Palestine Mission. At half past 11 we arrived at the Sea. The River Jordan. 229 wanting. The 7th and 8th verse stand thus: "For there are three that bear record, the spirit & the water, & the blood." &c. Acts 20:28, reads thus: "the Church of the Lord and God, We arrived at the Jordan, at the which he hath purchased" &c. 1 place were pilgrims usually visit it, Tim. 5:16, and Rom. 9:5, are as in the and where the Isrealites passed over common copies now in use, on dry ground "right against Jericho." 17. We went to the nunnery of St. From the Dead Sea to this place, the Mary the great. There are twentyground is, most of the way, complete-eight or thirty nuns. Several of their Ty barren, and appears like a mixture rooms are well furnished, and they of black earth and ashes. Not a green received us with much civility. We thing appears. I swam across the conversed with them a long time on river, and took a walk in the plain of religious subjects. They rememberMoab, in the inheritance of Reuben, ed the visit of our dear brother Par"on the other side Jordan, toward the sons, and spoke of it with pleasure. rising of the sun." After this I sat [The whole number of Greek convents in on the bank, and read the third chap- Jerusalem is fourteen.] ter of Joshua. I also read Matthew A little past third, and offered a prayer in Greek noon we walked down to the west wall with two Greeks, while Mr. Wolff of the temple on mount Moriah, where read in German to the Germans who the Jews go on Friday to lament over were with us. I do not suppose a the destruction of the Temple. prayer is any more acceptable to God Jews pay annually a certain sum to for being offered in a particular place; the Turks for the priviledge of visityet I shall never envy the man, who ing this place. We found about thircould not read these two chapters and ty of them sitting on the ground near pray on the shores of Jordan without the wall, and reading from their Heany peculiar emotions. brew books. It was deeply affecting to see these lineal descendants of Abraham, most of them poor and ragged, sitting in the dust, and paying for the priviledge of weeping, where there fathers sung and rejoiced and triumphed; miserable slaves on the very spot where their fathers were mighty kings! A Jew accompanied [On the 8th day of June Mr. Fisk had a conversation with Abraham Shliffro. In reply to the inquiry what he supposed the Jews would do to him if he should profess his as sent to the truths of Christianity, he said "Reproach and persecution I think I could bear, but I fear they would secretly take my life.' [Mr. F. was told by a Coptic Priest that there are thirty or forty Copts, and among them four priests, in Jerusalem. He could not learn that there were any Syrians, except a bishop, one priest, one layman, and a few An Abyssinian priest represented the Ayssinians, Copts, Armenians and Syrians as all united and good friends] nuns. June 16. In the afternoon we made a visit to the Greek Metropolitans, and then went into the library of the convent. Among the manuscripts we found an ancient copy of the New Testament, which we spent sometime in examining. The disputed passage, 1 John 5:7, is entirely us. Friday, June 20. The In the market a Turk, too lazy to light his own pipe, called on the Jew to do it for him. The few refused, and the Turk was rising in a rage to pursue him, when, perceiving that the Jew was accompanying us, he desisted. June 26. During two months that we have been here, we have sold 84 copies of the Scriptures and given away fifty two, and 770 Tracts. Beyrout as a missionary station. of Beyrout at 14,000 or 15,000, another at sa 14. (One consul estimated the population 230 Anecdotes of Howard.-Indian Lands. ly 3,000 or 4,000. Mr. Fisk judges the least number to be nearest the truth. Of this place as a missionary station he writes thus.) Beyrout seems to me to possess many important advantages as a missionary station. It is situated at the foot of mount Lebanon, and a missionary might very profitably spend the hot months of the summer among the convents and villages of the mountains, many of which were within a few hours ride of the town. Occasional visits might be made to Damascus, which is only three days off. On the other hand it is only one or two days sail to Cyrus. On the coast south of Beyrout you reach Sidon in one day and Tyre in two, and to the west, in two or three days, you arrive at Tripoli, where I understand there are mapy Greeks. It would be easy to maintain correspondence with all these places and to supply them with books. In Beyrout itself, a missionary who could preach in Italian night, I think, collect a small congregation immediately; and if he were disposed to open a school, there are probably few places in Syria that would be so promising. Another circumstance which though not perhaps very important in itself, will yet weigh something in the mind of a missionary, is, that here he will find oftener than any where else in Syria,opportunities to receive and forward communications. Here, too, he will enjoy the protection of an Eng lish Consul, and the society and friendship of several other consuls and their families. I think a missionary family would be more comfortably situated at Beyrout, than at any other place which I have seen in Syria. ANECDOTES OF HOWARD. At Rome he was privately introduced to the Pope,it being understood, that the ceremonies of the prostration, &c. would be dispensed with. At parting, the Pope laid his hand on his visitor's head, good humoredly observing, "I know you Englishmen do not mind these things, but the blessing of an old man, can do you no harm." The governor of Upper