Extract of a Letter from the Missionaries to Capt. Wickes. Think, dear brother, what the king of Zion has done for India, since you first, in 1799, brought out missionaries; not merely by our means, but in a variety of ways: what a progress in the translation and distribu tion of the word of God into so many languages spoken by so many millions of men; how many thousands of missionary tracts have gone all over Hin, dostan, how many natives have been baptized, and some landed safe in glory; what a broad foundation laid for the future extension of the gospel; what an increase of missionary strength. Episcopal, Independent, and Baptist, beside the number of native itinerants. How emphatically true respecting India, "Behold, the fields are already white for the har vest." Let this be acknowledged as a constant and infallible proof that you have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. To Mr. Joseph Eastburn, Philadelphia. DEAR BROTHER, Captain Wickes tells me that I am a letter in your debt. Excuse this omission, of which, indeed, I was not conscious. Our dear captain can tell you how full our hands are. I have been reading a proof now, till my eyes smarted so that I was induced to throw myself on the couch to rest them. I now begin to write to you. By this voyage of our dear captain, we have received in comfort two brethren and their wives; and we are now cleven missionaries. Except brother Chamberlain, we are, also, all at Serampore. You know the English company don't like the Hindoos to be converted, and it is a part of their charter that they will not do any thing to change their religion. They, also, allow none (except by suf ferance) but their own servants to settle in the country. We have been, also, lately prohibited by the governor from interfering with the prejudices of the natives, either by preaching, distributing tracts, sending out native itinerants, &c. In short, the governor said, as he did not attempt to disturb the prejudices of the natives, he hoped we should not. Thus, if we were to obey this request, in its literal meaning, we must give up our work altogether, and instead of wanting fresh missionaries, we might reship those we already have. But it is impossible to do this. We avoid provoking the government, but we dare not give up our work at the command of man. We have written home on the subject, and sought relief from these painful restrictions, but what will be the result we know not. In the mean time our junior brethren are getting the languages, and as soon as we can place them in separate stations, we shall. At present the gospel sound has spread so extensively that we have now more inquirers than we have in general. Our native brethren, too, are not idle. The school, translations, printing, college, &c. &c. are concerns so weighty that there is no appearance of the governor's restriction at the Mission-house. All is bustle here, morning, noon and night. This is the time for you, American Christians, to pray for the Serampore mission, for God only can open to us an effectual door. "He openeth and no man shutteth." "For where his servants have his cause to plead, Brother Wickes will give you all the news about us. I am, my dear brother, yours very cordially, W. WARD. Serampore, Oct. 15, 1806. [Some obstructions are made to the exertions of the missionaries by the gov ernmental agents in India. The preceding letter will serve to explain the nature and cause of these obstructions. Some of our readers may need to be informed that Serampore, fifteen miles only from Calcutta, is a Danish settlement, where the missionaries are both protected and encouraged in their work, and where the "mission house" is erected. Captain Wickes being informed that the missionaries whom he last took out might meet with something unpleasant if he landed them at Calcutta, to which he was bound, carried them immediately to Serampore. The British super intend ant wrote to the Danish governor of Ser ampre, inquiring about the missionaries, and whether he considered them as under the protection of the Danish government. The Danish governor returned the following answer.] To C. T. MARTIN, Esq. Magistrate. SIR, I have been favoured with your letter of the 13th instant, informing me that Messrs. Chater and Robinson, two missionaries recently arrived at Serampore in the American ship Benjamin Franklin, had, among other papers, produced a certificate with my signature, stating that they reside at Serampore under the protection of the Danish flag, and in consequence thereof you wish to be informed at whose suggestion, and under whose patronage, these gentlemen left England, or whether they have come out under the promise of protection from any person on the part of his Danish majesty. With regard thereto I beg leave to inform you, that some years back, and at a time when several members of the Baptist society took up their residence at this place, the former chief, now deceased, colonel Bie, reported to his superiors in Europe their arrival, and that an additional number of them might be expected hereafter, requesting, at the same time, permission for them to stay, as they appeared not only to be good, moral, but also well informed men, who, in many respects, might be useful to this settlement; upon which an order was issued to the chief and council, dated Copenhagen the 5th of September, 1801, not only granting full permission for them to establish themselves here, but also to protect them, not doubting but they, as good citizens, would pay due obedience to our laws and regulations. The certificate granted by me is founded upon this high order, and as Messrs. Chater and Robinson were represented as belonging to the mission society (which is really the case) I have acknowledged them as such, and extended the protection to them. The persons alluded to, can, therefore, not be considered as refugees or poor debtors, merely under a temporary protection, but must be looked upon as countenanced and protected by his Danish majesty himself, as long as they continue to live in a settlement subject to his crown, and are found to pursue only their respective professions, without attempting inno vations, which I, from their uniform good conduct, have reason to expect will never be the case.. We have heard with gratitude of the generosity of several individuals respecting the procuring and forwarding benevolent aids to the translations of the word of God. We have also heard of your many personal exertions to promote the subscriptions throughout the United