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after bringing up his numerous offspring as useful members of society, upon a very moderate income. The Memoir, was noticed at a nearly period of life by a friend interesting person more immediately the object of this of the family, whose philanthropy and benevolence were manifested towards them in many instances, and parti. cularly in forwarding the views of young Gellert, who was placed at one of the public schools, where he acquired a knowledge of different languages, and of vari ous branches of learning, so as to qualify him for the Church, to which he was destined. He soon became convinced of the necessity of great personal exertion, and of the importance of accustoming himself to hardships and privations. This, at so early a period, was soon attended with the best effects, and had the most salutary influence in forming his character, and in dewas afterwards distinguished. He always reverted to the kindness and zeal of his first teachers with the strongest feelings of gratitude. At the age of eleven, in order to defray his little expenses, he amused himsel with writing contracts of sale and various legal documents, and at a later period he humorously observed, that his native city could boast of more of these specimens of his early studies, than the world possessed of his works of a later date. At thirteen he first shewed his taste for poetry, without either having had the advantages of a liberal education, or having profited by extensive reading. He therefore entered on his career with considerable diffidence; and it was not till his second journey to Leip zig, that he became more extensively acquainted with men of taste and learning, and his talents began to shine forth with peculiar lustre. The government schools in Saxony were admirably suited to form the young mind for the last polish at a university, and it was at one of those at Meissen where Gellert stored his mind with the Greek and Latin languages; perused with avidity the most celebrated German poets, and where he lived in intimacy with Gärtner and Rabener. Gellert's weakness of constitution began at this period to shew itself. Af ter attending his studies at Meissen for five years, he returned to his father's roof to prepare himself for the academy.

what do we owe those clouds, which, while they | second charge, and where he died, at the age of 75, form in some countries an everlasting canopy from the heat of a tropical sun, descend in other regions to soften the earth with showers? To what do we owe the moisture of which the highest mountains are full, and the springs of water which support our existence, and the rivers which enrich the land? We owe all these to the ocean, which, in addition to these advantages, is also one of the principal bonds of union among all the nations of the world. Nor are we furnished with less memorable proofs of divine wisdom by turning to the earth which we inhabit. The mountains which diversify its surface, affording a much greater variety of herbs, of shrubs, and even of animals, than could possibly be found in one uni-veloping those manly and amiable principles for which he form plain; the riches to be found in its bowels; the quality of the soil, fitted to produce grass for cattle and corn for the service of man; the tree, providing, by the seed contained in it, for the renewal of its existence; the beasts of the field, providing with unerring instinct, for the purposes for which they were formed; the industry, the order, the regular government, the perfect accuracy both of arrangement and of structure, distinguishing the insect by which honey is prepared to gratify our taste with its sweetness; these are as complete attestations of divine wisdom, as the order with which the heavenly bodies perform their everlasting rounds. And how can we seriously meditate either on the soul or on the body of man, without feeling ourselves constrained to adore the wisdom of God? Did we think on the soul as capable of surveying the ample stores of the earth, the sea, and the firmament,-capable of recollecting the past, of anticipating the future, of discovering truths the most profound in every department of science, and of transmitting the acquisitions it has made to generations yet unborn; did we think on the comely proportions of the body, on the adaptation of its various parts to the uses for which they were designed, on the beautiful and amazing instruments of hearing and of sight; did we consider that a slight alteration in the structure of the eye, would make every ray of light be felt like devouring fire; did we reflect that a slight change in the structure of the ear would make every sound like the deafening roar of a cataract, and that a similar change in the nervous system, would make every touch like the stab of a sword; we

would surely join with the Psalmist in saying, "we will praise Thee, O Lord, for we are fearfully and wonderfully made. O Lord, how manifold are Thy works in wisdom hast Thou made them all."