Alsace, a vain man, and his Countess, still vainer, honored Howard with a visit. With a very haughty air, the governor inquired into the state of prisons in his government. "The worst in all Germany," said Howard, "particularly in the condition of the female prisoners; and I recommend your Countess to visit them personally, as the best means of rectifying abuses in their management." "I!" said she, "I go into prisons!!" and hurried away with her husband so rapidly, that Howard said he was seriously afraid she would fall down stairs. He nevertheless called after her with a loud voice, Madam, remember that you are a woman yourself, and must soon, like the most miserable female prisoner in a dugeon, inhabit but a small space of that earth from which you equally originated." Memoirs. INDIAN LANDS. dent of the U. States to Congress, it By a late message from the Presiappears that in 1802, the state of Georgia ceded to the United States all her right to the soil of the Indian territory within her limits, on condishould extinguish the Indian title as tion, among others, that the latter soon as it might be done peaceably and on reasonable conditions. From a report by Mr. Calhoun, we learn that the United States have not been unwilling to make this obligation good. For the purpose of extinguishing this title seven treaties have been held, and of 25,980,000 acres, 15,744,000 have been ceded. "In acquiring these cessions," says the report, "the United States have expended $958,594, to which should be added, the value of the lands on the Arkansas river, given in exchange by the Cheorkees Revival in Waynesburg, Pa.-Palestine Mission. 231 abhorance. We hope that the President of the United States, will be aided by Congress in his avowed purpose of asserting the rights of the Indians to their own lawful property. Christian Gazette. to Georgia, which lands estimated at the minium price of the public lands would make $1,244,137. If to these we add the sum of $1,240,000 paid to Georgia under the convention, and $4,282,151 paid to the Yazoo claimants, it will be found," says Mr. Calhoun, "that the United States have already paid under the convention $7,735,243. without including any portion of the Creek war, by which upwards of seven millions of acres were acquired to the state of Geor-religion has been experienced in the gia.” CARLISLE, APRIL 30. We are happy in being able to state upen good authority, that a revival of Methodist church at Waynesburg, Franklin county in this state, for some time past, and that about two hundred since its commencement, have been added to the church. It now appears that the Indians are not disposed to relinquish the small pittance of soil left with them. Under the benign encouragement of our government they have rapidly advanced in civilization, and having experienced the blessings of an imWe observe with pleasure that the proved state of society, they are not Journal of Messrs. Fisk and King, of willing to surrender these for a mig the Palestine Mission has been pubratory abode beyound the Mississip-lished in several political papers repi. They are aware too of the increased value of those lands which ceived at this office. The Editors of are the object of cupidity and avar-political journals would please a maice. This unwillingness is imputed jority of their readers, we think by inby the Georgians to the measures of serting these journals, as every rea of the general government, which has had the hardihood to endeavor to a-der of the Bible is interested with evmeliorate the condition of the poorery thing relative to the land where Indians, "and thus," in the language the events there recorded, occurred. of their senators and representatives A continuation of the Journal of in Congress to create obstacles to its the Palestine Mission will be found own fulfilment of the compact. They LATEST FROM PALESTINE. hold the very unjust and absurd in this day's Miscellany, page 228. doctrine that the Indians possess no right to the country in which they dwell-that they are but tenants at will, & subject to every restraint which the policy and power of the whites require to be imposed upon them, and that if not peaceably disposed to remove beyond the Mississippi they may be ORDERED to do so by their masters. A letter from Mr. Temple brings the information that Messrs. Goodell & Bird, according to expectation had left Malta for Palestine on the 24th of October last. On the 18th of that month, Messrs. Fisk and King were in good health. They were engaged in an exploring tour among the con We are persuaded that every one who has the welfare of his species at heart, cannot fail to hold languagevents in the neighborhood of Mount and opinions like these in deserved Lebanon. Pittsburg Female Bible Society--Presbytery of Hartford. 232 PITTSBURG FEMALE BIBLE SOCIETY. grateful mention was made for their The annual meeting of this Society dor of those victories which the aposcharities,though eclipsed by the splenwas held on the 6th inst. in the Epistles, by their preaching and their copal Church of Pittsburg, when of-miracles, achieved." ficers for the ensuing year were elected and the report of the managers for the past year read. From the last PRESBYTERY OF HARTFORD. This body convened at Beaver, Pa. The Pittsburg Recorder contains an abstract of the state of religion within the bounds of the Presbytery which we publish for the information of our readers. report it appears that a donation of on the 6th inst. at which time the Rev. $80 had been made to the parent || William M'Clean, was installed the institution, that Bibles and Testa-pastor of the Church in that place. ments to the amount of $81 had been procured; that the Society distributed 155 Bibles, and 175 Testaments, and that they have on hands, at present, 125 Bibles and 133 Testaments for future distribution.