The American and Foreign Christian Union

I THEOLOGICAL SEMIMKyJ

Frinceton, H. J.

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THE

AMERICAN AND FOREIGN

CHRISTIAN UNION.

YoL. YIII. DECEMBER, 18 51. No. 12.

THE PRESENT CRISIS— WHAT SHALL BE DONE ?

Hitherto, in the good providence of
God, through the ordinary contributions
. to its treasury, the American and For-
eign Christian Union has been ena-
abled to meet its ordinary pecuniary
liabilities. But the diminution of re-
ceipts, for the last two months, has im-
posed present embarrassments, and
awakened anxious concern in regard to
the liabilities assumed for the remain-
der of the current missionary year.

Some of the engagements of the
Board, especially those which relate to
the operations in the Foreign Field, re-
quire to be made at the beginning of
the year, as also some which relate to
matters connected with the Home De-
partment. These obligations, justice,
truth, confidence among men, and the
honor of religion, require faithfully to
be met and discharged. The evils con-
sequent upon a failure to discharge
them cannot be easily described, and
we trust we shall never have the expe-
rience of witnessing their realization in
practical life. Indeed we have very
strong confidence that we shall not.

In ordinary times a pressure upon
the treasury could readily be relieved
by individual exertions, or by loans for
short periods. But the methods of re-
lief available in common times, are
nearly out of the question in these days of
24

commercial perplexity, when banks and
bankers, manufacturers and merchants,
and others in other ranks and avoca-
tions of life, who hold large amounts
of valuable property, suspend opera-
tions, or " fail," for the want of money.

In this state of things, and when
many of our ablest and most liberal
supporters are rendered unable to grant
the assistance they cheerfully extended
to us before, it remains no longer op
tional, but becomes imperative on us,
to ask the attention of the members and
friends of the Society in general to its
present and prospective condition, and
to invoke their sympathy and generous
aid in its behalf. In doing this we
are sure we need no apology. And to
obtain their special and early co-0|)era-
tion, we need no long and labored ar-
gument, for the cause is in an import-
ant sense their cause. The Society is
an organization whose principles they
cordially approve, and its work, a ser-
vice which they sincerely wish done ; and
from the history of the past we have
confidence in the depth and firmness of
their conviction, that the American and
Foreign Christian Union is with God
a cherished instrumentality for the ac-
complishment of a most important
work, (the reformation of the apostate
portions of Christendom,) in the ad-

370

THE PRESENT CRISIS WHAT SHALL EE DONE?

(Dec

vancement of his kingdom and glory on
earth ; and we cannot believe that they
will suffer it to fail in the prosecution of
its great design for want of funds.

For a brief view of what the Society
has already accomplished, we refer to
the last Annual Report. Its labors
since the present year commenced,
have been continued as before, with but
little alteration. A few new appoint-
ments have been made at some of the
stations, and recently some have been
discontinued, but the aggregate number
(141) employed in the various branches
of service at home and abroad, is about
the same as at the time of the last An-
nual Report.

Several new schools — week-day, in-
dustrial, and Sunday — have been opened
in this country, and many children have
been gathered into them and taught ;
and those who have read our Monthly
Magazine, must have been struck with
the evidence frequently exhibited of the
marked encouragement God has vouch-
safed to the missionaries in Ireland,
Sweden, Belgium, France, Hayti, and
the United States, at times, in their
preachings, and schools, and domiciliary
visits, and conversations held in public
and private with the deluded people for
whose benefit they labor. Thousands
have T^een reclaimed from the errors of
Popery, and many have been brought
to embrace the Savior.

Much extra effort has been put forth
in the erection of the chapel in Paris,
and that valuable edifice is now about
ready to be occupied by worshipers.

Few additional alterations or changes
(consistent with its welfare) can be
made for the reduction of expenses, in
the operations of the Society, to those
that have already been made. A closer
pruning may very injuriously affect its
present and future usefulness. But it
will have to be made, if the necessary
means of support are not soon supplied.

WHAT THEX SHALL BE DONE 1

We must refer the decision of this
question, brethren and friends of the
Society, to yourselves. By extra exer-
tion the work can go on in its modified
form, but without it, in these times, it
cannot. I^Iay we not, then, rely upon
your extra help ? We ^s■ill so rely, and
venture to request the following things,
viz :

1. That you devote even now, and
before you engage in any other busi-
ness, or lay the Magazine down, a few
moments to think upon the matter
submitted in this article.

Weigh the subject in all its relations
and bearings — especially its relation to
yourself and your duty touching it.
Extend your thoughts to the extreme,
which in the case is quite possible — the
dismissal of the missionaries and of the
schools at home, and the abandonment
of the work abroad; and imagine, if
you can, how you and the whole church
of Christ in this land, would feel in view
of such a result ; and what in that case
you would likely be willing to do, if
by it you could re-establish and set in
operation again so valuable an agency
for the world's regeneration as the
American and Foreign Christian
Union. We do not, in fact, contem-
plate such an extreme ; but such imag-
ining may show us the estimate in which
the institution should be held, and what
we should do for it.

2. That you pray for the Society.
When the people of God shall bear the
Society on their hearts before the mercy-
seat, and uniformly and earnestly pray
the Savior to favor it, it will not lack,
we think, any of the things necessary
for its welfare and highest usefulness.

Why it has not a place in every
heart at the monthly concert, and
shares not equally in the funds collected
and distributed there, we presume no
one can satisfactorily show.

1857.)

THE PRESENT CRISIS WHAT SHALL EE DONE ?

371

Are not the four times more numer-
ous, and the many times more supersti-
tious and corrupt, yet wealthy and ef-
fective Papists, worthy of at least as
, much sympathy, prayer, and charity,
as the Syrians and Nestorians ?

Are not the 200 millions of Papists
now wandering from God, and living
to the reproach of the Savior, without
the Bible, and ordinary means of salva-
tion, worthy of as much effort to save
them, as the vastly inferior races in
Asia, or Islands of the Ocean ?

No mortal can show that they are
not. We ask for them, then, at least an
EQUAL remembrance in the prayers of
Christians, and an equal share in the
alms, connected with the monthly con-
cert service, which service contemplates
the conversion of '* the whole world,"
and not merely part of it.

8. That you send a donation to the
treasury. Do not refuse to do this, be-
cause you cannot send so large a sum as
you would be glad to send. Small sums
from enough people will make the
amount needed.

But go also to your neighbor, and
engage him or her to join with you in
making up, and sending to the treasury,
something for its relief. Circulate in-
formation about the Society and its
work, and thus get up an interest in
your neighborhood on the subject, and
get the young people or others to make
up, by subscription or otherwise, a Life-
Membership or Directorship for the
pastor or some person of their acquaint-
ance, and forward it as a donation.
Get as many as you can to subscribe
for and take the Monthly Magazine.

If you are a pastor, can you not pre-
sent the claims of the Society to your
church? Do not excuse yourself be-
cause you have some other cause in
hand, or your church is small and feeble,

or because you think your efforts will
be of little avail. Give the cause a
place among other causes, and let your
people judge ; and forward to the So-
ciety whatever they may give. It will
do its part in sustaining the work, and
it will be thankfully received.

If you have had the cause nominally
in your pulpit this year, and yet for any
reason its claims were not got before
the people favorably, and the contribu-
tion raised was small, being derived only
from a portion of your flock, we respect-
fully request you to consider whether
you cannot renew the application to
your people, and help us by asking a
contribution of them, so that all may
have an opportunity of participating
in it.

And now, dear brethren and friends,
w^e are not insensible of the pressure of
the times upon you and upon all classes
of the community, as well as ourselves,
and we would not add to your or their
burdens. But necessity is laid upon
us, and without this statement we should
fail in the discharge of our duty. We
submit these things to you in the spirit
of fraternal kindness, and under a sense
of our responsibility to the great Head
of the church, whom, with jom, we strive
to serve and to honor. We trust they
will be received in the like spirit, and
responded to as cordially and promptly
as their urgency and importance evi-
dently indicate, and as other duties and
claims will allow.

Blessed is he who considereth the
poor — who ministers to the wants of
Christ's feeble and needy ones — who
shall seek to save his cause from
reproach — the Savior, himself, from
" wounds in the house of his friends
8UCH shall in no wise lose their reward.

372

IRELAND.

(Dec.

IREL AND.

Few countries, if any, have occupied
a larger space in the journalism and
political study of the last two centuries
than Ireland.

The condition of few people has
been less consonant with their better
qualities, and with their natural advan-
tages of soil, climate, and locality.

Its early history, like that of most
ancient kingdoms, is concealed in le-
gendary haze. In the early part of the
first century of the Christian era, its
government was a hereditary monarchy;
but it soon became an object of rival
claimants, and before the close of the
century the island was divided into
several kingdoms.

The historian Tacitus informs us that
in the year A. D. 83, Julius Agricola,
who led the forces of Rome into Britain,
graciously received one of the petty
kings of Ireland, who, by some domes-
tic feud, was obliged to fly from his
dominion.

At that period the Irish made fre-
quent expeditions to Britain and the
neighboring countries, sometimes for
war and plunder, at other times for the
purpose of honorable commerce ; and
the same Roman historian states that
in A. D. 99, the ports of Ireland were
better known than those of Britain.
And such was the extent of her inter-
nal traffic, as to warrant the construc-
tion of a great commercial road, with
walls on either side, across the island
from Dublin to Galway. Undoubted
proofs still exist of the early skill of the
Inhabitants in agriculture.