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF

CHRISTIAN F. GELLERT.
BY THOMAS BROWN, ESQ.,
Author of the " Reminiscences of an Old Traveller

throughout different parts of Europe." CHRISTIAN FURCHTEGOTT GELLERT was born at Haynichen in Saxony, in the year 1715, and was one of a family of thirteen children. His father was pastor of the Church at Haynichen, of which he had long had the

While at Leipzig, in 1784, he attended the lectures After the lapse of four years he returned to his father, of Hofmann, Jochern, Christen, Kappen and others. and at this period he mounted the pulpit as a preacher, to assist his parent in his parish duties. His first appearance in public (according to his own account of the circumstance) was rather singular. A neighbour had asked him to baptise his child, which, soon after the ceremony, expired. The young pastor was desi rous of delivering a funeral sermon on the occasion. The child was to be interred at twelve o'clock. At eight on the day of the funeral, Gellert began to compose his discourse, and then to draw up an epitaph, after which he had to study and prepare the third head of the sermon, his memory and self-pos himself for an extempore delivery. On commencing session suddenly forsook him, when he was relieved from his embarrassment by referring to his notes, which fortunately were at hand; his indulgent hearers attri buting his state of mind to sympathy and grief for the loss of the child. He takes occasion, in this instance, to warn young divines against the consequences of over anxiety and precipitation; and the circumstance gave his charac ter a stamp of diffidence and timidity, which accompsnied him through life. From this early period his unas suming manners, unaffected piety, and ardent zeal in disseminating the great and important truths of religion, made a deep impression on his hearers, and tended more and more to increase their esteem and respect. The interest he took in his professional duties, which he fol lowed up with redoubled ardour, however amiable and

praiseworthy in itself, unfortunately tended to undermine his constitution, naturally a feeble one, and his fine feelings preyed upon a frame of too delicate a texture to bear up long against the inroads of unwearied study and intense application.

His circumstances did not at this time admit of his confining himself solely to the developement of his own mind. About 1739, he undertook the education of two young gentlemen, and afterwards an additional number, and this period he considers to have been the most vigorous and healthful of his life. Some of his remarks, as well as his mode of living at this time, give us an interesting view of the transcendent qualities of his mind;—“ A glass of Meissner wine," says he, " and a little bread, refreshed me in the evening, after the fatigues of the day, and I was affected to tears at the blessings I enjoyed."

He kept the Lord's day in the strictest manner, and never would even put pen to paper but in a case of the most indispensable necessity; and he disapproved sending messages of any kind :-" We pass the Sabbath," said he," in too thoughtless a manner, and I am convinced that a more strict observance of it is indispensable to our growth in grace and good works. To pass this day free from worldly care, to try our hearts, to carry our thoughts to heavenly objects, to nourish and strengthen ourselves with the great truths of religion, is, in fact, the best preparation for our worldly labours during the remainder of the week. Forget on this day the trifling occurrences of life, and dedicate yourselves entirely to religion and to heavenly contemplation. Be grateful for the blessings of providence, for intercourse with your friends, and for the tender mercies spread over the face of nature. Pray to God, examine your | heart, its good and evil tendencies, and fortify yourselves in the practice of virtue. God alone is the source of true happiness. Ask it of him, and be thankful for what you receive. We are too apt to forget our weakness and our unworthiness, amidst the cares and tumults of life, unless we lay aside a certain time to think of the power and goodness of God, and to acknowledge his greatness and our own insufficiency. These are proper occupations for the Sabbath. It is the day of prayer, and a day on which there is rest for our souls. Beware of being too confident of the efficacy of your good works. Be humble, and trust to God alone for mercy and forgiveness. See how gracious he is, and how dependant you are. For the sacrifice of earthly enjoyments you will feel the immeasurably higher blessings of religion, and receive peace from heaven. Study the Scriptures. Read the Serinons of Saurin, Mosheim, Jerusalem, Von Acken, Cramer, Schlegel, &c., which are edifying to every Christian." Such were some of the pious admonitions of this great and good man!

Gellert was always desirous of being established at Leipzig, where he had many friends, and he went there accordingly in 1741, accompanied by his nephew. He Lad then little to depend upon; but his truly Christian spirit supported him under every privation. From the time he lost his friend, Hofmann, who died there a few months after his arrival, Gellert occupied himself with the private education of some young noblemen, and prosecuted with ardour his taste for poetry. His delicate constitution, however, did not admit of very extraordinary application to literary pursuits, and he became extremely subject to low spirits. The Latin, the French, but particularly the English language, he studied with unabated pleasure, and, in their turns, Cicero, Rollin, the Spectator, Quintilian, Horace and Ovid, occupied his leisure hours. But his main object, at all times, was the improvement of the heart, by serious devotion and the elevating and sublime contemplation of the nature and attributes of providence. About a twelve-month after his arrival at Leipzig, he wrote several articles for a periodical journal in considerable estimation at that

time, such as fables, tales, didactic poems, and several treatises in prose, which were much admired, although they did not altogether escape the pen of criticism. This tended only to animate him more and more in the field of literature; and his fables, in particular, became so popular, that the journal could hardly find purchasers, unless furnished with them for the gratification and improvement of all classes of readers. His natural, unaffected style, his undeviating principles, and his mild philanthropic sentiments gained universal admiration, and gave great currency to his early productions.

