- 
 ture-reader, or some native Dajack, who reads aloud and 
 in a recitative tone of voice, which is their habit. By 
 this means the women hear the word of God : they have 
 not yet come either to school or to church, but they are 
 now accessible to instruction in their own houses. When 
 passing, in the evening, the banks of the rivers where the 
 villages are built, one hears in all directions the voice of 
 the reader resounding to the opposite bank. The Bible 
 will soon conquer the mania for human skulls, which these 
 savages have been accustomed to string round their waists 
 when dancing, putting food in their mouths, and the 
 betel-nut between their ghastly lips. 
 
408 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY, 
 
 POLYNESIA. TAHITI. 
 
 The volcanic and coral islands of Polynesia have a 
 history of their own, so interesting, that we dare not 
 enter upon it in detail, though it richly deserves to be 
 explored. 
 
 Missionary enterprise began in Tahiti, in 1796. For a 
 period of sixteen years there was no apparent fruit of 
 devoted labour, and the islands remained sunk in cruel 
 idolatry. Then came the change. Two servants had 
 united for prayer, and these in the absence of the mis- 
 sionaries multiplied into a body of praying people. From 
 that time success has followed, so that populous islands to 
 the distance of 2000 miles in circuit from Tahiti, in the 
 bosom of the Pacific, have been brought under the influ- 
 ence of Divine truth. In 1820, openings of the most 
 promising kind presented themselves for the distribution 
 of the word of God. We have already contemplated Mr. 
 Williams at work on his translation of the Scriptures. In 
 1820, an edition of 3000 copies of Luke’s Gospel was 
 printed in Tahitian ; 10,000 copies of the book of the Acts 
 and the other Gospels followed : those who were taught 
 in the schools instructed, in the cool evenings, the more 
 ignorant. In 1824, a further edition circulated in various 
 islands ; and all this while, and up to 1830, the New 
 Testament constituted their entire library. 
 
 In 1838, the Old Testament was completed and printed 
 under the superintendence of the Rev. H. Nott, who had 
 landed on the island forty years before, as a missionary, 
 from the “Duff.” These books were eagerly purchased, 
 at two dollars each ; and those who had no money hurried 
 away to sea with their nets, hoping that the proceeds of 
 their fishing would enable them to buy a copy. 
 
 In 1839, the martyr-blood of the missionary Williams 
 stained the soil of Erromanga, where he had intended to 
 plant the standard of the Cross. Then came the French 
 
POLYNESIA.— TAHITI. 
 
 409 
 
 protectorate and its Roman-Catholic power to disturb the 
 religious peace of the islands, and to test the influence 
 of the large circulation of the word of God, which had 
 taken place among them. Still, in 1841, the London 
 missionaries write : 44 It is most delightful to see the in- 
 superable thirst of this people for the Bible. They refuse 
 to take their necessary food, if denied the Book, while 
 those who obtain it will leap, kiss it for joy, press it to 
 their hearts, and say, 4 Now, my eyes will close at night : 
 now, I will try to get one for my son.’ ” 
 
 When the war broke out in 1844, owing to the French 
 aggression, and the people were obliged to take to the 
 mountains, many of them at first carried their Bibles to 
 the missionaries and said, 44 Keep these in safety, until we 
 have beaten our foes, and then we will ask for them 
 again.” But some time afterwards they returned, saying, 
 44 We are likely to be long absent from our dwellings ; 
 give us our Bibles again, for we want them in the moun- 
 tains” ; and though every effort has been used to seduce 
 them from the simplicity of their faith, their Bibles have 
 caused them to stand firm, and we hear of no perverts. 
 
 At the present time, the Parent Society is importuned 
 to print 10,000 copies of the New Testament for the 
 youth in the schools. It appears to be the design of the 
 French local government to force the missionaries from the 
 island, that popery may renew its efforts with redoubled 
 energy. Mr. Howe writes in the Report of 1853, 44 They 
 have managed at last to close our mouths in public in the 
 native tongue. The first link of the popish chain has 
 been riveted on the Tahitian nation, and ere long it will 
 be made to feel the whole weight of that chain.” The 
 entire facts of the case are, however, a powerful argument 
 m favour of the free circulation of the word of God. The 
 Romish priests have now been in Tahiti between thirteen 
 and fourteen years, and not one convert has been fairly 
 made to their system. 
 
 Some time since, several Christian natives of Tahiti 
 
410 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 called on one of the missionaries, and related to him a 
 conversation they had just had with the Boman-Catholic 
 priest. They said he had shown them a large tree, with 
 root, trunk, branches, and twigs, and explained to them 
 the meaning of it. At the root was a lamb, and that, said 
 the priest, meant the Saviour, the Lamb of God ; and the 
 tree, he said, represented the Eoman-Catholic Church; at 
 the bottom of the trunk, next above the root, was Peter, 
 the first Bishop of Eome, next to Jesus Christ. 
 
 “Yes!” said the Tahitians; “we have read about 
 Peter, we have got two letters of his, which we read in 
 our Testament : that was the man who denied his Master ; 
 but the Saviour looked on him, and that look melted his 
 heart, and the Saviour forgave him. But who are all 
 these,” said they, “rising upon the trunk of the tree, 
 above Peter ?” 
 
 “ Ah !” said the priest, “ they are the popes, the suc- 
 cessors of Peter.” 
 
 “Ah! we don’t know about them,” said the natives ; 
 “but, never mind, weve got the root! Now what are 
 the straight branches that go off from the trunk ? ” 
 
 “ They are the different orders of men in the church,” 
 said the priest ; “ monks and friars, and so forth.” 
 
 “We don’t know them, either,” said the people ; “but, 
 go on; we’ve got the root, so we can do without them. 
 But, pray what are these twigs dropping off at the end of 
 the branches ?” 
 
 “All! they are the heretics, falling quick into the 
 flames below.” 
 
 “ Indeed!” said the Tahitians ; “then whereabouts are 
 we?” 
 
 “ Ah!” said the priest, “you are there,” pointing up 
 to one corner; “there’s Luther, a decayed twig; he is 
 dropping off, you see, into the flames ; and that’s where 
 he is, and where you and your missionaries will all go, 
 for you are heretics.” 
 
 “Ah, well!” said the astonished Tahitians; “ such is 
 
RAROTONGA. 
 
 411 
 
 the picture, and such is the meaning you give us ; but, 
 however, we’ve got the root , and so we think we cannot 
 be very far wrong, and we mean to keep to that.” 
 
 “ I am the vine,” said the Saviour, “ye are the branches : 
 abide in me. He that abideth in me, and I in him, the 
 same bringeth forth much fruit. If a man abide not 
 in me, he is cast forth as a branch and is withered” 
 (John 15). 
 
 RAROTONGA. 
 
 In 1852, it was mentioned that 5000 copies of the 
 whole Bible, in the Rarotongan language, had been sent 
 off by the missionary ship, the “ John Williams.” The 
 missionary who had superintended its passing through the 
 press, in England, the Rev. A. Buzacott, returned with it. 
 The account of his voyage and of his reception has lately 
 been made public. He says, — 
 
 “ I cannot well describe the reception we met with, 
 when we arrived at our beloved island-home. As soon 
 as we approached the shore, a simultaneous rush was 
 made for the boat. The crew jumped out, and we soon 
 found ourselves, boat and all, upon the shoulders of the 
 people. Eight of us were thus borne away towards our 
 house, where they put us down. They crowded round 
 us,— the men shouting for joy, and the women weeping 
 for the same cause. They were very anxious to get pos- 
 session of the Bibles. On the appointed day, the case 
 being opened which contained them, we offered prayer 
 and thanksgiving, and gave them a short account of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society. The chiefs were 
 each of them presented with a copy in superior binding, 
 then those who had deposited purchase-money received 
 theirs. All were soon gone. To the students in the 
 college, the arrival is invaluable, as they never had the 
 complete Scriptures in their hands before.” 
 
412 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 MANGAIA. 
 
 The Rev. G. Gill says: “ We have received here 1340 
 copies, which had been long expected. Those who had 
 paid for them beforehand, said, 4 Perhaps Barakoti * is 
 dead ; the Society cannot finish it, and our hopes will be 
 disappointed.’ But when the vessel hove in sight, their 
 joy was unbounded. They dragged with delight the 
 heavy packages over the reef of coral, f for they knew 
 that the Bibles had come. It is their custom, when 
 engaged in drawing or carrying heavy burdens, to en- 
 courage one another by the voice of song. As they 
 brought the cases into the mission-house, they sang in 
 their own language — 
 
 “ 4 The word has come! One volume complete ! 
 
 Let us learn the good word ! Our joy is great ! 
 
 The whole word has come ; the whole word has come ! ’ 
 
 “ The day the Bibles were distributed, we received 10/. 
 for them, and before the week’s end, 40/. 
 
 “ At our usual missionary prayer-meeting, an old man, 
 whose remarks often cheer my own spirit, arose and ad- 
 dressed us from Job 5. 17 — 19. He said, 4 1 have often 
 spoken to you from a text out of other parts of the Bible 
 which we had, but this is the first time we have seen the 
 book of Job. It is a new book to us. When I received 
 my Bible,’ continued he, 4 1 never slept until I had 
 finished this new book of Job. I read it all. Oh ! what 
 joy I felt in reading his wonderful life ! Let us all read 
 the whole book. Let us go to the missionary by day 
 and by night, and inquire into the meaning of the new 
 
 * Mr. Buzacott. 
 
 j* Mr. Williams beautifully describes this reef in his “Missionary 
 Enterprises,” p. 24. It is a barrier which belts the island against 
 the long, rolling waves of the Pacific, within which the waters 
 flow, clear and transparent, over corals of every form and hue. 
 
MANGAIA. NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 413 
 
 parts which, we have not read. Let us be at his door 
 when he rises. Let us stop him when we meet him, that 
 he may tell us of these new books.’ And lifting up his 
 new Bible before the congregation, with the excited 
 energy of a feeble old man, he said, 4 My brethren and 
 sisters, this is my resolve : the dust shall never cover my 
 new Bible ; the moths shall never eat it ; the mildew 
 shall not rot it ; my light ! my joy ! 
 
 One more extract, and we must leave these lovely 
 coral isles. The Rev. A. W. Murray, from Samoa, one 
 of the Navigators’ isles, writes: “ The diffusion of Scrip- 
 ture light, always important, is especially so at the pre- 
 sent time, when the powers of darkness are pursuing 
 with such restless and wide-spread activity their efforts 
 to perpetuate their dreary reign. The Romish bishop of 
 Oceanica, as he is styled, has lately taken up his abode 
 in Samoa, and intends, it is reported, fixing his head- 
 quarters here for the future. The papists have not as 
 yet made much progress in Samoa, nor throughout Poly- 
 nesia, and it is probable they will not make very much. 
 We have got the start of them : the ground is pre-occu- 
 pied by an element more than all others destructive to 
 popery — light, light from heaven ! ” 
 
 From the Fee-jee islands, which are wholly occupied 
 by the Wesleyan missionaries, the reports are similar. A 
 grant of 5000 New Testaments in the Fee-jee language 
 has been made to them ; and the sacred Scriptures are 
 declared to be highly prized, while popery is there like- 
 wise seeking to pervert the poor heathen to its own 
 superstitions. It tries to persuade them that they cannot 
 understand the word of God when they read it. But 
 they do understand it, and prize it “ above rubies.” 
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 The missionaries of the Church Missionary Society are 
 pursuing the same work of evangelisation among the 
 
414 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 leafy glens and mountains, the lovely lakes and rocky 
 islets, of New Zealand, where for thirty-four years they 
 have perseveringly laboured and translated the Scrip- 
 tures: they have there 315 native catechists and teachers. 
 The Wesleyan missionaries have also laboured with great 
 diligence and considerable success in this distant field. 
 The New Zealander, even in his ignorance and dirt, used 
 to be called “ the prince of savages ” ; but now that he 
 has been civilised by Christianity, his race will probably 
 become the most powerful, as it is the most enterprising, 
 of all the aboriginal tribes of the South Seas. In 1852, 
 15,000 copies of the New Testament in the Maori lan- 
 guage were prepared by the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society for these natives, who call the book of Psalms, 
 “ the David.” Even the yet wild tribes among them 
 had respect to the Scriptures as the “ word of God,” 
 while they tore up the “Encyclopedia Britannica” for 
 cartridge-paper during the last war. In New Zealand, 
 also, the Roman- Catholic priests are equal in number to 
 the Protestant missionaries ; but the Bible among the 
 people proves to be their constant hindrance. When 
 they urge upon the New Zealander the elevation of the 
 host, the belief in purgatory, the adoration of the Virgin, 
 or the duty of confession to the priest, his simple answer 
 is, “ I do not find it in my Book.” Altogether 96,220 
 portions of the word of God have been diffused among a 
 population of 150,000 natives, amongst whom cannibalism 
 has now ceased. 
 
 To complete our survey of the heathen, we must turn 
 again to — 
 
 SOUTH AFRICA. 
 
 In 1821, the South African Auxiliary Bible Society 
 was formed ; and, through Dr. Philip, supplies of the 
 Scriptures were continually made to the different mis- 
 sionary stations. In 1801, not a Hottentot throughout 
 the Cape Colony would have been found able to read; 
 
SOUTH AFRICA. — THE BECHUANAS. 
 
 415 
 
 but now readers are found, and Bibles are desired, in 
 every village. In 1846, Mr. Bourne, one of tbe valuable 
 agents of tbe Society, visited the colony, with a supply 
 of 20,000 copies of Dutch and English Scriptures. His 
 travels in Africa extended to more than 3000 miles, and 
 to many who were destitute of the Scriptures, grants were 
 liberally made. The Bible is especially needed among 
 colonists, who, from their scattered position, have no 
 means of attending the public worship of God, for months 
 together. Since the return of Mr. Bourne, 20,000 more 
 copies have been forwarded, though the long and dis- 
 astrous CafFre war has thrown great impediments in the 
 way of their distribution. 
 
 The Bechuanas, whose number is calculated at some- 
 thing like 30,000 people, are spread over a large portion 
 of Southern and Central Africa. In this region the Rev. 
 Robert Moffat has laboured since 1817 : his version of the 
 New Testament was published by the Society in 1841. 
 It was received by the natives with eager gratitude : the 
 Old Testament is gradually completing. Mr. Moffat, in 
 the midst of his work, writes to congratulate the Bible 
 Society on its perseverance in 66 its noble enterprise of 
 giving the Book of books — God’s Book of life — to a sick 
 and dying world” ; and he says, after thirty-six years of 
 missionary experience, “ How little , how insignificant , are 
 all other enterprises compared with this!” He speaks of 
 the Bible as “ garnishing dens and caves of the earth with 
 heavenly delights, even unto this day” ; and he adds that 
 “ the Bechuana translation of the Old Testament would 
 progress at less tortoise speed, but for the claims of other 
 kinds of missionary labour, besides translation.” 
 
 And now, let us see what allusions are made in the 
 Report of 1853, as to the progress of the Bible among the 
 Mahomedans. 
 
416 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 MAHOMEDANS. 
 
 In 1853, from Karass, in Tartary, Mr. Galloway, a 
 Scottish missionary, writes: 44 The Mahomedans are pecu- 
 liarly prejudiced against the gospel of the grace of God; 
 yet it is encouraging to see, that the more they come in 
 contact with the word of truth, the more their prejudices 
 are weakened. We cannot speak of many conversions 
 among them, but they can now hear the Bible read or 
 quoted with some degree of patience. They do not 
 throw the Book out of their hands as they once did, or 
 cut out passages obnoxious to them, or burn it, as they 
 used to do.” 
 
 In the year 1844, from Penang, the Rev. T. Beighton 
 writes: 44 1 never saw such a spirit of inquiry excited 
 among the Mahomedans as at present. When the truth 
 of our Lord’s Divinity is established among them, their 
 delusion will receive a heavy blow. Now that the word 
 of God has been extensively made known in countries 
 where Mahomedans are mixed with the population, and 
 its sound is still going forth, they are often led calmly 
 to compare the lies of their prophet with the truth of 
 the gospel, and to strike the balance in favour of the 
 Divine Scriptures. 
 
 44 The population of Constantinople and its environs is 
 estimated at a million at least; the proportions are con- 
 sidered to be correctly given as follows: Turks, 520,000; 
 Greeks, 200,000; Armenians, 180,000; Jews, 70,000; 
 Europeans, 30,000. Amongst them a goodly number of 
 missionaries are labouring diligently and faithfully, — 
 eight from the American board, and six from England 
 and Scotland. These servants of our common Lord are 
 working together for the glory of God and the advance- 
 ment of the kingdom of Christ in the world, 4 esteeming 
 each other in love.’ They all distribute the Scriptures by 
 the aid of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and have 
 
AUSTRIA. 
 
 417 
 
 all adopted more or less the system of colportage. They 
 speak of an increased and increasing call for the word of 
 God.” 
 
 It would be easy to multiply individual instances of 
 renunciation of the Mahometan faith; but we have no 
 space for them. The friends of the Bible may rejoice in 
 its silent and gradual influence over followers of the false 
 prophet, and pass on with us to the reconsideration of 
 our third division, — the work which our Scriptures are 
 performing among the Roman and Greek Churches of 
 the world. 
 
 AUSTRIA. 
 
 There is no doubt that, in this country, the wide dis- 
 tribution of the word of God has excited a great reaction, 
 — a reaction of hostility, especially in the countries ruled 
 by despotic power. Despotism and popery clasp hands 
 and work together, and one is able to stir up the other to 
 shut out the Bible from its territories, even in the midst 
 of this nineteenth century. “ Light is come into the 
 world ; but men love darkness rather than light, because 
 their deeds are evil” ; and hence such scenes as are alluded 
 to in the Report for 1853, in the countries of Austria and 
 Hungary, when the government, demanding to have all 
 the Scriptures in the depots at Guns, Pesth, and Vienna, 
 sent out of the country , the decree was rigorously en- 
 forced. Two hundred and four bales and 125 cases, con- 
 taining 58,087 copies of Bibles and Testaments, either 
 bound or in sheets, were conveyed beyond the frontiers 
 of the Austrian territory, under the charge of a detach- 
 ment of gens d’armes. This took place amidst the un- 
 availing tears and sighs of tens of thousands of the 
 people, waiting for and anxious to possess the precious 
 volumes of which they were so mercilessly bereft. 
 
 In 1852, it was thus recorded of these countries: 
 
 “ Multitudes are now in possession of the Scriptures, 
 
418 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 who, only a short time since, scarcely knew that God 
 had spoken in times past unto the fathers by the pro- 
 phets, and in these last days unto us by His Son.” In 
 some parts, the desire for the word is described as a 
 “rage,” and a “famishing”; and the priests of Rome, 
 becoming aware of this, denounced the Books from the 
 pulpit. The government then insisted that they should 
 be withdrawn from the country. 
 
 Mr. Millard, the agent of the Society, now writes: 
 “We have at last left that fruitful and promising field of 
 labour, glad enough, as far as our persons are concerned, 
 to get out of the clutches of our foes ; but it is distressing 
 to think of the state of the people we have left behind. 
 What has been done is but a sprinkling, which has but 
 served to inform or remind the people that there is such 
 a thing as 4 living water ’ ; and had not the arm of force 
 interfered, and been tolerated by a Providence whose 
 ways are past finding out, the circulation of the Scrip- 
 tures would have increased far beyond our provision for 
 it. Whenever my thoughts return to that wretched 
 country, I cannot help again and again thanking God 
 for what has been effected before the interdict, and look- 
 ing back with gratitude on the number of 41,659 volumes 
 distributed since the 1st of October, 1850.” 
 
 SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 
 
 Spain and Portugal, we regret to state, are completely 
 barred against the Bible. A concordat has been con- 
 cluded between the courts of Spain and Rome; the power 
 of the priesthood is paramount; every book introduced 
 into the schools must receive their approval, and they do 
 not approve of the free use of the Bible. In 1828, 1829, 
 and 1830, there was some circulation of the Scriptures. 
 Messrs. Courtois, bankers of Toulouse,* introduced them 
 
 * Where, in 1229, the Bible was prohibited. See page 127. 
 
SPAIN AND PORTUGAL. 
 
 419 
 
 into those countries by means of soldiers and pedlars 
 passing through Toulouse. In 1835, when the cholera 
 drove many of the higher classes of Spaniards to Toulouse 
 and the towns of the south of France, these same Chris- 
 tian friends introduced the Bible, wherever possible, to 
 their notice; and in 1836, by colporteurs in the Pyrenees, 
 and by visits to Spanish prisoners, they persevered in their 
 efforts. Two other friends who visited Madrid were 
 favoured with some measure of influence and success; so 
 that, in 1837, at Barcelona, 1600 Spanish Testaments 
 were sold; and in one instance the simple perusal of the 
 Scriptures was the means of imparting the knowledge of 
 salvation. In 1838, notwithstanding all the confusion 
 and misery that reigned in the country, the Holy Scrip- 
 tures gained a silent entrance, and were openly bought 
 and sold in several of the principal towns. Between 5000 
 
 and 6000 copies were disposed of. From B , the 
 
 gentleman to whom the Society intrusted the work thus 
 wrote: “ The expressions of gratitude for the Books are 
 innumerable. It is said, ‘ The words and the history of 
 the crucified Saviour and of his followers are most in- 
 teresting to us. We were altogether ignorant of such a 
 Book, and it delights us.’ The higher orders kept aloof, 
 and but few came for a copy; but workmen, — masons, 
 shoemakers, carpenters, tailors, — streamed almost in a 
 continued file to purchase the good Book.” 
 
 From Y , he writes: “ In six days I sold here 
 
 400 copies. How often do I wish I had wings, that I 
 might be able to avail myself of the extraordinary dis- 
 position of the people to purchase the blessed Book!” 
 
 In an ancient Moorish city, the same gentleman dis- 
 posed of 369 copies: many were sold to the priests. As 
 he walked along the streets of the towns where the Bible 
 had been thus distributed, he could perceive shopkeepers 
 and others reading their copies. Sometimes he entered 
 into conversation with them which ended in tears roll- 
 ing down their cheeks. 
 
420 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Another ardent and enterprising friend of the Society, 
 haying carried through the press at Madrid an edition of 
 5000 copies of the New Testament, spent five months of 
 the year 1838 in travelling through the provinces, to 
 bring the Books into circulation. He then returned to 
 Madrid, and opened a room for the sale of the Scriptures, 
 which, after a short time, was closed by the authorities. 
 While it remained open, many were sold. He also 
 printed at Madrid a translation of the Gospel of Luke, 
 in the Gitano or Gipsey language, for the benefit of this 
 interesting, singular, but degraded race of people, who 
 are very numerous in some parts of Spain. 
 
 In 1839, the door seems to have closed, and this un- 
 happy country has added to its other calamities, and its 
 responsibility, the almost total suppression of the efforts 
 to circulate within its borders the precious word of God ; 
 not, however, before 16,000 copies of the Scriptures had 
 been scattered through its plains and valleys, during a 
 space of five years. 
 
 SWITZERLAND AND NORTH ITALY. 
 
 In 1845, Lieutenant Graydon, who had rendered such 
 essential service in Spain, continued his labours in 
 Switzerland. His baggage-van was fitted up after his 
 own model, and so conveniently arranged, that he could 
 with ease turn it into a regular book-stall. He presented 
 himself at large fairs and markets, and extraordinary 
 success attended his operations. At Berne, in four days, 
 he sold 1200 copies; at Lausanne, 1667 copies: 25,694 
 copies were purchased in the course of three years, and 
 very many of them by Roman Catholics. They were 
 dispersed in five languages, and 4000 of them were sold 
 in the Hotel Gibbon, which is built on the very ground 
 so often paced by the celebrated author of the “ Decline 
 and Fall of the Roman Empire,” — one who used his 
 great talents to undermine the faith of thousands in the 
 
NORTH ITALY. FRANCE. 
 
 421 
 
 truth of rev elation, and sought to trace to Christianity, 
 as a source, every evil that has disfigured the world since 
 its introduction. 
 
 T " ~ ^ n 1 ’ 1 >pots in Switzerland, Lieut. 
 
 revolution there. It was with difficulty he could secure 
 a corner in the newspaper for the announcement of his 
 peaceful mission. The authorities, however, did not in- 
 terfere, and the people received him with courtesy. The 
 result of the two visits he paid to the north of Italy was 
 the sale of 12,000 copies. 
 
 In Tuscany, when the archduke was restored, in 
 1849, and the Church of Rome resumed its former as- 
 cendancy, one of the earliest acts of the government was 
 to seize and lock up the edition of Martini’s Testament, 
 just issued at Florence, stop the presses, carry off* the 
 type and paper, subject the printers to a civil process, 
 and banish Capt. Pakenham, who had superintended the 
 work, at a few days’ notice. From the time that the pope 
 returned from his exile, every impediment has been thrown 
 in the way of the Bible Society in Lombardy, Tuscany, 
 and the Papal States. The imprisonment of the Madiai 
 and many others, the search for the Scriptures in private 
 houses, the forcible attempt to check the expression of 
 opinion, and the mandates of excommunication against 
 those who shall enter a Protestant place of worship, or 
 abet a society in circulating the Scriptures, all indicate 
 that Rome is her old self. The Book condemns her, and 
 she tries to hide it. We cannot but rejoice in the fact 
 that more than 87,000 copies have been distributed in 
 various ways, even in Italy, and that the desire for the 
 sacred volume is increasing continually. 
 
 Of France, so much has been said in former chapters, 
 that but little remains to be added. The British and 
 
 Turin at the time of the 
 
 FRANCE. 
 
422 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Foreign Bible Society looks upon her with the deepest 
 interest, places her always first in its Reports, and watches 
 with increasing anxiety over her zealous band of colpor- 
 teurs. 
 