From the first to the twelfth century
the history of the Irish abounds in all
the enterprise, both peaceful and war-
like, which has proclaimed the courage
and genius of other early nations.

The Irish are a portion of the great

Celtic family. From incidental pass-
ages in ancient authors, it would seem
that Ireland was originally visited and
colonized by the Pelasgi — nomads, who
emigrated from the north-west of Asia,
and settled first in Phoenicia, thence
they went into Tuscany and Spain, and
finally to the Emerald Isle.

The northern part of the island was
peopled by the wandering Scuits, or
Scythians ; hence by Caesar and Pliny,
as well as by Tacitus, it is sometimes
called Scotia, though generally Ibernia.

Christianity found an early welcome
among the inhabitants. Irenseus, pres-
byter of Lyons, writing A. D. 100, men-
tions the existence of Christian churches
among the Celtic nations ; and there is
much reason to conclude that Christian-
ity was carried to Ireland in the first
century — if not by the apostle Paul,
more probably by the church which
Polycarp the martyr and predecessor
of Irenseus had founded in southern
Gaul. The considerable intercourse
known to have existed between Gaul
and Ireland, the fact that the Irish were
Celts, and also the fact that there were
certain sacred usages and observances
among them in common with the church-
es of Gaul and Britain, and diflfering
from those of the Roman church, afford
the very high probability that before
Christianity was corrupted by the Pa-
pacy it found a genial soil among the
Ibernian Celts.

So early as 416, seminaries were
founded in various parts of the island
for the teaching of letters and a pure
Christianity, and from many parts of
Christendom young men resorted thither
for such distinguished advantages. Even
to the ninth century Ireland remained
justly famous for her schools and ac-
complished scholars.

1857.)

IRELAND.

373

About the middle of the fifth centu-
ry Christianity was diffused generally
throughout the island ; not, however,
by the missionary Palladius whom the
Pope sent thither " to instruet those
already believing in Christ;'^'' for the
Christian Irish, regarding the act as an
interference with the ''''independence of
their church,'''' gave the Legate a recep-
tion so cold as to have induced him,
after a residence of a few months, to
retire into Scotland.

But at that period St. Patrick com-
menced his mission among the island-
ers, who were already prepared to re-
ceive him.^ He was a genuine saint, and .
no Papist. He faithfully stated, in
works still extant, the great Protestant
doctrines. He enjoined the reading of
the Holy Scriptures. He acknowledged
the existence only of heaven, earth, and
hell, without the embellishment of a
purgatory ; and he forbade the adora-
tio» of any creature.

In the sixth century a religious order
was founded by Columba, so called for
his gentle and meek manners, for he
was as a dove to the churches. This
order was denominated "Culdee," or
servant of God, and was independent
of Rome. Columba taught that there
were but three states — heaven, earth,
and hell — no purgatory. He also in-
culcated strongly the reading of the
Scriptures, much of which his followers,
whether clergy or laity, were obliged
to commit to memory. The efforts of
the Culdees checked, for a while, the
Papal influence in Ireland ; hence the
Romish church has ever regarded them
with animosity.

The confessional was not known in
Ireland until the year 1140, when it
was introduced, contrary to the wishes
of the clergy, by Malachy, legate of the
Pope. In 1155, Henry II. received
permission from the Romish hierarch

to secure Ireland to himself and to the
Roman See, on the pretense that every
land on which the Sun of Righteousness
had shone, belonged, of right, to St.
Peter and the holy Roman church.
But not until 1205 did the Pope claim
the prerogative of appointing Bishops
in Ireland. That was in the royal gift
alone.

Now, the history of the Irish people
clearly demonstrates that from the time
when paganism became extinct in their
beautiful isle, and an independent Christ-
ianity commenced the moulding of the
national mind, until the decree went
forth from the Vatican that they should
be subjugated to Rome, they were pros-
perous in all that adorns and dignifies
nations — as much so as any other peo-
ple during those centuries, and vastly
more so in many of the arts and refine-
ments of civilization.

Equally does their history demon-
strate that from the twelfth century to
the nineteenth, under the incubus of the
priesthood, shut out from the light of
the Bible, taught to hate all that was
not Papal, and thus prepared .for op-
pression from the English Government,
— indeed, rendered by such protracted
and penetrating influences unjit, one
might almost say, for absolute free-
dom,— they have grown worse and
worse ; so that their song, their elo-
quence, their noble impulses, their wit,
all the fine qualities that distinguish
them as a race, only add to the sadness
of their degeneracy,— like flowers about
the tomb, nurtured by its odors, and
reviving in the beholder the mournful-
ness of death.

It is only within about twelve or fif-
teen years that the Irish have entered
on a better social and national epoch ;
and that, not by having gained of the
English Government what their delud-
ed and deluding le<\der O'Connell de-

374

manded — not by the influence of their
old Romish faith — but partly by emi-
gration, partly by circumstances which
have increased the reward of labor,
partly by better landlords, but mainly
by Protestant missions, by the diffusion
am.ong the people of Bibles and other
books in their own language by Bible-
readers and expounders ; by the holy
zeal of men and women who have sur-
rendered the luxuries of genteel and
even of noble life for the greatness of
doing good. Catholic journals descant
largely on this danger, though they do
not, of course, acknowledge the true
cause.

The American and Foreign Christ-
ian Union has had a part in this glo-

(Dec.

rious work ; and it invites American
Protestants to the happiness and the
grandeur of contributing to the com-
plete regeneration of Ireland.

Many thousands are already liberated
in that land from their old and deadly
superstition, and awakened to the hope
of national progress and social happi-
ness. The curses and revelries of many
a low village have given place to praise
and prayer. Who will contribute to
bring many other thousands into the
same hope and happiness? who put
forth a hand of Christian sacrifice, that
other hamlets and parishes in that fair
isle shall be blessed wnth industry, thrift,
and peace ? And who will do this at
ONCE ? A.

evangelical alliance.

EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE.

The Board of Directors, at their meet-
ing in the month of June last, having
learned that the Rev. Dr. Baird was
about to visit Europe, and expected
while there, among other things, to at-
tend the meeting of the Evangelical
Alliance, which was to take place in
Berlin, in the kingdom of Prussia, in
the month of September, adopted and
forwarded to him the following resolu-
tion, with a request that he would ac-
cept the same, and execute the wish of
the Board as therein expressed.

" Resolved, That Dr. Baird be requested
to represent the American and Foreign
Christian Union at the meeting of tiie
Evangelical Alliance in Berlin, and to ex-
tend to it our Christian salutations."

The anticipated meeting took place.
It was held under more favorable aus-
pices than any former meeting of the
kind. The attendance was unusually
large. The patronage, which it enjoyed,
of the King of Prussia — the occasional

attendance of himself and of others of
the royal family upon its sessions — the
high social and official position of vari-
ous members of the body — the business
that engaged the attention of the meet-
ing— and the learning and character of
all who composed it, imparted to it
great dignity, and render the results it
reached worthy of great respect.

Dr. Baird accepted the resolution of
the Board and carried out their request.
Since his return he has kindly furnished
us the following report, which we sub-
join, and from which our readers may
derive information, both new and satis-
factory, in regard to the origin of the
Alliance and its real design.

Here it is :

"New-York, Oct. loth, 1857.

" Rev. Dr. Fairchild.

"Rev. and Dear Sir: — I avail myself
of the earliest moment of leisure to submit
to the Board of the American and Foreign

1857.)

EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE.

375

Christian Union the following report re-
lating to my recent visit to Europe :

" The Board, at its last meeting before
ray departure for Europe, very kindly re-
quested me to represent the Society at the
Berlin Conference of the Evangelical Alli-
ance— a request which I had great pleasure
in complying with. Accordingly, on the
first day of the regular sessions of that
body, I laid before it the resolutions of the
Board and the letter of the Recording Se-
cretary, Dr. J. W. Corson, which accom-
panied them. Those resolutions will appear
in due time in the volume of Transactions
which it is the purpose of the Evangelical
Alliance of North Germany — the body
which convoked the assembly in question
— to publish in the course of a few months.

"The late Evangelical Alliance Confer-
ence at Berlin was the fourth meeting of
that nature which has been held in our day.
The first was held at London in 1846, the
second in the same city in the year 1851f
and the third at Paris in 1856. Of the
series it was by far the largest, and, I may
add, so far as we can judge, by far the most
important.

" The idea of holding such meetings
originated (under God) in this country, and
in the mind of one of the Directors* of the
American and Foreign Christian Union.
At the request of the author of the scheme,
the proposition was communicated, by the
then Secretary of the Society for Foreign
Correspondence, to the Rev. Dr. Merle
d'Aubigne, who was requested to bring the
subject before the brethren in Switzerland.
This ho did at an assembly of 200 Protest-
ant ministers at St. Gall, in the summer of
1844. At their request that distinguished
man went over to Great Britain, and brought
the subject before the General Assembly of
the Free Church of Scotland, as well as
other brethren, both in England and Scot-
land. In the meanwhile, the Rev. Dr. Pat-
ton had called the attention of the Rev. John
Angell Jfimes, of Birmingham, in England,
and requested him to agitate the subject in
that country. The result of this double
movement was the holding of a series of

The Rev. Leonard Bacon, D. D.

meetings of English, Scotch, and Irish
brethren of the several evangelical bodies
in those countries, that prepared the way
for the first General or QEcumenical Assem-
bly, or Conference, already named — that
which met in August, 1846, in the city of
London.