The excellence of the morals he inculcated on every occasion, gave his writings a value which all ranks of people knew well how to appreciate, and his self-love was amply gratified by the admiration they excited in and out of Germany. A poor peasant in Saxony once, at the commencement of winter, left a cart load of firewood at his door, in return for the pleasure he had received from the perusal of his fables, which proved, that a person can feel and find out beauties in writing without having studied Aristotle.

About the year 1747, his constitution began to be seriously affected by hypochondria and a sedentary life, notwithstanding his habitual serenity of mind, and the most studied regularity and temperance in his mode of living. He took refuge, as usual, in the never failing consolations of religion, which he was always so ready to impart to others. In the following year he gave out an enlarged edition of his works, in which he expressed his deep sense of gratitude for the public patronage of the first. For seven years he had enjoyed uninterruptedly an intercourse with his most intimate friends in the career of literature. Then they began to disperse. Zacharias, Gieseke, and Klopstock, had left Leipzig. C. A. Schmidt was gone to Luneburg, Gartner and Ebert to Brunswick, Cramer to Crollwitz, and J. A. Schlegel to Pforta; Rabener remained a few years longer to enjoy the society of his friend. This change of scene affected Gellert the more, under the pressure of bodily suffering. About the year 1754 he published a kind of anonymous correspondence, in order to improve the style of epistolary writing, then in fashion. This collection certainly did not possess the vivacity, wit, and naiveté of a Sevignè, neither does the German language admit of the indescribable graces of the French; but although the collection was not equally well received with his other works, still it possessed sentiments worthy of the pure and unpolluted source from whence they emanated. He laboured at this time with equal zeal in composing his sacred odes and hymns, a subject quite congenial to his fine feelings, and which he pursued with all the ardour which a consciousness of its importance inspired. Not relying solely on his own judgment in this instance, he sent manuscript copies to his friends at Leipzig, Copenhagen, Berlin and Brunswick, previously to the work being printed, and he made such alterations and improvements as they, from time to time, suggested to him. These poems circulated over Germany with extraordinary rapidity, and were read and admired by all classes of persons, even in the Roman Catholic districts, where they formed an exception to the general rule for suppressing the admission of doctrines emanating from the pen of a Protestant. These pious compositions, however agreeable to the feelings and principles of the author, were only the fruits of his leisure hours, his time being principally occupied in forming the minds of the students, and in leading them to a knowledge of the fine arts, by explaining the rules of poetry, eloquence, and other branches, and particularly by cultivating their taste for literary composition. Gellert, at this period, was averse to accept of any public situation requiring extraordinary application and exertion, owing to the delicate state of his health; but his merit was too universally known and appreciated to remain long unacknowledged, particularly by the go

vernment, who bestowed on him the honourable distinction of Lecturer on Philosophy, with a suitable annual remuneration. In this situation, in the midst of his young hearers, he enjoyed as much happiness as his bodily sufferings would admit of, conscious, as he was, of possessing their sincere regard and attachment, and of his own unwearied exertions to diffuse the blessings of religion, and to widen the boundaries of human knowledge.

All that art could accomplish was insufficient to alleviate, far less to remove, his sufferings. In 1753 and 1754, he went to Lauchstadt and Carlsbad, but the use of the waters and change of air only afforded him a slight temporary relief. His feelings, however, were highly gratified by the demonstrations of kindness and respect which he experienced at these places from the most distinguished characters in Europe, who, invalids like himself, were anxious for a while to be relieved from the cares and occupations of active life, and he dwells on that period, in his letters to his friends, with unmingled pleasure and delight. He mentions with the strongest emotions the gratitude of those whose children had benefited by his instructions, and gives some instances of this, too interesting to be passed over.