 On the table of the committee-room in Earl-street, 
 now stands a vase of artificial flowers, composed of small 
 coloured beads. You would be surprised to hear of such 
 an ornament in such a place ; but that vase has a history. 
 It is a Jubilee token from France, and has very recently 
 arrived. The donors, who wish to remain unknown, are 
 French soldiers, belonging to various regiments which 
 successively have formed the garrison of a certain town. 
 This “ bouquet of gratitude,” as it is called, has been 
 prepared, during many evenings of several winters, by 
 skilful hands, in successive regiments, while listening to 
 the reading of the Scriptures and religious books ; and 
 when finished, the makers were very desirous of presenting 
 it as an offering to the British and Foreign Bible Society, 
 in token of their lively gratitude for its having placed 
 within their reach the word of God, to which they have 
 had grace given them to surrender their hearts. 
 
 The Society’s agent, Monsieur de P., has issued from 
 the depot in Paris, from April 1833 to January 1853, no 
 fewer than 2,271,709 copies of the Scriptures! This is 
 the work of about twenty years. 
 
 The whole issues since the depot was established are 
 3,002,359 copies, more than three-fourths of which have 
 been placed in the hands of Soman Catholics; and a 
 million and a half of these have been circulated by col- 
 porteurs. The prayers of the Huguenots are in a great 
 measure answered. There is not a single department in 
 France (and indeed very few of the parishes in those 
 departments), which has not been visited by these humble 
 and devoted agents. The remotest corners of her country- 
 districts have now heard of the Bible, and know that the 
 Book contains the words of God. In many places “ Uncle 
 Tom” has heralded it, and the colporteurs have been 
 
PROTESTANT CHURCH AT ALENCON. 
 
 423 
 
 asked, “ Is it Uncle Tom's Bible It must be observed, 
 that the work which the Bible has to do in France is of 
 two kinds, — that among Roman-Catholics, and that in the 
 ancient Protestant Church of France, in which great re- 
 vivals are now taking place. Its members are increasingly 
 numerous. They are now as many as they were before 
 the persecution at the revocation of the edict of Nantes. 
 When left without pastors and teachers, the remnant, who 
 could not flee, lapsed by degrees into deep ignorance, their 
 Protestantism becoming in many cases merely nominal, 
 but the Lord has not forgotten the seed of the Huguenots ! 
 England has as yet done comparatively little for them; 
 but she only needs to know of their position to do more. 
 
 Extensive religious movements have taken place in some 
 provinces. “ A Protestant church has just been formed 
 at Alen<jon, the rise of which is owing to the distribution 
 of the sacred Scriptures effected by a colporteur. On 
 Sunday, the 24th of September, 1853, the first service 
 was held, in presence of 400 persons. The prayers, 
 the solemn reading of the Bible, the sermon, and the 
 well-executed singing of several hymns, produced a deep 
 and powerful impression on the whole of the audience. 
 
 V Amongst these new disciples of the gospel, about 
 twenty were pointed out, who, in the most boisterous 
 weather, had come a distance of nearly seven leagues, in 
 order to be present at a ceremony which, for them, was 
 no mere outward form. Seventeen of these worthy pea- 
 sants had come in carts, having for several days previously 
 saved, sous by sous, from their necessary expenditure , the 
 trifling sum which they required for the journey. We 
 were truly and deeply humbled at witnessing this proof 
 of zeal and love for the things of God. As for these good 
 people themselves, they thought nothing of the matter: 
 6 We so greatly love the Bible,’ said they, ‘that, to hear 
 it spoken about, we would willingly go much farther 
 still.’ 
 
 “ At three o’clock in the afternoon there was another 
 
424 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 service held for the purpose of baptizing two infants, 
 brought by two families belonging to the new members 
 of the Alencon flock ; after that, the Lord’s Supper was 
 partaken of by the Christian friends who had come from 
 a distance, by Mr. Audebez and his large family, as 
 well as, to our great joy, by ten converts — by ten new 
 Christians, and who had become such since they had re- 
 ceived the Bible from the hands of your colporteur. 
 
 “ Some of these colporteurs experience much difficulty 
 and persecution, not at head quarters , but from sub-offi- 
 cials, who hinder the work as far as they can. Their 
 enmity, however, has a contrary effect to that which they 
 intend ; and the more the circulation of the Scriptures is 
 opposed, the more frequently do we find individuals 
 looking out for the colporteurs, in order to purchase 
 copies; declaring that the prohibition of all the bishops, 
 and archbishops, and even the Pope himself, shall not 
 prevent them from procuring, reading, and studying the 
 gospel of Jesus Christ. Some of these are so poor that 
 they have to club together to purchase a Bible, and even 
 a New Testament, and sometimes to go without a great 
 portion of their food for the day to procure it. 
 
 “ Who will venture, after such a fact, to utter a doubt 
 as to the positive and blessed results of the work of Bible 
 colportage ? 
 
 “ This, then, is the moment, the fitting moment, to 
 spread over the country, in increased numbers, the dis- 
 tributors of the sacred Scriptures ; this is the moment to 
 pray, with renewed fervour, that God may graciously 
 accompany their efforts with his abundant blessing.” 
 
 BELGIUM. 
 
 It is in the Report for 1837 that special notice is first 
 taken of the successful labours and unwearied zeal of 
 Mr. W. P. Tiddy, the Society’s agent in Belgium, who, 
 with the colporteurs under his control, sold in little more 
 than the space of one year 8420 volumes of Scripture, the 
 
BELGIUM. 
 
 425 
 
 greater part being Testaments, which, however, he says, 
 induce afterwards the desire for Bibles. These were sold 
 in the French, English, Flemish, German, Dutch, Portu- 
 guese, Polish, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Swedish, Danish, 
 and Hebrew languages, and .showed an amazing increase 
 of demand for the Scriptures through the steady employ- 
 ment of the system of colportage. The agents went 
 through all the towns, left them for a few months, and 
 then commenced again. We know not where to select 
 from Mr. Tiddy ’s Keports for Belgium, any more than 
 from Monsieur de P.’s for France; for they w r ould form 
 altogether volumes of unspeakable interest, and would 
 now comprise a series of facts extending over many years. 
 We must give two or three. 
 
 From Dour, Mr. Tiddy writes: “ I know not how to 
 describe to you the delightful prospect before us in this 
 neighbourhood, or the wonderful effects of the distribution 
 of the sacred Scriptures here. Walking one day with 
 M. de Yisme, he exclaimed, 4 It is the Bible that fills my 
 church ; it is the Bible that brings the people to hear the 
 preached gospel; it is the Bible that brings the people to 
 me to ask about their souls. I never hear anything of 
 them , till they have somewhere read the Bible? This de- 
 partment has been well visited for years past, and still the 
 Books find a ready sale.” 
 
 We ought to have noticed in the account of the So- 
 ciety’s library, a Bible presented by Mr. Tiddy, — a Bible 
 which ten or twelve persons in Dour had subscribed for 
 together, and which had been purchased in Holland, 
 where it cost thirty-two francs. It is an edition of Oster- 
 vald, and the contrast in the present price of a Bible is a 
 strong proof of the advantages of Bible Societies. 
 
 Some one Bible in a village, thus procured at great 
 cost, once excited the rage of some priests; for it was 
 known to them that such existed ; but they could never 
 find it, though many a search was made for it. The 
 persons to whom it belonged used to hide it away by day, 
 
426 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 and by night go into the woods with it, and there hang a 
 lantern up to a tree, and read it. 
 
 At other times they would agree to meet in some old 
 burrow, or other secret place, for the same purpose. They 
 sang also the Psalms of David to song-tunes, to deceive 
 those who might overhear them. One day when the men 
 were absent at their work, and the women gone to the 
 next market-town, a general search was made, — for the 
 priests were always on the watch to see when the house 
 which contained it was left without any one but the child 
 or some young person. They made a regular search, but, 
 like all others up to that moment, in vain, and the priests 
 and police turned to go to their houses ; but on their way 
 back, one of the policemen said, “ I am sure, if we go 
 back to such a house (naming it), we shall find the Bible. 
 I observed that in that house the child was in the cradle ; 
 and, whether it was asleep or awake, the girl sitting by it 
 continually rocked it.” 
 
 Arrived at the house, they went direct to the cradle, 
 took up the child, turned out the bed, and found the 
 Bible. The little girl who watched it was only ten years 
 old, and she burst into tears; but they rejoiced over their 
 success, and walked away in triumph. 
 
 The poor villagers wept when they came home in the 
 evening, and said they would rather have heard that their 
 houses had been burnt to the ground than that their 
 Bible should have been taken from them. They tried to 
 get it again, but that was impossible. Alas! for the 
 poor solitary Bible, and blessings on the era of Bible 
 Societies ! 
 
 In the year 1838, the work, of circulating the Scrip- 
 tures in Belgium still further assumed an unlooked-for 
 extent and importance. The committee could only ex- 
 claim: “ This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in 
 our eyes!” The issue of 8420 volumes in a year had 
 now increased to 20,548 volumes, 17,000 of which had 
 been circulated by the brave colporteurs, persevering in 
 
COLPORTAGrE IN BELGIUM. 
 
 427 
 
 their peaceful, self-denying labours, though in the midst 
 of reproaches, insults, and threatenings. Their books have 
 often been stolen, forced away, torn, and burnt before their 
 eyes; but “through evil report and through good report” 
 they have held on their way, sometimes owing their per- 
 sonal safety to the interference of the civil powers, and 
 at other times to military authority. 
 
 They have had to contend with the potent opposition 
 of all the patriarchs, primates, archbishops, and bishops 
 of the Koman- Catholic Church, who were thus addressed, 
 by Pope Leo -XI I. , true to the principles of his ancient 
 system, in his encyclical letter of 1824, given at Rome in 
 the first year of his pontificate : 
 
 “You are aware, venerable brethren, that a certain 
 society, called the Bible Society, strolls with effrontery 
 through the world; which Society, contemning the tradi- 
 tions of the holy fathers, and contrary to the well-knowm 
 decree of the council of Trent, labours with all its might, 
 and by every means, to translate, or rather to pervert, 
 the Holy Scriptures into the vulgar language of every 
 nation ; from which proceeding it is greatly to be feared 
 that, by a perverse interpretation, the gospel of Christ 
 may be turned into a human gospel; or, what is worse, 
 the gospel of the devil. To avert this plague, our prede- 
 cessors published many ordinances, and proofs collected 
 from the Holy Scriptures and tradition, to show how 
 noxious this most wicked novelty is to faith and morals. 
 
 “We exhort you, therefore, by all means to turn away 
 your flocks from these poisonous pastures, being per- 
 suaded that if the Scriptures be everywhere indiscrimi- 
 nately published, more evil than advantage will arise on 
 account of the rashness of men,” etc. 
 
 On such documents, the Bible Society “ refrain from 
 making any comment. They will rather indulge in silent 
 grief, that the simple object of the Society should be so 
 misunderstood and misrepresented, and that there should 
 be found men who, from whatever motives, think it right 
 
428 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 to interpose between God's own word and the creatures to 
 whom it is given' 1 
 
 During 1839, Mr. Tiddy employed seven colporteurs, 
 who frequently visited with good effect the same places 
 two or three times; and it is inspiring to read his com- 
 munications given in the Monthly Extracts. We have cer- 
 tainly much to rejoice over, when we think that there are 
 upwards of 50,000 copies of the sacred Scriptures abroad 
 in this land. They must bear fruit ; “ and the time will 
 come, when these 50,000 talents will bring in other 
 50,000 talents, and for Bibles we shall have souls.” 
 
 Mr. Tiddy mentions, that a celebrated Jesuit preacher 
 insisted very much on “ our having stolen the Bible from 
 the Roman-Catholic Church; that we have no claim to 
 it, that we have lost all right to it ; and that Luther stole 
 it out of the convent.’’ “I was sorry I could not tell him 
 that we wished to follow or even out-do Zaccheus, the 
 chief among the publicans, who offered to restore fourfold 
 what he had taken, and that we wished to restore the 
 Bible to them a hundred-thousandfold.” 
 
 In the year 1844, Mr. Joseph John Gurney, a devoted 
 member of the Bible Society, and one of the Society of 
 Friends, who is now no more, had been travelling in 
 France, Germany, Prussia, and Belgium; and, observing 
 the state of men’s minds with regard to the Bible, he 
 thought they might be divided into three great classes : 
 first, a powerful, insidious, and learned class, endeavour- 
 ing with all their might to destroy the foundations of 
 Christianity, many of them professors of universities, 
 turning all the miracles of the New Testament into mere 
 natural circumstances, speaking even of the Divinity of 
 Christ as a sort of ornament, and poisoning the minds of 
 tens of thousands of ingenuous youth by their dangerous 
 suggestions, 66 taking away from the things that are writ- 
 ten in the Book”; a second class he beheld, yet larger 
 and more powerful, but distinguished by ignorance rather 
 than learning, adding gross and childish superstitions, 
 
PROTESTANTISM ON THE CONTINENT. 429 
 
 such ceremonies as crowning the statues of the Virgin 
 Mary, and other gilded rubbish, “ to the things that were 
 written in the Book,” and desirous to abridge the religious 
 liberty of a third class, whom he found a little party, a 
 small but increasing proportion, including all classes, from 
 some of the royal families down to the peasantry, showing 
 themselves on the side of simple Christian truth, adopting 
 the Book of revelation as their guide, and using all their 
 influence widely to distribute it. Mr. Gurney avowed his 
 conviction that this third party is growing stronger and 
 stronger on the continent, and that the circulation of De 
 Sacy’s version is daily increasing it. He bears testimony 
 to Monsieur de P.’s unwearied zeal, in having distributed 
 140,000 copies during the previous year. He says, “ There 
 is a spiritual life arising in France at this time, which all 
 the efforts of all the popes and cardinals in Christendom 
 will' not be able to put down. In Belgium, the agent of 
 the Bible Society is quietly distributing a thousand copies 
 of the Scriptures every month. It is all in preparation 
 for the vast struggle coming on between the powers of 
 light and darkness ; and the Scriptures,” continues Mr. 
 Gurney, “ are being read, as well as distributed, and many 
 are determined to abide by them, come what may !” 
 
 Ten years have passed since then, and the same process 
 has been going on between the same parties. Mr. Tiddy 
 has been at work for eighteen years in Belgium ; and he 
 still says of the Bibles and Testaments circulated by his 
 colporteurs there (now nearly 200,000 volumes), u What 
 are these amongst so many?” 
 
 In Cologne also, and the Rhenish provinces, he has, 
 since the year 1847, circulated 273,503 copies, and he 
 still believes that “ for these Bibles we shall have souls.” 
 
430 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE OLD FOUNTAIN RESTORED IN ASSYRIA. — THE NESTORIAN 
 
 CHURCH. AMERICAN MISSIONS. — MR. LAYARD’s TESTIMONY. 
 
 THE ARMENIAN, THE COPTIC, THE ABYSSINIAN, AND THE W AT, - 
 DENSIAN CHURCHES. THE JEWS. JERUSALEM. NAZARETH. 
 
 Our fourth division is again the work of the Bible 
 Society, as reviewed (very briefly) from this Jubilee 
 Year among the Jews and ancient Christian Churches. 
 There is certainly no department of its labours so worthy 
 of being singled out and noticed. 
 
 Mr. Layard, in his very interesting researches among 
 the rock-sculptures at Bavian,* discovered remains and 
 foundations in well-hewn stone buried under the mud of 
 the river Gomel. He also on removing the earth found 
 a series of basins cut in the rock, and descending in steps 
 to the stream. The water had been originally led from 
 one to the other through conduits, which of course were 
 choked up; but he and his Arabs cleared them, and by 
 pouring water into the upper basin restored the fountain 
 as it had been in the time of the Assyrians. This is just 
 what the Bible Society is doing with the u water of life.” 
 It has cleared the old conduits, and the refreshing stream 
 through its means is once more fertilising the ancient 
 churches. 
 
 We have noticed the return of the light of truth to 
 our long-unhappy Ireland, and by the very means that 
 Mr. Charles of Bala recommended, — the Scriptures in 
 her native tongue, — “ once the tongue of literature and 
 science.” 
 
 * See “Discoveries at Nineveh and Babylon,” p. 215 . 
 
THE NESTORIAN CHURCH. 
 
 431 
 
 The revisitation of the ancient missions of the Nesto- 
 rians in China, has also been treated of under the head of 
 “ Heathen Countries.” We must now look upon — 
 
 THE NESTORIAN CHURCH 
 
 in its native seats, by the help of some interesting de- 
 tails from American missionaries, who have laboured 
 among them since the year 1834, and also through the 
 means of some information from Mr. Layard. The Rev. 
 D. Stoddard says : 
 
 44 In the north of Persia, at the base of lofty mountains 
 whose snows glitter in the sun, is a plain of great extent 
 and uncommon beauty. This is the province of Oroo- 
 miah, the home of the Nestorian Christians. Let the 
 reader stand with me on the flat-terraced roof of our 
 mission-house on mount Seir. We are 1000 feet above 
 the plain, which lies stretched before us in all its beauty, 
 forty miles in length, girt about with rugged mountains, 
 dotted with hundreds of villages, verdant with foliage, 
 and rejoicing in its thousand fields of golden grain. Be- 
 yond the plain is the lake of Oroomiah, studded with 
 islands. Mounds of ashes, with a scanty soil on them, 
 conspicuous in different parts of the plain, have been 
 supposed to be the places where the sacred fire was ever 
 kept burning, and where the Parsee priests bowed in 
 adoration to the rising sun. 
 
 44 The Nestorians are a people interesting from their 
 language, — the Syriac, — closely akin to the Hebrew, and 
 spoken many centuries before the birth of Christ, — a 
 language nearly identical with what was commonly used 
 in Palestine in the days of our Saviour, and the medium 
 through which he conversed with his disciples, and in- 
 structed the people ; and it was in this same language, 
 that, in his dying agony, he cried with a loud voice, say- 
 ing, 4 Eloi! Eloi! lama sabachthani ? ’ 4 My God! my 
 
 God! why hast thou forsaken me?’ 
 
432 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 44 The power of Mahomet hunted down the Nestorians 
 like defenceless sheep, in the midst of their missionary 
 enterprises. Presented with the dreadful alternative of 
 4 the Koran or the sword/ they melted away at last like 
 the snows of spring; and for centuries they have been 
 sunk in ignorance and superstition. The modern remnant 
 of this ancient and venerable church consists of about 
 100,000 souls, nearly half of them residing in the plains 
 of Oroomiah, and the rest scattered over the wild and 
 rugged ranges of the Kurdish Mountains, — the districts 
 of Tekhoma and Tiyari. 
 
 44 They are a good-looking people, not having the 
 peculiar physiognomy of the Jews, from whom, however, 
 some consider them descended, — inquisitive, and unwea- 
 ried in acquiring knowledge. 4 We thank you/ 4 We 
 thank you/ is uttered by many voices, after any religious 
 teaching. In the midst of the deep corruption of their 
 church, they have been kept far nearer the Bible standard 
 than the Roman-Catholic, Greek, or Armenian Churches. 
 I never met with a Nestorian who denied the supreme 
 authority of God’s word. Image and picture worship 
 they hold in abhorrence, also auricular confession and 
 priestly absolution. They have no mass or worship of 
 the host. They do not refuse the cup to any communi- 
 cant. They reject the doctrines of baptismal regeneration, 
 of penance, and of purgatory, as unscriptural and wrong; 
 and they are extremely liberal in their feelings towards 
 all those with whom they are 4 one in Christ J esus.’ They 
 have always welcomed the American Brethren, and 
 granted their churches to us for the preaching of the 
 gospel. Mr. S., one of our number, was ordained by us, 
 in an old Nestorian church. Their own organisation is 
 episcopal; yet bishops, priests, and deacons, all stood by, 
 and witnessed this ceremony with evident gratification. It 
 must be added, that, during our long residence here, we 
 have laboured with the sole object of spreading Bible- 
 truth, and bringing the people back to a humble, holy 
 
TRANSLATIONS FOR THE NESTORIANS. 433 
 
 life, and have studiously avoided any mere sectarian 
 efforts. 
 
 “ Dr. Perkins, the pioneer of our mission, found this 
 ancient church prostrate in the dust. The people were 
 grossly ignorant. They had no schools, and not half-a- 
 dozen readers in a whole village. All their books were 
 in manuscript, and of course scarce, and sold at a high 
 price. Stealing was prevalent, — lying inwrought into 
 all their habits. They used to say, 6 We all lie, here. 
 Do you think our business would prosper and we not lie?’ 
 Wine circulated like water; and, with many features of 
 orthodoxy, religion was a thing of form and outside show. 
 Now there are seventy village-schools, and two semi- 
 naries for training up young men and women to go forth 
 and repair the wastes of many generations. The sacred 
 fire is kindled once more upon their venerable altars* 
 The Holy Scriptures are now happily completed in both 
 the ancient and modern language of the Nestorians. The 
 contents of their own rare, ancient, Syriac manuscripts 
 have been returned to them in a printed form. Their 
 own clergy have aided us in the translation of separate 
 portions ; and I shall never forget their emotion when we 
 had first translated the Lord’s Prayer. The Nestorian 
 ecclesiastics who were with me, were interested and de- 
 lighted above measure at the first sight of their language 
 in a written form. They would read a line, and then 
 laugh audibly with satisfaction. We copied many por- 
 tions, on cards, of the British and Foreign Bible Society’s 
 editions of the Scriptures in the ancient language, till the 
 arrival of our press in 1840. 
 
 “ This was an event of great interest and joy. As 1 
 carried the proof-sheet of our first small book, composed 
 of portions of the Scriptures, into my study for correction, 
 and laid it upon the table before my translators, they were 
 struck with mute astonishment and rapture to see their 
 language in print; and as soon as their recovery from 
 surprise allowed them utterance, 1 It is time to give glory 
 
 29 
 
434 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 to God ! ’ was their mutual exclamation, 4 now that we 
 behold the commencement of printing books for our 
 people.’ ” 
 
 The entire Old Testament was published in 1842, in 
 ancient and modern Syriac, in parallel columns, by the 
 American Bible Society. It forms a large quarto volume 
 of more than 1000 pages. 
 
 Dr. Perkins continues : 44 The influence of the Holy 
 Scriptures on the pupils in our schools and training col- 
 leges, and on the scores and hundreds of adult Nestorians 
 who are learning to read in our Sabbath-schools, and at 
 their humble homes, and through all these readers on the 
 mass of the people, is incalculable. 
 
 44 Here, also, efforts have been made, by papal emissa- 
 ries, to pervert the people ; and they offer the most serious 
 obstacles we have to encounter in our missionary labours. 
 They denounce the Holy Scriptures as 4 corrupt English 
 books ,’ and forbid their converts to read them.” 
 
 French papists at Mosul, and at Elkoosh (the venerable 
 home of the prophet Nahum), have made many converts 
 among the simple people, who but too readily yield to 
 their influence. 
 
 In Mr. Layard’s account of his recent tour, we have a 
 vivid sketch of the Nestorian tribes, who are entrenched 
 among the mountains of Assyria. 
 
 Soon after they had been put in possession of 2000 
 copies of the four Gospels, by the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society, in 1830, the Divine seed sprang up, and 
 bore fruit to the glory of God. The American mission- 
 aries say of these tribes : 44 Many of the people appear 
 like persons awakened from a deep sleep, and are in- 
 quiring, 4 How is it that we have been kept so long in 
 ignorance and self-delusion?’ To which inquiry their 
 priests reply, 4 We ourselves have till now been dead in 
 trespasses and sins, and our sin is greater than yours for 
 having hidden the light from you so long.’ ” 
 
THE NESTORIAN CHURCH. 
 
 435 
 
 We owe to Mr. Layard many details of this early 
 church, interesting as connected with what is said of 
 them in the Eeports of the Bible Society. He has made 
 two visits to their villages in the Tiyari mountains, while 
 taking refuge from the heats of the summer during his 
 labours at Kimroud. He often found the people gone up 
 to their zomas or summer pastures. These are little 
 rocky nooks, high on the mountains, where they build 
 temporary huts of loose stones with black goat-hair can- 
 vas, stretched over them, pitched at the foot of snowy 
 precipices, — yet, strange to say, on a carpet of Alpine 
 flowers. He followed them to their zomas. Though 
 poor and needy, they are hospitable, and brought their 
 best to the traveller. He says there is an earnest reli- 
 gious feeling peculiar to them as a people. 
 
 There are now very few learned priests left among 
 them ; yet at the time of the Arab invasion they were 
 the chief depositaries of the learning of the East. They 
 translated the works of Greek philosophers into their own 
 language, and re-translated them into Arabic. There 
 exist among them the remains of very old churches, 
 which have all small entrances, in order that their ty- 
 rants, the Turks, may not lodge horses and beasts of 
 burden within their doors. Mr. Layard sometimes found 
 a book of prayer, or the Scriptures in manuscript, lying 
 on the rude altar ; but frequently the greatest part of the 
 leaves would be wanting, and those which remained were 
 torn into shreds, or disfigured by damp and mould ; for 
 they were compelled to hide in the mountains the manu- 
 scripts of the churches, or to bury them in some obscure 
 place, at the time of the massacre — the dreadful massacre 
 of these poor people — which took place in 1843, when 
 Beder Kan Bey, with his cruel Kurds, invaded the 
 Tiyari districts, and murdered in cold blood nearly 10,000 
 of their inhabitants, carrying away their women and 
 children as slaves. These captives were afterwards re- 
 leased through the influence of the British embassy in 
 
436 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Turkey. Mr. Layard actually came in contact, near 
 Lizan, with ocular evidences of this terrible slaughter. 
 Skulls, heaps of blanched bones, and even skeletons of all 
 ages, still hung to the dwarf shrubs growing on the pre- 
 cipitous steeps down which they had been hurled. Some 
 of these Nestorians were employed as diggers in the 
 mounds at Nineveh ; and Mr. L. relates that several of 
 the priests or deacons were among the workmen, who, on 
 the Sabbath, repeated prayers, or led a hymn or chant. 
 
 He adds : “I often watched these poor creatures, as 
 they reverently knelt, their heads uncovered, under the 
 great bulls, celebrating the praises of Him whose temples 
 the worshippers of those frowning idols had destroyed, and 
 whose power they had mocked. It was the triumph of 
 truth over paganism. Never had that triumph been more 
 forcibly illustrated than by those who now bowed down 
 in the crumbling halls of the Assyrian kings.” 
 