" The great objects which it was proposed
to accomplish by such an Evangelical Alli-
ance, or Alliance of Evangelical Protestants,
were fourfold :

" 1. The manifestation of the essential
unity of all evangelical Protestants — of all
Protestants who hold the great system of
doctrines which the Reformers of the six-
teenth century maintained, and for the
maintenance of which, and protestation
against the opposite errors, they obtained
the name of Protestants. This Unity is well
set forth in the nine articles of the ' Doc-
trinal Basis,' or Creed, which was adopted
at the outset.

" 2. The opportunity of cultivating the
spirit of fraternal aflTection and mutual re-
spect, which it was confidently believed
would be developed and strengthened by
mutual acquaintance, conference, and prayer.

3. The bringing together of a vast
amount of statistical and other information
relating to the state of the Protestant
churches, the Protestant nations, the Papal
nations, and the progress of the Gospel in
the heathen and Mohammedan countries, as
well as among descendants of 'faithful
Abraham.'

"4. The consideration of the perils to
which Protestantism may be exposed in any
part of the world, and of the best means of
meeting and overcoming those dangers.

" Such were, substantially, the views of
what might be accomplished by such an
Alliance among evangelical Protestants —
that were entertained by those whose
thoughts were earliest turned to the sub-
ject. That the movement was of the Lord
w'e must believe, because of its own intrin-
sic nature, and of the effects which have
already flowed from it.

"Every year since this movement began,
the principle of Christian Union, the prin-
ciple of the Evangelical Alliance, has been
gaining ^ground in the Protestant world.

376

EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE.

(Dec.

At the first great meeting, (that of 1846,)
the number of British Christians was large,
as might be expected, inasmuch as it was
held in the capital of the British realm.
The number of brethren from foreign lands
scarcely exceeded one hundred, more than
half of whom were from the United States.
The movement was then mainly among the
Anglo-Saxon or English-speaking races.
But little was done at that meeting beyond
settling the doctrinal basis and the general
principles which should guide the move-
ment.

"But at the second meeting (that of
London in 1851) there were more than two
hundred foreign brethren present, four-
fifths of whom were from the continent of
Europe. At that meeting, several days
were mainly spent in the hearing of reports
from the various parts of the Protestant
world, missions among the Jews, infidelity,
the importance of the observance of the
Lord's day, etc., etc. These reports form
an octavo volume of more than 600 pages,
and of great value.

" The third meeting (that of Paris in
1855,) was largely attended by brethren
from almost all the Protestant countries of
the continent, as well as by a considerable
number of English and American brethren.
At that meeting, too, very full reports (since
published in a volume) were read from
many, if not most, of the Protestant coun-
tries, as well as from the churches in Mo-
hammedan countries, and the good work of
grace going forward among them. Nor was
the Papal world overlooked. At that meet-
ing, too, an influence began to be exerted
in behalf of religious liberty which has
proved eminently beneficial. The earnest
but reasonable exertions of the great Christ-
ian governments, including our own, were
invoked in behalf of the Christians in
Turkey. Nor was this done in vain. It is
believed that the large measure of religious
toleration — amounting even to a very full
measure of religious liberty — which now
exists in Turkey, especially in the capital
and its immediate vicinity, is greatly owing
to that influence. Nor was the influence of
that meeting, and of the measures which it
adopted, without effect in France, in Swe-

den, and in some portions of Germany.

"At the recent meeting in Berlin, besides
the daily discussion in the public assem-
blies of some very important subjects — one
of which was religious liberty, of special
importance in Germany at this moment —
many very important matters came before
a large Committee on ' the Religious In-
terests of Protestant Christendom,' which
met for hours every day for their considera-
tion. Some of these matters were very
difficult to manage. I cannot but hope that
great good will result from the action of
that Committee in all cases. I will just
refer to some of these subjects, to show
how practical these great meetings are be-
coming in their operations.

" They were the Persecutions of the Bap-
tists in Sweden and in Hanover^ and some
other parts of Germany; the Difficulties
between the German and Danish Christians
in Sleswic ; the Difficulties in Piedmont ; the
Jewish Mission in Poland ; the Bible Cause
in Russia ; and the Dispersed Protestants in
Papal countries. The action of the Com-
mittee, enforced by the action of the Con-
ference in all these cases, I think, will be
salutary. Certainly, no man that knows
what has been the action of the three last
of these great meetings, can with truth
assert that there is nothing practical in their •
proceedings. Far otherwise has been the
case,

" The meeting was largely attended, and
the number of distinguished and truly able
men who were members of it was very
great. No religious assembly, I apprehend,
has been held in modern times in which
there were so many men of position, both
in Church and State. Many of them took
an active part in the proceedings ; but by
far the greater number, from the nature of
the case, could not. There were registered
the names of 876 brethren from Prussia,
103 from the rest of Germany, 1 from Spain,
12 from France, 11 from Switzerland, 2
from Ital}", 11 from Holland, 4 from Belgi-
um, 11 from Denmark, 2 from Sweden, 166
from England, 12 from Russia, 7 from Aus-
tria, 2 from Turkey, and 2 from Greece —
in all 1,222 from Europe. There were 3
from Asia, 3 from Africa, 3 from Australia,

1857.)

FOREIGN

FIELD.

377

and 23 from America — making a total of
1,254. But it is believed that the entire
number was not much less than 1,400.

" The attendance of the King at several
of the sessions, as well as of the Queen
and other members of the royal family, of
the English ambassador, the American am-
bassador, and such men as Chevalier Bun-
sen, Bethman-Holweg, the Earl of Roden,
Sir Edward Buxton, Sir Colling Eardley,
and of many other laymen of influence,
greatly contributed to make the meeting
eminently respectable, even in the eyes of
the enemies of evangelical religion. Nor
can its influence (with God's blessing) fail
to be both extensive and happy.

" There were many very interesting in-
cidents in the course of the meeting, and
some of them very touching in their nature.
The visit of the entire Conference to the
King at Potsdam, (18 miles distant from
Berlin,) and their reception there, was in
the highest degree interesting. Deeply in-
teresting, too, was the celebration of the
Lord's supper on the Sabbath morning and
on the last night of the meeting, at the
close of the proceedings of the Conference.
These scenes can never be forgotten by
those who witnessed them. Earth has
hitherto presented but few like them.

" When and where the next meeting will
be held cannot be affirmed, because the
subject has riot been agitated ; most likely
in Europe, where these meetings are most
needed, but possibly in this city, and after
the lapse of four or five years.

"In my late tour in Europe, I visited
England, France, Switzerland, Germany,
Holland, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia.
The cities of London, Paris, Berlin, Copen-
hagen, Stockholm, and St. Petersburg were
those in which I spent the most time, al-
though I passed several days at other
places, among which I may name Havre,

Geneva, Lausanne, Berne, and Hamburg*
" At Paris and Geneva, I saw many of the
friends of evangelical religion, and members
of the Societies which are prosecuting the
work of making known the Gospel in France,
Switzerland, and Italy. From them I heard
much that was highly encouraging. The
Evangelical Societies of France and Geneva,
and the Central Protestant Society of
France, (which aro all aided, from time to
time, by the American and Foreign
Christian Union,) are greatly cheered by
the success with which they meet. Their
evangelists and colporteurs, as well as their
ordained missionaries, encounter much op-
position in some places ; but these are the
exceptions, for in most places they are not
hindered by the local government. The
Savior has set before these Societies an
' open door,' and as long as he pleases, 'no
man can shut it.' How wonderful the pro-
gress of the truth in France since I first
saw that country in 1836 ! How wonderful,
also, the progress of the Gospel in the
kingdom of Sardinia !

" There is a blessed resuscitation of the
truth going on in the Protestant churches
of Switzerland, Germany, Holland, and Den-
mark. And as to Sweden, the work of God
is making great progress, both within and
without the national church ; and no man
is doing more good in that country than
Mr. Rosenius, who has long been in the
service of the American and Foreign
Christian Union. In some parts of Swe-
den, shameful instances of persecution still
occur ; but there is a strong hope enter-
tained that the Diet, which is now in ses-
sion, will pass an act by which a large
measure of toleration will be secured.

"With much respect, I am yours very
Irul}^

"R. Baird."

FOREIGN FIELD.

CHILI.

Our readers, we are sure, will be
happy to learn, as they may from the
u»llowing cominunication, that the writ-

er, the Rev. David Trumbull, who is
stationed at Valparaiso, and who foy
some time labored under the patronage
of the Society in that city, continues to

t

378

FOREIGN FIELD.

(Dec.

occupy his post advantageously to the
cause of evangelical religion — that pub-
lic newspaper discussions respecting re-
ligious liberty, and some of the fun-
damental doctrines of the Gospel, can
now be carried on- there through the
Romish press — and that at least the
Rev. Mr. Caird's celebrated sermon on
" Religion in Common Life," is obtain-
ing considerable circulation among the
Spanish people.

The letter referred to as received at
our office from Mr. Trumbull, and about
to be published in January following,
appeared in the number of the Maga-
zine for that month.

We add merely that a singular fatal-
ity attends our Magazine when com-
mitted to the mail for Valparaiso and
some other offices in South America.
Should this number happen to reach
Mr. Trumbull, we hereby assure him
that his copy has been mailed to his
address regularly^ and the postage paid
in advance ; also that we have inquired
repeatedly at the post-office concerning
it, and thus sought to have it forwarded
to its destination. We know not what
more we can do, unless we seek out
some shipmasters or others who may
chance to be going to that port, and
avail ourselves of their courtesy and
kindness, and send by them. We will,
however, make one more effort to use
the mails for the conveyance of the
Magazine to that town.