States. Very dear Sir, we feel ourselves incapable of expressing our sense of these many marks of Christian love. We doubt not but the great Head of the church looks down with peculiar pleasure on these disinterested proofs of love to him and his cause on earth: and we hear him saying (of you and a great many) of the distinguished friends of this his cause, " Verily I say unto you, they shall in no wise lose their reward." We know, Sir, you do not work for reward; but the approbation and smile of Jesus are better than life itself; and this is our joy, that those who express their love to us, for the sake of the cause in which we are engaged, so far as it is under the influence of the divine Spir it, shall be rewarded, though we are not able to do it. Captain Wickes, who, when here, is always one of us, will communicate to you all our state, internal and external. The cause is making progress, though we are constantly taught that it is not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of Jehovah. To ROBERT RALSTON, Esq. VERY DEAR SIR, Your kind favour I received by Mr. Bayley of the Bainbridge, and your second by the -giving an account of a further sum of two thousand dollars generously collected in America, for the purpose of assisting us in the translation of the word of God into the Eastern languages. I need not say that this and what we received per the Bainbridge, shall be faithfully applied to the purposes for which it was sent. A public letter from our whole body will inform you what we have already done, and what we are now doing. 1 What a mercy it is that we may be permitted to do any thing for Christ, and that he does not reject us and our offerings too. I have no need to say much about our affairs, because our dear friend, captain Wickes, will inform you of all things, much better than I can do by writing. Suffice it to say that the work of God is gradually going on, few ordinance days occur without some addition from among the heathen, and inquirers frequently come from different parts, some of whom not only seek, but find. We have met with some obstructions from government, which are to us highly afflict. ing; but, I trust, a gracious God will cause all these things to work together eventually for the furtherance of the gospel. There are some very encouraging stirrings in Calcutta. Till our public preaching was stopped, there was a large body of the natives daily attend ing on the gospel; and since the pro. hibition, some Armenians and Portuguese have taken so decided a part on the side of the gospel that one of them' is fitting up a part of his house for the express purpose of having preaching in it to the Hindoos, and another house has been, also, opened by another man through their suggestion. These are circumstances which give us great encouragement, and will, I hope, be the occasion of great good. How it rejoices my heart to hear such good tidings from America. I find there are still very glorious displays of divine grace in many parts, and that the greatest part of those awakened in the late remarkable re vival, turn out well: nothing will so effectually silence all objections to the word, as the suitable conduct and conversation of those who were the subjects thereof. I am greatly pleased with the many attempts to spread the gospel through America, by itinerancies and missionary excursions. The journals published in the Magazine were to me a treat indeed. I hope that the spirit of missions will increase a hundred fold throughout the United States. Pray has a mission to St. Domingo been ever thought of? It is a very desirable thing that the inhabitants of that extensive island should hear of and know him, who can make them free indeed. Cease not to remember, at a throne of grace, the cause of the Redeemer in India, and one who is yours very affectionately. Calcutta, 28th Oct. 1806. W.CAREY. Further extracts from these interesting letters will be presented in our next Number. Dbituary. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE REV. DR. STILLMAN. SAMUEL STILLMAN, D. D. was born at Philadelphia, Feb. 27, 1737. He was educated at an academy in Charleston, S. C. where he was or, dained in Feb. 1759. The same year he took his degree at Philadelphia College, and settled in the ministry on James' Island, near Charleston, S. C. Obliged on account of his ill health, to quit that place in about eighteen months after his first residence there, he removed to Bordentown, N. J. where he continued two years, supplying two different congregations. Afterward he visited New. England, and having officiated at the Second Baptist Church in Boston about one year, was installed over the First, Jan. 9, 1765. Dr. Stillman was by nature endow, ed with a good capacity, and an uncommon vivacity and quickness of ap. prehension. His feelings were pecu. liarly strong and lively; which gave energy to whatever he did, and under the influence and control of religious principles, served to increase and diffuse his eminent piety. To this constitutional ardour, both of sentiment and action, which led him to enter with his whole soul into every object which engaged his attention, he united a remarkable delicacy of feeling, and sense of propriety, and such sprightliness and affability in conversation, such ease and politeness of manners, and at the same time, such a glow of pious zeal and affection, as enabled him to mingle with all ranks and classes of people, and to dis. charge all his duties as a Christian minister, and as a citizen, with digni. ty, acceptance and usefulness. The lively interest he appeared to take in whatever affected the happiness or increased the pleasures of his friends, the gentleness of his reproofs, and the gratification he seemed to feel in commending others, united to his social qualities, endeared him to all who knew him. The popularity of a preacher commonly declines with his years, Dr. Stillman, however, was a singular exception to this general remark. He retained it for upwards of 42 years, and his congregation, which, upon his first connexion with it, was the small. est in this town, at the age of 70, the period of his death, he left amongst the most numerous. As a minister of Christ his praise was in all the churches. For this great work he was prepared by the grace of GoD in his early conversion, and a diligent improvement of his natural talents in a course of theological studies under the direction of the late excellent Mr. Hart. He embraced what are denominated the distinguish ing doctrines of the gospel, or the doc. trines