and rich in all the means of subsistence, he left a christian schoolmaster, who had accompanied him from Amboyna, in compliance with the importunity of the natives. At Kiffer he was received with great kindness by the rajahs, and found the people ripe for christian instruction. Mr. Labryn, the Netherland missionary at Timor-East, met Mr. Kam at Leti, and accompanied him to Kiffer. Here both of them continued several days, preaching to the people. They particularly explained to them the nature and obligations of the christian religion; and, on a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, baptized about fifteen hundred persons. One of the rajahs requested Mr. Kam to take his two sons under instruction, and the youths, of the ages of eighteen and fourteen, willingly accompanied him to Amboyna.

Mr. Kam recently transmitted to the British and Foreign Bible Society, the following remarkable instance of apparent preparation for receiving the Scriptures :

"An Arab merchant came to my house, for the purpose of selling some goods, and of exchanging his copper money into silver. Friend,' said I, in this way, ' it is out of my power to assist you because I do not possess a sufficient sum of money: nevertheless, I have got something, which is of far greater value even than silver, provided you are able to read.' This, he assured me, he could do. I then opened the first part of the Old Testament, and began to read slowly and distinctly to him; but the style appeared too lofty for him to understand, until I explained it in the way of familiar conversation. After conversing with him some time on the excellence of the sacred Scriptures, I

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pointed out to him the first promise of God, concerning the seed of the woman, Gen. iii. 15. This seemed very mysterious to him, until I explained it. He then exclaimed, 'I never saw such books before our own teachers do not possess them: they are very ignorant: they do not even understand the koran when they read it.' He afterward turned to the book of Psalms; and, on reading the first psalm, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,' &c., he cried out, Oh what beautiful books are these! How happy am I that I have met with such a book! I came to you in the hope of obtaining silver; but, surely, this is a treasure of far more value! It is, indeed, my friend,' replied I; ' and this book is at your service, if you are willing to make good use of it: and if you pray to God to enlighten your mind, he will enable you to understand its contents. In giving it to you, I have given you the key of all spiritual knowledge. Throughout the whole of it, from Moses down to the end of all the prophets, ample testimony is borne to our Prophet, who was greater than all others-Jesus Christ; whom, in your language, you call Noby Xisai; but with whom you are yet unacquainted. After dying like all the other prophets, He alone rose from the dead; whereas Mohammed, in whom you trust, never ascended from the grave, and therefore you cannot expect any assistance from him: from the Prophet, however, whom we worship, we expect salvation; because all power is given to Him in heaven and earth, according to the good pleasure of God.'

"Surely this man was not far from the kingdom of God; for he felt the power of Divine truth on

his heart. He remained more than two hours in our house, and could not be satisfied without our explaining to him whatever he did not understand. My wife, also, was much pleased with his company; and availed herself of the opportunity for pointing out to him some of the most striking passages in the prophets, respecting our Lord Jesus Christ. When it grew late, and he was on the point of leaving us, he inquired if he might be permitted to take the books with him: I told him that he was welcome so to do; adding, that the books were not our own, but that our friends, in a far distant country, who loved God, had provided us with them for distribution. At this he was exceedingly pleased; and, ordering his servants to leave every thing else behind except the books, was going away. My wife, however, begged him to let his merchandise also be conveyed away; adding, that she did not wish to incur any responsibility on account of it. No,' said he, in reply, I am not at all anxious on that score; for where such excellent laws of God are observed in a house, the inmates will never steal: to-morrow I will send for my goods' and, so saying, he left us full of joy.

"Two days before he left Amboyna, he once more called at our house, wishing to read again in the Bible on which occasion we directed his attention to many striking passages in the New Testament, which we compared with the testimonies contained in the prophets of the Old Testament, respecting our Lord; whereby his faith and confidence in the holy Scriptures were greatly increased. On the subject of sacrifices, which the Mohammedans place much dependence upon, we pointed out to him how Christ our Saviour, by one sacrifice, has perfected

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all those who are sanctified: this we confirmed by various passages out of the New Testament; as, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world !'-'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,' &c.—and, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.' It was evident that these testimonies came powerfully home to his heart: and, indeed, I have often witnessed how far superior the testimonies of the Bible are, and how much better they are calculated to convince any one of the authority of the sacred Scriptures themselves, both of the Old and New Testament, than all the arguments which our natural but imperfect reason can suggest.

Mr. Kam has, for some years past, been connected with the Netherlands Society; he therefore continues a correspondent, but not an agent, of the London Missionary Society.

CHAPTER V.

Java.-London Missionary Society.—Effects of the Chinese Testament. Voyage of Rev. Mr. Slater. Idolatrous Ceremonies.-The Chinese Camp.-A Protestant Village. -Report of the Deputation.-Chinese and European Chronology compared.-Marvellous Story. Recent Efforts.Baptist Missionary Society.-Rev. Mr. Robinson's Labours.

Visit of the Udhiputi.—Principal Seat of Idolatry.— Baptism of a Chinaman.-Ravages of the Cholera.-Completion of the Javanese New Testament. - Visit of the Rev. D. Abeel from the American Board.-Striking Fact.

As it was said that no less than a hundred thousand Chinese resided at Java, among whom it seemed probable that the Scriptures translated by

Dr. Morrison might be freely circulated, the Directors of the London Missionary Society determined on some efforts in that extensive and populous island. Suitable instruments were soon found for this purpose in some missionaries intended to be sent to India by the Netherlands Society, but who were prevented by war from proceeding thither. It is also remarkable, that two gentlemen, on a visit to the Cape of Good Hope, had expressed an earnest desire that some missionaries might be sent to Batavia; one of whom contributed six thousand rix dollars to this object. The labourers thus, to some extent, provided for, arrived in Java in 1813, but one of them* afterwards removed to Amboyna.

In a letter, dated November, 1814, Mr. Supper speaks of his congregation being increased, and states that several persons seemed convinced of their sins under the ministry of the word, but they had encountered much opposition from their gay connexions; and many others were offended with the faithfulness of the discourses which had been delivered in the church. In the same communication he observes, that the books which Dr. Milne had distributed among the Chinese in this island, seemed to have produced a good effect. "I now and then take a morning ride," says he, 66 on purpose to inquire whether the Chinese read their Testaments and tracts, and I find that they not only do so, but are pleased with what they read. They are desirous, however, of having a living interpreter; and indeed I earnestly wish that some faithful missionaries might come hither, and attend solely to the Chinese language; as, in that case, they would soon be able to preach to the people."

* Mr. Kam.