"Valparaiso, Aug. 13th, 1857.
" Rev. Dr. McClure.

"My Dear Sir: — I am looking every
mail to hear from you in answer to a letter
written you in March last about labor
needed here in Spanish. The tone of your
last letter was such as to encourage me
that the Union would do something in this
direction. I am not without hope that dis-
cussion may spring up here through the
press, that will lead to the presentation of
the Gospel.

"The periodical of the church in this
land says many bitter things of Protestants
and their doctrines. I hope to write a note
to the Independent this mail, that will give
an idea of these publications, and I refer
you to it. To some of these publications
I have prepared short replies in Spanish :
one has been published already, another
will appear in a day or two, I trust.

"I wish I might hear from you more fre-
quently, and know if, and what, the Society
are disposed to do here.

" The sermon of Rev. Mr. Caird before
the Queen in Scotland, on 'Religion in
Common Life,' has been translated. Thre€
thousand copies (3000) are now in the press:
it will be ready in a day or two — is pro-
mised to-morrow.

" The articles I have prepared will pro-
bably elicit replies, and these should be
answered. I have written on the subject of
' Religious Freedom ;' and, again, on ' Justi-
fication by Faith.' All this will involve ex-
pense. I must pay for insertion : ten dollars
a column is the current price, though I
hope to obtain it for less — using the best
daily journal in this city. Will the Ameri-
can AND Foreign Christian Union aid me
in this ?

" I may add, to your surprise possibly,
that I have not seen a number of the Maga-
zine for two years past. You spoke of re-
ceiving a letter from me that would appear
in the January number, and would send it
to me : it has not come. But as other pa-
pers and periodicals come promptly, I pre-
sume there has been some oversight about
sending. The postage should be pre-paid
in your post-office.

" My last letter from you is dated in De-
cember, 1856, 1 think. Will you not write
at once on getting this?

" Yours truly,

"David Trumbull."

IRELAND.

The Committee to whom the ope-
rations of the Board in Ireland are en-
trusted are encouraged in their labors.
The missionaries employed, though sub-
jected to trials, and at times in perilous
positions, have been protected, and sue-

1857.)

FOREIGN FIELD.

379

cessful in their efforts to a gratifying
extent. By their means multitudes have
heard the Word of God. which the priests
seek to dishonor and keep away from
the people. Many have abandoned the
superstitious usages of Rome and now
live as Protestants, and not a few have
been truly converted to Christ and joined
themselves to his people.

The mission is well organized and
conducted, and the fruits already pro-
duced give evidence that the Divine ap-
probation rests upon it.

Such a branch of our system of ope-
ration many of the patrons and friends
of the Society have long desired to see,
and we cannot doubt that they will re-
joice in its establishment and also come
to its support.

Vast numbers of the friends of Pro-
testant truth among us are natives of
Ireland, or are the children of those who
were so ; and while they desire the
evangelization of all lands, cannot fail
to remember the " Fatherland " with
feelings of special regard. May we not,
therefore, expect their special support
in this branch of our service 1 We shall
be disappointed if we do not receive it?
even in this day of commercial perplex-
ity. And now, indeed, is the time when
such support is needed. Let it be forth-
coming, and its value, from the circum-
stances of its bestowment, will be,
morally at least, greatly enhanced.

The following brief letter from the
Rev. Dr. Heather will doubtless be
read with pleasure. It was not written
for publication, but as it shows the state
of the mission and its growing interest,
we submit it to our readers.

« DuBLiiN, Oct 14th, 1857.
" Rev. Dr. FAiRcmLD.

" My Dear Friend : — You would have
heard from me by the last mail, but that I
have been ill. I am only now convalescent.

" Enclosed you will find journals from

our Agents, by which your ' Board of Di-
rectors' will learn 'how they do.' In my
next you shall have other journals, which
came to hand by this morning's post, but
which were too late to pass through our
meeting of Committee yesterday.

" I recently paid an official visit to one
or two of the districts, to ascertain on the
i spot the state of our work, and I am happy
1 to inform you it was highly salhfaciory. My
expectations were considerably surpassed.
The reading of my notes, taken while there,
imparted much joy and thankfulness to the
members of our Committee at their meet-
ing yesterday. We have reason for believ-
ing that numbers of persons, both Protest-
ant and Romanist, in truly destitute and
long-neglected districts, have been awakened
to anxious inquiry regarding the nature and
attainableness of the Christian religion;
that some of these have been 'brought
from darkness to light,' and 'from the
power of sin and Satan unto God ; and that
the Bible, religious Tracts, and family
worship have been introduced into families
and localities for the first time with telling
effect.

" In No. 1 of the enclosed papers (T can
unhesitatingly endorse its truthfulness) you
will see that one of our Agents, during
• five months, visited 1,190 families and con-
ducted 141 meetings, at which above 3,100
persons attended. All this, with wayside
and field conversations. Tract distribution,
etc. over a district of country of great
moral and spiritual destitution, is a great
work. To you it must be gratifying that
that Agent w^as supplied through the piety
and benevolence of the A3Ierican and
Foreign Christian Union. Taking popu-
lation and the social and religious condition
of the people into account, the above con-
stitutes a fair sample of the nature and
amount of labor or work performed by each
of our agents in this country.

" The existence and efforts of our Agents
in their several districts are producing a
growing inquiry and interest regarding your
Union amongst all classes. This has in-
duced our Committee to print a second
edition of our Rules, for extensive circula-
tion; and I am directed by our Committee

880

FOREIGN FIELD.

(Dec.

to ask the ' Board of Directors' to forward
to me a copy of each of its publications,
with its Rules, Constitution, and Annual
Report, in order that we may be in a posi-
tion to give ample information in everything
concerning it, and thereby extend and con-
solidate its interests in this country.

" Be so good as to hand to Mr. Anson
G. Phelps, your Treasurer, the enclosed,
which is an acknowledgment from Robert
Queale, Esq., our Treasurer, and myself, for
£100 (bill of exchange) sent for the use
of the ' Irish Branch of the American
and Foreign Christian Union.' and also to
thank the Board for that timely supply, as
we had not on hand what would pay the
Agents, on the first of December, their two
months' salary.

" In former letters I wished the Board to
consider the propriety of forwarding sup-
plies of American tracts for distribution
here by our Agents, so that the work might
bear a deeper American stamp. I will
thank you to remind the Board of this, as
we have to obtain supplies from London.

" I trust, by this time, our mutual friend.
Dr. McClure, is perfectly restored and in
full health, at work again. Will you con-
vey to him, to Dr. Robinson, and the Board
of Directors, my cordial regards.

"The Committee desire me to present
their best wishes to you and the Board, and
will you accept the same from m^ espe-
cially? Yours most truly,

" D. D. Heather."

The following extracts from the jour-
nals of some of the missionaries will
show the state of Papal society in Ire-
land, and the kind of labor performed.
A missionary, writing from Washing-
bay, says : —

"I came here on Monday, the 10th inst.,

and took ray lodgings with Mr. H. C ,

aud I may add that he is the only man in
this part of the country that dare lodge a
Scripture-reader.

"I did not move out, the evening I came
here, as it rained the most of the way as I
was coming, so that I was very wet.

" I read the first Psalm this evening in

Mr. C.'s family, and endeavored to show the
happiness of the 'godly' and the unhappi-
ness of the ' ungodly,' with a few practical
remarks bearing upon ourselves.

"Tuesday, the 11th inst., I visited two
Roman Catholic families, and read with
them the first chapter of the Gospel by
St. Luke. I drew their attention to the ex-
perience of the Virgin Mary, where (in the
47th verse) she says, ' and my spirit hath
rejoiced in God my Savior.' I pressed them
to come to the same Savior, and also, as
she did, to rejoice in him.

" I next met with a Roman Catholic man,
and had a long conversation with him about
his soul. I explained the word ' catholic'
to him, as used in the 1st chapter of 1st Co-
rinthians aud 2d verse. He told me he had
a Douay Bible, and when he would go
home he would examine it.

" Wednesday, the 12th inst., I read in the
family where I lodge, the 3d chapter of
Matthew. I hope the Lord will make me
instrumental of some good in this family.
I also visited two persons of the name of

, and read to them the 3d chapter of

the Gospel of St. John. Also a Roman

Catholic family of the name of , and

read to them the 1st chapter of 1st Corinth-
ians. They seemed thankful for my visit.
The next two families I visited were Ro-
manists. One man treated me very rudely,
ordered me to begone, and asked me, ' Do
you think that God ever told a lie? for,'
said he, * God says. Out of the Catholic
church there is no salvation.'

"I drew out of my pocket the Douay
Testament, and asked him to get me the
passage he referred to; and said that if he
could succeed in finding it, he would make
a convert of me. I told him there was no
such passage in God's book. He ordered
me away again, and I departed, praying God
to bless him.

" I could hear his wife scolding him. She
said I had done nothing to offend him. God
grant him to see the truth as it is in Jesus!

" I next read in a blacksmith's house the
3d chapter of Matthew. There were five
Romanists present. I also read the same
chapter to another family. I have now trav-
eled through part of the parishes of Clonoe,
Ballyclog, and Arboe.

1857.)

FOREIGN

FIELD.

381

"Thursday, 13th, I called on the Rev.