A nobleman in Silesia wrote to him, offering him a considerable annual allowance, which Gellert, with the most laudable disinterestedness, having declined, the same was paid to his aged mother regularly till the day of her death. This circumstance was never mentioned by Gellert without a flood of grateful tears. On another occasion, a young Prussian officer who had frequently read Gellert's works, and felt their blessed effects on his mind, in forming religious impressions, but had never seen the author, had long wished for an opportunity of testifying his gratitude to him. Some business having called the officer to Leipzig, he got himself introduced to Gellert on two different occasions. The third interview took place when they were alone, and is thus described in a letter to his friend, Count B.

·

"The stranger took advantage of this opportunity. Ah!' said he, with a kind of diffident candour, 'you are not aware of it, I am much, very much your debtor, and I beg of you to accept a proof of my gratitude, and make me no return.' At the same time," says Gellert, "he placed a small packet in my hand. You, Sir, said I, my debtor, whom I never saw, and to whom I never rendered the least service!' 'Say nothing,' returned the stranger, you must accept it. You have improved my heart by your writings, and this happiness I would not give in exchange for the whole world. Here, your friend is coming; don't let me ask you in vain; he shall not see me do my duty towards you.'

"I," says Gellert, "accepted the donation, and hardly knew from surprise how to reply. On returning home, I found the paper contained twenty Louis d'or. This surprised me more still, but it was the emotions of the heart, not the money (as money does not penetrate the soul); no-money cannot produce that sensation. No, dear Count, a thought that I had not been altogether useless, illuminated and cheered my heart. It seemed to call me to renewed exertions, and to inspire me with new hopes, and urged me not to give way under my sufferings. Such was my feeling at the moment, and I was deeply affected. I would freely give away the money to some worthy man, said I, if it could produce the same sensations. Nothing, thought I, trembling, nothing is so trifling as to escape the eye of providence. This circumstance has been intended for my happiness. How happy! A heart improved. I approached the window and looked towards Heaven. However, certain feelings ought not to be imparted to our best friends. If we express them, let us beware that ambition is not the secret spring. In short, dear Count, it was a happy evening me, and I cannot be sufficiently grateful to God for

for

it."

Amidst his bodily sufferings and the progress of disease, which was now making strong inroads on his delicate frame, his heavenly mind lost none of its serenity, and he found in gentle exercise, and the consolations of religion, that peace which passeth understanding. He often walked among the tombstones, meditating on the vicissitudes and changes of our mortal nature, and on that eternal life which awaits us beyond the grave. Every passing object and every passing thought tended to strengthen his confidence and belief in the transcendent goodness and mercies of God; and while he was in a manner tottering on the confines of this world, his spirit submitted, with sublime resignation, to the trials of life, while the rays of divine hope and joy were shedding their lustre on his declining years. Endeavouring to recover strength by a change of air, among some friends residing in the country, he was seized with a fever and violent spasms, which endangered his valuable life. He recovered, however, at this time, and returned to Leipzig, to resume his professional studies.

His fame and usefulness as a public speaker increased from day to day, and nearly five hundred often attended his lectures. Unwearied in his endeavours to promote their moral and religious improvement, he visited them privately, and this kind of easy intercourse tended more and more to raise him in their estimation. The general respect in which he was held, involved him also in an endless correspondence with persons of rank and influence in society, who were always anxious to con sult him on matters where the happiness of their fami lies was at stake. The particular esteem in which he was held by the Great Frederick (who was by no means partial to German philosophers), is well known, and the English Ambassador at the Court of Berlin, Mitchell, did him the most important services, perfectly unsolicited. The Prince and Princesses of the House of Saxony were also unwearied in their attentions, so that, what with the kindness of his friends and the munificence of the Court, his wants were liberally supplied, although he always declined accepting any remuneration beyond what was absolutely necessary for his appearing in society in a manner conformable to the character and rank he held in it.

He was advised by his friends again to try the waters of Carlsbad, and went there a second time, in 1763. He afterwards revisited that place on two or three occasions, having derived some little benefit by the waters, and he experienced the same attentions from the distinguished individuals he met there which he had done before. His altered appearance, however, on his return to Leipzig to resume his public lectures, was a matter of general sympathy and regret; his delivery and aspect had the serenity of a calm summer evening, previously to the setting of the sun. It is well known with what interest he was listened to in the latter years of life, from 1765 to 1769, by the Electoral family and the Court, who never ceased to manifest their esteem and regard for him. The Elector sent him a quiet horse to ride upon, and took every means to preserve so valuable a life; but the period of Gellert's dissolution was now fast approaching, and no human art could be of any more service.