 Mr. Layard visited, in the district of Jelu, the church 
 which is said to be the oldest in the Nestorian mountains, 
 “ the only one that had escaped the ravages of the Kurds, 
 and still contains the ancient furniture and ornaments. 
 The church was so thickly hung with relics of the most 
 singular and motley description, that the ceiling was com- 
 pletely concealed by them. Amongst the objects which 
 first attracted my attention were numerous China bowls, 
 and jars of elegant form and richly-coloured, but black 
 with the dust of ages. They were suspended, like the 
 other relics, from the roof. J was assured that they had 
 been there from time out of mind, and had been brought 
 from the distant empire of Cathay, by those early mission- 
 aries of the Chaldean Church, who bore the tidings of the 
 gospel to the shores of the Yellow Sea. If* such were 
 really the case, some of them might date so far back as 
 the sixth or seventh centuries, when the Nestorian Church 
 flourished in China, and its missions were spread over the 
 whole of Central Asia.” 
 
 How exceedingly interesting is this independent testi- 
 
THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 45j 
 
 mony of Mr. Layard, as viewed in connection with the 
 news recently received from China ! He appears to have 
 given excellent counsel to Mar Shamoun, the unfortunate 
 and troubled patriarch of the church : “ I could not dis- 
 guise from him, that, in education and the free circula- 
 tion of the Scriptures, there could alone be found any 
 hope for his people.” And thus among the Tiyari 
 mountains exists the remnant of the Syro-Chaldaic or 
 Nestorian Church, which once had the u living water,” 
 in its ancient translation of the Scriptures, and dispensed 
 it widely to the heathen. But in course of time these 
 copies became exceedingly rare. Mr. Wolff, the mis- 
 sionary, in his travels in Persia, purchased some of them, 
 which safely reached England, though they were twice 
 in peril by shipwreck. They came into the possession of 
 the Bible Society, who discovered this translation to be 
 the same as the Syriac (but written in Chaldee cha- 
 racter), and, by means of its learned editor, T. P. Platt, 
 Esq., supplied from the Syriac its missing portions. The 
 sacred Books were sent back in a printed form, and the 
 Society might have said with Mr. Layard, “ The con- 
 duits were choked up, but we cleared them , and restored 
 the fountain pure as it had flowed in the times of the 
 early Nestorians.” 
 
 THE ARMENIAN CHURCH. 
 
 The Armenians, as we have seen, are a far-scattered 
 people — the travelling merchants of the world. Their 
 number has been estimated at from two to three millions : 
 and the first attempt to give them the Scriptures in their 
 vulgar tongue was made by the British and F oreign Bible 
 Society. In 1837, a fount of Armenian type was for- 
 warded to the American missionaries at Smyrna, and a 
 revised edition of the New Testament was carried care- 
 fully and slowly through the press. In 1842, 5000 copies 
 were issued, and they came immediately into great de- 
 
438 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 mand ; indeed, the version of Scripture in this language 
 has received the manifest blessing of God in a degree 
 almost unprecedented. The following is the account 
 given by missionaries on the spot: “ There are great en- 
 couragements to aid the Bible circulation in Turkey. 
 There is probably net a city in that country to which the 
 Scriptures in modern languages have not been carried ; 
 and we might mention twenty towns where Armenians 
 are found who daily search them, for the purpose of 
 guiding their lives according to their supreme teachings. 
 In some of these places, this holy volume, owing to the 
 fact of its being in the modern language, is looked upon as 
 afresh message from heaven; and in such towns especial 
 assemblies are held on the Sabbath for studying the 
 Scriptures, and this occurs also in towns where no foreign 
 missionary has ever been. It is the work of the Bible 
 alone. Among the Armenians, the Bible in the ancient 
 language has always been a prominent and central object 
 on the altar in the church, and is daily offered to the 
 people, after prayers, to be kissed. This may have 
 tended, perhaps, to their reverence for its teachings in 
 the tongue which they understand. 
 
 “ The reading of the Scriptures amongst the Armenians 
 has cured many of their scepticism. They have become 
 convinced, that, whatever failures they might see in pro- 
 fessors of Christianity around them, here, in the Book, is 
 pure, living truth ! One individual, a banker among the 
 Armenians^ said, 4 Our nation owes to those who have 
 been the means of acquainting us with the word of God 
 in an intelligible language, a vast debt of gratitude : they 
 have saved not only me but many others from infidelity ; 
 for we have found that Christianity has deeper founda- 
 tions than we had supposed, and that there is in the word 
 of God something upon which to anchor our faith.’ 
 
 “ A young man came to purchase some copies of the 
 Scriptures in Armenian, and said, 1 1 have received a 
 letter from my native city, requesting me to send them 
 
ARMENIAN CHRISTIANS IN TURKEY. 439 
 
 some money for building a church ; but as I am more 
 desirous to build up a church of living stones than any 
 other, I shall send home my contribution in the form of 
 the printed word of God.’ ” 
 
 With the revival of truth, came also suffering to this 
 church. In the former part of the year 1846, persecu- 
 tion of the “ gospel-readers,” as they were called, was 
 very common in Turkey. Three men in a village near 
 Nicomedia were scourged, one of them almost to death, 
 in the presence of the whole village. Nine men of Ada 
 Bazar were imprisoned for the same crime. At Trebi- 
 zond, the gospel-readers were hunted like wild beasts in 
 the city and on the mountains. One went into exile, 
 by order of the pasha ; one was brought to Constantinople, 
 and chained in a dungeon by his neck and feet, for a 
 fortnight, till he was released through the interposition 
 of the British ambassador, who is always ready for every 
 office of humanity. 
 
 In 1847, Mr. Barker writes : “ Those Armenians who 
 read the Bible are now called Protestants, and have been 
 sadly persecuted, at Erzeroom, by the Armenian bishop. 
 He applied to the sultan, and the unexpected result has 
 happily been a special order to see that none were 
 molested on account of religious opinions. This has so 
 encouraged the Protestant Armenians in Turkey, who 
 have now become numerous, that, in a village near the 
 town of Nicomedia, a congregation of Protestant Arme- 
 nians has sprung up, adopting the Scriptures alone as 
 their rule of faith. No missionary has ever been among 
 them but the Missionary of missiqnaries — the Bible. 
 Sometimes they have been attacked with stones, which 
 they calmly took up, and went and deposited at the 
 governor’s feet, demanding protection and redress.” 
 
 Similar accounts are given from Aleppo, of a church 
 of 200 evangelical Christians, formerly Armenians, and 
 solemnly excommunicated by the Armenian patriarch, 
 but to no purpose, for more are daily added to their 
 
440 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 numbers. No missionary has ever been amongst these. 
 It is a reformation arising from the reading of the Scrip- 
 tures alone. “ Many years ago,” says Mr. Barker, “ I 
 forwarded a good many Armenian Testaments in this 
 direction, and as far as Arab-keer. They were read with 
 avidity in these wild districts, where the people are now 
 earnestly requesting a missionary.” 
 
 In 1848, the Reports are equally interesting, and -a 
 reprint of the Armenian Testament with marginal re- 
 ferences was requested : thirty, forty, and fifty people 
 were assembling together every evening for religious in- 
 struction, — a most extraordinary change in the strong- 
 holds of Mahomedanism. In 1850, there was an earnest 
 request for a pocket-edition of the same precious Book, 
 from those who wished to have the word of God con- 
 stantly about them, that they might be able in conversa- 
 tion with others to appeal at once “ to the law and to 
 the testimony.” 
 
 In 1851, the promotion of many fresh Protestant 
 churches was announced at Aintab, Diarbekir, Mosul, 
 Cesarea, etc. In all these places, colporteurs employed 
 by the missionaries circulated the word of God. One of 
 these colporteurs says that he stopped one Saturday 
 night, a mile distant from the village of Hesemek, in a 
 meadow on a river’s bank. Before noon, on Sunday, it 
 was noised that he was there ; and forty men came out to 
 see him, and a large party of them kept him till midnight 
 reading and explaining to them the word of God in their 
 modern language. They seemed to receive the word 
 gladly; and, like hungry souls, they made him give up 
 all the Books he had, and promise to bring them a further 
 supply- . , 
 
 The introduction of the Scriptures in all directions in 
 Turkey, — in Constantinople, Smyrna, Rodosto, Nicome- 
 dia, Adrianople, Trebizond, Erzeroom, etc., — has been 
 greatly assisted by the firman of his imperial majesty the 
 sultan, confirming and enlarging the protection given to 
 
NICOMEDXA AND ADA BAZAR. 
 
 441 
 
 all his Protestant subjects, and securing to them the full 
 and free exercise of their religion. 
 
 The fact is, that every year’s .Report of the increasing 
 influence of the word of God, again restored to this 
 ancient church, is more gratifying than the preceding. 
 In 1852, the Rev. Isaac Lowndes, the Society’s agent for 
 Malta and Greece, writes : “I accompanied Dr. Dwight, 
 one of the American missionaries, to Nicomedia, where 
 we spent the Sabbath, and also to Ada Bazar. 
 
 “ Nicomedia is situated on the coast of the Sea of 
 Marmora, fifty miles east of Constantinople. It was 
 formerly the capital of Bithynia, and the residence of 
 the Emperor Constantine and some of his successors, 
 during a part of the year. Here Pliny resided, and from 
 hence wrote to Trajan for advice as to the best measures 
 for preventing the further spread of Christianity. Here 
 began the last and worst of the pagan persecutions by 
 the cruel edict of Dioclesian. The number of the inhabi- 
 tants in the town is now declared to be about 35,000. 
 
 “I visited some remains of antiquity, supposed to be 
 the ruins of an ancient Christian church, and some ex- 
 cavations recently made prove it at least to have been 
 the site of a large edifice, perhaps that into which first 
 entered the prefect of the praetorian band, — to burn, to 
 overthrow, and to destroy* In this vei'y place , where the 
 persecution commenced by which Dioclesian said he had 
 6 blotted out Christianity from the earth,’ is now a church 
 of 4 living stones’ (150 persons making a creditable pro- 
 fession of religion), and but one of many similar churches 
 to be continually multiplied, till the 4 knowledge of the 
 Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.’ 
 
 “ Ada Bazar is fifty miles still farther east. The two 
 small Christian communities here and at Nicomedia, 
 manifest much of a missionary spirit, and already have 
 sent out colporteurs partly at their own expense, besides 
 
 * See page 92 
 
442 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 contributing to the support of their own pastors. They 
 are a poor people, but their deep poverty thus abounds 
 in liberality. 
 
 “ There are twenty-one Armenian Protestant churches 
 in Asia. The one at Aintab has a congregation of 800 
 persons, and they worship in an enormous tent. There 
 are more than 100 villages and cities, where it is evident 
 that the gospel has begun to take effect.” 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Benjamin, American missionary at Con- 
 stantinople, writes, on the 22nd of February, 1853, to the 
 committee of the Biitish and Foreign Bible Society, “ as 
 a member of a mission which is indebted to that Society 
 and for valuable editions of the Divine word, which with- 
 out it would never have seen the light:” “ We may truly 
 say, it has been a right arm to our mission . May it go 
 forward till its Jubilee shall enlist the sympathy and 
 praise of every living soul upon the earth ! 
 
 “ Sometimes the wonder-working providence of God 
 conveys the copies furnished by the Society to places 
 hitherto unapproached by the missionary and even by the 
 colporteur. Certain wandering Kurds, * who roam over 
 the north of Syria, had possessed themselves of a quantity 
 of Armenian Scriptures, and finding them of no use to 
 themselves, distributed them among the Armenian popu- 
 lation in the neighbourhood of their own encampment, by 
 whom they were joyfully received. 
 
 46 We think you may safely assure the friends of the 
 Bible in Great Britain, that, since the period when the 
 reign of apostasy first extended over this fair land, no 
 year has witnessed so much actual Christian progress 
 effected as in the last year. One fact of general notoriety 
 and of great importance is, that the circulation of the 
 Lord of God among the Armenians has already put an 
 
 * The Kurds are the descendants of the ancient Parthians. The 
 Yezidis, who fear to utter the name of Satan, are a tribe of Kurds. 
 The Kurds in general profess Mahomedanism, but a great number 
 of them have joined the Nestorian Christians. 
 
THE AMERICAN MISSIONARIES. 
 
 443 
 
 effectual stop to the influence of the Bomanists among the 
 people.” 
 
 And now that Britain is brought into strange alliance 
 with Mahomedanism, and because she keeps faith in 
 treaties, is making war to defend the oppressed, now is 
 the time that British Christians should be roused to 
 strengthen the hands and encourage the hearts of those 
 good soldiers of Jesus Christ, who are “valiant for the 
 truth” in Turkey. A most interesting union of those who 
 love the Lord Jesus, somewhat similar to that formed in 
 the Bible Society, has recently been formed to encourage 
 missions in Turkey, between members of our separate 
 existing societies, the Church Missionary, the London 
 Missionary, the Wesleyan, and the Baptist Missionary 
 Societies, not so much to extend their own individual 
 work, as to help the American missionaries, to whom the 
 revivals in these corrupt Eastern churches have been 
 mainly owing, to prosecute theirs. 
 
 The American missionaries have all the necessary ap- 
 paratus at work, of native pastors, evangelists, colpor- 
 teurs, and schools, which only need to be aided by in- 
 creased funds. Students are preparing for this mission 
 at Andover and New York, and ten pounds per annum, 
 would support a student at the Bebek mission seminary, 
 who would find a wide and almost untrodden field of 
 labour in the khans or lodging-places at Constantinople, 
 some of which have 1000 occupants in the season, — 
 merchants always migrating into the interior.* 
 
 The wonderful revivals, so far as missionaries are con- 
 cerned, have chiefly been accomplished by thirteen mis- 
 sionaries, six native preachers, and thirty native helpers. 
 There are stations imploring fifty more foreign teachers, 
 and one hundred native helpers. The Holy Spirit, 
 following the circulation of the word, is moving again 
 
 * See “ Openings for the Gospel in Turkey,” by Cuthbert 
 Young. 
 
444 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 over the regions cultivated by the apostles themselves, 
 and mentioned in the book of their Acts. 
 
 We had delightful tidings from Turkey, dated the 13th 
 of June, 1853, a day when the first public meeting was 
 held in Constantinople to commemorate the labours of 
 evangelical Christendom for the conversion of the earth. 
 
 44 This meeting,” says Mr. Dwight, 44 was a Jubilee 
 meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Society, the ho- 
 noured parent of all other Bible Societies. It was held 
 in the large saloon of the Hotel d’Angleterre, and there 
 must have been present at least 200 persons. The present 
 British ambassador, Lord Stratford de Bedcliffe, took the 
 chair, and addressed the residents of the place, and also a 
 few Christian travellers from England and America who 
 happened to be present. He alluded to the time of the 
 institution of the Parent Society ; that it was when Napo- 
 leon was near the zenith of his day, and England was at 
 war with almost every nation of Europe, that the friends 
 of the Bible first conceived the thought of sending that 
 one Book throughout all the world. Pie said he was re- 
 minded of the ancient heathen fable of a golden chain 
 suspending the earth from the throne of Jupiter. This 
 fable had become realized under the Christian system, 
 for the Bible was the golden chain that bound us to the 
 throne of God. His lordship warmly commended the 
 zeal and discretion which had characterised the efforts of 
 the American, German, and English missionaries, who 
 had all acted in beautiful harmony in carrying forward 
 this work.” 
 
 An association was then formed in connection with the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society, to assist in the work 
 of distributing the word of God in Turkey. 
 
 Who shall tell the effect of this new movement on the 
 Armenians, in all the countries in which they are scat- 
 tered, and on the Turks out of Europe, as well as on 
 Mahomedans who are not Turks? The Asiatic peninsula 
 is the chief stronghold of Islam, and from this centre may 
 
* THE COPTIC CHURCH. 
 
 445 
 
 yet radiate, towards Turkey in Asia, the light of a purer 
 faith. 
 
 You may not have thought of the fact, that it is ge- 
 nerally a manuscript Koran which contests with a printed 
 Bible. Societies have never been formed for printing 
 and distributing the Koran of Mahomet, or the Vedas 
 and Shastras of the Hindus. The Mahomedan copies the 
 Koran for himself, and frequently commits it to memory, 
 as the Brahmins of India do their sacred books. The 
 false lights shall die out ; they are not fitted for the human 
 race ; but the light of eternal truth must penetrate all 
 the dark places of the earth, and be rekindled in lan- 
 guage after language, till He come whose right it is to 
 reign, and till all “ the kingdoms of the world shall be- 
 come the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ.” 
 
 THE COPTIC CHURCH. 
 
 The only language known to have derived its origin 
 from the Ancient Egyptian is the Coptic, the second 
 language in which the inscription on the Rosetta stone 
 is written. 
 
 This origin has invested the Coptic with peculiar in- 
 terest in the eyes of the learned. It is called “ a venerable 
 language,” and in it the liturgy of the Coptic Church 
 is still publicly read; but it is not understood by the 
 majority of the Copts, who mostly speak Arabic. 
 
 The Copts themselves scarcely form a fourteenth part 
 of the motley population dwelling on the soil of their an- 
 cestors. Sometimes they are persecuted, sometimes they 
 turn Mahomedans, and they are not now supposed to 
 be in number more than 150,000. They have a pa- 
 triarch or supreme head, who is also the head of the 
 Abyssinian Church. In 1829, an edition of 2000 of the 
 Coptic Gospels, printed in parallel columns with the 
 Arabic version, was published by the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society. The text had been prepared by the 
 
446 
 
 THE BOOK AXD ITS STORY.- 
 
 Coptic patriarch, at the instance of Mr. Jowett. “No 
 complete edition of the Coptic Old Testament has yet 
 been published, for several of the books are missing. Jt 
 is however probable, that they are not actually lost, and 
 that they may yet be found in some of the cloisters of 
 Egypt” 
 
 In 1832, the Sev. Mr. Lieder, a missionary connected 
 with the Church Missionary Society, furnished the fol- 
 lowing details respecting Egypt : — 
 
 “ During our six years’ stay in Egypt, all parts of it 
 have several times been visited by us, and we have circu- 
 lated the Holy Scriptures in Arabic, Turkish, Greek, Ar- 
 menian, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Hebrew, and 
 Coptic. We have endeavoured also to introduce the 
 word of God, or part of it, into the schools of this na- 
 tion, where hundreds of children now begin to read the 
 word of life. 
 
 “ Though we have not yet met with real conversions 
 among the natives, we know that the Holy Scriptures are 
 read in many houses, and that some think more seriously 
 about the salvation of their souls, and are anxious to lay 
 aside those sinful customs which are very general in Egypt, 
 as, for instance, swearing, lying, and hypocrisy, so strongly 
 condemned by holy writ. 
 
 “ There are still great numbers in Egypt who are not 
 provided with the Divine word. Some of them cannot 
 read it on account of the smallness of the type, others are 
 ignorant of the value of this great treasure, and many 
 cannot obtain it for want of money. In regard to the 
 small type in whicn the Arabic Scriptures have hitherto 
 been printed, I remark, that many of the people are un- 
 able to read them, partly from an incapacity to distin- 
 guish the letters from each other, and partly from a fear 
 of losing their present impaired sight. Europeans cannot 
 imagine how much the Egyptians suffer from weak eyes, 
 or how many have lost their sight entirely from oph- 
 thalmia. It would therefore be a most necessary and 
 
CAIKO. — ABYSSINIA. 
 
 447 
 
 noble work, were the British and Foreign Bible Society 
 to furnish the Egyptians, and the Arabs in general, with 
 the Holy Scriptures printed in large types.” 
 
 The committee complied with this suggestion, and 
 ordered 5000 Arabic Testaments and Psalms in larger 
 type, forthwith. An edition of 2014 copies of the Coptic 
 Psalter, printed in parallel columns with the Arabic 
 version, has likewise been issued by the Bible Society. 
 
 The Rev. W. Kruse, a missionary in Egypt, writes 
 from Cairo : “ The Coptic patriarch becomes more and 
 more friendly towards us, and often sends monks to us to 
 receive the Holy Scriptures. One of these, whose serene, 
 sincere look, confirmed the truth of the words he uttered 
 when receiving the Bible, said, ‘ A greater treasure than 
 this I do not look for on earth ; for whoever lives accord- 
 ing to its contents, is safe and happy for ever.’ These 
 monks are always being changed in the convent of the 
 patriarchs. They come from all the convents in Egypt 
 alternately, at various appointed times, to Cairo, stay for 
 some time here, and then return to their convents, while 
 others take their places.” Thus the Scriptures will pene- 
 trate into all parts of Egypt. The issues for this country, 
 since 1820, have reached 6000 copies. More, many more 
 copies, and “ a man like Luther,” as one among them- 
 selves has said, are needed to reform this church, 
 
 ABYSSINIA. 
 
 The Amharic Testament having been carried through 
 the press in 1829, the entire Bible was completed from 
 M. Asselin’s translation in 1842. The copies printed have 
 been 7000, besides more than 4000 portions of Scripture 
 in Ethiqpic. There is little known at present of the re- 
 sults of distribution, either in the Abyssinian or Coptic 
 Churches ; but the following details are interesting, fur- 
 nished by the missionaries before the whole Scriptures 
 reached them. They found it very difficult to do any- 
 
448 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 thing in Abyssinia, before they had the whole Bible ; for 
 the reading-people are a thoughtful race, “ very apt to 
 suppose that those who speak to them about religion are 
 deceivers ; but when they can themselves see a passage in 
 the Scriptures contrary to their opinions, they will imme- 
 diately give them up.” The missionaries say : “ We have 
 had one Abyssinian with us for nine months, and he has 
 read so much in the Amharic Gospels, that he knows all 
 four almost by heart. Though he is very humble in every 
 respect, he does not give up a single error till we have 
 proved to him by the Gospels, that it is an error. He 
 desires much to have the Epistles of Paul, of which we 
 are always speaking.” The committee expressed a hope 
 that this intelligent student would prove a fair specimen 
 of his countrymen. 
 
 THE WALDENSES. 
 
 By a census made, about 1820, of the inhabitants of 
 the Yaudois valleys, it was found that the Protestants 
 were nearly 17,000 in number, and the Catholics 4000. 
 
 Two or three individuals, during this century, have 
 been remarkable for the interest they have taken in the 
 members of this ancient church, which, in its bitter suffer- 
 ings has always found so much sympathy in the heart of 
 England. 
 
 Felix Neff, once a young officer of artillery, afterwards 
 a Christian pastor, was led by Providence to that part of 
 the French Alps where the Yaudois Church had been 
 established. He triumphed over all obstacles, and, like 
 another Oberlin, taught the inhabitants to irrigate their 
 meadows, and to improve their lands ; but he more par- 
 ticularly lent himself to the task of revivifying their 
 souls. 
 
 In his visits to the Yaudois valleys and to those of 
 Piedmont, he was forcibly struck with their richness of 
 vegetation as contrasted with the barrenness of the French 
 
THE WALDENSES. 
 
 449 
 
 valleys, and he was equally struck with their spiritual 
 degeneracy. He began to form prayer-meetings among 
 them, and thus was religious zeal revived in these inter- 
 esting valleys. We have already seen their glad reception 
 of help from the Bible Society.* 
 
 In 1823, the Rev. Dr. Gilly journeyed to these valleys, 
 and, when he returned, thousands were interested by his 
 published account of them, and among others, Major- 
 general Beckwith, who is still their benefactor. The 
 General, with other friends, has erected and endowed a 
 hundred schools among the Vaudois ; and in 1830, for- 
 warded to the committee of the British and Foreign Bible 
 Society a specimen page of a translation of two Gospels 
 into the dialect which is now spoken by them. The 
 translation was made by the Rev. Mr. Bert, pastor of La 
 Tour. The Society undertook to publish 1000 copies in 
 parallel columns, with Martin’s French version. In 1832, 
 600 copies had been distributed, and another edition was 
 called for of 2000 copies. A letter from Major-general 
 Beckwith, in 1840, announces that the Gospels sent into 
 Northern Italy are freely circulating among the Pro- 
 testants. With the progress of education, however, the 
 use of the modem French language is rapidly gaining 
 ground among these people, because French is the me- 
 dium of instruction in the schools. Yet there is amongst 
 them a special school for the training of young men for 
 the ministry, in which, since the year 1848, all the can- 
 didates for the pastorship are instructed in Italian, with a 
 view to the restoration in the valleys of their own national 
 tongue. 
 
 In the Report for 1853, Major-general Beckwith is said 
 to have made a remittance of 957. 13s. 4*7. for Italian and 
 Piedmontese Scriptures circulated by him amongst the 
 Waldensian Churches ; and, on his recommendation, an 
 edition of 2500 copies of Genesis and Luke, in Italian, 
 
 * See page 312. 
 
 30 
 
450 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 will be printed ; and these will be placed at his disposal 
 for the purpose of distribution. 
 
 We have very interesting recent intelligence concerning 
 the remarkable religious awakening in the north of Italy, 
 and which is taking place through the missionary efforts 
 of the descendants of the ancient Waldenses, and the 
 circulation of the Scriptures. “ The burning lamp, sur- 
 rounded with the seven stars,” the old symbol of the 
 Waldensian Church, has begun to verify its ancient 
 motto, “ Lux lucet in tenebris.” 
 
 THE JEWS. 
 
 But is there any part of the Society’s work, after all, 
 so delightful, as restoring the pure and living waters to 
 THE NATION for whose sake they first flowed ? On the 
 brow of the J ew is written our past , and our future ; for, 
 “ if through their fall, salvation is come unto the Gentiles, 
 — if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the 
 diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles, how much 
 more their fulness ! — for if the casting away of them be 
 the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of 
 them be , but life from the dead?” (Romans 11 . 12, 15.) 
 
 And shall not the Gentile Church hasten the time of 
 her own “ fulness,” as she earnestly prays with Judah for 
 her captive sister Israel of old, “ Return, we beseech thee, 
 0 God of hosts : look down from heaven, and behold, 
 and visit this vine ; and the vineyard which thy right 
 hand hath planted, and the branch that thou madest 
 strong for thyself”? (Psalm 80. 14, 15.) 
 