Mr. M , a Presbyterian minister, who

received me very kindly, and said if you
would send him a testimonial in my favor,
he would recommend me to all his people.

" I called on the Rev. Mr. McN , cu-
rate of , who promised to give me all

the help he could. He has a Reader, but
his Reader does not call upon or labor with
any but members of the church. Mr. McN.
would be glad to see a Report of the Ame-
rican Mission Society.

"Mr. McN. informs me that there are
nineteen townlands along the Lough shore,
densely crowded by a Romanist population,
headed by a most violent priest, so that a
man's life is in danger if he goes among
them.

" I visited a widow of the name of Mc

K . Her three daughters were present.

I read the 4th chapter of Matthew with
them. I visited also three other Roman
• .t^i Catholic families, but it was with reluctance
that they heard me.

"Friday, the 14th, I read in seven Pro-
testant families, for the Romanists would
not listen to me. I called in a Romanist's
house, and the woman asked me if I charged
anything for reading. I told her I did not.
Slie then called others in to hear me ; but
after a little they changed their mind and
would not hear me, so I departed.

" I read with an old lady of the name of

W . Oh that God may enable her to

believe with the heart unto righteousness !
She advised me to be very cautious in mov-
ing among the Papists, for she said the
priest had been talking with her through
the day, and added, ' Sir, you are placed
over a troublesome people.' The priest
y is but newly appointed to the parish of
Arboe.

" I have not got a lodging in Arboe, so I
have to return to the Washing-bay every
evening, which makes my walks very la-
borious."

rrom another missionary we add the
following. He has labored in Clanroot,
Moledry, Newton-Hamilton, Castlebla-
ney, and other places. He says : —

" Permit me to present you with a very
brief outline of my labors at this station
during the last five months.

"In this time I have visited 1,190 fami-
lies, read the Scriptures, and prayed where
I could find it at all convenient.

" I have held 141 meetings for prayer and
exhortation. Above 3,100 persons attended
those meetings.

" I have good reason to believe that many
souls have been deeply convinced of sin.
and not a few found peace with God by
faith in Christ.

" In traveling through this country, I find
that the missionary's success consists ehiefly
in bringing the truth' lovingly before the
people in their houses and at their firesides.
In this way I have had opportunities of en-
forcing the truth on the minds of many who
were not in the habit of attending any place
of worship."

BELGIUM.

The Gospel is making encouraging
progress in Belgium, as is delightfully
apparent from the following communi-
cations, which we have recently received
from the Evangelical Society at Brus-
sels. The brethren who labor in that
kingdom have indeed a great force ar-
rayed against them, and are subjected
to severe trials ; but few, however, who
labor in any department of modern
missionary eflfort, have, in immediate
visible results, so much to confirm
their faith, strengthen their hopes, and
sustain their zeal as they. God seems
to be with them, vindicating his word
and making it successful. In the hands
of evangelists, pastors, teachers, and
colporteurs, it overcomes the supersti-
tions of Rome, and brings souls to the
saving knowledge of Christ. And now
is the time for those who love that word
to be active in sustaining the move-
ment there. We think none can read
the following report, and fail to see the
importance of sustaining it. The writer
says : —

382

FOREIGN

FIELD.

(Dec.

"We have now to present to you a very
succinct summary of the general report
about to be printed. We shall speak to
you successively of evangelization, of col-
portage, and of our schools.

" EVAKGELIZATION.

" At Brussels, the two churches under
the pastoral charge of the Rev. Mr. Anet
and of the Rev. Mr. Panchaud continue to
grow and strengthen under the eye of God.
The reports of the pastors evidence a cheer-
ing progress in the spiritual life of the
members of their flocks, in the number of
admissions to the Lord's supper, and in the
increase of hearers of the word.

*' A wide door has been opened, during
the past winter, by the public lectures
given by Mr. Filhol, Mr. Panchaud, and
Mr. Durand, of Liege, in reply to the calum-
nies of the Abbe Combalot. The eager-
ness with which these lectures were fol-
lowed it is next to impossible to describe.
One cannot estimate at less than one thou-
sand the auditory which on each occasion
thronged around the pulpit. Never, per-
haps, since the time of the Reformation
has such testimony been borne in the midst
of this altogether Catholic population, nor
listened to with more avidity. The number
of religious works and of controversial
tracts sold and distributed on this occasion
was enormous. May God cause his bless-
ing to rest on the seed sown by his servants
in the feeble measure of their strength —
that blessing which cometh from himself,
and can alone bring about the conversion of
souls !

" The Province of Liege continues to
present a highly encouraging aspect.

" At Liege itself, the arrival of our
brother, Mr. Durand, has given a new im-
pulse to the work. A delightful proof of
the progress of the Gospel in the year that
has passed, is the admission to the Lord's
supper of 34 new members, of whom four
«nly are Protestants by birth. The Abbe
Cembalot, also, has furnished our brother
with a good opportunity to defend the Re-
formation and Protestantism. So great was
the concourse of hearers to listen to the
lecture which he delivered on that subject,

that he was obliged to repeat it three times,
in order to satisfy the eagerness of those
who were unable to find room the first or
second time.

"The Church of Lize-Seraing is be-
coming firmly established under the minis-
trations of the pastor, Mr. Cacheux. The
number of admissions during the past year
has been 10. No better proof can be given
of the progress of the Gospel in this local-
ity, than the addition made to the number
of the resident Catholic clergy! Before the
Gospel was carried thither, Seraing had
only one parish and three priests. Now it
is divided into three parishes, and there are
seven priests to officiate in them, and most
especially to oppose the progress of heresy.
Fulminating preachings, flatteries, threats,
lies — all are put in requisition against our
friends, who are not the less firm, leaning
as they do upon the power of God, who
makes use of the weak to confound the
mighty, that all the glory may be given to
his name.

" At Nessonvaux, out of a population of
9,000 souls, there are 300 who have aban-
doned the superstitions of Rome, to quench
their thirst at the living waters of the word
of God. The number of communicants is
80 ; that of admission during this year was
14. Christmas-day was doubly a festival
day for our friends. That day witnessed
the opening of the first edifice which evan-
gelical Christianity has ever possessed in
this valley since the darkness of error in-
vaded it. The chapel, situated at the en-
trance of the village, is quite a simple build-
ing. The only part of the edifice which
attracts notice is the front, all of hewn
stone, bearing on the pediment a sculpture
representing a Bible open, with this motto
on the page : ' Thy Word is Truth.' What
is very remarkable is, that this appropriate
decoration is the work of a Roman Catholic,
who desired to make a present of it — a pre-
cious indication of the state of mind around
them, a striking encouragement given to
stimulate their zeal,

" At Sprimont, we have had no admis-
sions. Our evangelist, Mr. Ledoux, sows
laboriously in an ungrateful and rebellious
soil. The population is hostile to the Gos-

1S57.)

FOREIGN FIELD.

383

pel, but the members of the church give
proof of sincere attachment to it. The
meetings for worship are diligently attend-
ed ; and if there are no conquests, it is at
least a consolation for our brother that he
■ has no losses to deplore.

" But it is chiefly in the Province of
Hainault that the Gospel has produced the
most wonderful fruits. Charleroi, where
Messrs. Poinsot and Hoyois labor ; and
JuMET, where Mr. Jaccard labors, and the
environs of these two localities, are certain-
ly the theatre of the finest religious move-
ment in Belgium. There, in a country
where a few years ago were found at most
but four or five Protestants, indifferent or
infidel, is now a population detached from
Rome of more than one thousand souls,
with two churches, comprising about 200
communicants, and schools attended by
about 300 children, two-thirds of whom
belong to Roman Catholic parents.

" Of late, the development of the work
has been such that we have been obliged
to give an assistant to Mr. Poinsot, who
found himself overwhelmed by the wants
needing to be satisfied.
a'" The following fact may give you an
2Raea of the religious change wrought in that
country :

"Ten years ago, Mr. Poinsot wished to j
commence preaching in a district of the |
neighborhood having a population of nearly
10.000 souls ; but it could not be continued,
on account of the violent opposition it met
with. When the pastor repaired thither, he
was insulted on the road; the most blas-
phemous imprecations were uttered against
him. At the hour of preaching, a charivari
was organized, and six hundred persons
came to make their frightful music before
" the house. At another time he was at-
tacked, and would have been beaten, if he
had not been protected by some members
of his church. Now, that entire locality
seems to be perfectly open to the preach-
ing of the Gospel.

" The colporteur writes to me that he ,
might be busily occupied there for the whole |
year. One brother alone has placed there |
150 New Testaments and about 90 Bibles. !
As often as he holds a meeting in a house, |

it is crowded with hearers, and a gi-eat
number are kept outside. Already many
souls are awakened, and some are under
the cross for the word of God. This move-
ment is not confined to this locality alone :
it manifests itself with more or less inten-
sity through the entire district ; and what
is not the least gratifying is, that the
brethren, by their zeal in the circulation of
tracts and books, and by speaking of the
Gospel in their workshops, have largely^
contributed to this result. It often happens
that in the colliery, 1,500 or 2,000 feet
beneath the ground, fifty or sixty workmen
surround one of these friends to listen to
his explanations of the Gospel.

" Hainault includes three other stations
of less importance. Gozee, two leagues
from Leers-Fosteau, where Mr. Dupont has
had to establish himself, in consequence of
the impossibility of residing longer in the
latter place ; Wasmes, where our brother,
Mr. Lefevre, exercises as schoolmaster and
evangelist, a ministry humble and blessed ;
and lastly, Saintignies, under the direction
of an evangelist, Mr. Wacquier.