--The distributions "The substance of the report on the of the society were not confined exclu- state of religion within the bounds of sively to Pittsburg; a number were the Presbytery is as follows:-Some' sent to Harmony in this state, and changes of a pleasing nature, and some also to Augusta, Ky. We subjoin the calling lamentation have occurred in the course of the last year. In all concluding paragraph of the report. our congregations we are permitted Upon reviewing the transactions of to notice a pleasing and very respectyear, we have on the whole, much ful attention to the stated ordinances cause of gratitude. Our service must of the Gospel. The Sabbath is now be silent, persevering, and unas- as well observed as formerly by the suming; our prayers zealous, fer- members of our churches, and genervent, and unceasing, and our contri-ally by the congregations under our butions prompt, and liberal, and we care; notwithstanding the persevershall insure success to our infant in- ing efforts of some, who assume the stitution. We trust much, under God, Christian name, to pour contempt to the fostering care of our Parent upon the sacredness of the holy day. Society, and desire to tender for past The monthly concert of prayer is genfavors our grateful acknowledgments. erally attended, as are also, with more Vast and unbounded as are its oper- or less frequency, meetings for prayations, its feeblest and most depend-er during every week. While, howant auxiliaries are remembered with ever, in these social meetings, some a liberality unequelled. We trust it of our congregations are much refreshwill ever be our pleasure to contribute ed, and apparently quickened in their our feeble aid to become instrumental Christian course; there are a few in in lighting up those preparatory, glad-which such meetings are either treatsome rays, by which the full reful-ed with a criminal indifference, or gence of the latter day glory shall be altogether neglected. Sabbath Schools ushered in. Though limited our continue to be highly esteemed among sphere, we remember the names of us, and in some of our congregations, Martha and Mary, of Phebe and Dor-they are attended with very happy cas and Lydia, of whose services effects. The state of morals continues to | Sabbath in particular, are greatly improve in many of our congrega-improved. tions, and in some of them the im"The Presbytery, finally, romark provement is very evident and pleas-that while there are in our bounde ing; while in some others, we have to those who are violently warring alament an afflicting decline. Par-gainst the grand missionary operaticularly, the sin of intemperance is, tions of the present day; in our conin a few places, evidently increasing.gregations are some pleasing manifes"The revivals of religion which tations of that favor of Heaven, in that Presbytery were premitted to record missionary spirit which from the Lord with gratitude the last spring, have is going forth through the church of been proved to be the work of God, the Divine Redeemer, calling into by that unerring test, "By their fruits exercise the energies and the faith of ye shall know them." those who wait for the Lord from Heaven." INDIAN CIVILIZATION. "New instances of conviction and hopeful conversion are now much less frequent than they then were. Still, The committee appointed in the however, pleasant fruits of the late House of Representatives of the Urevival are manifest in a very encour-nited States, to inquire into the exaging degree. In some of the congregations, this is not only the case, pediency of repealing the act making in the lives of those then born from provisions for the civilizations of the above, but also in the General state Indian tribes, adjoining the frontier of society, and in the present regard settlements of the U. States, passed to the interests of eternity. In Mount Pleasant congregation, in addition to during the session of 1819, have rethe number mentioned the last year, ported that "it is inexpedient to retwenty-six subjects of the late revival || peal the same." After examining the have been received into the commumeasures adopted in applying the annion of the church; and in New Salem and Long Run, since the last report, nual appropriation of the U. States, forty nave been received, ten of them to the purposes intended, the comrecently from a small neighborhood,mittee find them "very judicious, and in which the good work seems hope-such as are best calculated to effect fully reviving. "The congregation of Beavertown, having been a long time vacant, and in a depressed state, has been favored during the present year, with the stated ministrations of the word and ordinances of the Gospel. These have also been accompanied by the special influences of the Spirit.The hearers of the Gospel are nearly twice as numerous as at the commencement, and much more attentive. "Thirty persons have been added to the church, as hopeful subjects of divine grace, The state of morals in general, and the observance of the the benevolent designs of government." From their report it appears, that 21 schools have been established, all, except three, since the passage of the above law, and principally by the means which it affords; that 800 scholars are taught in these schools; that their progress in the acquisition of the English language is surprising; that the schools are increasing in number. and more than can be established ap plied for. On the whole the committee are of opinion that the pros |