of grace, as they are summed up in the Assembly's Shorter Catechism, the doctrines of the Reformation, which were held very precious, as the truths of Scripture by the fathers of New-England. These doctrines he explained and enforced with clear. ness, and with an apostolic zeal and intrepidity. He opened to his hearers the way of salvation through a DIVINE REDEEMER. Though an advocate for Christian candour and liberality, he was no friend to modern refinements in theology; but viewed their progress with deep concern, and opposed to it vigorously all his eloquence and influence. He considered these refinements as cankerous to pure and undefiled religion, and subversive of Christian morality. He felt a deep concern for the interests of Zion. His heart mourned at her depression, and exulted in her prosperity. Dr. Stillman was favoured by the Author of his being, with a pleasant and most commanding voice, the very tones of which were admirably adapted to awaken the feelings of an audience; and he always managed it with great success. His eloquence was of the powerful and impressive, rather than of the insinuating and persuasive kind; and his manner so strikingly interesting, that he never preached to an inattentive audience. And even those, who dissented from him in religious opinions, were still pleased with hearing him; for they knew his sincerity-they knew him to be a good man. There was a fervour in his prayers, that seldom failed to awaken the devotion of his hearers; for, coming from the heart, it failed not to reach the hearts of others. In his sermons, he was animated and pa thetic. His subjects were often doctrinal, but he commonly deduced practical inferences from them, and every one acknowledged his great usefulness. He addressed not only the_understandings, but the hearts and feelings of his hearers. He was an experimental preacher, laid open the deceitfulness of the human heart, exhibited the various trials and com. forts of Christians; guided them in the way to eternal life, and led the way. In the chamber of sickness and affliction he was always a welcome visitor. So well could he adapt his conversation, as to comfort or to cantion, soothe or to awaken-just as the case seemed to require. And if he administered reproof, it was done in so delicate and inild a manner, that it oftener conciliated esteem, than created offence. In his prayers with the sick, however intricate the occasion, he was always both appropriate and highly devotional. So eminent was his character for piety, and so universally was he beloved, that he was often called to the sick and af. flicted of different denominations. How many wounded hearts he has bound up, and from how many weeping eyes he has wiped the tears away; how many thoughtless sinners he was the means of awakening; and how many saints he has edified and built up unto eternal life; how many wavering minds he has settled, and to how many repenting sinners his words administered peace, can be fully known only at the great day. The integrity of Dr. S.'s character was such as produced universal confidence in him. Expressive of this was his election by the town of Boston, as a member of the State Convention, for the formation of the State Constitution, in 1779; as also for the adoption of the Federal Constitution, in 1788. In this last body he deliv. ered a very eloquent speech in its support; and was considered, at the time, as having contributed much to wards its adoption, and confirmed many members in its favour, who were previously wavering upon that question. To that constitution, he ever after continued a firm, unshaken friend, and a warm approver of the administrations of WASHINGTON and ADAMS, In 1789, he delivered the town Oration on the 4th of July, in which he also highly celebrated the virtues of the Father of his Country. The University in Cambridge conferred on him the honourary degree of A. M. in 1761, and the College of Rhode Island gave him a diploma of D. D. in 1788. To his church and people he was particularly attentive, and suffered no calls of relaxation or amusement to interfere with the conscientious discharge of the smallest professional duty. His duty was always indeed his delight, and nothing in his mind ever stood in any sort of competition with it. His domestic character was in per fect unison with the other parts of it. Of husbands, he was one of the most kind and accommodating ;-of par ents, the most affectionate and endearing.-It pleased the Author of Wisdom to visit him with peculiar trials. In the course of a few years he was called to bury seven of his children, all adults, and some of them with families; yet such was his confidence in the perfect wisdom of God's government, that he was always patient and submissive, and his mind lost nothing of its lively confidence and cheerful hope. His habit of body, through life, was weakly, and he was not unused to occasional interruptions of his ministerial labours; yet he survived all his clerical cotemporaries both in this town and its vicinity. It was his constant prayer that "his life and his usefulness might run parallel." In this, his desires were gratified. A slight indisposition detained him at home the two last Lord's days of his life. On the Wednesday following the second of them, without any previous symptoms, he was suddenly attacked, at about 11 o'clock, A. M. by a paralytic shock. At 10 at night, having received a second stroke, he grew insensible, and at 12 expired. Could he have selected the manner of his death, it had probably been such an one as this, which spared him the pain of separation from a flock he was most ardently attached to, and a family he most tenderly loved; a scene, which to a person of his feeling mind, notwithstanding all his religion, must have occasioned a shock. On the Monday following, his remains were attended to the Meeting House, where a pathetic and appropriate discourse was delivered on the occasion, by the Rev. Dr. BALDWIN, pastor of the 20 Baptist Church in this town, from 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8, to an immensely thronged and deeply affected assembly after which his remains were carried to the tomb, amidst the regrets of a numerous concourse of people, who crowded around his bier, to take a last look at the urn, which contained the relics of him, who once to them was so dear, but whose face they now should see no more. His loss will long be felt, not only by his own immediate Society, but all his ' other numerous friends. The memory of the just is blessed. |