" We have also commenced a work in
Luxembourg; but as it is in its infj\ncy,
we content ourselves with alluding to it
here.

" This is what it has been given us to
do for the evangelization of the French
part of our country.

" flemish evangelization

" Comprises four stations — two recent
ones, at Brussels and Antwerp, and two
more ancient, at Weert St. George and
Ghent.

" The Flemish station at Brussels has
for its pastor Mr. Van Selde. On the 10th
December, 1855, after having employed five
months in visiting Catholic families, he
opened a service in ' la Rue des Douze
Ap6tre3.' Since that time, our brother has
been enabled to assemble an auditory of
seventy or ninety persons, and a flock of
forty communicants. He thinks that the
greater part of these members are truly con-
verted, and he hopes concerning the rest
that their profession is sincere.

" The station at Antwerp is of still more

384

FOREIGN FIELD.

(Dec.

recent date. It was on the 26th October
last that our brother Mr. Zigeler com-
menced his ministry in that city of 100,000
souls, now so benighted, and whose part
was so glorious at the epoch of the Re-
formation. All the journals have pointed
out with indignation the scene of disorder
by means of which a furious populace, ex-
dted by the priests, sought to interrupt our
worship.

" Thanks be to God ! these shameful out-
rages, energetically repressed by the civil
authorities, have but served to give more
publicity to our work, and to attract new
hearers. Our only regret is that we have
not yet been able to find a room large
enough to hold all who gather round our
evangelist. Already a certain number of
Catholics, detached from the errors of their
church, are receiving religious instruction.

"Weert, the most ancient of all our
Flemish stations, is a little locality situated
near Louvain, in a country placed almost
entirely under clerical influence. This work
has been, up to the present time, somewhat
restricted ; but we have reason to hope that
it will become more extended under the
direction of its new evangelist, Mr. Hack-
steen.

" But of all our Flemish labors, the most
important, up to this time, is unquestionably
the station at Ghent. How can we fail to
recognize the merciful intentions of God
towards this great and beautiful city, when
we consider the abundant blessing which
has rested on the ministry of our brother,
the Rev. Mr. Vanschelvenl

" It was in the month of July, 1855, that
the spacious place of worship in which he
now preaches was opened. On the 12th of
August, in the same year, he there admin-
istered the Lord's supper, for the first time,
to twelve Roman Catholics ; and now, after
the labor of two years, he has the joy of
numbering a flock of 80 communicants, and
an habitual congregation of 200 persons ;
while often such has been the desire to
hear him, that the place of worship, capable
of holding 600 persons, was insufficient for
the hearers.

"The activity of our friend Mr. Van-
achelven is not confined to the city of

Ghent. Bruges, Audenarde, Marin, Hoor-
beck have been frequently visited by him.
He has lately been to visit two churches at
Roubaix, (near Lille,) in France, where
more than 10,000 workmen are employed
in the manufactures of that city. Mr. Re-
noux, the pastor, readily opened his church
to him, and he was enabled to preach to
about sixty attentive and serious hearers.

" The adversary against whom we fight
is called by the Scriptures ' the strong
man, well armed.' It is not without resist-
ance that he will allow his prey to be
rescued from him ; and in more than one
encounter, he has made our friends to feel
his power by cruel persecutions without,
and by great sorrows in the interior of the
flock. But the seed has been sown in the
ground; by the blessing of God it is already
become a great tree; and by the blessing of
God we confidently hope that it will con-
tinue to strike its roots deeper and deeper
into the soil, and to bear blessed fruit for
the salvation of many souls.

" We will finish with a few words re-
specting colportage and our schools.

"COLPORTAGE.

"The number of our colporteurs has been
the same as that of the last year. We have
employed five, of whom three for the pro-
vinces of the French tongue, and two for
the Flemish country.

" If we had had a greater number of them
at our disposal, it would have been easy for
us to set them to work, so generally dis-
posed are the minds of the people to pro-
cure our books, and to inquire after reli- .
gious truth.

" There are parts of the country where
the amount of our sales has quadrupled in
a year ; and what is not the least gratifying,
is that the movement has made itself felt
in all classes of society. The citizen, the
lawyer, the officer have given admission to
our colporteur, as well as the husbandman
or the simple workman. There is not a
single one of their reports which does not
state facts of the like kind to those which
we here transcribe.

" ' I greatly rejoice, in traversing the coun-
try, to see what is to be seen at this mo-

1857.)

FOREIGN

FIELD.

385

ment. The Gospel is making its way every-
where. There is a great deal to do, to say,
and even to sell, which is the reason why
one cannot get over the ground very fast.

I spoke to you of in my last report.

I went there again on the 8th. I was very
well received. I sold nine New Testaments
at^fifty cents, besides a New Testament of
Napoleon Roussel's, and a gilt-edged pocket
Bible to a barrister. At the Hotel des
Etrangers, several gentlemen who were met
there asked me many questions respecting
the Bible, the church, and our pastors.
This serious conversation lasted more than
two hours; and when we separated they
said : ' Do not forget us, for we have need
of being enlightened, and we do not want
any more of these Jesuits.'

" ' I went to , where I had been very

often without being able to dispose of a
single Tract. I there sold one Bible, five
New Testaments, two copies of the History
of the Inquisition, and of the Reformation
in Belgium, several of the Letters of Mr.
Anet and Mr. Panchaud, three Catechisms
and Familiar Instructions, and many other
pamphlets. I had many religious conversa-
tions ; and what is strange, is that they are
the most distinguished persons of the place
who interrogate you, and who most fre-
quently put questions to you to know the
principal things in the Scriptures.

" Another colporteur writes to us : ' The

.work of colportage in the city of is

become a vast field of labor for the advancer
ment of the kingdom of God. I entered in-
to the shops, the taverns, the barracks, and
even into the houses of debauch : I had the
privilege of speaking with many people
without hearing a single improper word,
an4 in all these places I disposed of books
and pamphlets. In one of the streets of the
city, as I was on my way to carry a New
Testament to a boatman, a gentleman ap-
proached me and said : " My friend, I am
glad that you are come here to spread the
Gospel. Blessed be God that the world be-
gins to know the pure truth, for we are still
enveloped with vails, as in the daj's of the
Inquisition." Then he quitted me, after
having shaken hands and bought many
Tracts.

25

" ' On the Square of a captain asked

to buy some Tracts. He purchased a large
collection of all sorts of pamphlets, and said
to me: "It is to distribute among the sol-
diers of my company.

" ' At the beginning, the people were dis-
trustful of my books, thinking that they
were books of the Romish church ; but when
they saw that I was selling Protestant books,
they were eager to buy them. I have great
subjects for rejoicing, but it is not possible
for me to tell you all.'

"We will not multiply these citations.
What we have said is more than sufficient
to show you how much reason we have to
be grateful to God for the blessing he has
been pleased to bestow upon this branch of
our labors.

" SCHOOLS.

" It is especially to a work of this kind
that we may apply that word of Scripture,
' Cast thy bread upon the waters, for thou-
shalt find it after many days.' It is for the
future that the teacher kvorks, still more
than with a view to the present. Neverthe-
less, there is a result which we can already
indicate as obtained, in the greater number
of the children who attend our schools ; that
is, the knowledge they are receiving of the
truths of salvation, and, in consequence,
their aversion to the errors and superstitious
practices of the church of Rome. Very often
they make their first communion in their
church solely because they are absolutely
forced to it by their parents: sometimes,
even, rather than submit to a ceremony re-
pugnant to their consciences, they prefer to
undergo the punishment imposed on them,
and to go to work in a coal-pit.

" But what rejoices us still more, is to see
these young hearts brought to Jesus by the
power of the Word of God.

" ' I can cite to you,' writes one of our
teachers, 'a child of seven years of age,
whose heart, won over to the Gospel, has
shown evident fruits of the Spirit of God.
He was attacked by the croup. The mo-
ment before he died, he took off the cloth
which covered his head, joined his hands,
and prayed, saying, "Oh, good Savior, who
diedst for me, give me thine Holy Spirit to
make me good ! Farewell, father ! farewell,

386

HOME

FIELD.

(Dec.

mother! till we meet again." He then died
in the arms of Christ.

"'I may further instance a young girl
who attended my school for three years.
She afforded me much joy and encourage-
ment. She listened to the Word of God
with delight ; the grace of the Holy Spirit
was seen imprinted on her countenance.
Her parents, who are Roman Catholics, see-
ing that she refused to go to mass, with-
drew her from my school. But she resisted
all solicitations: she made such touching
prayers in the midst of her family, that
sometimes her father and mother could not
help shedding tears. Lately her family
united to compel her to go to mass ; but
she said to them : " If you are in a bad way,
-and are resolved to stay in it, that is your
concern; but God has taught me the good
way, and I will follow it. Next to God it
is my father and mother that I love best;
but to abandon my Savior and his grace —
.never! All that you can do is unavailing."

HOME

A VOICE PROM CALIFORNIA.

The writer of the following letter,
the Rev. M. A. Williams, will doubt-
less be recognized by many of our read-
ers as the excellent brother who labor-
ed for the Board among the Spanish
inhabitants of Valparaiso, in South
America, but was compelled by ill
health to withdraw to California. He
has traveled and explored much of that
portion of our republic, and is now in
the mountainous regions of the north-
west part of the State. We are happy
to hear from him. The following letter
forms a strong appeal for missionary la-
bor on the Pacific coast, and shows the
proper spirit with which the work of
evangelization among Romanists should
be done. By kindness and love the
missionary, like our blessed Redeemer,

" ' She is now nearly seventeen years old.
Her sentiments are still the same : she comes
to the worship on Sunday, and listens to
the word of God always with the same
delight.'