 In various ways, during the last quarter of a century, 
 a vast number of copies of the Scriptures, in Hebrew and 
 other languages, have been circulated among the Jews of 
 different countries, partly by means of societies interested 
 in their welfare, and partly by purchase, of their own ac- 
 cord. The Report of the Bible Societies witness to the 
 
THE JEWS. 451 
 
 desire of the Jews to possess the Bible, at Malta, at 
 Damascus, at St. Petersburg, and other places. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Ewald, formerly missionary at Tunis, 
 who appears to be himself a Jew, gives us, in the year 
 1837, an interesting account of his labours amongst his 
 brethren according to the flesh. He has shown, he says, 
 to hundreds of thousands of them what Moses and the 
 prophets have foretold of the Redeemer of the world. 
 “ In the space of four years, the time that I have spent in 
 the north of Africa, 5000 copies of the Scriptures have 
 been put into circulation, at Algiers, at Tunis, at Tripoli, 
 and in many other towns. Sometimes there was opposi- 
 tion : the Mahomedan priests burned a Bible, the Roman- 
 Catholic priests said it was not genuine, and some igno- 
 rant Jewish Rabbins did the same ; but still the word of 
 life is read by Mahomedans, Jews, and Roman Catholics. 
 
 “ But some will say, ‘What good have you done by 
 giving the Bible to the Jews at a low price ? Of course 
 they are glad to receive their own Scriptures as cheap as 
 possible ; but that does not bring them nearer to Chris- 
 tianity. , Such questions have been asked. Allow me 
 to give an answer to them. The Jews in general are 
 ignorant of the whole contents of the Bible. Plundreds 
 do not read more than the five books of Moses, and some 
 portions of the prophets. Hence it arises, that they are 
 ignorant of the many prophecies respecting the Messiah ; 
 and often, when I quote passages referring to His coming, 
 sufferings, and death, they will tell me, ‘ Those passages 
 do not occur in our Bible : you have written them in fa- 
 vour of your religion.’ And this is not the case in Africa 
 only, for I have met with the same in Germany, and even 
 in England, where Bibles are so easily to be had. 
 
 “ Now, how can we preach the Saviour of the world 
 to the Jews with effect t How can we prove the truths 
 of Christianity out of their own Scriptures, if they are 
 ignorant of them, if they have never read the evangelical 
 prophecy of Isaiah, the plain predictions of David, and 
 
452 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 of the rest of the prophets ? By giving them their own 
 Scriptures, we try by the blessing of God to make them 
 Israelites, to draw them away from the hollow cisterns of 
 rabbinism, and to bring them to the fountain of living 
 water.” 
 
 The same missionary says : 44 The Jews now read the 
 word of the living God without the comments of the 
 rabbins, and often wish the good Society which sent them 
 the Scriptures at so low a price, a thousand blessings 
 irom above. At Zwaghan, about fifty miles from Tunis, 
 poverty and misery abound, and a shilling is of as much 
 value as a pound in England. In such places especially, 
 the benefits conferred by the Bible Society are fully ap- 
 preciated.” 
 
 From Tunis, also, in 1846, the Bev. N. Davis writes as 
 follows: u About twenty years ago, a number of . copies 
 of the Hebrew New Testament were sent hither, by your 
 Society, and one of them came into the possession of Mr. 
 Nigjar, an infidel Jew, who lent it to Mr. Bishmoth, also 
 a Jew, with a view to unsettle his opinions likewise. 
 Mr. B. perused it, but it had a different effect upon him. 
 Instead of making him what is falsely called liberal- 
 minded, he became seriously-minded, for he saw there 
 was no other way left him but either to embrace the 
 truths of the gospel, or continue without peace in this 
 world, and without hope beyond the grave. 
 
 “ After twenty days, Mr. Nigjar himself told me that 
 Mr. Bishmoth returned with the Testament. He said he 
 was surprised to find him in tears, and in a very agitated 
 state of mind, and more so still when he exclaimed, 4 Is 
 this the history of Jesus who is so misrepresented by our 
 rabbins ? I fully believe Him to have been the Messiah, 
 and all predictions of a Messiah to be fulfilled in Him. 
 Our nation is in darkness, and will be so till they believe 
 in Him.’ 4 He called on me often/ said Mr. N., 4 and 
 brought me such wonderful things from Moses and the 
 prophets, as would greatly surprise you.’ Mr. Nigjar 
 
THE JEWS IN TART ARY. 
 
 453 
 
 himself has, through the instrumentality of this man, 
 been brought to a more serious state of mind. Both visit 
 me : one is in the eighty- third year of his age, and the 
 other has passed seventy.” 
 
 Mr. Melville, a gentleman who is mentioned in the 
 Report for 1846 as indefatigable in his labours among the 
 Tartars, travelling in an open cart from village to village 
 in their country, with boxes of Scriptures for distribution, 
 speaks of the Jews in the following encouraging manner: 
 — “ The Jews in Tartary have been great purchasers of 
 the Scriptures this year. There is a general movement 
 onwards among the Jews at present, which we ought to 
 follow up by as large a distribution of Testaments as 
 possible. They are no longer burners of those holy Books. 
 They are eagerly read, and by many diligently studied. 
 May the Spirit of the Lord draw aside the veil, that the 
 beams of the Sun of Righteousness may shine into their 
 hearts, hitherto cold and icy towards the Redeemer of 
 Israel ! Much requires to be done among the Jews in 
 Chersosi. Many are in deep poverty, and cannot even pay 
 the present low prices for Bibles. The almost general 
 opinion at present respecting the Jews is, that the study 
 of the prophets will bring them to embrace Christianity.” 
 In 1849, Mr. Barker writes : “ Our work goes on 
 steadily, and the demand for the Hebrew Scriptures con- 
 tinues unabated, and, if anything, gains ground.” 
 
 We have heard that there is, in this Jubilee Year of 
 the Bible Society, a remarkable movement taking place 
 among the Jews in every country in which they are 
 scattered. The rabbinism which has enslaved them for 
 so many ages is rapidly losing its influence. Multitudes 
 are throwing aside the Mishna and the Talmud, and be- 
 taking themselves again to the study of Moses and the 
 prophets. Among the Jews in London, it is said, there 
 is at this present time a great demand for copies of the 
 Hebrew Old Testament. How far the steady and perse- 
 vering distribution of the Scriptures among them may 
 
454 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 have quietly tended to this result, we must leave it to 
 a future day to reveal. The subject of their return to 
 Palestine, and the nature of the promises on which this 
 expectation is founded, are engaging their deepest atten- 
 tion. In the examination of this matter they have been 
 assisted by a rabbi from the continent, who has exhibited 
 a manuscript, in which he has endeavoured to prove from 
 Scripture, that the time has come when the Jews must 
 make preparation for returning to their own country — the 
 land of their fathers. The said manuscript has been pub- 
 lished both in Hebrew and English, in the form of a small 
 tract, and it is said to be very influential in furthering 
 the movement proposed by the learned rabbi. 
 
 In 1851, the English bishop at Jerusalem favoured the 
 committee with some interesting communications. He 
 says: u I feel more and more, that, if it were not for the 
 liberality of the Bible Society, I could scarcely do any- 
 thing in Palestine. I trust that, though the returns of 
 money are scanty, on account of the extreme poverty of 
 most of those who desire to receive the word of life, yet 
 the returns in a higher sense will reward those who have 
 helped in sowing the incorruptible seed. 
 
 46 The work of God has considerably developed itself 
 at Nazareth. Very soon after the first visit of one of my 
 Bible-readers to Nazareth, several individuals of that place 
 visited me, and begged that I would establish a school for 
 children, as I had done at Nablous; but all I could do 
 then, was to supply the people with Bibles, and direct 
 them by correspondence.” 
 
 There are at this time thirteen heads of families repre- 
 senting sixty-one souls, who have signed a document by 
 which they declare themselves Protestants, and fifty more 
 are ready to do the same. They are very anxious to be 
 recognised by the government as a Protestant community. 
 This is in consequence of the simple reading of the Bible, 
 — of the history of Jesus of Nazareth, — in the very place 
 
HOLLAND. 
 
 455 
 
 where the Lord abode. How delightful for the Bible 
 Society to be able to say of all these old and interesting 
 sources from whence the Scriptures have come down to 
 us, “ The conduits were choked up, but we cleared them , 
 and restored the fountain pure as it had flowed in the 
 times of old” ! 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE PROTESTANT COUNTRIES I HOLLAND, GERMANY, DENMARK, 
 
 NORWAY, AND SWEDEN. STATE OP THE CONTINENT. LORD 
 
 BEXLEY. — MR. BRANDRAM. WALES. SCOTLAND. ENGLAND. 
 
 IRELAND. HOME COLPORTEURS, AND COLLECTORS. PINAL AP- 
 PEAL. MOTIVES POR RENEWED EXERTION. 
 
 But now we must approach our final review of earth’s 
 Protestant nations, and the effects of Bible-distribution 
 among them during the last quarter of a century. 
 
 We must close with our own country; therefore we 
 will take the rest in brief succession as before, beginning 
 with — 
 
 HOLLAND. 
 
 The Netherlands Bible Society had in 1832 been taking 
 measures to obtain a good translation of the Javanese New 
 Testament. They employed for this purpose Mr. Gericke, 
 who went to Java itself; and, being a good oriental 
 scholar, and zealous for the cause of God, entered into 
 the spirit of the Javanese people more than any Euro- 
 pean ever did before, acquiring a deep and thorough 
 knowledge of their language, character, customs, and reli- 
 gious principles. While he was getting all this knowledge, 
 
456 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 not only by familiar conversation with the people in 
 general, but also by the opportunities that were afforded 
 to him of being admitted to the courts of the Javanese 
 princes, he did not lose sight of the two great points of 
 his mission, viz., the composing of a Javanese grammar, 
 and the translation of the Bible into that tongue. The 
 grammar has been well received in Java, and even the 
 Javanese are surprised at it. The King of the Nether- 
 lands presented, on this account, to Mr. Gericke, a gold 
 medal, showing that the government also prized his ex- 
 ertions. 
 
 In 1844, colportage was adopted with great advantage 
 in Holland ; and Mr. Tiddy writes, that the sales at the 
 dep6t surpass all idea : in one week they amounted to 
 2250 volumes. In nine years, the sale of Scriptures in 
 Holland has surpassed 326,000 volumes. The depositary 
 at Amsterdam writes, in 1853 : “ Armed with this sword 
 of the Spirit, the colporteurs continue their travels ; and 
 this year we have again experienced that our God is 
 faithful, and that his word retains its power. The 
 opposition of the papacy is increasing. Against the arti- 
 fices of this party, the strongest bulwark is the word of 
 God. Nothing is feared by Rome more than this .” 
 
 In 1851, in forwarding his annual Report, and after 
 lamenting the loss of Mr. Brandram, Mr. Tiddy says : 
 “ There has been, without doubt, a remarkable revival 
 brought about in Holland by the Holy Spirit’s blessing 
 on the Scriptures circulated by us. The clear type and 
 low prices of the books have been the ifteans of intro- 
 ducing the word of God where before it was not to be 
 met with. It would often cheer your heart to see the 
 sparkling eyes of children as they receive a beautiful 
 Testament or Bible in exchange for the few copper cents 
 they have been carefully saving up for that purpose. It 
 has always appeared to me that our colportage is literal 
 obedience to the command of our Lord, in Luke 14. 23, 
 * And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the 
 
GERMANY. 
 
 457 
 
 highways and hedges.' It certainly carries the treasure 
 to thousands who would never otherwise receive it.’' 
 
 GERMANY. 
 
 In 1843, it was said that the missionary cause called 
 forth more interest in the Protestant states of Germany 
 than that of the Bible Society, and the reason for this 
 was thus expressed : “ The copies of the Bibles which 
 we issue send us no reports of their labours ; whereas, the 
 missionaries we send out to the heathen relate the dangers 
 they pass through, the difficulties they encounter, and the 
 success .which attends their labours. All this awakens 
 and keeps alive an interest in themselves and their work. 
 But with the copies of the Scriptures which we send forth, 
 it ought to be considered, that their operations, though 
 silent, are not less sure. They penetrate into the hearts 
 of thousands of families, whom the living preacher would 
 never have reached, and there they effect that for which 
 they were sent. 
 
 “We think the cause of gospel truth is making pro- 
 gress among the Protestant nations of Germany ; still it 
 will be long before its literature can be purified from its 
 anti-Christian leaven. There has been a large distri- 
 bution of Bibles in the country, both by the Continental 
 Societies with the Apocrypha, and by the agents of the 
 British and Foreign Bible Society without it; and this 
 has been followed by some encouraging appearances of 
 the dawn of a brighter day ; though, alas ! it must still 
 be acknowledged that the pulpits and schools are mostly 
 occupied by rationalists of various shades ; and it would 
 seem as if many years must pass away before the destruc- 
 tive doctrines so widely spread among all classes will be 
 superseded by a simple faith in the truths of revelation. 
 They have trifled with the facts of the Bible itself, and 
 brought themselves to believe that its miracles are to be 
 accounted for by natural causes : they have 4 taken away 
 
458 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 from the words of the hook/ and added unto it also by 
 the intermixture of the Apocrypha. A large proportion 
 of the people are in the hands of the Jesuits, and they 
 need a new Luther 4 to rush like a torrent through the 
 channels of the watercourses of the Divine word/ still 
 stopped up by Satan and foolish men, and to carry away 
 with his force the blocks and barriers of unbelief and 
 mysticism, so that that word may have free course and 
 prevail.” 
 
 Mr. E. Millard, the agent in Austria and Hungary, 
 having by the mysterious providence of God been com- 
 pelled to leave that promising sphere, was directed to 
 settle at Breslau, and to endeavour to extend the opera- 
 tions of the Society in Silesia and Posen. Here his chief 
 difficulties lie in the extreme poverty of the people, their 
 apathy, and their predilection for the Apocrypha. He 
 saj^s, indeed, that the friends of the pure word of God 
 are ■worried day by day, and hour by hour, on the con- 
 tinent, on account of these apocryphal writings. The 
 Jesuits have educated the people to believe that our 
 Bibles are imperfect. Still a circulation of 10,000 copies 
 in one year has taken place, by means of the colporteurs. 
 
 In 1851, the venerable Dr. Steinkopff paid a visit to 
 this part of the continent, and an interesting letter from 
 him states several pleasing facts. He says, that pious 
 ministers and people meet together more frequently than 
 they did, even from great distances, to strengthen each 
 other’s hands ; that there are arising influential home 
 missions, and that spiritual religion is making some 
 growth. Luther’s German Bible has still a large cir- 
 culation, and. tens of thousands of Boman Catholics 
 boldly venture to read it, in spite of all the thunders of 
 the Vatican ; 700,000 copies of Dr. Yan Ess’s Testament 
 have been distributed, and the energetic yet patient 
 labours of the Bible-agents are casting seed into a barren 
 field, which he believes will yet bring forth fruit : his 
 closing paragraph, however, speaks of the present awful 
 
DENMARK. — NORWAY AND SWEDEN. 459 
 
 condition of the continent in a political, moral, and reli- 
 gious point of view, which should elicit earnest prayer on 
 its behalf, on the part of Christians. One of its promi- 
 nent evils is the profanation of the Christian Sabbath, — 
 a distinguishing fruit of the teaching derived from the 
 church which hides the Bible. 
 
 DENMARK. 
 
 The Bishop of Adensee, in this country remarks, that, 
 ‘‘with regard to the Christian tendency of the coming 
 time, a great deal will depend on whether children from 
 ten to fourteen years of age are made acquainted with 
 the word of God and of Christ : for what they learn in 
 their youth they will not forget in old age ; and when 
 life brings its sorrows and troubles, they will then know 
 where to turn for consolation and blessing.” 
 
 Mr. Henderson visited this country again in 1844, after 
 the lapse of nearly forty years, and speaks of a consider- 
 able number of the inhabitants as inquiring after a better 
 way. He says : “In many of the churches, a portion 
 of the Lord’s Day is appropriated by the clergy to the 
 public reading of the Bible, accompanied by explanatory 
 remarks, and the total issues of the Bible Society in 
 Denmark have been 193,000 copies. The general state 
 of indifference to religion, however, and the general 
 breach of the Sabbath, are very painful to the minds of 
 Christian residents here.” 
 
 NORWAY AND SWEDEN. 
 
 There have been colporteurs in Sweden, and in Nor- 
 way, and the distribution of Bibles has gone on, though 
 not so actively as might be desired. More than 100,000 
 copies have been circulated in Norway, and more than 
 500,000 in Sweden, since 1828. 
 
 In these countries, Bible-distribution is encouraged by 
 
460 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 the authorities ; and the anniversary meetings of the Bible 
 Society are attended by the king and the royal princes ; 
 but our limits forbid further enlargement. F or the same 
 reason, we must not enter upon Finland, Lapland, and 
 Greenland, except, indeed, to state in a few words that 
 the circulation of the Scriptures has been increasing from 
 year to year, and that the evidences of a Divine blessing 
 on the work prove that the labours of the Society in the 
 frozen regions of the north are “ not in vain in the 
 Lord.” 
 
 Our review of the Society’s operations on the continent 
 of Europe may be concluded in the language of one who 
 visited Belgium and Germany, in the summer of 1852 : 
 
 “ I could not help noticing two classes of facts and cir- 
 cumstances, calculated on the one hand to awaken appre- 
 hension , and on the other to inspire hope . 
 
 “ The rulers of continental Europe are persuaded to 
 believe that the free use of the Bible and the liberty of 
 religious worship are dangerous to the stability of thrones 
 and governments, and hence the attempts made to curtail 
 the privileges of the people, by laws and police regula- 
 tions. Jesuit missions are multiplying. These active 
 agents of Antichrist itinerate to preach and to lecture. 
 Their organs become more daring, and they insinuate 
 themselves and their principles into the closets and coun- 
 cils of princes. Our excellent colporteurs experience in- 
 creasing difficulties, and, to some extent, personal danger, 
 in the prosecution of their work. This is especially the 
 case where their labours are carried on amongst an igno- 
 rant and bigoted popish population, stirred up to oppo- 
 sition by the orations of Jesuitical priests. While popery 
 is thus presenting its difficulties in the way of a free Bible, 
 infidelity, again, in various forms, sometimes open and 
 vulgar, and sometimes disguised and subtile, in public 
 discourses and widely-circulated books, presents powerful 
 barriers in our way. 
 
PRESENT STATE OF THE CONTINENT. 461 
 
 “ It must be admitted, however, that while there is 
 much to awaken apprehension, there is not a little to in- 
 spire hope, and to afford encouragement. If our foes are 
 many, our friends also are numerous, and are increasing 
 in number. If the opposition is more bold and bitter on 
 the part of papists and infidels, the support and advocacy 
 of the Society are becoming more decided and general. 
 There are reasons to believe that evangelical religion is 
 increasing. Professors and pastors are coming nearer to 
 4 the truth as it is in Jesus.’ A better and purer litera- 
 ture is progressing. The 4 Inner Mission ’ of Germany 
 is doing a great and good work, while the French and 
 Belgian Evangelical Societies are showing signs of grow- 
 ing life and spiritual vigour, which, with God’s blessing 
 on the seed sown by our own and other societies, will 
 produce a harvest of truth and holiness amongst the 
 nations of the continent. 
 
 44 When at sea, between Dover and Ostend, I heard 
 some one who had been on deck announcing to the 
 passengers below, who, like myself, were longing for dry 
 land and day -light, 4 1 am happy to say, the day is break- 
 ing.’ Whether it is imagination, assisted by an ardent 
 desire, or the result of sober investigation and a careful 
 survey, I hope I may say, without presumption, in re- 
 ference to some parts at least of the continent of Europe, 
 
 4 The day is breaking.’ 
 
 44 4 Yes ! I hope the day is breaking, — 
 
 Joyful times are near at hand ; 
 
 God, the mighty God, is speaking 
 By his word in every land : 
 
 Mark his progress ! 
 
 Darkness flies at his command. 
 
 44 4 While the foe becomes more daring, — 
 
 While he enters like a flood, — 
 
 God the Saviour is preparing 
 
 Means to spread his truth abroad. 
 
 Every language 
 
 Soon shall tell the love of God.’ ” 
 
462 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOBY. 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 But now, from our Jubilee travels round the world, 
 we at last return home to the happy isle which is 
 honoured to be still the centre and source of all the 
 blessed changes that have been recorded ; and we return 
 with a most solemn view of its present responsibilities. 
 
 1 In glancing at the work of the Bible Society, during 
 its second period, at home, we must not omit to notice two 
 of its members, the successors of those who had departed, 
 and now themselves, also, “not lost, but gone before,” 
 — Lord Bexley, who became president when Lord Teign- 
 mouth was no more, and the Rev. Andrew Brandram, 
 rector of Beckenham, Kent, who accepted its clerical se- 
 cretaryship on the death of the Rev. John Owen. 
 
 Lord Bexley was elected president in 1834, and re- 
 mained for seventeen years, (until removed by death,) 
 “the centre of the widest circle the world ever saw-”* 
 He was among the most unhesitating, yet prudent, of 
 those who defended the cause of the Society, during the 
 first years of its existence. The cause was not then popu- 
 lar, and was much exposed to controversies which it has 
 since outlived. Lord Bexley, then Mr. Yansittart, counted 
 the cost, and willingly gave it his personal support, at any 
 sacrifice. He was one of the earliest cabinet-ministers who 
 enrolled their names in its ranks, and always declared that 
 he considered it one of the most powerful means for evan- 
 gelising the whole world. He knew the importance of 
 the Bible to others, because he knew its unutterable value 
 to his own soul. He was also the last survivor among the 
 ministers of the venerable monarch whose wish it was 
 “ that every man in his dominions might be able to read 
 the Bible,” and the one who practically aimed to fulfil 
 the wish of his royal master. When reproached by a 
 
 Earl of Harrowby’s Speech, at the Anniversary of 1851. 
 
LORD BEXLEY. — MR. BRANDRAM. 
 
 463 
 
 professor of Divinity for “ uniting with dissenters” in this 
 great work, he replied, “ So far from repenting of what I 
 have done, I feel convinced I shall less and less repent of 
 it, as I approach that state in which the distinction of 
 churchman and dissenter will be no more.” 
 
 Side by side with this declaration of Lord Bexley’s, 
 we should like you to remember that of Dean Milner: 
 u I would not, for all this kingdom can bestow, have 
 my conscience loaded with the bitter reflection that I 
 had ever, directly or indirectly, been instrumental in ob- 
 structing the free progress of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society.” 
 
 The Rev. Andrew Brandram, who died at Brighton on 
 the 26th of December, 1850, had been for twenty-seven 
 years the indefatigable clerical secretary of the Society. 
 He is recorded to have received his first religious impres- 
 sions while at Winchester school, and while preparing for 
 Oriel college, Oxford, where he took a double first-class 
 rank. It is said, that, placing his books in a closet which 
 had been left vacant by the boy who preceded him, he 
 found an old Bible, the only thing, it seems, which it had 
 not been thought worth while to carry away. Curiosity 
 impelled him to read it, and it made him “ wise unto 
 salvation.” From that time his whole character was 
 altered and probably his after-life influenced as one of 
 the chief officers of that noble Institution, to whose 
 interests he devoted all the vigour of his manhood. He 
 kept that old Bible till his death. It may be truly said 
 of him, that he was “ in labours most abundant.” Year 
 after year, an increase of those labours was rendered 
 necessary by the constantly-enlarging operations of the 
 Society. He undertook a large portion of the extensive 
 correspondence, domestic and foreign, besides travelling 
 frequently throughout England to attend anniversary 
 meetings; and these, in connection with his other duties, 
 domestic and pastoral, exacted from him an amount of 
 effort which few could have sustained so long, and under 
 
464 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOKY. 
 
 which his robust and vigorous frame at last gave way. 
 The result was, that, when it pleased God that the hand 
 of disease should be laid upon him, all the springs of life 
 seemed to have been broken at once. He quickly sank 
 into a state of entire prostration, and from the couch of 
 utter feebleness, rose only “ to depart and be with Christ 
 for ever.” The memorial adopted by the committee adds, 
 “Mr. Brandram combined qualities but rarely found in 
 the same individual, — strength of body and mind, talent 
 and learning, solidity of judgment, singleness of purpose, 
 integrity of conduct, and an independence of spirit always 
 under the control of Christian principle. Not having re- 
 spect to his own ease, nor shunning reproach for Christ’s 
 sake, he laboured and toiled, and watched and prayed, 
 in all things commending himself to the approval not of 
 men, but of God.” 
 
 Of the present secretaries and home^agents of the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society, nothing need be said at pre- 
 sent : the memorial to their faithful devotedness, will, we 
 hope, belong to a yet far future day. They all rejoice 
 with joy unspeakable over the ripening harvest which is 
 beginning to be reaped of the precious seed of the word. 
 The Bight Hon. the Earl of Shaftesbury has succeeded 
 Lord Bexley as president. The eye, in looking down the 
 present list of vice-presidents, will observe a large phalanx 
 of bishops, earls, and lords. The Bev. Dr. Pinkerton, Mr. 
 Benjamin Barker, Mons. de Pressense, Mr. W. P. Tiddy, 
 the Bev. Isaac Lowndes, Lieut. Gray don, and Mr. E. Mil- 
 lard, are the foreign agents at Frankfort, at Smyrna, in 
 Paris, in Belgium, at Malta, in Switzerland, in Northern 
 Italy, and at Breslau. We hope we may have led you 
 to look with earnest interest on all future reports of their 
 proceedings. 
 
 In the year 1836, after a survey of their field of labour, 
 the committee ask themselves in their Beport, “ Is the 
 object of their Institution now attained? May their 
 mutual compact now be honourably dissolved? and are 
 
SYMPATHY WITH THE SOCIETY. 
 