In 1769 he gave the finishing hand to his lectures on public morals, which were afterwards published by his friends, Schlegel and Herder. In December 1769, nature could no longer be supported, and his physical powers were unable to perform their usual functions. Four days before his death, he gave the necessary directions about his affairs, with his usual serenity of mind, surrounded by his brother and some friends, and then collecting all his remaining strength, he raised himself in his bed, uncovered his hoary head, and prayed with so much earnestness, with so much humility, with so deep a sense of the mercies of God, that those around him were quite overpowered in thus witnessing the ap

proaching dissolution of this dying patriarch, this second Jacob, directing his thoughts and views to Heaven. He dwelt on the great mercies he had enjoyed through life; on the kind attachment of his friends, for whose welfare he invoked the God of all mercies; on various passages of the New Testament having a reference to the unspeakable goodness of the blessed Redeemer. After two or three days prolongation of a painful existence, he expired, on the 13th December 1769.

Several monuments were erected to his memory in Germany. The most conspicuous is that in the Church of St John in Leipzig. It represents, in alabaster, a medallion, with the head of Gellert, crowned with laurel, offered by Religion to Virtue, which appear in the shape of two female figures, in appropriate attitudes. Under the monument is the following inscription :

"CHRISTIAN FURCHTEGOTT GELLERT. "Erected to the memory of this teacher and example of virtue and religion, by a society of his friends and contemporaries, eye-witnesses of his merits.-Born, 4th July 1715. Died, 13th December 1769."

I have thus endeavoured to give a brief, but, I trust, not an uninteresting account of the life of this good man. Such eminent characters, like those brilliant meteors which occasionally shoot across our little orb, appear but seldom to cheer and console us in our earthly

pilgrimage.

Of all the German writers, Gellert has unquestionably conferred the greatest blessings on his country, by his excellent example, and by the diffusion of his pious sentiments among the great mass of the people. It is impossible, without being versant in the German language, and having lived in many parts of Germany, to form a conception of the influence his writings have had in promoting the peace of families, in rendering the dispositions of individuals more mild and amiable, and generally, in spreading every kind and friendly feeling

over the whole domestic circle.

A WORSHIPPING ASSEMBLY AT HIDO, IN THE
ISLAND OF HAWAII.

(Extracted from the Rev. Mr Stewart's "Visit to the South Seas."
Fisher, Son, & Jackson. London, 1832.]

"THE scenes of the Sabbath have been such, that a review of them, in my own mind, will not be an abuse of sacred time, nor will their perusal give rise to thoughts and affections unsuited to a day of God.

this very place, only four years ago, the known wishes
and example of chiefs of high authority, the daily per-
suasion of teachers, added to motives of curiosity and
novelty, could scarce induce a hundred of the inhabi-
tants to give an irregular, careless, and impatient at-
tendance on the services of the sanctuary! but now,
Like mountain-torrents pouring to the main,
From every glen a living stream came forth;
From every hill in crowds they hastened down,
To worship Him, who deigns in humblest fane,
On wildest shore, to meet th' upright in heart."
"The scene, as looked on from our ship, in the still-
ness of a brightly-beaming Sabbath morning, was well
calculated, with its associations, to prepare the mind
for strong impressions on a nearer view, when the con-
clusion of our own public worship would allow us to
go on shore. Mr Goodrich had apprised us, that he
had found it expedient to hold the services of the Sab-
bath, usually attended at all the other stations at nine
o'clock in the morning, and at four in the afternoon,
both in the fore-part of the day, that all might have the
benefit of two sermons, and still reach their abodes be-
fore nightfall; for

Numbers dwelt remote,

And first must traverse many a weary mile,
To reach the altar of the God they love.'
And it was arranged that, on this occasion, the second

service should be postponed till the officers should be
when we went on shore; the captain and first lieuten-
at liberty to leave the ship. It was near twelve o'clock
ant, the purser, surgeon, several of the midshipmen, and
myself. Though the services had commenced when we
landed, large numbers were seen circling the doors with-
out; but, as we afterwards found, only from the im-
The house is
practicability of obtaining places within.
an immense structure, every part of which was filled,
except a small area in front of the pulpit, where seats
in slow and tedious procession, from the difficulty of
were reserved for us, and to which we made our way
finding a spot to place even our footsteps, without tread-
ing on limbs of the people, seated on their feet, as
closely almost as they could be stowed.