"The number of children that have at-
tended our schools up to this time is 5,000 ;
that of our pupils at present is 800. «

" CONCLUSION.

" In brief, gentlemen, our Christian mis-
sionary church, which is but of yesterday,
numbers at this moment 16 churches and
stations, 13 ministers of the Gospel, evan-
gelists, and colporteurs, 1 1 teachers and 800
children in its schools, about a tliousand
communicants, and 6,000 hearers who are
regularly attached to its worship. This
very year the number of admissions to the
Lord's supper has been nearly two hundred.

" Once more ; have we not herein a pow-
erful motive to gratitude towards God — an
admirable encouragement to our zeal and
to our faith ?"

FIELD.

should always seek to influence those
to whom he is sent.

Mr. Williams, writing from Yreka,
California, under date of July 19th,
says :

"The last mail brought me a package
of the American and Foreign Christian
Union, and glad was I to see them again in
this * dry and thirsty land,' where there is
almost no spiritual water. During the three
months which I have been here, not one re-
ligious periodical of any kind has greeted
my eyes until the arrival of your valuable
Magazines. For some reason, those which
ought to come, have not. When I was in
South America, I used to think yours espe-
cially was intercepted, so that I had seldom
the pleasure of seeing them. I trust they
will now come regularly.

" The June number contains the Annual
Report, eighth anniversary, speeches, etc.,

1857.)

HOME FIELD.

387

all of which I have read, with much inter-
est, and have circulated for the edification
of others. I should think you had your
hands full, and likely to have them yet full-
er. Well, it is a great work in which you
are engaged, and we wish you God-speed.

" My health is quite reinstated again, and
I have put on my harness and am trying to
do service for Christ in this barren, ungodly
land.

"But you ask. Where are you? where is
Yreka? Well, like the ancient Petrse, it
is a nest among the rocks, in the northern
part of California, about thirty miles from
the Oregon line, and sixty or seventy from
the Pacific coast, in straight lines. It is
a dreadfully mountainous region, inter-
spersed, however, with some pleasant val-
lies of considerable fertility in places — but
only in places — for generally barrenness
reigns in all the land.

"But the hills and mountains contain
golden sands, and some three thousand peo-
ple, chiefly men, are burrowing like so
many 'coons' for the sparry ore. They
live in log cabins usually, do their own
cooking, washing, etc. as a matter of course ;
all staying^ not livings intending to leave
when they have made their fortune. A
vast many, however, intend to leave soon
as they get money enough to defray ex-
penses, heartily sick and tired of delving
after phantoms and mere visions of shining
treasure.

" The extraordinary success of the few,
feeds the hopes of the many ; and thus they
labor until the whole region is ridged, fur-
rowed, pitted, and horribly disfigurefJ.

"Yreka contains aJ)Out two thousand in-
habitants, and, as yet, may be considered
y the centre of the mining district of North-
ern California ; is the county seat of Sis-
keyon County ; and if you could be here
on the Sabbath, you would think there was
much business done. The miners take the
Sabbath Co come in, get their picks sharpen-
ed, shovels mended, and do their traflScking
at the stores. There is a lamentable dese-
cration of the Lord's Day, and it makes
the heart of a good man bleed to consider
the temporal or spiritual judgments, or
both, which await them and their children.

" Brother Baker, of the Methodist Epis-
copal church, and I, have been preaching
latterly upon the sanctification of the Sab-
bath, hoping to induce a better spirit. Sab-
bath evening, a week ago, we had a union
meeting, when I opened the subject. Yes-
terday I preached again on it, in the court-
house, by request, and at night brother
Baker, in the Methodist church, followed
with another discourse. We hope God
will induce the people to move in a re-
formation.

" The great evil is ' the love of money,'
a determination to get rich at all hazards
in a short time ; and therefore they cannot
atford to lose the Sabbath, as ' that is their
best day,'' according to a common saying
among them.

"This whole country is entirely cut off
during winter, by mountains of snow, from
the external world, and can be reached in
summer only by pack trains. They hope
to have a better path through the mount-
ains soon, and that next winter they will
not be imprisoned by snowy barriers. When
I came here in April last, part of the way
was through snow from three feet to five
feet deep, in passing from the sources of
the Sacramento to those of the Klamath.
Yreka is in Shasta Valley, which is water-
ed by the river Shasta, and is one of the
branches of the Klamath.

" At the solicitation of Drs. Anderson,
Scott, and Happersett, I consented to visit
some of the neglected portions of Califor-
nia, to see what were the spiritual wants of
the people. This is the way I happened
to penetrate these mountain fastnesses. I
have been, since my arrival, preaching here
and in these regions wherever I can find
people. Many who were professing Christ-
ians in the Atlantic States of various denom-
inations, have either given up all preten-
sions to piety, or, if they still regard them-
selves as church members, they are such
supporters of theatres, balls, and public
amusements, that their walk is conformed
entirely to people of the world.

"Last fourth of July (a great amphi-
theatre having been prepared) the people
were entertained with a 'bull and bear
fight.' It is said, when the animals were

388

HOME FIELD.

(Dec.

turned loose in the arena they refused to
fight ; then they were drawn together with
lassos and compelled to fight.

" Last Wednesday a criminal was pub-
licly executed for the crime of murder ; and
from witnessing this solemn scene, many
went from the gallows to the same amphi-
theatre, to witness a she-bear and large
bull-dog tear each other in pieces. But
they would not jighu neither could they be
forced to it, though large bets were involved
and great efforts made to see the sport. I
suppose the next step towards barbarism
will be old Roman gladiatorial exhibitions,
and men will imbrue their hands in each
others' blood.

" The Indians have been and still are very
hostile through all this section of the coun-
try, and horrid barbarities have been com-
mitted upon the whites. To avenge these,
various expeditions have been made, when
the whites fought the Indians on Indian
principles, killing the men promiscuously,
letting the grown women, however, escape,
and carrying captive the children and se-
cretly selling them to the highest bidder,
to defray the expenses of the expedition.

" A few words now about that class of
people for whom the American and For-
eign Christian Union is laboring espe-
cially.

"Some time since a small Roman ebapel
was erected here, and for a short time a
priest resided in the place. He left, how-
ever, and latterly there has been none.

" I have made the acquaintance of several
Roman Catholic families, and found them
very agreeable. Cultivating their acquaint-
ance, they have been induced to come and
hear me preach frequently; besides, with
some I have had much personal eonversa-
tion . upon the importance of a change of
heart, faith in the Lord Jesus as the only
mediator between God and man, and doc-
trines of the Scriptures, etc.

" While we are manfully to oppose the
system of Romanism, yet it is of great im-
portance to make a distinction between
'the system,' and 'the people,' who em-
brace often ignorantly its errors. Kindness
to the people may be the means of with-
drawing them from the falsity of the system.

"Now I believe you have about all the
news from this part of the world which
you will not be likely to see in the public
prints. I will probably be in this part of
California for some time yet. Pray for us."

TEXAS-SPANISH MISSION.

Miss Rankin whose seminary is at
Brownsville, Texas, and in whose la-
bors, as teacher and Bible and Tract dis-
tributor, among th^ Mexican population
of that town our readers have been
greatly interested, we are happy to
say, has recovered her health so far as
to prosecute her duties with more com-
fort than at the date of her last letter.
Her school has not been suspended, as
the following letter shows, and the
prospect is now favorable for its con-
tinuance. It was never more prosper-
ous or useful than at present. Under
date of October 5th Miss Rankin
w^rote : —

" I am happy to inform you of a great
improvement in my health since I last
wrote to you. The change of the season
has produced a decided change for the bet-
ter, and I am in hope of continued health
during the cool weather.

" Although I have suffered greatly dur-
ing the past summer, there has been no
suspension of my labors; but with the as-
sistance of my sister, (who proves to be a
valuable auxiliary,) I have kept 'every
wheel in motion.' Such is the hazard of
suspending my school, even for a month,
that I have made very strenuous exertions
to continue it.

" At the time I last wrote to you, I was
nearly sinking under the influence of 'chills
and fever,' continued through four or five
months, and the constant use of quinine
for breaking up the disease, which were

working sad effects upon me

" I am fully persuaded that it will be my
duty to leave here, so as to escape the ef-
fects of another summer, and am truly glad
of your advice in the matter. My sister's

1857.)

HOME

FIELD.

889

health has remained unusually good, and
her experience of the peculiarities of this
situation is such, that I should feel it per-
fectly safe to commit the school, and all the
other labors of the station, to her hands for
the time.

"We have our usual number of scholars,
a good proportion of which are Mexican
children. Although it requires the patience
of a martyr to bear with the waywardness
of uncultivated youth, yet there is much
satisfaction in the labors attending their in-
struction. The clearing away of the nox-
ious weeds from the youthful mind and
heart, and planting in that soil the seeds of
truth, which may in due time spring up and
bear precious fruit, buoys up the spirit with
cheerful hope.