 465 
 
 they at liberty to draw back from their post? They are 
 constrained to answer, No/’ “ Notwithstanding the efforts 
 of all other societies directed to the same object, the claims 
 of the world still multiply upon us; for there is scarcely 
 a country, civilised or uncivilised, which does not wait to 
 receive from us the law of our God ; and even in our own 
 metropolis, there is still an incredible number of families 
 not almost, but altogether, destitute of even a fragment of 
 the Scriptures of truth.” 
 
 In the meantime, most cheering evidences of sympathy 
 and interest evince the feeling of the country in general 
 towards the well-known and loved Society. It may be 
 mentioned among other facts, that its legal advisers, in all 
 cases of difficulty, tender gratuitously their professional 
 services; and Messrs. Brown, Marten, Thomas, and Hol- 
 lams, continue to this day its honorary solicitors. 
 
 The Principality has always yielded to the British and 
 Foreign Bible Society its full quota of worthy successors 
 of the late Mr. Charles ; and the agent for Wales thus 
 writes in 1837: — “It is a source of satisfaction to me, 
 that I have been able to travel so many hundred miles 
 with so little expense to the Society. I have journeyed 
 through a country where the Bible Society has many 
 good and trusty fellow-labourers: consequently, I have 
 never paid for a single night’s accommodation at an inn, 
 during the five weeks I was from home. It is true I 
 have been repeatedly accommodated at inns ; but when I 
 called for my bill, have been told that they had never 
 any account for an agent of the Bible Society; and this 
 hospitality has often included conveyance to the meetings 
 which I have attended.” 
 
 The same agent gives interesting tidings of Anglesea, 
 the ancient Mona — the old home of the Druids. He calls 
 to mind that Anglesea took the lead among the Welsh 
 auxiliaries, that it had collected upwards of 1000/. in one 
 year for the Bible Society, and that its remittances average 
 from 500/. to 600/. per annum. He adds, that, taking 
 
 31 
 
466 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOBY. 
 
 into consideration the limited extent of the island, the 
 small number of inhabitants (48,000), and the compara- 
 tive poverty of the people, this amount of contribution is 
 astonishing , viz., threepence annually for every man, wo- 
 man, and child in the island, and can only be accounted 
 for on the principle that “ union is strength.” If JEng- 
 land, Wales, and Scotland contributed in the same pro- 
 portion, the Society would have a free income amount- 
 ing to 175,OOOZ. per annum. It is a gratifying fact, that 
 in all the English cities and towns where there is a con- 
 siderable Welsh population, Cambrian Bible Societies are 
 formed, to supply themselves with the Scriptures, and to 
 assist the Parent Society in its general operations. It is 
 reported that one of these, the Liverpool Welsh branch, 
 remits on an average the sum of 350/. per annum, as a 
 free contribution to the funds of the Society. 
 
 Thus, as it was the destitution of Wales that originated 
 the Bible Society, we cannot but rejoice to behold the 
 unabated zeal of the Ancient Britons to bestow the Divine 
 word on others. Would that their example were fol- 
 lowed ! — for while the Bible Society is praised as at the 
 head of the benevolent institutions of the age, not merely 
 in importance, but in the extent and success of its labours, 
 its free income of 54,000/. for all home and foreign pur- 
 poses, is little more than one-half that of the leading mis- 
 sionary institutions; and wdiile they have doubled their 
 income in the last fifteen years, the free contributions to 
 the British and Foreign Bible Society have not increased 
 in the same proportion. 
 
 The still destitute condition of the poor Highlanders of 
 Scotland engaged the attention of the committee. In the 
 poorer districts, in years of scarcity,, the people having 
 neither bread nor firing, and seldom if ever any money, 
 st vote of 300 Bibles and 700 Testaments was made to a 
 member of parliament, who employed colporteurs in such 
 neighbourhoods. In the Shetland Isles, a missionary 
 
HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS OP SCOTLAND. 467 
 
 asked a young woman about nineteen years of age, who 
 had been his guide for several miles, whether she would 
 accept of a sixpence or a New Testament for her trouble. 
 The question evidently seemed to throw her into con- 
 siderable perplexity ; but she soon replied, “ I never had 
 a sixpence of my own since I was born, and you may be 
 sure I should like to have one now; but the New Testa- 
 ment is the Book of God, and therefore I will choose it, 
 if you please.” 
 
 The member of parliament above referred to, Mr. Lil- 
 lingston of Lochalsh, continued for several years to receive 
 grants of Bibles and Testaments for his destitute neigh- 
 bours. Mr. Paterson visited him in his romantic seclu- 
 sion on the borders of a land-locked bay, was introduced 
 to his colporteurs, and saw the yacht which made mis- 
 sionary voyages with the word of life from islet to islet. 
 The population were gradually taught to read; and in 
 1839, 3000 Bibles and Testaments were supplied to them. 
 Mr. L. sent a donation of 100Z. from himself, and the 
 amazing contribution to the Society of 62Z. from the poor 
 Highlanders, many of whom gave their little all for the 
 time-being, to testify their gratitude. 
 
 In the year 1840, the Society supplied 38,500 New 
 Testaments, by way of loan, among families still found 
 destitute of the sacred Scriptures in London, chiefly dis- 
 tributed through the agents of the City Mission ; and 
 many pleasing results are recorded. 
 
 In the year 1841, an issue of the Scriptures was re- 
 ported larger than any ever made before : this was owing 
 to their cheapened price, and the increasing efforts of the 
 Auxiliary Societies. The Liverpool Town Mission made 
 a canvass of the neighbourhood of that large town ; and 
 5000 families, out of a population of 15,000, residing in 
 79 streets, were found destitute of the Scriptures. In 
 about one-third of the town of Leeds, 1200 families were 
 >und without Bibles or Testaments, nearly all of whom 
 were declared to be too poor to purchase them. These 
 
468 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 facts telling upon one another, the Report of 1841 an- 
 nounced an issue of more than 44 900,000 copies of the 
 inspired records,” from the depositories, at home and 
 abroad. 
 
 The Report for 1842 alludes to Luther’s wish — 44 Would 
 that that Book alone were in all languages, before the eyes, 
 in the ears, and in the hearts of all ! ” and to the Bible 
 Society as advancing towards the fulfilment of that wish. 
 It also mentions the profound reverence and delight of 
 Luther and his friend Melancthon, while occupied in the 
 German translation. 44 They often paused in their labours 
 to give free expression to their w r onder, to listen to the 
 4 very voice of the Creator of Heaven and Earth’ and 
 the writer adds, 44 Oh ! that we might see revived that 
 spirit of eager delight with which the people who had 
 heard the reformers preach, hailed those first attempts to 
 put into their hands the translated Scriptures ! 4 You 
 
 have preached Christ to us,’ said they; 4 now let us hear 
 Himself /’ and they caught at the sheets given to the 
 world, as a letter coming to them from heaven. A kin- 
 dred spirit to this is awakening on the plains of Africa, 
 and in the islands of the Southern Ocean. Bechuanas, 
 Tahitians, New Zealanders, and Rarotongans, are acting 
 the part of the German peasants : they catch at the sheets 
 given to the world, as a letter coming to them from hea- 
 ven. This letter from heaven it is our single object to 
 publish and circulate; we wish it to be read by men of 
 all nations, and kindreds, and tongues; we wish that all 
 the earth should hear its words of wondrous mercy. Shall 
 we speak of discouragements, or fear them? Shall w 7 e 
 dwell on the distinctions that divide us, important though 
 in some respects they be ? No ; rather let us hasten to 
 bear each his part, in putting into the hands of the whole 
 human family the common record of our Father’s love. 
 Angels might envy us our honourable employ.” 
 
 The years 1845 and 1846 were very remarkable for 
 the increasing demand and distribution at home. Some 
 
BIBLE-DISTEIBUTION AT HOME. 
 
 469 
 
 friends visiting Blackpool, a small watering-place on the 
 coast of Lancashire, had their attention awakened to the 
 spiritual wants of the neighbourhood, commenced a sale 
 of the sacred Scriptures, and afterwards formed a Bible 
 Association. In a few months, 1890 copies were circu- 
 lated in that limited district. 
 
 This movement was greatly encouraged by the zealous 
 co-operation of a gentleman from Manchester, who re- 
 turned home with his mind much set on attempting a 
 wider distribution of the Scriptures among the immense 
 population by which he saw himself surrounded. After 
 conference and prayer with a few pious friends, it was 
 resolved to make the experiment of offering the Scrip- 
 tures for sale among the workpeople of the numerous 
 mills and factories, and wherever an open door was found. 
 Unexampled success attended the effort ; willing pur- 
 chasers presented themselves in every direction; while at 
 Manchester donations and increased subscriptions were 
 promptly offered, more than sufficient to allay the appre- 
 hension of injury to the general funds of the Society. 
 
 From the Manchester depository, 96,711 copies of the 
 Scriptures were issued in twelve months, — a number equal 
 to the distribution of the preceding twelve years ! The 
 auxiliaries at Liverpool, Bristol, Bath, Hereford, Derby, 
 Leicester, and other places, greatly increased their dis- 
 tributions. The total issues of 1846 amounted to the 
 unprecedented number of 1,441,651 copies, and those of 
 1847 were no fewer than 1,419,283 ! 
 
 From this time the Song of the Jubilee may be said 
 to have begun. Nearly three millions of copies issued in 
 two years, — forwarded by the most rapid conveyances* 
 such as our fathers never dreamed of, to every quarter 
 of the globe, — a bright point in the world’s moral his- 
 tory, to which the Christian’s eye could turn, from all 
 the vexatious dissensions of party, and especially from 
 the designs carrying on, on the part of Kome, to effect 
 
470 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STOUT. 
 
 the restoration of Britain to that see. u The pope has 
 put his foot into England, but all the nations look to 
 England and her Bible.” And nowhere has there been 
 a wider delivery of the volume of inspiration than within 
 our own borders. Among the poor and the rich, in our 
 rural districts, as well as in our towns and cities, in the 
 palace, the school-room, and the cottage, the Bible is a 
 book possessed — by many, very many a book beloved. It 
 can everywhere in England be the Book appealed to. 
 Let the war of principles rise to whatever height it may, 
 the friends of the Bible need not yield to fear. 
 
 In the retrospect of forty years, the Parent committee 
 took a wide range, and made it a season of “ solemn 
 remembrance.” In that forty years, more copies of the 
 written voice of God had gone forth upon the earth than 
 in any equal period since the world began — perhaps more 
 than in all former periods added together. It must be 
 presumed that He who “ ordereth all things after the 
 counsel of his own will,” has had some special, some 
 extraordinary, design in the fresh movement which He 
 has permitted to take place. 
 
 When the Bible Society took its rise, controversy 
 between Christians was very much at rest. Christianity 
 had only to struggle with infidelity as its common foe ; 
 but now questions and claims that had slept for ages are 
 re-agitated, and symptoms spreading far and wide around 
 us, mark the gathering storm. Meantime the Booh , which 
 must be the only unfailing standard of appeal, is no longer 
 hidden among the wise and the mighty. It is now in the 
 hands of innumerable people, — an end accomplished by 
 Bible Societies, possibly in preparation for this very hour. 
 “ To the law and to the testimony,” each for ourselves ; 
 and, as Wiclif said, “ The truth shall prevail.” 
 
 The Song of Jubilee is almost overpowering, as as- 
 cending in many tongues from all regions of the world. 
 It is impossible to convey in the last chapter of this little 
 work, any fair impression of the spirit that pervades these 
 
UNIVERSAL SONG OF JUBILEE. 
 
 471 
 
 “ Reports ” of the circulation of the Book of truth for the 
 last ten years. One of them, if read and thought upon, 
 would seem enough to kindle a kindred flame of zeal and 
 love in the hearts of a thousand fresh labourers. Well 
 may the agents rejoice in their work, think it the best 
 work in the world, and never weary of it, till they wear 
 out in it! Well may the hearts of the colporteurs burn 
 within them, as their poor dwellings are crowded until 
 midnight by persons asking for the Scriptures, from the 
 lively boy to the decrepit old man* — or as they obtain 
 access to “ wild and savage households,” and gather out 
 of them, by the word of God, the “brands from the 
 burning” — or when asked, “ What sort of postmen are 
 you, now, with that sac on your backs?” they reply, 
 “We are higher postmen than any other kind of postmen 
 on earth : we carry letters from heaven. When we go 
 out, we cannot go without our God going with us. We 
 want courage and wisdom from above, and especially a 
 humble meekness ; for the fiery and angry zeal of Peter 
 cuts off, but the Spirit of God in us builds up : then we 
 confound the mockers, and shut the mouths of gainsay ers, 
 and the heart of the humble is refreshed.” Let us every 
 day pray for these colporteurs , all over the world, for they 
 are doing the great work of the age, as well as those who 
 are. directing them. 
 
 There are colporteurs at home as well as abroad. A 
 colporteur has gone forth from Lutterworth, the scene of 
 Wiclifs own labours, and 474 years after the death of 
 him who first gave the Bible to England, and has sold 
 in the course of five years, within a circuit of ten miles, 
 4500 Bibles and Testaments. How would the reformer 
 himself have rejoiced to see this day ! The man in ques- 
 tion was a hawker by trade ; and a lady who desired 
 the distribution of the holy word offered him Id. for 
 every Bible, and \d . for every Testament, he might sell 
 
 Report, 1845, p. xlix. 
 
472 
 
 THE BOOK A1*D ITS STORY. 
 
 in his accustomed rounds. In the first year, beginning 
 August 5, 1847, he sold 242 Bibles, 364 Testaments ; in 
 that beginning 1848, 116 Bibles, 211 Testaments; in 
 the third year, 121 Bibles, 200 Testaments. In his 
 fourth year he came under the inspection of the Bible 
 Association at Lutterworth. From that time, in addi- 
 tion to selling in his regular rounds, he gave one whole 
 day every fortnight to the sale of the Scriptures alone, at 
 the average pay of 2s. 6d. He went into every house, 
 and sold to those he met along the road. In the year 
 ending August 1852, he sold 384 Bibles, 626 Testa- 
 ments ; and in 1853, 471 Bibles, 851 Testaments. He 
 walked on an average, on these especial days, eighteen 
 miles ; he carried perhaps 70 books : on one occasion he 
 carried 104, and sold every copy ! 
 
 Now, can there not be found some suitable person to 
 colport in this way in every town and village in this 
 kingdom? The committee of the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society have “ resolved to adopt, as far as possible, 
 an extensive and efficient system of colportage throughout 
 Great Britain in this year of Jubilee.” They will, during 
 this year , and from the u special fund ” which this year 
 will be raised in addition to their ordinary income, be 
 able to appropriate grants of help to such committees as 
 shall request their aid, in order to the appointment and 
 inspection of such colporteurs, to carry the word of God 
 and that alone, not into districts already canvassed and 
 under the care of Bible-collectors, but into those stray 
 hamlets and isolated spots, as well as into all unvisited 
 neighbourhoods, where the treasure has not before been 
 offered. In this Jubilee Year, as far as the Bible Society 
 can accomplish it, an attempt should be made to convey 
 the written word of God to every cottage in England, 
 Scotland, and Wales, — we trust, not excepting Ireland. 
 
 Now, who will not wish to aid in this glorious work, 
 by contribution or effort ? 
 
 The Bev. P. B. Clifford of St. Matthew’s, Bristol, has 
 
DUTY OF ENLARGED EFFORT. 473 
 
 lately communicated a circumstance which has caused 
 him peculiar pleasure : that several boys of his congrega- 
 tion have voluntarily come forward without his sugges- 
 tion, and dedicated the money which they had saved for 
 purchasing fireworks on the Fifth of November, to the 
 blessed work of sending the word of God to China. And 
 from one school alone he has had the gratification of 
 receiving five guineas for this holy enterprise, which 
 otherwise would have been expended in fireworks. Even 
 children, whose parents are connected with Bible Associa- 
 tions, can be little colporteurs with their bag or basket, 
 and sell around their own homes many a Bible or Testa- 
 ment. They are better sold than given, as more likely 
 to be valued. There are Testaments for fourpence, and 
 Bibles for tenpence ; with every variety of superior price. 
 Their elders can seek or set to work a colporteur, — a man 
 of piety, and of bodily strength to carry his load, and walk 
 sufficient distances, — who should render regular reports 
 of his sales to responsible persons connected with the So- 
 ciety, who will provide his stock and inspect his accounts. 
 
 Oh ! that when the world- wide J ubilee-meetings shall 
 have been held, and when this system of colportage has 
 been fully established all over the country, the arrange- 
 ment of which is now in progress, those meetings and 
 those domiciliary visits may be the means of calling 
 forth from a thousand hidden sources, persons who do 
 not even know at this moment how they 'could “ work 
 together with God,” in the distribution of his word, but 
 in whose hearts He has planted the wish to do so ! 
 Oh ! that many may come forward as contributors, each in 
 their degree, from a penny to a thousand pounds, offered 
 “ as unto the Lord,” or as collectors, determined every 
 week to devote a portion of their time to this noble object, 
 and to make it henceforth the thought of their lives how 
 they shall assist and induce others to assist in spreading 
 the word of God ! Out of this number also may come 
 missionaries to carry the word within the now unfolding 
 
474 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 doors of China and of India. Many would find health and 
 happiness even for themselves in pursuing such an object. 
 
 There is a true tale told of a lady, who was always 
 ill and lying on the sofa, till a Bible Association was 
 established in her neighbourhood, of which she became 
 an active and happy member, and had no more ill- 
 health. And well might this effect be produced on the 
 physical frame, for the soul had set before it a great ob- 
 ject. She entered upon a new world of sympathy with 
 all who love God’s word upon earth. She was refreshed 
 by the glad gifts of the free penny to the cause of God. 
 At many a cottage door she heard it said, “ Yes, I will 
 give it, because my mother gave it for me when I was a 
 child.” “ It is but a penny; but I am sure I am glad to 
 give the Bible to others; I shall not miss it.” No ! they 
 not only do not miss it, but the blessing of Him who seeth 
 all things is found to rest on all they have. If the selfish 
 occupants of many a larger mansion, who repulse the 
 modest Bible-collector with pleas of “ previous engage- 
 ment,” “ having nothing for charity,” and sometimes the 
 more rational cue of “ knowing nothing at all about it,” 
 could have paid with her these visits to these cottages, 
 they would have changed their minds, and become helpers 
 also in the work. 
 
 An occasional paper, issued by the Bible colportage 
 committee for the Manchester district, full of interesting 
 facts, shows what may be expected when this system is 
 judiciously conducted. The anecdotes cannot be quoted, 
 but one sentence is important : “ The efforts made to 
 
 distribute the Scriptures among Bomanists (of whom they 
 seem to have found large numbers), are likely to issue 
 in much good.” Six colporteurs have been employed : 
 the total number of calls they have made is 215,916 ; 
 the total number of Bibles and Testaments sold, 59,247 ; 
 the sum realized by the sales, 2000/. 11s. 2 \d. The secre- 
 tary of the Ladies’ Bible Association in one of the largest 
 towns says: “ The sales effected by the ladies have not 
 
IRELAND. 
 
 475 
 
 been at all interfered with by the labours of the colpor- 
 teur ; for the 4000 Bibles and Testaments which he has 
 sold have been among those to w T hom the ladies had no 
 means of access, and whom they felt most anxious should 
 be supplied. They believe that not more than one-third 
 of the work that might be accomplished by a colporteur 
 in this populous town has yet been done.” 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 We must also notice our sister isle, in which at the 
 present time there are about 500 auxiliaries, in direct 
 connection with the Hibernian Bible Society at Dublin, 
 all of which are more or less engaged in sending forth the 
 precious word of life. During the last few years, the 
 annual distribution of the Scriptures has exceeded 100,000 
 copies, making a total of 2,138,437. This however, is 
 independent of the large grants made directly from the 
 Parent Society to the various Societies labouring for the 
 benefit of Ireland, amounting last year alone to upwards 
 of 33,000 copies, and making a total of 1,650,000 granted 
 to that portion of the British empire. Colportage has 
 been carried on in Ireland over more than thirty of its 
 counties; and by this instrumentality about 150,000 copies 
 have been distributed in seven years. 
 
 We cannot but view the remarkable movement taking 
 place among the Roman- Catholic population in the west 
 of Ireland as the result of this distribution. Notice of 
 this change has for some time past appeared in the Reports 
 of the Parent Society: in that of 1850 is the following: — 
 
 “ It has been very gratifying to the committee to hear 
 of the religious movement that is going on in different 
 parts of Ireland, produced, they are assured, by the read- 
 ing of the Scriptures, especially in the Irish language. 
 A strong desire has even been expressed among the people 
 for the Irish Scriptures with marginal references, and 
 intelligence like the following continually reaches us : 
 
476 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 Koman- Catholic farmers and peasants petition for instruc- 
 tion in the Irish Bible, and assert their 4 inalienable right 
 to read it.’ The setting sun witnesses young men and 
 maidens, old men and children, leaving their homes under 
 cover of the shades of evening to steal to the lonely cabin 
 on the mountain side, to ‘search the Scriptures’ by the 
 light of the bog- wood splinter! Daring and ferocious 
 ribbon-men, bent on deeds of blood, and mad against the 
 Protestant faith, meet with the 4 strange Book,’ and read 
 it, and become clothed and in their right mind, and are 
 found sitting at the feet of J esus ! ” 
 
 From the Mayo district we have similar reports: 44 The 
 word of life in the vernacular language is obtaining en- 
 trance into the most retired parts of the mountain-districts, 
 and the desire to learn to read the Scriptures is increasing 
 everywhere. In 1851, 22,390 copies were sold in Ireland 
 by colporteurs.” 
 
 Another cause of this change may be noticed. The 
 secretary of the Sunday School Society for Ireland says : 
 44 In the Beport for 1853, we calculate that at least. 
 1,200,000 scholars have passed through the Sunday- 
 schools during these thirty years. In the course of that 
 period there have been issued to the schools three quarters 
 of a million of Bibles and Testaments, and one million 
 and a quarter of portions of Scripture. These are carried 
 home by the scholars to their families.” Mere secular 
 education would never have wrought these wonders in 
 Ireland. This religious movement has extended during 
 these three years to hundreds and thousands. The Earl 
 of Boden has testified to it in his interesting letters ; and 
 the very report of it is causing Boman Catholics con- 
 tinually to read and search the Scriptures, in order to find 
 out wliat it is that has produced so extraordinary an effect 
 on their old friends. 
 
 The beautiful Beport for 1850 closes with these words: 
 44 Is it not refreshing in an age like the present, when the 
 Bible is assaulted and maligned, when its authority is 
 
BIBLE JUBILEES. 
 
 477 
 
 impugned and its inspiration denied, — -is it not refreshing 
 to behold this despised Book going forth into every land 
 4 with signs and wonders following ’ ? ” Among the nearly 
 8000 verses of which the New Testament is composed, 
 perhaps every one has touched some heart and roused 
 some conscience, and confirmed the faith of some now in 
 glory. “We bow to the overwhelming conviction, that 
 the mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called 
 the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down 
 thereof.” 
 
 So much for the Jubilee-field in Great Britain itself. 
 The Society has reached the age of fifty years, — an age 
 remarkable in the existence of persons, communities, and 
 institutions ! God trains man for eternity, by making him 
 notice various periods of time. Man numbers his o wn 
 months and years; but God Himself instituted the two 
 periods of Sabbaths and Jubilees. There have been sixty- 
 seven Jubilees since the word of God began to be written. 
 Almost 112 generations of men have passed from earth 
 since then; but only the last and this present have seen 
 that holy word “ have free course and prevail.” What 
 may not the generation now living, and the next genera- 
 tion, yet see ! Space fails us, though vast topics of interest 
 are left untouched concerning the colonies, and exempli- 
 fying the Bible as the friend of the negro — happily no 
 more the slave of Britain ! One of this rescued race, while 
 reading a copy of the Scriptures given to him from the 
 Society, said, that those who gave him that Bible gave 
 him his life: he prays to God tor them. “ I read,” said 
 he, “a chapter, and then God talks to me : I shut my 
 book, and then I talk with God.” 
 
 Nor are the colonies alone passed over. The Bible in 
 Burmah, and also in Greece, the classic and apostolic 
 land, where many thousands are coming within the 
 influence of the Divine word in being taught to read 
 it, offer, with countless other inviting fields of research, a 
 
478 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 rich reward to the exploring eye. A letter from Athens, 
 says, “ Missionary efforts may fail, human instruments 
 may he withdrawn, but the word of God must have free 
 course/’ No seed cast upon the waters ever yielded so 
 rich a harvest as that which issues from the garners of the 
 Bible Society: there are many thousands here who are 
 still famishing for the bread of life. 
 
 The delegates from America informed us, with every 
 expression of Christian sympathy and regard, that there 
 are 1400 auxiliary societies in America scattered over the 
 whole land, and nearly 2800 branch societies. When 
 the American Bible Society was first formed, the districts 
 now included by these were a perfect wilderness, where 
 the savage roamed unmolested. The rapid increase of 
 their population, their field of labour widening from year 
 to year, their new and beautiful Bible Society House in 
 New York, and their income increasing by 85007. a-year, 
 with their annual distribution of 779,000 volumes, all 
 formed subjects of admiration to the listening father-land 
 which first made the movement that America rejoiced to 
 imitate. 
 
 But now, the Story of the Book must close. The facts 
 of the Narrative will, it is believed, make strong appeal 
 to those who already know and love the Bible Society ; 
 but it may possibly also fall into the hands of some who 
 have not hitherto been aware of its claims. 
 
 There are hundreds of thousands of persons who are 
 not aware of the existence of the system of the Bible So- 
 ciety spreading throughout England, as a great fact. 
 They have therefore never understood how much this 
 cause has tended to make their country what she is, and 
 to keep her what she is — the land of the Sabbath and of 
 the Bible, sitting at peace amid the tumults of the na- 
 tions, abiding under the blessing of her God because his 
 word is sent forth from her borders to all the earth. 
 
REVIEW OF THE PAST. 
 
 479 
 
 The ways and means by which this work is done are 
 now before those who shall have read this book, — the facts 
 and figures having been collected from authentic records. 
 