"As we entered, Mr Goodrich paused in his sermon till we should be seated. I ascended the pulpit beside him, from which I had a full view of the congregation. The suspense of attention in the people was only momentary, notwithstanding the entire novelty to them of the laced coats and other appendages of naval uniform. I can scarce describe the emotions experienced, in glancing an eye over the immense number, seated so thickly on the matted floor as to seem literally one mass of heads, covering an area of more than nine thousand square feet. The sight was most striking, and soon became, not only to myself, but to some of my fellowofficers, deeply affecting.

“At an early hour of the morning, even before we had taken our breakfast on board ship, a single islander here or there, or a group of three or four, wrapped in their large mantles of various hues, might be seen winding their way among the groves fringing the bay on the east, or descending from the hills and ravine on the "I have gazed on many worshipping assemblies, and north, towards the chapel; and by degrees their num- of every variety of character, from those formed of the bers increased, till, in a short time, every path along the high and the princely, with a splendour and pageantry beach, and over the uplands, presented an almost unin-of train befitting the magnificence of the cathedrals in terrupted procession of both sexes, and of every age, all pressing to the House of God. So few canoes were round the ship yesterday, and the landing-place had been so little thronged as our boats passed to and fro, that one might have thought the district but thinly inhabited; but now, such multitudes were seen gathering from various directions, that the exclamation, What crowds of people! what crowds of people!' was heard from the quarter-deck to the forecastle.

which they bowed, to the humblest two or three' who ever came together at a place where prayer is wont to be made;'-I have listened with delighted attention to some of the highest eloquence the pulpits of America and England of the present day can boast, and have watched with sympathetic excitement the effect produced by it, till all who heard were wrapt into an enthusiasm of high-toned feeling, at the sublimity of the theme presented ;-I have seen tears of conviction and of penitence flow freely, as if to the breaking of the heart, under the sterner truths of the Word of God; and not unfrequently, too, have witnessed, as the anAnd as nunciation of Peace; be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee,' has fallen on the soul, smiles of hope and joy rapidly take their place; but it was left for a worshipping assembly at Hido, the most obscure corner of these distant islands, to excite the liveliest emotions

"Even to myself, it was a sight of surprise; surprise, not at the magnitude of the population, but that the object for which they were evidently assembling, should bring together so great a multitude.

my thoughts re-echoed the words, What crowds of people!' remembrances and affections of deep power came over me; and the silent musings of my heart were, What a change what a happy change!' when at

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ever experienced, and leave the deepest impressions of the extent and unsearchable riches of the Gospel, which I have ever known-emotions and impressions derived simply from an ocular demonstration of the power of the Word of God on untutored man, which is without a parallel in existing events, if not in the records of history.

"The simple appearance and every deportment of that obscure congregation, whom I had once known, and at no remote period, only as a set of rude, licen tious, and wild pagans, did more to rivet the conviction of the divine origin of the Bible, and of the holy influences by which it is accompanied to the hearts of men, than all the arguments, and apologies, and defences of Christianity, I ever read.

"The depth of the impression arose from the irresistible conviction, that the Spirit of God was there; "Towards evening, Mr Stribling and myself went it could have been nothing else. With the exception again on shore, and remained till late, learning from of the inferior chiefs having charge of the district, and our Missionary friends the most gratifying intelligence. their dependants, of two or three native members of in corroboration of the opinion formed, in the mornthe church and of the mission family, scarce one of the ing, of the state of the people. An entire moral rewhole multitude was in other than the native dress, the formation has taken place in the vicinity of this station. maro and the kihei, the simple garments of their primi- Though latest established, and long far behind others tive state. In this respect, and in the attitude of sit-in success and interest, it bids fair now to be not a ting, the assembly was purely pagan, totally unlike those whit behind the very chiefest, in its moral and religious of the Society Islands, already described, as unlike as achievements. Instruction of every kind is eagerly and to one at home. But the breathless silence, the eager universally sought; and only last week, not less than attention, the half-suppressed sigh, the tear, the various ten thousand people were assembled at an examination of schools. feelings, sad, peaceful, joyous, discoverable in the faces of many, all spoke the presence of an invisible but om- earnest inquirers in every right way; evil customs and atrocious vices are abandoned; a strict outward connipotent power, the power that can alone melt and renew the heart of man, even as it alone first brought it formity to good morals observed; and numbers, it is into existence. hoped, and confidently believed, have yielded, and are yielding, themselves to all the charities and affections of genuine piety. From many an humble dwelling, now,