 These pages contain no new speculations, — they are 
 only a presentation of the old and the true. It is hoped 
 they will speak to the young with the power of novelty : 
 they , at least, are not supposed to have fully considered 
 the details of the past, and they are themselves the hope 
 of the future. The Bible Society needs, at this moment, 
 fresh aids for fresh purposes ; it needs the full emphasis 
 and support of the clergy of our National Church, and 
 of the ministers of all other Christian churches ; it needs 
 young men and women of all classes, from the highest 
 to the lowest, who shall be devoted seriously and entirely 
 to its noble service. Its truest hope is in the better part 
 of Young England. 
 
 The present age is one of fearful indifference to the 
 truth, as well as of open enmity to it; and it requires the 
 enthusiasm of youth to strive against its lukewarmness, 
 as well as against its error. 
 
 To you, then, whose hearts are not yet petrified, the 
 bloom of whose early ardour is not yet faded by inter- 
 course with a pleasure-loving world ; to you who are 
 capable of being elevated in character by the pursuit of 
 a sublime object, that object is here presented; an object 
 worth living for — and. if necessary, worth dying for. 
 
 Besolve that you will lay a stone in this pyramid ! 
 that you will be a fibre, striking root from this banian 
 tree. If a Bible Association is formed in your neigh- 
 bourhood, or if one has been long formed there, and it is 
 in a state needing revival, resolve that you will give it 
 honest and hearty help; and do this in remembrance of 
 what will be required at your hand in that day when 
 God shall say, “ Hast thou kept my word ? hast thou 
 made it known to any soul among thy perishing fellow- 
 sinners, for my sake ? ” Miserable will be the answer if 
 you must reply, “ To no man, Lord.” 
 
480 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 England has done so much for the distribution of the 
 Bible, that in your day she must do vastly more ! She 
 has raised herself by what she has already done into the 
 seat of high responsibility. She cannot draw back : she 
 must go forward. The time is come when the members 
 of God’s Universal Church must rise above the spirit of 
 party, and, ascending into the higher atmosphere which 
 is breathed in the Bible Society (for in Earl-street, it is 
 said, they never know the denomination to which each 
 member belongs), learn to agree on two points, viz., to 
 “hold fast the faithful word,” and also u to love one 
 another,” and in this temper to gird on their armour, 
 having in their hand “ the sword of the Spirit, which is 
 the word of God.” 
 
 The church of tradition has made ready for the battle : 
 the hosts of unbelievers are zealous for the dispersion of 
 their errors. Satan has even contrived a new book of false- 
 hood, called “ the book of Mormon,” whereby he is de- 
 luding thousands in this nineteenth century of intelli- 
 gence and inquiry. And how are these mixed hosts of 
 evil to be met? There is no new weapon to seek, but 
 simply to perceive the full power of the old principle of 
 union , to lay hold of it , and to use it , in the name of the 
 Lord. 
 
 When our own empire is more fully supplied with the 
 word of God, and more deeply pervaded by its spirit, 
 such a light may go forth from it as shall bear the witness 
 to all the world. The English language is spoken over 
 three quarters of the globe. Hence our own opportunities 
 and responsibilities as a nation ! “ The gospel of the 
 
 kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness 
 to all nations,” and ’this is done by the multiplication 
 and prayerful distribution of copies of the Divine word, 
 which it is promised shall be accompanied by the teaching 
 of the Holy Spirit. 
 
 Missionaries have prepared it in the tongues of many 
 peoples, and they are also its chief distributors in foreign 
 
MOTIVES FOR RENEWED EXERTION. 
 
 481 
 
 climes. They “ go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, 
 and shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing 
 their sheaves with them” (Fsalm 126. 6). “ The sower 
 
 soweth the word.” “ In the morning he is to sow his seed, 
 and in the evening to withhold not his hand; for he 
 knoweth not whether shall prosper, either this or that, 
 or whether both shall be alike good.” Some will be 
 sown on good ground, and bring forth fruit: “ the seed 
 is the word, and the field is the world.” 
 
 Let any one, now aware of the influence of* which this 
 Institution is the great centre, endeavour to realize the 
 sad idea of a closed Bible Society House — closed as by a 
 Russian ukase, or an Austrian edict — the shutters up, and 
 the doors fastened ! If this were possible, what a source 
 of light and life t/ the universe would be extinguished — 
 the correspondence of the British and Foreign Bible So- 
 ciety concluded, its accounts wound up, and its officers 
 dismissed! May that day never dawn on our free coun- 
 try! Abiding under the shadow of England’s throne, 
 may the Bible Society still go on to pour fresh oil into 
 the seven-branched candlestick of the ancient churches — 
 into the Nestorian, the Armenian, the Coptic, the Abys- 
 sinian, the Vaudois, the British, and the Jewish — that in 
 all parts of the world their light may again lighten the 
 darkness around them — and that they may unite to speed 
 the bright angel flying in the midst of heaven, 4 4 having 
 the everlasting gospei to preach unto them that dwell on 
 the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue^ 
 and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God and give 
 glory to Him ; for the hour of his judgment is come ; 
 and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the 
 sea, and the fountains of waters! And there followed 
 another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that 
 great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine 
 of the wrath of her fornication” (Rev. 14. 6-8). 
 
 “ Very much land is yet to be possessed,” vast is the 
 magnitude of the work which remains to be done. At 
 
 32 
 
482 
 
 THE BOOK AND ITS STORY. 
 
 the utmost possible computation of Bibles already circu- 
 lated, 700 millions of souls, or 140 millions of families, 
 are yet left totally destitute ! 
 
 Even if England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, were 
 adequately provided, the kingdoms and countries of Eu- 
 rope are not half supplied ! 
 
 Supposing the United States of America to possess 
 Bibles to the same extent with ourselves, look at the 
 native tribes, and the vast continent of South America ! 
 Forget not China! with her 360 millions. Remember 
 India ! with her 150 millions. If to her a million Testa- 
 ments could be supplied to-morrow, the means of distri- 
 buting them are all ready, and she longs for the boon. 
 Think of the just discovered cities and thickly peopled 
 tracts of inner Africa ! then of all Oceanica ! and, im- 
 pressed with a fresh sense of the wants of the world — 
 of the power of the Book — and of the truth of its Story — 
 let us arise and “work while it is called to-day; for the 
 night cometh when no man can work.” Work together 
 with God, who has said, “ My word shall not re- 
 turn unto Me void; but it shall accomplish 
 
 THAT WHICH I PLEASE, AND SHALL PROSPER IN 
 THE THING WHEREUNTO I SENT IT ” (Isa. 55. 11). 
 
 Addenda. 
 
ADDENDA. 
 
 It has been thought desirable, in preparing a new Edition of 
 this Volume, to add to its pages a few items of recent in- 
 formation relating to the fruits of the Jubilee Year of the 
 Bible Society, w r hich has been truly called 64 a year of years.” 
 It has pleased Him, whose is the silver and the gold, to 
 put it into the hearts of his people, to cast into the Jubilee 
 treasury, for the distribution of his Word, no less a sum 
 than One Hundred Thousand Pounds, including the special 
 offering for the Chinese New Testament Fund of Thirty- 
 seven Thousand Pounds. This was done without injury to 
 the ordinary receipts of the Society, which amounted to One 
 Hundred and Twenty -two Thousand Pounds , — showing an 
 increase on the income of the preceding year of Eight Thou- 
 sand Pounds in free contributions, and of Eleven Thousand 
 Pounds from the extra sale of Bibles. The total sum from 
 all sources, placed at the disposal of the Committee, being 
 Tivo Hundred and Twenty-tivo Thousand Pounds , — the largest 
 amount ever received in a single year by any one religious 
 Society. We may believe that 44 the Lord had need of it,” 
 or He would not have brought this to pass ; and 44 He hath 
 done great things, whereof we are glad.” 
 
 The world-wide Jubilee Meetings have been held; — held 
 in halls and school-rooms, and sometimes in open fields, and 
 in the unroofed spaces of our noble old ruined castles.** And 
 they have not merely presented cheering statements of ac- 
 counts, but the hearts of the speakers, and the hearts of the 
 hearers, have together been stirred with a fresh sense of the 
 high mission in which the Society is engaged, — in nothing 
 
 # As the Jubilee Meeting at Carnarvon, North Wales. 
 
484 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 less than the utterance of the Voice of God to man. That 
 Voice is heard from watchtowers which now encircle the 
 whole globe ; and though yet too few and far between, they 
 are ever multiplying ; the words of life are penetrating to the 
 ends of the world. 
 
 During the whole of the Jubilee Year, most joyous tidings 
 were received from Auxiliary Societies in every region. From 
 the ice-fields of the North, to the glowing plains of India; 
 from island and continent, from the strongholds of hea- 
 thenism, and from the heart of the Holy Land itself, came 
 the song of the Jubilee, wafted in sympathy to the Father- 
 land of Bibles. From communities and families, from old 
 men and children, young men and maidens ; from the Queen 
 and the peasant, poured the Jubilee offerings, — there has 
 been no such oneness of feeling and purpose before in all 
 earth’s history! 
 
 The details of recent operations, seem as if they might be 
 best remembered under the five divisions before adopted, — 
 Protestant and Catholic , Mahomedan and Heathen Countries , 
 and Ancient Churches . But a few particulars only can be 
 selected from those which crowd for admission. 
 
 From the PROTESTANT countries we must choose 
 England; and from all other fields of interest, point to 
 the work of her Domestic Colporteurs, and her distribution 
 of the Scriptures to her Army and Navy.* 
 
 Grants from the Jubilee Fund for Colportage , have been 
 made to fifty districts which had applied for them, be- 
 sides London itself, amounting to upwards of 2000£. It has 
 hitherto been exceedingly difficult to find the suitable men 
 for colporteurs; and when found, and proved efficient, they 
 are apt to be sought and secured for what is called higher 
 work. Yet what work can be higher than bearing the bread 
 of life to the tens of thousands of perishing souls scattered 
 over mountain and moor, and along highways and hedges, 
 who might otherwise never taste of it ? Yes, and it is found 
 that among the neglected crowds of the lower population in 
 large towns and cities, the man with the Book of books in his 
 
COLPORTAGE. 
 
 485 
 
 hand, is not only wanted but welcomed. The Bible Society 
 intend to continue grants towards this object through another 
 year, under careful regulation . The Bev. J. A. Page, the 
 
 agent for Yorkshire, writes : — 
 
 “ My colporteurs have already done a great work in the 
 dissemination of the Scriptures, and have also been the 
 means of reviving two important associations in Bradford and 
 Hull, where upwards of 1100 subscribers for Bibles have 
 been added to the lists of the lady collectors. I find that 
 nothing tends so much to increase the interest in our Society 
 as the labours of the colporteurs.” 
 
 The Rev. T. Davies, Vicar of Trevethin, Pontypool, says : — 
 
 “ This movement is gradually rising in popular estimation. 
 I make a point, at our evening service on Sundays, to men- 
 tion the measure of success which has attended the labours 
 of the colporteur during the week, and from the beginning ; 
 and I learn with pleasure that others of my brethren are 
 doing the same. The result is, that wherever he penetrates 
 the object of his mission is known; and I am persuaded, he 
 will be the means of scattering very many thousand copies of 
 God’s holy Word among the inhabitants of these populous 
 regions.” 
 
 But it is not only in populous regions that this explorative 
 agency, followed up by an active committee, may become of 
 unspeakable value, but also in outlying villages and hamlets, 
 and amid agricultural populations. A grant of 30Z., made to 
 a small auxiliary in Kent, for colportage, has been expended 
 in the course of twelve months, in two separate series of 
 visits to the same district, at an interval of six months ; the 
 result of the whole being more than 15,000 calls made, and 
 the sale of 1725 copies of the Scriptures. This colportage 
 also laid the foundation of two flourishing associations in 
 neighbouring towns, which have commenced their labours 
 when those of the colporteur had ceased. The colporteur of 
 this auxiliary was told, in one instance, where the last four- 
 pence in the house was brought forth to purchase a Testa- 
 ment, — “ Ah, it is as good to me as a fortune of a thousand 
 pounds.” Another person said, — 44 I hardly know how to 
 spare the money, but it is a message from the King, and I 
 must not turn it from me.” On calling at a cottage, a 
 woman said, — 44 My mother, now lying sick upstairs, was 
 
486 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 brought to the Saviour’s cross by such a Testament as this : 
 and it was in one of your Society’s Bibles that I, too, found 
 the 4 Pearl of great price.’ ” 
 
 The evidence of Home colporteurs would go far to prove 
 that the people warmly welcome the Bibles thus carried to 
 their doors. The men are often told, 66 Yours is a good 
 work, and God will bless it; you belong to a noble band:” 
 and one colporteur often reaps the fruit of the seed sown by 
 his predecessor. The following is an interesting proof of 
 this, and is an anecdote which in itself is full of the Gospel. 
 
 A cottager, who purchased a fourpenny Testament for her 
 little boy, said, that last year she had done so for her little 
 girl, since dead. She then, with a mother’s love, described 
 the details of her illness, and added, — 46 One day, she called 
 me to her bedside, saying, 4 Mother, I shall never go to 
 school again, for I am going to die. I am going to Jesus, 
 who bids little children come to him ; and you, and father, 
 and brother, can come too. Oh, it is a lovely home I am 
 going to ; I shall have a white robe and crown, and be ever 
 with Jesus. Will you, mother, bring me my New Testa- 
 ment ? ’ I brought it to her, but she was too weak to hold it 
 herself, and bade me open it at the 18th chapter of Matthew, 
 and hold it so that she could read it. There’s the place, Sir. 
 It was the chapter she used most, and the paper is quite worn 
 by her little fingers ; so I keep it for her sake. As I held it 
 up, she said, 4 Mother, did you hear the Lord’s words, 44 That 
 it is not his will that one of his little ones should perish?” 
 Oh, how I wish you would kneel down and pray.’ 
 
 44 1 knelt down, but as I had never prayed since I was 
 married, and then only knew the Lord’s prayer, I could do 
 nothing but cry ; but she, without her prayer book, said two 
 collects and the Lord’s prayer, and after stopping for a little 
 time, prayed out of her own head for more than half an hour. 
 Where she got the words from I did not know then, but I 
 know now that it was God’s Holy Spirit who was teaching 
 her to pray, as He has* taught me since. She seemed to be 
 speaking to some one, and she told everything that she, poor 
 child, had done, that she thought was wrong. When she 
 had finished she said, 4 Oh ! mother, I see such a black mark 
 on me, but Christ’s blood will wash the stains away.’ After 
 awhile her father came in, and she asked him to read to her 
 
ALLIED ARMIES IN THE EAST. 
 
 487 
 
 the 14th chapter of John. He read it, and she said to him, 
 6 Father, I am going far away; I am going to Jesus, and you 
 must promise me to come too. Oh ! do promise me to read 
 a chapter every day, and pray to Jesus to shew you the way 
 to heaven through Him ! Try to love Him, father, for he 
 loves you, and died for us.’ She would not let go her father’s 
 hand till he had promised her to read the Testament every 
 day, and then, as she seemed composed, we went to bed. 
 
 44 But we were awoke before daylight by her groans. When 
 I went to her she said, ‘Mother, Satan has been troubling 
 me, he is fighting hard for my soul, but I have the victory in 
 Jesus ; and I am going, I am going through the golden gates 
 with Christ’s robe of righteousness on.’ She then stopped 
 speaking, her lips moving as if in prayer. I said to her, 
 ‘Are you happy in your mind?’ ‘Yes,’ she answered, ‘very 
 happy. I go unto Him that hath loved us, and washed us 
 from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings 
 and priests.’ Then she spoke no more, and we saw that she 
 had entered heaven. — More like a lovely sleep than death. 
 I thought it a hard thing to lose my poor child, but now I 
 thank God, for her death will, with his grace, save alive our 
 souls. I cannot now do as I once did, let the Bible lie 
 unopened, and go to bed always prayerless. I had a hard 
 struggle with Satan for prayer : for some time I could not 
 pray, but I knelt down and persevered in trying, and the 
 devil, finding I resisted him, fled.” 
 
 More than 150,000 copies of the Scriptures have been 
 supplied by the British and Foreign Bible Society to the 
 Allied Armies in the East, and for their sick and wounded, 
 and prisoners of war. These have been distributed through 
 many channels : through the Naval and Military, the Hiber- 
 nian, and Merchant Seamen’s Bible Societies ; through mili- 
 tary chaplains, and by the hand of private individuals pro- 
 ceeding to the Crimea and to Scutari. We are naturally 
 deeply anxious to hear something of the springing of this 
 seed amid the terrors of the battle field, and the after suffer- 
 ings of the hospital. From the Eev. I. Lowndes, of Malta, 
 we learn, that he has visited many of the soldiers come down 
 
488 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 from the seat of war, and it is heartrending to hear the 
 accounts they give of the horrors they have endured, and to 
 look upon their poor mutilated frames, £< eyeless, footless, ear- 
 less, armless.” A few of them are men who had been supplied 
 with New Testaments before they went ; some had not ob- 
 tained any ; many, in the hurry of their transit, or in escaping 
 from the carnage, had left everything behind them. Such 
 have now been supplied afresh, and have received the books 
 most gratefully. Mr. Bracebridge, at a Bible meeting lately 
 held in Constantinople, related that a fond mother had en- 
 treated of him by letter, particulars of the last moments of 
 her son who fell in battle. To have given these would only 
 have added to her anguish, but he was able to transmit to 
 her one fact which spoke volumes of consolation — that when 
 the young officer’s garments were loosened to examine his 
 wounds, the Bible was found reposing on his bosom. Captain 
 Benson, at the same meeting, mentioned that “ a dear friend 
 of his, a British officer, collected his men round him the night 
 before the battle of Alma, and read to them the 91st Psalm; 
 a few hours afterwards he was no longer amidst wars and 
 tumults, but in heavenly mansions, where love and peace 
 reign.” Very many of the poor sufferers in the hospitals 
 are disabled for life, whether for war or labour; and they 
 tell more bitter stories than their own of those who fell to 
 rise no more. They are visited at Scutari by a colporteur, 
 selections from whose reports are as follows : “ One day I 
 saw fifty-five bodies being prepared for interment, fifteen 
 more lying lifeless in the hospital. The sick men appear 
 perfect wrecks, and even more to be pitied than the wounded. 
 There are so many to visit, that I can seldom speak to the 
 same man more than once. In traversing the extensive cor- 
 ridors leading to Miss Nightingale’s apartments, my heart 
 bled to see them filled with the heroes of Alma and of Inker- 
 mann, stretched on their couches pale and emaciated. The 
 Society’s New Testament lay within their reach, and my eye 
 caught some reading it. Miss Nightingale received me with 
 kindness and affability, and was most ready to communicate 
 the information required. She said the invalids under her 
 care were amply supplied with New Testaments, but sadly 
 required Bibles ; so much so that she gave her own away. 
 I promised a supply from my depot ; she required seventy- 
 
COLPORTAGrE IN FRANCE. 
 
 489 
 
 two. Many Romanists would accept New Testaments but 
 for the prohibition of their priests. They receive the mark of 
 their faith on their medical card; and the books are taken 
 from them if discovered. ” 
 
 Two hundred Russian Testaments have been given to 
 Russian prisoners. The evidence of a surgeon employed 
 among them is, “ There are many of those Testaments here, 
 and the men are often reading them, while those who are not 
 able to read gather round to listen.” Many have received the 
 book with starting tears of gratitude, and though generally 
 rough and uncivilized, they cannot but be touched with the 
 kindness thus shewn to them ; they may even live to bless 
 the day when they became prisoners to the English, and had 
 offered to them the treasure of the divine word. 
 
 Mr.' Barker writes from Constantinople: “ Our depot here 
 is full of life; colporteurs come in and out, carrying off large 
 parcels of Scriptures for soldiers and sailors in the hospitals, 
 and for sale about the city. Our soldiers wished to buy 
 a considerable number of tenpenny 6 Pearls,’ and shilling 
 4 Rubies.’ The military chaplains have written from Bala- 
 klava for 1100 Bibles and 500 Testaments, as so many copies 
 were lost at the battles of Alma and Inkermann. Orders are 
 constantly arriving from distant missionary stations for the 
 native Protestant Christians and their schools. An American 
 missionary at Arabkir required 100 Turkish Testaments fof 
 Turks and Kurds ; the latter mountain tribes being, he says, 
 in a state of greater readiness to receive the Gospel, than 
 even the Armenians themselves. This is a most surprising 
 and interesting feature of our work in Turkey. Boxes of 
 books are continually coming in from England, Malta, Smyrna 
 and Athens, and others are going out in all directions.” 
 
 From the ROMAN CATHOLIC countries we must select 
 France. Although most Frenchmen are Romanists or in- 
 fidels, it is not the less true that the Word of God is being 
 diffused amongst them, and by their own purchase. All that 
 during twenty-five years has been accomplished for the ad- 
 vancement of the kingdom of God in France, has had its 
 origin in the distribution of the Scriptures. 
 
490 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 Of course every attempt is made by the Jesuits to deny 
 the right of abandoning Popery ; the people are told, 44 You 
 were born Roman Catholics, and Roman Catholics you must 
 die.” Contempt, threats, and often violence are used; yet 
 it is all but labour lost, for persecution only augments faith 
 and courage. In some places the converts are turned out of 
 their new places of worship, and then they meet in their 
 thick forests, no weather hindering them, to read the Bible 
 together, and to exhort to perseverance and to prayer. The 
 pastor mentioned in p. 423 of this volume, is now excluded 
 from his pulpit, but, mounted on a heap of turf in the open 
 air, with his flock seated on the grass around him, he enjoys 
 no less the presence and blessing of the Lord. Persecution 
 has always been the weapon of the Romish church, and in 
 this age of intelligence it is her weapon still. She unsparingly 
 employs it, if she can, whenever Protestants feel themselves 
 impelled to speak of Jesus Christ beyond the walls of their 
 own chapels, and whenever they seriously set about gaining 
 new disciples for the religion of the Bible. When ivill she 
 learn that wherever attempt is made to hinder the progress of 
 the Gospel, it only prospers the more ; and that every act of 
 enmity shewn to the circulation of the Scriptures, is only 
 certain to promote their greater sale ? 
 
 Yes, truly, colportage in France is a work triumphant over 
 every obstacle. During nine months of the year 1854, nearly 
 76,000 copies of the Scriptures were issued from the depot in 
 Paris, 67,000 of these being sold by colporteurs, chiefly to 
 Roman Catholics, being an increase of 15,000 copies even on 
 the circulation of the Jubilee year; and to this effect there 
 has concurred a most singular cause. In the very smallest 
 of the country parishes in France, the bishops of Rome have 
 prepared the people, of late, to receive a new doctrine from 
 the Pope ; and by dazzling illuminations of coloured lamps 
 in the great cities, have called crowds to witness, and read 
 in giant transparencies, that “ Mary is the Mother of the 
 Creator. Mary is the Queen of Heaven.” The publication of 
 which dogma, with its attendant abominations, is a subject of 
 reproach and sorrow even to serious Romanists. But to what 
 has all this led? Actually to the purchase of New Testaments, 
 to search for passages relating to the Virgin. Let this fact 
 echo back to the Vatican! The Cardinals lit their million 
 
LA MEEE LOUISE. 
 
 491 
 
 lamps in honour of the Virgin ; hut meanwhile the people 
 ■were paying into the treasury of the Bible Society more than 
 2000/. for the purchase of the lamp of God’s Word, to light 
 them from the paths of error into the ways of truth. 
 
 Instead of seventy- six colporteurs, at least a hundred are 
 now to he employed in the fields of labour that are opening, 
 and opening, Notwithstanding the pressure on the labouring 
 poor, of war prices, and other privations. The French under- 
 stand the social principle of economising in their households ; 
 and in the villages they will gather together, in the long, 
 cold, wet evenings, perhaps in a stable, where they can share 
 the warmth with the cows and sheep ; they bring their chairs 
 and stools, and some on trusses of hay and straw, will 
 groupe round a large old lamp, and carry on their trades of 
 sewing or basket-making, etc. A colporteur, last December, 
 entered such a building, and found some thirty persons thus 
 assembled, chatting about the war in the East — (for where is 
 not that now talked of?) — dear bread, and the scarcity of 
 money, etc. La Mere Louise, the mistress of the stable, 
 exclaimed, 66 That all these things had been predicted in the 
 Gospel, as a punishment for men’s sins.” And the colporteur 
 asked her if she found that in her Latin mass-book? “No,” 
 said she, “ but in my French Testament, which I bought 
 some years ago of a colporteur.” Then followed converse 
 on the happiness of possessing a New Testament ; to which 
 all listened, till the “ servant of the Word” began to let the 
 Neiv Testament speak for itself and invited them to follow 
 the example of La Mere Louise, and buy this good book. At 
 this they looked at each other, saying, “ How can we buy 
 books when we want bread?” “Ask la Mere Louise,” said 
 he, “ whether she repents any sacrifice she made to get this 
 book.” “ Oh, no,” said she. On this, a voice cried out, 
 “ Let us club together.” One, therefore, offered a sou, 
 another two sous, another five sous ; and so several copies of 
 the Word were disposed of in this poor company. 
 
 The Circulation of the Scriptures in the French Camps. 
 
 This is a work in which many English Christians have 
 taken an active and personal part. They provided for the 
 
492 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 colporteur a vehicle to hold his books, and a horse to draw 
 it; and moreover, accompanied him to the scene of his 
 labours. This was not prevented; for Christians in France 
 remark, that the new alliance of the two nations is rapidly 
 destroying old prejudice and antipathies. The Generals in 
 command, on observation of the quiet demeanour of the col- 
 porteur, have not only given him leave to pursue his work of 
 selling Bibles, but also to form libraries of good books for the 
 soldiers, to which are attached comfortable reading-rooms, 
 where the New Testament, as in the stable of La Mere Louise, 
 is 64 allowed to speak for itself.” Of course, this is very 
 contrary to the mind of the Jesuits; but, under God’s pro- 
 vidence, influence has been raised up to protect it, in the 
 highest quarters, and “ the cowl is not permitted to shroud 
 the epaulette.” French Testaments by thousands are now 
 in the hands of men beneath the walls of Sebastopol, — 
 40,000 copies are named as the total distributed. Very many 
 officers have bought Bibles ; and coming also into contact 
 with some true servants of Jesus Christ who possess them in 
 the English army, what may not be the happy result ? 
 
 A colporteur, at Scutari, is doing all that he is permitted 
 to do in the hospitals occupied by the French ; but the 
 Sisters of Mercy hinder him in all his attempts to place 
 the Testament in the hands of Romanists. In the streets, 
 the French soldiers receive the Scriptures gladly. But the 
 Sisters of Mercy — (they do not deserve the name, if they 
 refuse the consolation of the Word of God to the sick and 
 dying) — went so far as to prevent the Scriptures being given 
 to the invalid Russian prisoners under their care. 
 
 The Revivals in the Eastern Churches in Mahomedan 
 Countries . 
 
 We cannot again turn away from Turkey — the point on 
 which the eye of the politician is so earnestly fixed — before we 
 have noted, with as much compression as possible, the rapid 
 progress of the light which has been shed for the last few 
 years among the Churches of the East. 
 
 Turkey in Europe and Asia, contains thirty-five millions of 
 
REVIVALS IN THE EASTERN CHURCHES. 493 
 
 souls, of whom upwards of twenty millions are still believers 
 in the falsities of Mahomet. But 17,306 copies of the pure 
 Word of God were circulated in Turkey in 1854; and these 
 Scriptures are effecting a glorious work among Jews, Nesto- 
 rians, and Armenians, thickly scattered amid that Turkish 
 population. To this fact we have previously referred; but 
 its results are becoming daily more manifest. It is now 
 delightful to spend a Sabbath among the Nestorian missi- 
 onaries, on Mount Seir ( see p. 431), where they preach to 
 large congregations, and superintend schools, in which adults, 
 male and female, are not only learning to read, but making 
 rapid progress in the knowledge of the Bible. It is a most 
 significant fact to those acquainted with the down-trodden 
 and miserable condition of women in the East, that fifty of 
 them in one village should be learning to read. The change 
 in the countenances of many is obvious ; intelligence and 
 modesty have taken the place of vulgarity, and they might 
 be selected from a hundred others, as those who can read the 
 Bible . 
 
 The American missionaries and their pupil-teachers, also 
 spread over the plain of Ooroomiah to the scattered villages ; 
 holding Sabbath-schools and preaching, and visiting those 
 who have formerly been pupils, and are now diffusing among 
 their relatives the light of life. During summer, the services 
 are held in groves adjoining the churches, — an arrangement 
 much to be preferred for space and coolness. Here two 
 hundred people at a time are seen bending over their books. 
 On the trees are suspended maps of Palestine, for the use of 
 students of the Gospels. As night draws on, the teachers 
 reassemble at Mount Seir, and recount their day’s labours, 
 on the terraced roof of the mission-house, beneath the star- 
 spangled sky. They are turning many to righteousness ; and 
 God grant that they may 44 shine as the stars,” as is pro- 
 mised, 44 for ever and ever.” 
 
 In the Armenian Church there is a remarkable native 
 teacher, whom the missionaries name 44 Kevork,” or 44 the 
 Apostle to the Gentiles.” He resides in a village near 
 Arabkir ; and four years ago he was driven from it, because 
 he sought to preach to the villagers the Gospel of Christ, He 
 was beaten and stoned; and fled for his life to the mountains, 
 dwelling for weeks alone amid caves and rocks, and sub- 
 
4U4 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 sisting on roots and herbs. Here he diligently read his New 
 Testament, and wept and prayed till he thought — 44 perhaps 
 they will listen now;” then down he would go to his tillage, 
 hear all their cruelties afresh, and again he driven back to 
 weep and pray. Thus it continued for many months, till it 
 seemed to him that his own people were determined not to 
 receive Christ ; and then he said, 44 Lo, I turn to the Gen- 
 tiles.” He has ever since been travelling over the mountains, 
 preaching to Turks, Kurds, and Armenians, whoever will 
 hear. And many do hear. He has been the means of dif- 
 fusing a vast amount of light in that wild district ; he waters 
 his way with his tears, and yet often makes it vocal with 
 praise and prayer. A large number of the robber Kurds have 
 listened to him, and embraced the truth. These are the 
 Kurds that Mr. Barker, of Constantinople, mentions, as so 
 anxious for the Scriptures. 
 
 46 Would that I could cause you to realize,” says the mis- 
 sionary, Mr. Clark, 44 Kevork’s deep, living spirituality, — the 
 way in which he is filled with Christ. It would seem as 
 though, in the mountains, he had conversed with God face to 
 face : his whole soul is on fire, when, with tears running 
 down his dark sunburnt Arab cheek, he most eloquently 
 speaks of a Saviour’s love.” 
 
 A short time since, this Kevork — a kind of Christian 
 Schamyl — preached six days in succession to Turks, Kurds, 
 and Armenians, in Malatia, without opposition ; indeed, he 
 went there at the express invitation of the Judge of the city, 
 and was a part of the time the guest of the Governor. He 
 exposed the absurdities of the old Armenian Church, and 
 pressed upon them Christ Jesus. The Armenians were 
 urgent for him to remain with them there, but 44 he has a wider 
 mission at present.” 
 
 Mingled with the Nestorians and Armenians in Turkey, 
 are many members of the apostate Western churches, — the 
 Church of Borne and the Greek Church, which alike resolved 
 to hide God’s Word from the people, and have conspired to 
 do so for hundreds of years. Upon these, however, the Pro- 
 testant revivals are acting reflectively ; and the Armenians, 
 being especially the travelling merchants of the world, are 
 diffusing, and will diffuse, their new principles all over the 
 East. They are scattered through India; they abound at 
 
HEATHEN COUNTRIES. 
 
 495 
 
 Jerusalem, Constantinople, and at St. Petersburg!! ; they are 
 raising the spirit of enquiry concerning the Scriptures, not 
 only among Bomanists and Greeks, but even among the 
 Mahomedans. There is scarcely a considerable town in 
 Turkey, in which there is not now the nucleus of a Protes- 
 tant communion. 46 The Scriptures are more read even by 
 Turks,” says Mr. Barker, 44 than we commonly suppose. I 
 was at our depot, when a respectable Turk, accompanied by 
 two servants, called there for a Bible, which Chourchid 
 Pacha, a French general in the Sultan’s service, had the day 
 before selected. He spoke very good French. And whilst 
 he examined the Bible, I entered into conversation with him, 
 when he suddenly looked me in the face, and said, 4 1 am a 
 Turk ; nevertheless, I continually read the Bible.’ He then 
 turned round and departed. There may be many such 
 Turks.” 
 
 Some missionaries of the Scotch Church have Jewish 
 schools at the Golden Horn and at Galata, each attended by 
 upwards of a hundred boys and girls. Here the objections 
 of the Jews against Christ as the Messiah, are refuted both 
 from the Old and New Testaments. Some of the Jewish 
 parents took their children away from these schools, but sent 
 them back again. 
 
 Turkish oppression is materially softened at present. 
 Christians at Broossa were even permitted to build their 
 church near the mosque ; and a passer-by asking, 44 How is 
 this?” was answered, 44 It is no harm. They are Protes- 
 tants; ours is a jami (or meeting-place), and theirs is a 
 4 jami' too.” He meant, that it was not an idol temple, like 
 the Greek churches, but simply a place for prayer. This 
 expression from a Turk may be regarded as a sign of the 
 times. 
 
 Heathen Countries . 
 
 And what of India since the year of Jubilee? 5000Z. of 
 the Jubilee Fund has been voted for Scripture distribution 
 among that vast population, intrusted by Divine Providence 
 to British rule; and the friends of the Bible Society earnestly 
 and prayerfully await opportunities, judiciously to make fur- 
 ther grants, as the demands for their help shall arise. 
 
496 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 Marvellous changes are taking place in the social condition 
 of the people, under the viceroyalty of the Marquis of Dal- 
 housie. 44 In no year,” says the Friend of India, 44 have we 
 taken such giant strides as in that which has just closed. It 
 is likely to stand forth in our Indian annals as the year of 
 j progress . The whole fabric of European empire in India, it 
 must be remembered, has only a hundred years' history. In 
 1755, the extent of British jurisdiction there was about three 
 miles in length by one in breadth. In 1855, within a ter- 
 ritory of 1,000,000 square miles, all bow to the decisions of 
 our Governor-General.” The Anglo-Saxon power is seated 
 on the ancient Mogul throne, and sways as many millions as 
 obey the fiat of the Russian Czar, and as the population of 
 America added to their numbers. To what purpose can such 
 wealth of power have been given us, but that we should bear 
 to those sunny climes the Revelation from on High ? 
 
 Romanism is active in India. It has eight or nine hundred 
 bishops and priests there, busied in elevating among the 
 Heathen the crucifix of its 44 Heathenized Christianity.” But 
 Romanism is there without the Bible. Portugal and France 
 have claimed dominion in India, but they would not have 
 given her the Bible. The rule over her native princes was re- 
 served for England, — to that 44 small island of a distant sea,” 
 because within her borders sprung up the fountain, the foun- 
 tain of the Words of life, 44 for all the world” ( see p. 228). 
 
 44 Among all the Mahratta missions,” says the American 
 press, 44 there are signs of progress. Every fresh change is 
 working out the overthrow of superstition, and preparing the 
 way of the Lord. Railroads and electric telegraphs are ex- 
 tending their lines in every direction; the government is open- 
 ing roads and digging canals for irrigation. The desire for 
 education is increasing among the natives. In regard to 
 female education the change in their sentiments is amazing : 
 the first class natives now subscribe to schools, and send 
 their own daughters. The press is influential, and a mission 
 journal, the Dwyanodaya, has a circulation surpassing all 
 other papers. Its statements of the circulation of the Scrip- 
 tures by Colporteurs are of peculiar interest. The mission- 
 aries write, 4 that every time they return from their tours, 
 they feel that far more ought to be done for India in this 
 ivay India wants more colporteurs to 44 let the New 
 
PROGRESS IN INDIA. 
 
 497 
 
 Testament speak for itself,” as in the stable of La Mere 
 Louise. The supply of Scriptures for all the millions of 
 India is not yet 3,000,000. The laborious, and overtasked 
 Protestant missionaries, not yet numbering 500, are calling 
 for more labourers in their wide field, as well they may. 
 They are mourning, also, that they have hitherto gathered 
 converts by units rather than by hundreds. They are “ watch- 
 ing wearily for the morning.” They believe in the power of 
 their message, but at present they see not the fruit. Mean- 
 time, we may say of India, comparatively with the rest of the 
 world, it is still the stronghold of idolatry, for the seed is yet 
 in the garner, the sword is still in the scabbard. — the “seed 
 of the word,” and the “ sword of the Spirit,” which (again) is 
 the Word of God. Why should not the fainting strength of 
 the missionaries apply itself fully to sowing the seed broad- 
 cast, and to unsheathing the sword , as it has never yet been 
 unsheathed ? As Luther said, “ Let the word run through the 
 length and breadth of the land ! ” And will not God honour 
 his own word, and “magnify it” above all human words? 
 From that seed there will spring a harvest of many souls. 
 Many a native Kevork, a fit messenger to his brethren, who 
 shall yet further perfect translations and expound the Word, 
 and shew forth Jesus Christ. 
 
 There is everything that is cheering in the present political 
 aspect of Indian affairs. “Greater government reforms, and 
 government works have been accomplished in one year than 
 could have been hoped for in ten. Dr. O’Shaughnessy began 
 his telegraphic operations in November, 1853, and in less than 
 six months a message was sent to the Governor-general in 
 Calcutta from Agra, a distance of more than 800 miles, in 
 two hours. Bombay, Lahore, and Madras, were united to 
 this line before the close of the year. When we reflect on 
 the vast distance to which the rods have been carried, often 
 across unfordable rivers, or through dense jungles, and on 
 the difficulty of training 200 rough and untutored hands to 
 signal, the progress and success of the line is equally marvel- 
 lous. London intelligence of the 25th of one month is now 
 received at Calcutta on the 21st of the next month, and at all 
 the other capitals in three hours more.” Oh ! that the words 
 of life may soon travel through India with the swiftness of 
 a telegraphic message. 
 
498 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 “Next in the order of events, comes the opening of the 
 first section of the great Railway that is to connect Calcutta 
 with Lahore. At Bombay has sounded the first railway 
 whistle in India. The inauguration of the Calcutta and 
 Delhi railway took place with great pomp, in presence of the 
 Governor- general, the Judges, and influential inhabitants. 
 The ceremonies commenced with the Bishop’s reading a 
 series of Scripture passages ; among others, 6 Cast ye up, 
 cast ye up, prepare the way.’ The successive stations were 
 crowded with dense masses of the native population, which 
 had poured forth from town and hamlet to watch the wheels 
 of the chariot of fire — so far superior to the car of Xndra in 
 the blessings which it will confer. It will probably do more 
 for India than has been done for 2000 years. It is already 
 highly popular; on the Bengal line 1000 passengers travel 
 daily, and at less than half the ordinary charge in England.” 
 
 During the past year, the government has bestowed on 
 India the immense benefit of a low uniform rate of postage, 
 extending to pamphlets and books . The Educational Bill, also, 
 will lay a broad foundation for a liberal system of national 
 education. In addition to ordinary Schools, Universities 
 and Colleges are to be established, and who will not hail for 
 India the introduction of a system which will elevate the 
 moral and mental condition of the people, and prepare the 
 way for a wide diffusion of the Word of Life ? 
 
 These schools alone will occasion a vast call for the Scrip- 
 tures, which will thus be introduced by the children to their 
 homes. Their parents are often too poor to buy books, and 
 large gifts will therefore be necessary. If such is the move- 
 ment on the face of society in India, we cannot but watch 
 with equal interest the surging of the waives of popular 
 tumult in 
 
 China. 
 
 Protestant missionaries in China are still looking with pro- 
 found interest upon the proceedings of the Insurgents, which 
 have already done so much to destroy the influence of the old 
 superstitions. A gentleman writing from Hong Kong, under 
 date February, 1855, remarks: “We have heard of late very 
 little news from Nanking. The Jesuits hate the movement, 
 
THE MOVEMENT IN CHINA. 
 
 499 
 
 and magnify every blot in the character and conduct of the 
 revolutionary leaders. To all appearance the Manchoo Tar- 
 tar dynasty must fall. The sceptre has all hut passed from 
 their hands in this neighbourhood, and vast numbers of inde- 
 pendent rebels threaten Canton, which may any day become 
 their own. The French admiral at Shanghae has joined the 
 imperialists in attacking the local Triad rebels in the city. 
 But all these things will tell against the Romanists, if the 
 rebellion succeeds. This vast empire is in course of disrup- 
 tion and convulsion; and when the country will again be 
 quiet, and Christian missions be carried on under a settled 
 government, it is difficult to predict. 
 
 “I believe that the alternative is likely to be between 
 anarchy and the empire of Tae-ping-wang. Under the salu- 
 tary influence of foreign governments and missionaries, and 
 with the recognition and publication of the Word of God, 
 great results would soon follow. 
 
 “ The Gospels of St. Luke, St. John, with the Book of Acts, 
 and the Epistle to the Romans, in Loochooan Japanese, have 
 been printed here, and supplies have been sent to the Rev. Mr. 
 Moreton, at Loochoo, for the use of the Naval Mission.” Means 
 time the Chinese Testaments, for which Britain has poured 
 forth her willing offerings, are being printed at six or more 
 different places, and colporteurs are diligently sought to aid in 
 their circulation. Frequent excursions are made by the mis- 
 sionaries, and important changes seem near at hand. 
 
 In the edition of the Scriptures which the Insurgents are 
 publishing, Genesis is called vol. i., Exodus vol. ii. of the Old 
 Testament ; Matthew is called vol. i. of the New Testament. 
 It would seem to be their intention to publish the whole 
 Bible under the imperial sanction. At Fuhchou the Gospel is 
 preached regularly. A letter has been received from this place 
 from the Rev. W. Welton, on the desirableness of employing 
 native colporteurs to go into the interior for the circulation of 
 the Chinese Scriptures — two such are already engaged. He 
 speaks hopefully of the aspect of affairs in China. A letter, 
 also, from Mr. Hirschberg, a medical missionary at Amoy, 
 says, “ There is evidently a great awakening here and in the 
 neighbourhood. Some bring their Penates and ancestral 
 tablets and deliver them up to the missionaries, desiring to 
 serve God alone ; others, the poorest of the poor, are furnish- 
 
500 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 ing a room with benches, pulpit, etc., that they may have a 
 suitable place to offer to the preacher of the Gospel. Fathers 
 teach their children, and sons their parents, the way of life 
 The missionaries of all denominations are much engaged in 
 receiving applicants and examining enquirers ; and, oh ! that 
 it may not cease till the whole city, yea, the whole of China, 
 be given to the Lord, and unto the Son for his inheritance. ” 
 
 The total issues of Scriptures from the British and Foreign 
 Bible Society for the year 1854-5, exceed by 80,000 the 
 issues of the past year, and by nearly 10,000 the issues of any 
 year during their marvellous history. The total being one 
 million four hundred and fifty thousand , eight hundred and 
 twenty -six ! 
 
 During the same period, the Receipts of the Society 
 amounted to £124,478 95. 6d., and of this noble sum 
 £64,878 7s. 3d., were contributed for the general purposes 
 of the Society. 
 
 Thus the dawn seems breaking, and the Sun of righteous- 
 ness arising; and may the heathen world, ere long, make larger 
 claim on the funds of the Jubilee year! “ He that is holy, 
 and he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that 
 openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man 
 openeth,” says to his Church, “ Behold, I have set before thee 
 an open door, and no man can shut it;” and may his Church 
 “ keep his word, and not deny his name.” 
 
s> 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Aaron, death of, 27. 
 
 Abdallah, his conversion and mar- 
 tyrdom, 339. 
 
 Abyssinian Church, 105, 309, 447. 
 
 Ada Bazar, 441. 
 
 Advent of our Lord, 78. 
 
 Africa, 247 ; South Africa, 415. 
 
 Agents, foreign, of Bible Society ,464. 
 
 Ages without the Bible, 2 
 
 Alaric, king of the Goths, 98. 
 
 Aldersey, Miss, missionary to Chi- 
 na, 395. 
 
 Aleppo, 295, 328, 440. 
 
 Ali Bey, 325. 
 
 Alphabets : Arabic, 145 ; Armenian, 
 143 ; Coptic, 141 ; Erse or Irish, 
 146 ; Ethiopic, 144 ; Georgian, 
 145 ; Gothic, 142; Persian, 143 ; 
 Sclavonian, 146. 
 
 Amalek, 18, 58. 
 
 America, 248, 288, 478. 
 
 Amharic Testament, 310 ; Amha- 
 ric Bible, 190. 
 
 Anakim, the tall, 25, 34. 
 
 Anecdotes : African woman, 346 ; 
 Aged Hindoo, 378 ; Bible-bees, 
 264; Bible seized by Bomish 
 priests, 426 ; blind French girl, 
 196; Bishop Corrie, 374; Bev. 
 Andrew Brandram, 463; Brah- 
 minical contempt, 376 ; child 
 and infidel, 262 ; filial affection, 
 351 ; gun bought with Bible 
 money, 265 ; Highland girl, 467 ; 
 Hindoo rajah, 376 ; Irish wea- 
 ver, 270 ; Jewish conversion, 
 452; Bomish priest, 314 ‘/sub- 
 scriber blessed, 263 ; Tahitians 
 and Bomish priest, 410 ; Welsh 
 
 girl who had no Bible, 226; 
 Welsh peasants, 226. 
 
 Anglesea or Mona, 71, 84 ; aston- 
 ishing contributions of, 466. 
 
 Antiochus Epiphanes, 64. 
 
 Apocryphal books, 62, 206; not 
 bound up with the Society’s 
 Bibles, 334 ; their omission ob- 
 jected to by Bomanists, 333. . 
 
 Apollo, oracle of, concerning Chris- 
 tianity, 85. 
 
 Apostles, their marts'rdom, 83. 
 
 Appeal, closing, 480. 
 
 Arabia, 12 ; land where St. Paul 
 commenced his ministry, 335. 
 
 Arabic, where spoken, 335 ; the 
 language of the Koran, 335; 
 New Testament, 336; printed 
 at Calcutta, 336 ; new version 
 prepared, 335. 
 
 Arabs, 12, 334, 339. 
 
 Archbishop of Canterbury’s ser- 
 mon, 161. 
 
 Argyll’s, Duke of, speech, 316. 
 
 Aristobulus of Judea, 66, 72. 
 
 Armenian Bible, 307, 308. 
 
 Armenian Church, 103, 306, 437. 
 
 Armenians, American missions to, 
 308, 437 ; Bible venerated by, 
 438 ; gospel-readers, 439. 
 
 Arrow-headed writing, 54. 
 
 Askew, Ann, 165. 
 
 Asselin, Mons., French consul in 
 Egypt, 190, 310. 
 
 Asser, tutor to King Alfred, 114. 
 
 Assyria, fountain restored in, 430. 
 
 Augustine, bishop of Hippo, 112. 
 
 Augustine, bishop of Borne, his mis- 
 sion to England, 11& 
 
502 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Australia, 405. 
 
 Austria, 320, 417. 
 
 Authorised English version, 180. 
 
 Autograph Deuteronomy, 30. 
 
 Auxiliary at Reading, 256. 
 
 Babylon, 59. 
 
 Bagster’s Bible of Every Land, 171. 
 
 Bangor-Iscoed, 112. 
 
 Banian tree, 254. 
 
 Barker, Mr. B., 327. 
 
 Beckwith, Major-general, 449. 
 
 Bede, the Yenerable, 113, 267. 
 
 Belgium, 320, 424. 
 
 Bexley, Lord, 462. 
 
 Bible : perils of a Bible agent, 329 ; 
 Bible House, 132, 179 ; need of, 
 in Ireland, 238 ; price _ of, in 
 Wiclif ’s time, 133 ; distribution 
 among Roman Catholics, 313; 
 in Russia, 322; Italian, 198; 
 Breton, 188: Malagassy, 198; 
 Chinese, 199; Swedish, Portu- 
 guese, French, Russian, Am- 
 haric, Tahitian, Malay, Eng- 
 lish Family Bibles, Diamond, 
 Pearl, and Ruby Bibles, 198; 
 unbound, 200 ; the Bishops’ 
 Bible, 180; Bible translations 
 in the 16th century, 140 ; Bible, 
 standard of appeal, 470 ; Bible 
 binding, 217 ; folding, 213 ; rol- 
 ling, collating, sewing, re-col- 
 lating, pressing, cutting, gilding, 
 burnishing, sprinkling, marb- 
 ling, rounding, 216 ; Bibles ne- 
 ver issued by the Society un- 
 bound, 218. 
 
 Bible Society : authorised in Rus- 
 sia, 322; death of friends of, 
 349 ; its origin, 221 ; its objects 
 and constitution, 234 ; its prin- 
 ciples of union, 231 ; present 
 free income of, 397 ; its need of 
 support, 479 
 
 Bilney the martyr, 149. 
 
 Blackfriars’, Church and Monas- 
 tery of, 132. 
 
 Black-pool, 469. 
 
 Blind, Bible for the, 195. 
 
 Book, the, and its circulation, 2; 
 becomes the guide, 89. 
 
 Books of New Testament, 79. 
 
 Borrow, Mr. G\, 398. 
 
 Boughton, Lady Jane, 131. 
 
 Boulogne, matelots de, 366. 
 
 Bradby, John, 131. 
 
 Brandram, Rev. Andrew, 463. 
 
 Bran, the father of Caractacus, at 
 Rome with St. Paul, 84, 107. 
 
 Brittany, 107, 108, 188. 
 
 British Church, 106, 110, 112. 
 
 British Museum, 5, 53. 
 
 Britons, Ancient, 67. 
 
 Browne, Rev. GK, 351. 
 
 Buchanan, Dr., 15, 191, 247,304,305. 
 
 Buenos Ayres, 332. 
 
 Bullom, King of, 337. 
 
 Burckhardt, 295-297. 
 
 Buriat Mongol missions, 325, 398. 
 
 Burning the Bible at Paul’s-cross, 
 159, 161. 
 
 Caesar, 67. 
 
 Calmuc gospel, 324. 
 
 Cambridge, search for Bibles at, 
 157. 
 
 Campbell, Rev. J., in South Africa, 
 341. 
 
 Canaanites, 33. 
 
 Canon, 47, 61 ; of Scripture, 61. 
 
 Captivity and return of Judah, 47. 
 
 Cardinal Wolsey, 132, 159, 163. 
 
 Carey, Dr., his death, 185. 
 
 Celtic nations, 67. 
 
 Charles, Rev. T., of Bala, 222-229, 
 237, 238. 
 
 China, 385 ; tablet of Se-gnan-foo, 
 385 ; Nestorian Missions in, 
 385 ; Chinese manuscript, 386, 
 246 ; Dr. Morrison’s mission to, 
 386 ; his Chinese dictionary, 
 386 ; Tsae-ako, his first convert, 
 387 ; Dr. Milne, 387 ; Leang-a- 
 fah, first Chinese Evangelist, 
 his tract, 388 ; distribution of, 
 and persecution, 388; the re- 
 bellion, 389; Sew-tseuen, its 
 leader, his writings and opi- 
 nions, 390 ; his history, 391; 
 vast idol temple in China, 392 ; 
 lucky days expunged from the 
 almanac, 392; vast population 
 of, 396; scarcity of food in, 
 396 ; Protestant missionaries in, 
 395 ; Bible in China, 395. 
 
 Chinese Bible, 185, 387. 
 
 Chinese hatred of images, 391 ; ac- 
 knowledge all men as brethren, 
 392; possess the first twenty- 
 seven chapters of Genesis, 392 ; 
 need the New Testament, 392 ; 
 the million copies, 392 ; their 
 Great Wall, 392; their simple 
 mode of printing, 392 ; generals 
 of the insurgent army, 394; the 
 
INDEX. 
 