"From the thousands present, I might select many individuals whose appearance was such as to stamp these impressions indelibly on my heart. The aspect of one, at least, I can never forget; and will attempt to describe. It was a diminutive woman, shrivelled by age till little more of her figure, with an appearance of health, was left, than skin and bone. The style of her features, however, was of the regular and more pleasing character found among the islanders, with an amiable and benignant expression, which, in connection with an entirely whitened head, exacted from the observer a look of kindness in return. Folded in a large mantle of black tapa, she was leaning, when my eyes first fell upon her, against a pillar near the pulpit, beside which she was sitting, with her head inclined upwards, and her eyes fixed upon the preacher. There was not only a seriousness, but a deep pensiveness in her whole aspect, that rivetted my attention; and as Mr Goodrich proceeded in his discourse, more than one tear made its way down her deeply wrinkled cheeks.

"I had not, in my long absence, so entirely forgotten the native language, as not to understand much that was said. After some time, this sentence was uttered: 'We are all sinners, but we have a God and Saviour, who will forgive us our sins, if we ask it of him. It is our duty to pray for this to God, and he hears the prayers of all who approach him in sincerity.' I happened, at the moment, to look again upon this object; her lips moved in the evident and almost audible repetition of the sentence. She again repeated it, as if to be certain that she heard and understood it correctly; and, as she did so, a peaceful smile spread over every feature, tears gushed rapidly from her eyes, and she hid her face in the folds of her garment. Could I be deceived in the interpretation of this case? could I be mistaken in the causes and the nature of those varied emotions, under the circumstances in which they were beheld; and in one, of whom I had never heard, and whom I had never before seen? No, I could not; and if so, what is the language they speak? they plainly say that this poor woman, grown grey in the ignorance and varied degradation of heathenism, by the lamp let down from heaven,' sees herself to be a sinner, and is oppressed to sadness under a sense of her guilt. But she hears of pardon and salvation, freely given, to all who will freely receive; hears of the glorious liberty of the Gospel, and of all the rich privileges it confers, even to nigh access and intimate communion with the Father of spirits; hears, and believes, and sinks before her God in tears of gratitude and of joy.

The mission-house is daily crowded with

Is daily heard

The voice of prayer and praise to Jacob's God;
And many a heart in secret heaves the sigh
To Him who hears well-pleased the sigh contrite.'
Even in the hut of the child-murderer,

The father, with his offspring dear,
Now bends the knee to God, and humbly asks
That he would bless them with a parent's love-
With heavenly manna feed their hungry souls,
And on their hearts, as Hermon's dew, descend.'

THE LOST TRANSGRESSOR.
BY A CLERGYMAN.

SOME years ago there lived in the south of Scotland a
young man of respectable connections, who, besides pos
sessing superior talents, had received a sound Christian
education. In his early days he had been strictly con-
scientious in the discharge of filial duty, and the obser
vance of the common decencies and proprieties of life.
Such, in fact, was the excellence of his character, and
such the extent of his attainments, that he held a very
high place among the young men of the burgh where he
lived. His parents were proud of their son, and looked
forward to his proving their comfort and their stay in
their declining years. In short, all thought well of
him, and there appeared to be little danger of any seri
ous deviation from the paths of rectitude, as he had
passed unsullied through the days of heedless youth.
The family to which this young person belonged were, I
believe, decidedly pious, and their acquaintances generally
of the same character. All this led the subject of our
remarks into frequent and intimate conversation con-
cerning the great and fundamental doctrines of our holy
Religion, and in consequence of his talents and educa
tion, he soon acquired a clear comprehension, not merely
of the doctrines themselves, but of the mode of defend-
ing them against the various objections which are cur-
rent among infidels. Nay, such was his love of argu
ment, that he was accustomed to display his skill in
urging the infidel cavils, and so great was his tact and
talent on these occasions, that it was often difficult for
uneducated persons to make a satisfactory reply, or to
blunt or repel his subtle weapons.
For a while this
dexterity attracted the more notice among his associates,
as it was clearly understood that he did not hold the
objections as his own, but merely suggested them for
the purpose of eliciting truth in new forms, and drawing
out of pious minds what, till thus beset, they had

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