 503 
 
 Scriptures, Society’s grants for, 
 400; portions of, distributed, 
 and where, 400. 
 
 Christian Knowledge Society, 224, 
 227, 233, 258-261, 335 ; in Dublin, 
 271. 
 
 Church of the Book, 24, 75, 76, 89, 
 93 98, 112, 313, 359. 
 
 Churcnes founded in consequence 
 of circulation of word of God, 
 141, 423. 
 
 Circle of doomed countries: Nineveh, 
 51; Jerusalem, 55; Tyre, 57; Pe- 
 tra, 57; Babylon, 59; Egypt, 59. 
 
 Claude of Turin, 115. 
 
 Clugni, 135. 
 
 Cobliam, Lord, 131. 
 
 Cochloeus, 152. 
 
 Cockle, Mr., 400. 
 
 Coffin, the oldest, 5. 
 
 Collectors, Bible, 474. 
 
 Colonies, British, 478. 
 
 Committee-rooms in Bible House, 
 192 ; case of Bibles in the, 193 ; 
 Mr. Wyld’s map, 194; portrait 
 of Tyndal, 194 ; other portraits, 
 197. 
 
 Colportage on the continent, 352; 
 at Manchester, 474. 
 
 Colporteur, his w r ork, 357 ; at [Rad- 
 nor, 357 ; at Lutterworth, 471 . 
 
 Colporteurs: Vaudois, 117, 139, 
 239 ; in France, 353, 356 ; in 
 the Highlands and Islands of 
 Scotland, 467 ; in Sweden, 459 ; 
 in Holland, 456; in Belgium, 
 427 ; in India, 380. 
 
 Columba, 108, 110. 
 
 Constantine, the Armenian, 103. 
 
 Constantine, the Emperor, 94. 
 
 Constantinople, missionaries at, 
 416 ; J ubilee meeting at, 444. 
 
 Continent, state of, 460, 461. 
 
 Coptic Church, 337, 445 ; Bible, 
 338, 446. 
 
 Council, the earthquake, 125 ; of 
 Nice, 95 ; of Toulouse, 127. 
 
 Courtenay, Archbishop, 125. 
 
 Coverdale’s Bible, 179. 
 
 Crystal Palace, 193. 
 
 Cyril, the child-martyr, 90. 
 
 Cyrus, 48. 
 
 Da jacks of Borneo, 407. 
 
 Dalaber, Anthony, 155. 
 
 Daniel, 47 ; the “ four beasts,” 63 ; 
 the “ two pictures,” 62. 
 
 Dark ages, 116. 
 
 David, 38 ; David’s Bible, 39. 
 
 Deluge, 3 ; J ob’s allusions to, 14. 
 
 Denmark, 287, 459. 
 
 Derbecq, the king of colporteurs, 
 354. 
 
 Diez, Baron von, 325. 
 
 Difficulty of translation, 342. 
 
 Dioclesian persecution, 92 ; medals, 
 92. 
 
 Doom-rings, 71. 
 
 Douay Bible, 186. 
 
 Dress of Virgin Mary at Home, 398. 
 
 Druidical remains, 70. 
 
 Druids, Hebrew origin of the, 68. 
 
 Dutch Bibles, scarcity of, 273 ; colo- 
 nists in India, 306. 
 
 Ebal, 35. 
 
 Early bishops, 88. 
 
 Edward VI., 180. 
 
 Egypt, 59. 
 
 Egypt, ancient, rise of its idoia- 
 
 England, 1 255, 462. 
 
 English Bible, 148. 
 
 Erasmus, 149. 
 
 Essenes, 74. 
 
 Esther, 60. 
 
 Ethelbert’s temple to Diana, 158. 
 
 Ethiopic New Testament, 310; 
 manuscript Bible, 1 80. 
 
 Ewald, Rev. Mr., 451. 
 
 Exode of Israel from Egypt, 17. 
 
 Ezekiel, 47. 
 
 Ezra’s ministry, 48; law re-deli- 
 vered by, 49. 
 
 Fable, by Mr. Dealtry, 259 
 
 Fee-jee Isles, 413. 
 
 Felix Neff, 448. 
 
 Fire-works, money intended for 
 given to send Testaments to 
 China, 473. 
 
 First century, 80. 
 
 Foster’s, Rev. John, letter to Mr. 
 Hughes, 351. 
 
 France, gift of Vaudois Church to, 
 138 ; want of Scriptures in, 
 239-244; Jews in, 292; no 
 French Bible in Paris, 318 ; 
 present Bible circulation in, 
 421, 422. 
 
 Friars, black, white, and grey, 126. 
 
 Frontispiece, description of, 164. 
 
 Fryth, John, the martyr, 149, 156, 
 
 Galitzin, Prince, speech of, 322. 
 
 Garrett, Thomas, 155. 
 
504 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Gaussen’s, Professor, opinions, 173, 
 192. 
 
 Geneva Bible, 180. 
 
 Gerizim, 35. 
 
 Germany, religious state of, 274; 
 success of Bible Society in, 275 ; 
 present state of, 457. 
 
 Ghizeh, pyramid of, 4. 
 
 Gilly, Dr., 101, 449. 
 
 Gobat, Bishop, 190, 311. 
 
 Golden shoes and scarlet gloyes, 
 157, 159. 
 
 Gospel of Luke, in Gipsey lan- 
 guage, 420. ^ 
 
 Gospels in Buriat Mongol, 323. 
 
 Gospels, when written, 87. 
 
 Graydon, Lieutenant, 420 : 
 
 Great Britain, her dominions, 250. 
 
 Greece, 331, 477. 
 
 Greek Church, 103; philosophers, 
 72 ; Testament of Erasmus, 
 134. 
 
 Gurney, Mr., on the moral state of 
 the continent, 429. 
 
 Gutzlaff’s, Dr., colporteurs in Chi- 
 na, 400. 
 
 Heathen countries, 339, 372. 
 
 Hebrew, ancient, specimen of, 14; 
 manuscripts, 16 ; New Testa- 
 ment, 299. 
 
 Hebron or Arba, 35. 
 
 Henderson, Mr., 284, 286. 
 
 Henry Till., 162, 163, 166, 168, 179. 
 
 Heresies, earliest, 87, 89. 
 
 Heresy, meaning of the word, 89. 
 
 Herod, 72. 
 
 Hieroglyphics, 7 ; balance-scene in, 
 
 10 . 
 
 Highlanders’ subscription, 407. 
 
 Highland girl, her choice, 467. 
 
 History-lessons, a child’s notion 
 of, 317. 
 
 Holland, 273, 455. 
 
 Horeb, mount, 16. 
 
 Hosea, the prophet, 50. 
 
 Hughes, Bev. J oseph, 233, 349. 
 
 Huguenots, 123, 422. 
 
 Iceland, education in, 283; Mr. 
 Henderson’s visit to, 286 ; scar- 
 city of Bibles in, 287. 
 
 Ignatius, 88. 
 
 Ignorance, general, 114, 116. 
 
 Income of Bible Society, 466. 
 
 Indulgences, 130. 
 
 Infidel publications, 370, 371. 
 
 Innocent III., 121. 
 
 Inquisition, 121 . 
 
 Inscriptions: Egyptian, 5; Sinai- 
 tic, 19. 
 
 Inspired persons, 86. 
 
 Iona, 68, 107, 109, 111, 113, 136. 
 
 Ireland: destitution of Scriptures 
 in, and supply, 269, 475 ; schools 
 in, 476. 
 
 Irish New Testament, 147 ; the 
 peasantry desire the Scrip- 
 tures, 270. 
 
 Ishmael, 58. 
 
 Israel and Judah, 39. 
 
 Israelites, bondage of, 11 ; captivity 
 of Judah, 47 ; entrance into 
 Canaan, 33 ; murmurings of, 
 26 ; seven sins of, 23 ; six servi- 
 tudes of, 37 ; ten tribes of, 43 ; 
 wanderings of, 17. 
 
 India, 372 ; its population, 373 ; the 
 Bible there, 374; Bishop Cor- 
 rie in, 374; Bibles translated 
 for, 374 ; Calcutta Bible Asso- 
 ciation, 375; missionary tours, 
 377 ; American mission, 378 ; 
 Baptist mission, 185, 373, 381 ; 
 Church of England mission, 
 380 ; London mission, 378 ; 
 German mission, 377 ; Dr. Bu- 
 chanan, 379; anecdote of Pran- 
 kissen Singh, 378 ; Madras Bi- 
 ble Association, 379; new desire 
 of natives for Scriptures, 381 ; 
 grant for colportage, 381 ; 
 learned native convert, 382 ; 
 “ village of learners ” from Ben- 
 gali New Testament, 383 ; devil- 
 worship, 384 ; copies circulated 
 since 1804, 384. 
 
 Jannaeus, 66. 
 
 Japan, no Bible for, 401 : Jesuits in, 
 401; enmity to Christianity, 401. 
 
 Japanese vessel, wreck of, 402. 
 
 Javanese translation, 453. 
 
 Jebel Mousa, 22. 
 
 Jehoiakim, burial of^ 47. 
 
 Jersey, destitution of Bibles in, 358 ; 
 letter from, 358 ; grants of Bibles 
 to, 358; Bible-collector in, 359; 
 duty of Jersey towards France, 
 36L 
 
 Jerusalem, destruction of, 85. 
 
 J esuit, accusation by, 428. 
 
 Jewish converts persecuted by Jews, 
 300; rabbi at Aleppo, 295. 
 
 Job, the book of* 13. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 505 
 
 Jews: their persecutions, 291 ; their 
 numbers, 294; white and black, 
 306; ignorant of their own pro- 
 phets, 452. 
 
 Jobaritae, an Arab tribe, 13. 
 
 John the Baptist, 78. 
 
 Joshua, 33-35. 
 
 Josiah, 30. 
 
 Jubilee review, 372. 
 
 Jubilees and Sabbaths, 477. 
 
 Jubilee Year, 355. 
 
 Judah’s idolatry, 56, 60. 
 
 Judas Maccabeus, 65. 
 
 Judea added to Boman empire, 66. 
 
 Judges, book of, 36. 
 
 Juvenile associations, 363; proceeds 
 of, 363; results hoped for, 364. 
 
 Karaite Jews, 297. 
 
 Karnak, temple of, 6, 40, 59. 
 
 Kieffer, Professor, 318. 
 
 King Alfred, 114. 
 
 Kings of Israel, 38; all wicked, 51. 
 
 Knifl, Bev. B., 399. 
 
 Koran, no society for distribution 
 of, 334, 445 ; specimen of, 94. 
 
 Kurds, Scriptures amongst, 442. 
 
 Ladies’ associations, 358. 
 
 Last Supper, 82. 
 
 Law; in the desert, 28 ; under the 
 judges, 37; to be copied by Le- 
 vites, 28; giving of the, 21; to 
 be written by the kings of Israel, 
 38. 
 
 Layard,Mr., his discoveries, 53, 327; 
 his opinions, 434. 
 
 Leander Yon Ess, 317. 
 
 Leicester abbey, 163. 
 
 Letter, encyclical, of Pope Leo XII., 
 427. 
 
 Levite, 28. 
 
 Lights upon the letter, 192. 
 
 Lillingston’s colporteurs, 467. 
 
 Liverpool town-mission, 467. 
 
 London, ancient, 84. 
 
 Loochoo Islands, 403; naval mis- 
 sion at, 403; difficulties, 404; 
 translation of Scriptures, 404. 
 
 Lord’s Prayer in all languages, 186. 
 
 Luther, 167 ; his own German Bible 
 in the British Museum, 182, 183; 
 his wish, 468 ; his work of trans- 
 lation, 468. 
 
 Lutterworth church, 126; colpor- 
 teur, 471. 
 
 Luzerna, vows of, 122. 
 
 Lyons, early martyrs at 68. 
 
 ’ Maccabees, 64. 
 
 Madagascar, 198. 
 
 Mahomedan countries, 334. 
 
 Mahomedanism, rise of, 94. 
 
 Mahomedans less prejudiced than 
 formerly, 416. 
 
 Mahomet Bamah, 184. 
 
 Malaysia, Borneo, 406. 
 
 Malta Bible Society, 337. 
 
 Manchester in 1846, 469. 
 
 Mangaia, South Seas, “the new 
 book of Job,” 412; popery re- 
 jected in, 413. 
 
 Mankind, dispersion of, 4. 
 
 Mantchoo type forwarded to China, 
 400. 
 
 Manuscript library in Bible House, 
 188. . 
 
 Manuscript Nestorian Bible, 189; 
 writers, 136 : Breton Bible, 188 : 
 Alexandrine, 100 ; of the Bible, 
 cost of in the eleventh century, 
 119; Chinese, in British Mu- 
 seum, 246 ; Ethiopic Scriptures, 
 189. 
 
 Marinus the martyr, 91. 
 
 Martyn, Bev. Henry, his Arabic 
 New Testament, 335. 
 
 Martas, 198 ; Lollards, 131. 
 
 Mendicant friars, 125. 
 
 Methuselah, 3. 
 
 Millard, Mr. E., 458. 
 
 Miracles, age of, 17. 
 
 Missionary letters on translation, 
 341. 
 
 Moffat, Bev. B., 346; his New Tes- 
 tament in Sechuana, 348 ; his 
 feelings, 415. . 
 
 Mohawk translation, 289. 
 
 Monasteries, rise of, 97 ; use of, 135. 
 
 Monastery of black-friars, 132. 
 
 Monmouth, Humphrey, 152. 
 
 More, Sir Thomas, 153, 
 
 Morrison, Dr., 246, 386, 388. 
 
 Moses, his training, 11 ; his death, 
 31. 
 
 Motives for renewed exertion, 481. 
 
 Mount Hor, 27. 
 
 Mykerinus, King, 4, 5. 
 
 Nantes, edict of, its revocation, 240. 
 
 Nazareth, reading of the Scriptures 
 at, 454. 
 
 Nebo, 30. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar, 50; his dream, 63. 
 
 Negro, remark of, 477. 
 
 Nero’s troublesome coat, 84. 
 
 Nestorius, 101. 
 
*506 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Nestorians, 303 ; papists among, 
 434; Dr. Layard’s sketch, of, 
 435 ; Beder Khan Bey’s massa- 
 cre of, 435 ; diggers at Nineveh, 
 436 ; Chinese relics amongst, 
 436; Bev. D. Stoddard’s ac- 
 count of, 431. 
 
 Nestorian Church, 102, 308, 401 ; 
 first missionaries, 102: its te- 
 nets, its liberality, 432 ; its ma- 
 nuscripts, 433 ; influence of 
 holy Scripture upon Nestori- 
 ans, 433. 
 
 New Testament, gradual circulation 
 of, 88 ; _ copy of, found in the 
 possession of a Patagonian 
 chieftain, 332. 
 
 New Zealand, 414. 
 
 Nicomedia, 440 ; church at, 92, 438. 
 
 Nineveh, 51, 55. 
 
 Nisroch, 55. 
 
 Norway, 282, 459. 
 
 Number of Bibles at different pe- 
 riods, 172. 
 
 Nuremberg, Bible Society at, 69. 
 
 Obelisk at Nineveh, 54. 
 
 Oberlin, 242 ; desire after the Bible 
 in France, 314. 
 
 Oberlin, Henry, 244. 
 
 Oddur, his translation of the Scrip- 
 tures into Icelandic, 284; prayer 
 of, 284. 
 
 Old books of stone, 7, 40, 52. 
 
 Old St. Paul’s cathedral, 157. 
 
 Old Testament, its writers, 15. 
 
 Ollas, Indian, 305. 
 
 Owen, Bev. John, 230, 232; his 
 visit to Oberlin’s parish, 244; 
 death of, 268. 
 
 Oxford, search for Bibles at, 156. 
 
 Pagan persecutions, 83. 
 
 Pali version, 184. 
 
 Papacy, progress of, 96. 
 
 Papyrus rolls, 15. 
 
 Paris, an effort to spread the gos- 
 pel there, 318. 
 
 Patagonian chieftain, 332. 
 
 Paternoster-row, apple orchards in, 
 158. 
 
 Paterson, Bev. J., 284. 
 
 Patrick, St., or Succat, 108. 
 
 Paulicians, 103. 
 
 Paul’s Cathedral, Old St., 157 ; cross, 
 160 ; crypt of, 164. 
 
 Pearce, Mr. Nathaniel, 309. 
 
 Pelagius, 107. 
 
 Penance, 130. 
 
 Pentateuch, 15. 
 
 Persecution, a blessing to Chris- 
 tians, 89, 156 ; Domitian, 85 ; of 
 J ewish converts, by Jews, 300. 
 
 Persian Testament, 183, 184 ; Scrip- 
 tures, 189. 
 
 Petra, 57. 
 
 Pharaoh, meaning of the name, 4. 
 
 Pharisees, traditions of the, 76. 
 
 Pinkerton, Dr., 299, 326. 
 
 “ Pinking the world,” 364. 
 
 Polyglots, 181. 
 
 Pompey, 66. 
 
 Pratt, Bev. Josiah, 231. 
 
 Prayer of nuns, 139. 
 
 Printing, 133 ; anger of the monks 
 at, 134; press, 137; early ages 
 of, 201 ; division of labour in, 
 202 ; machine, 208 ; presses at 
 Oxford, 201 ; at Shacklewell, 
 201 ; hydraulic press, 211 ; paper, 
 14 ; process in making, 211. 
 
 Prisoners in salt-fish cellar, 156. 
 
 Prophets, rolls of, 42 ; table of, 41, 
 44. 
 
 Protestant churches, 440; countries, 
 455 ; doctrine, 109. 
 
 Protestantism, fall of England’s, 
 
 112 . 
 
 Protestants, early, 101. 
 
 Protests, early, 115. 
 
 Psalm, the Bible, 39. 
 
 Psalms, Ethiopic versions of the 
 book of, 309. 
 
 Prussia, 277. 
 
 Pyramids, size of, 4. 
 
 Babbins, 76. 
 
 Barotongan Scriptures, 411. 
 
 Bedcliffe, Lord Stratford de, speech 
 of, 444. 
 
 Bekshere, tomb of, 10. 
 
 Belies, first reckoned precious, 95. 
 
 Beneirius, the inquisitor, 120. 
 
 Bepliaim, 34. 
 
 Bephidim, 17. 
 
 Beports, Society’s, not dull books, 371 
 
 Besponsibilities of the friends of 
 the Bible, 369. 
 
 Bevelation, meaning of, 1 ; at first 
 given to the Jewish nation 
 only, 81 ; committed afresh to 
 the apostles for all nations, 81. 
 
 Beview of the past, 479. 
 
 Boman- Catholic priest opposed, 
 314 ; the priests and the Apo- 
 crypha, in South America, 333. 
 
INDEX, 
 
 507 
 
 Boll, the lost, 45 ; the burnt, 46. 
 
 Pornan dominion, 66. 
 
 Home Pagan changed to Pome 
 Papal, 98. 
 
 Pom aunt translation, 117. 
 
 Posetta Stone, 9. 
 
 Sabat and Abdallah, 339. 
 
 Sadducees infidels, 74. 
 
 Saint Paul’s-cross, 100, 101. 
 
 Samaritan Jews, 45 ; Pentateuch, 45. 
 
 Samuel, the prophet, 37, 38. 
 
 Satan’s two vast schemes against 
 the Book, 93. 
 
 Saviour, our, public ministry of, 86. 
 
 Sawtree, William, 130. 
 
 Scheiddegger, Catherine, 243. 
 
 Schepler, Maria, 243. 
 
 Scotland, 85, 107, 109, 238, 239. 
 
 Scriptorium, 130. 
 
 Scriptures, five ancient versions of, 
 99 ; scattered by persecution, 86. 
 
 Sennacherib, 54. 
 
 Septuagint translation, 62. 
 
 Serpents, fiery, 29. 
 
 Serpent-worship, 68, 69. 
 
 Seven sins of Israel, 23. 
 
 Shackle well, printing establishment 
 at, 201. 
 
 Shagdur’s bushel of seed-corn, 399. 
 
 Shishak, 40. 
 
 Simon the Just, 63. 
 
 Sinai, 20; eleven months at, 24. 
 
 Societies for the distribution of the 
 Scriptures existing before the 
 establishment of the British 
 and Foreign Bible Society, 233. 
 
 Solomon, 39. 
 
 Song of the Jubilee begun, 469. 
 
 Souls, transmigration of, 5. 
 
 South America, 331. 
 
 Spain possessed the gospel in the 
 first century, 84. 
 
 Spain and Portugal, 418, 419 ; dis- 
 tribution of the Scriptures in, 
 419. 
 
 Steinkopff, Dr., 228; his visit to 
 Germany, in 1851, 458. 
 
 Stereotype plates, 205. 
 
 Stones of memorial, 69, 70. 
 
 Subscriber to the Bible blessed, 
 263. 
 
 Superstition in South America, 333. 
 
 Swabia, communication from a 
 Poman-Catholic clergyman in, 
 315. 
 
 Sweden, 280 ; religious state of, 281 ; 
 * results of distribution in, 282. 
 
 Swedish Bible, 181. 
 
 Switzerland, 278 ; and North Italy 
 420. 
 
 Sympathy with Bible Society, 465. 
 Synagogues, 73 ; rulers of, 73. 
 Syrian Christians, 302 ; at Aleppo, 
 306 ; Old Testament, 305 ; Pen- 
 tateuch, 189 ; vine, 25. 
 
 Tacitus, 84. 
 
 Tahiti, Pev. J. Williams in, 343, 
 408 ; Bible prized in, 409. 
 
 Tahitians and Pomish priest, con- 
 versation between, 410. 
 
 Talmud, 76. 
 
 Tamil, first Indian translation, 247 ; 
 territory', 247 ; Scriptures, scar- 
 city of, 247. 
 
 Targums, 74. 
 
 Tartary, Scriptures amongst Jews 
 in, 453 ; movement amongst 
 J ews in, 453. 
 
 Teachers, false, 87 ; uninspired, 88. 
 
 Teignmouth, Lord, 349 ; sentiment 
 of, 187. 
 
 Temple at Jerusalem rebuilt under 
 Ezra, 48; taken by Pompey, 
 66 ; cleansing of, 65 ; rebuilt by 
 Herod, 73. 
 
 Tertullian, saying of, 88. 
 
 Thebes, or Theba, meaning of, 5 ; 
 its Scripture name, 6 ; Mr. 
 Jowett at, 338. 
 
 Thompson, Dr., extract from letter 
 by, 332. 
 
 Toulouse, law made at, 127. 
 
 Tract a pioneer to the Bible, 367. 
 
 Tract Society, depository of, 159. 
 
 Tradition, patriarchal, 3. 
 
 Translations of the Bible, list of 
 fifty, made previous to 1804, 
 169. # 
 
 Translations, how obtained, 191 ; 
 for India, by Dr. Carey, 185 ; 
 preparing for Europe, 137. 
 
 Triads of the Druids, 71. 
 
 Tribes, the lost ten, 43. 
 
 Tonstall, Bishop, 152. 
 
 Turkey, European and Asiatic, 324, 
 330. 
 
 Turkish Bible, finished, 328 ; manu- 
 script, by Ali Bey, 325. 
 
 Tuscany, 421. 
 
 Tyndal, William, 148, 151, 153, 162; 
 death of, and of Wolsey, com- 
 pared, 163. 
 
 Tyre, 57. 
 
508 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Type distribution of, 205 ; cost of, 
 for Diamond Bible, 206. 
 
 Union among free-thinkers, 370; 
 for Grod’s word’s sake, 173 ; 
 two first principles of, in early 
 church, 89; coming back to 
 these, 231, 480. 
 
 United Brethren, 123. 
 
 United States of America, 288. 
 
 Vaudois Church, 115, 311, 448. 
 
 Yaudois people, 118, 119; know- 
 ledge of Scripture, 119 ; perse- 
 cutions of, 121, 122 ; sufferings, 
 241 ; reception at Greneva, 242. 
 
 Versions of Scripture : ancient, 99 ; 
 Alexandrine, 101 ; before 1804, 
 169; Coverdale’s, 179 ; DeSacy’s, 
 138 5 Douay, 186 ; Dutch, 171 ; 
 extant in first century, 140 ; in 
 sixteenth, 140 ; N ew-England 
 Indian, 172 ; Malay, 171 ; Olive- 
 tan’s, 138 ; Persian, 183 ; Tamil, 
 171 ; Tynaal’s, 179 ; Welsh, 181 ; 
 Wielifs, 178; Bohemian, 183; 
 Pali, 184. 
 
 Vigilantius, 101. 
 
 Voices from heaven, 3. 
 
 Wady Mokatteb, 19. 
 
 Waldenses Bible Society, 311. 
 
 Waldo, Peter, 117. 
 
 Wales, collections in, 231 ; scarcity 
 of Scriptures in, 224; circulating 
 schools in, 224 ; large portions 
 of Bible committed to memory 
 by Welsh children, 225. 
 
 Walsh, Sir John, 150. 
 
 Wandering of Israelites, 27 ; thirty- 
 eight years of unknown, 26. 
 
 Warehouse, Bible Society’s, 197. 
 
 War in Europe, time of, 245 ; pri- 
 soners of war, 245. 
 
 Welsh Bible, 181. 
 
 Welsh language compared with the 
 Breton, 189. 
 
 Wiclif, 124; his monument, 128; 
 pulpit, 129; version of Scrip- 
 tures, 179 ; revenge on, 128 ; his 
 Testament, 179. 
 
 Williams, Rev. John, his letter on 
 translation, 344. 
 
 Winged bull, 53. 
 
 Wolsey’s search for New Testa- 
 ments, 155. 
 
 Wong-shao-yet colporteur in China, 
 400. 
 
 Written voices of Grod. 200 
 
 ADDENDA. 
 
 Results of the Jubilee Year, 4S3. 
 
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 CASSELL’S POPULAR BIBLICAL EDUCATOR. 
 
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 AND SENATORIAL SPEECHES. 
 
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 the kingdom, as it contains some of the finest effusions of splendid eloquence ever uttered, and 
 will be found a model of style to young amateurs in the art of Discussion. Price 2s. in handsome 
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