" I was much impressed recently, on read-
ing an article from the London Record^ in
which is the following paragraph :

" ' Give me the children of Protestants,
and I will teach them what they will never
forget.' So said a Roman Catholic priest
one day in reference to his own proselyting
measures: and there is much truth in the
statement. It is a notable fact, that the ris-
ing generation will be just what we make
them, and everything depends on the ground-
work— education. Let the moral and reli-
gious training of the child be wrong, and
the consequence will most probably be, that
the man will not be the right sort of a man.'

" These sentiments struck me as being
peculiarly important and applicable, in the
case of the education of the Mexican child-
ren which Providence has placed under my
instruction. If properly instructed, may
we not reasonably hope for happy results,
that this first effort in behalf of benighted
If Mexico may be crowned with God's special
blessing? I trust we shall not permit
' the children of darkness to be wiser in
their generation, than the children of light,'
but that we shall faithfully perform our
duty, and be successful in the effort to
mould the hearts of these interesting youth
in accordance with the principles of revealed

truth

" I have been much encouraged during
the last few months, by an increasing de-
mand for Bibles and Tracts. The des^ire is
manifested^ by Mexicans in such a manner

as induces me to believe that the truth is
what they are seeking after.

"Not long since a very respectable and
intelligent-looking young man called on me
for a Bible. To my questions he told me
that he was a teacher of a school some few

miles from , and that having seen a

Bible in English from which he had learned
something of its teachings, he desired one
in Spanish, which he could more readily
understand and more readily explain to his
scholars. I told him the Bibles which I
had were Protestant Bibles. He replied
he knew that, and although he was a Ro-
man Catholic, there were many things in
that religion which he did not believe, and
he wished to examine both Protestantism
and Roman Catholicism, and judge for him-
self. I accordingly let him have a Bible
for himself, and six Testaments for his schol-
ars. In two or three weeks he sent me a
very well written note, expressing his thank-
fulness for the books which he had received,
and an urgent request that 1 would send
him half a dozen more Bibles^ or portions of
it, as several of his acquaintances had ex-
pressed an earnest desire for one. So
much apparent truth and candor were mani-
fested in his statements, that I felt an un-
usual degree of confidence in furnishing
him with what he desired. Yet such is the
extreme deceitfulness of Mexican character
in general, that I scarcely know, in giving
Bibles, what use the applicants may make
of them. But although I have had my fears,
I have never known of one being destroyed,
and I have taken particular pains to
ascertain.

" In my observations during the last year,
I have found the Bibles and Testaments in
their houses which I gave them the pre-
vious year, and which, in many instances,
appear to have been much read.

Many of the Testaments have been
used in a Mexican school, taught in town.
Whether it is a pecuniary consideration, or
the excellence of the book, which induces
the teacher to use it as a general reading-
book, I cannot say. But let the case be as
it may, I cannot but hope that its effects
will be eventually seen for much good.
God c.in speak throi gh his own Word to

390

HOME

FIELD.

(Dec.

the most darkened conscience, and wher-
ever it goes we may venture to hope.

"Although we have hitherto had but lit-
tle to depend upon, in regard to Mexican
evangelization, except the command and
promise of God, yet I believe we may be
encouraged to hope that ' the morning is
breaking,' that those principles are becom-
ing disseminated, and commending them-
selves to the consciences of their long-ne-
glected people, which shall gradually un-
dermine the reigning superstitions, and ul-
timately prepare the way for the triumph
of truth.

" The greatest achievements in the king-
dom of Christ have been gained only by
patient and persevering toil. The period
in which ' a nation is born at once,' has not
yet arrived, and although at present we
may be obliged to make our advances inch
by inch, and step by step, we must not fail
nor be discouraged.

" We doubt not Mexico will be converted
to the true faith, and to accomplish it, God
has his own infinitely wise plan. lict us
only look to him with unwavering faith, and'
submit ourselves and our services to his
direction. Whether we are called to sow
or to reap, whether to build the temple or
only to furnish the materials to our suc-
cessors, his glory will be secured, and the
great end will be obtained.

" P. S. — We have instructed twenty in-
digent Mexican girls, thus far. Some part
of the time we have had more than that
number, and shall probably retain them un-
til the close of the year."

GERMAN MISSION IN
SAVANNAH.

The Rev. Mr. Epping, who has la-
bored among the Germans in Savannah
with encouraging success, writes : —

"The hopeful and joyful sentiments
which I was permitted to express in my an-
nua! report, and the promising state of af-
fairs which I then laid before you, did not
fail to be realized in our successful opera-

tions during the following summer months.
By God's great mercy, the interest awak-
ened among our German people, as well as
the sympathy of our American fellow-
Christians, has been constantly on the
increase.

" Never before has the attendance on our
regular Sabbath service been so large as it
was during the hottest part of last summer.
This has only fallen off in a small degree,
when by my absence our exercises had been
interrupted for a few Sundays, and sickness
kept away quite a number of those who
live outside of the city on the fertile but
rather sickly garden lands, which are prin-
cipally cultivated by my countrymen.

" This farming and gardening population
has lately much increased in numbers, and
I am happy to say, also, in respectability,
and offers now quite a new and promising
field for our operations. Several of these
families, (most all of them are Romanists,)
who live from one to three miles from our
place of worship, have shown great interest,
and have been among the most regular at-
tendants at worship. Before this season is
over, I trust we will have from this quarter
quite a numerous accession to our mem-
bership.

" Our Sunday-school, which had during
the late hot and sickly times been rather
thinly attended, is now being most hope-
fully revived. Additional assistance by
some zealous and able young preachers
enables us to do more good than before.

" Our church building is enclosed, and
the inside work is progressing. Although
our supplies of funds have lately been ra-
ther backward, still we keep pushing on,
and really our trust and hope in God has
never yet been in vain : he has not for-
saken us. With his gracious help we hope
to praise and honor him under our own
vine and our own fig-tree, before the end of
this year.

" The Ladies' Auxiliary Society has met
regularly, and though their numbers are
never great during the summer, yet their
interest has never abated, and those kind
friends who have staid here through the
season, have indeed been a help and a com-
fort to your missionary in the most arduous

1857.)

HOME FIELD.

391

and trying portions of his labors. They
are faithful to the spirit that has united
them, and stand by me as untiring and zeal-
ous as ever.

" I mentioned above that I have been ab-
sent for a few weeks during September.
In Augusta, our nearest sister city in this
State, there are between 600 and 700 Ger-
mans, more than half of them Romanists.
I had been there before : I knew that an at-
tempt had been made to gather them into a
congregation by an American Lutheran
missionary, but owing to his not under-
standing the German language, he had to
retire from the field, so that now they are
destitute again. The use of the Christian
church was most readily granted to me,
and I preached in the same on the afternoon
of Sunday, Sept. 6th. The attendance
was much larger than I expected — there
were more than two hundred Germans pre-
sent. They manifested great interest, and
in visiting them I found a great desire to
have regular preaching in their own mother
tongue. They have something of an or-
ganization, and, I am sure, would gladly re-
ceive a German missionary. A man of good
education, a faithful, prudent, persevering
young man, would, with some help, soon
be able to raise a good congregation.

"I also went to a German settlement
called Walhalla, in Pickens District, South
Carolina. They have preaching there in
the English and German languages alter-
nately. But I am sorry to say that their
affairs do not look as promising as they
might. There seems to be very little done
for the Catholics among them, though they
might very easily be brought to hear the
pure Gospel expounded to them. May
' God soon in his mercy awaken a spirit
among them, and for them, that will pros-
per them in their spiritual interests as they
are prospering in their temporal affairs !

" May the great and merciful God, who
has been with us, and smiled upon us far
beyond our worthiness, continue his mercy
upon the work of the Union, and our fee-
ble endeavors for the good of immortal
souls, and his shall be all the praise, world
without end. Amen !"

LABORS AMONG FRENCH RO-
MANISTS.

HOW THE PEOPLE VIEW THE SOCIETY.

The Rev. J. B. C. Beaubien is en-
couraged in his \vork. Romanists and
American Protestants share in his la-
bors. As a missionary he visits the
French in their settlements in the
northern part of the State of Vermont,
and occasionally he visits ecclesiastical
bodies and Protestant churches, and
addresses them on the subject of the
Society and its work. We rejoice in
his restored health, (he was in feeble
health for some time.) and in the suc-
cess that attends his labors.

The estimation in which the Society
is held by the people is deserved, and
we are encouraged in our efforts to
carry out its design, by the expressions
of cordial approbation which we are re-
ceiving from various parts of our land.

We hope, by our continued efforts,
to merit more and more the sympathy,
and confidence, and aid, of the good
people of the land, and that our ability
to do a larger work for the welfare of
the nation and of the world, may be
increased. Mr. Beaubien, in a late re-
port, says: —

" During the past month I have spent
two Sabbaths as agent of the Society in
different places, and in Protestant congre-
gations

"I have also attended the Washington
County Conference of Churches, where I
spoke in behalf of the Society, and re-
quested them to appoint a secretary for the
Society for that county. The Rev. C. C.
Parker, of Waterbury, where I preach occa-
sionally to the French, was appointed.

" I attended also the Vermont F. M. B.
Yearly Meeting, where I spoke of the mis-
sionary work in presence of hundreds of
people. A number of French being present
at that meeting, I spent some time with
them conversing on religious subjects. At
these meetings I have been invited to visit,

392

HOME FIELD.

(Dec.

as ag-ent of the American and Foreign
Christian Union, not less than ten different
churches.

" I have held^ire public meetings among
the French, conversed on religious subjects
with 42 individuals, and visited 24 families.
Besides lecturing to the churches above
mentioned, I have addressed a mixed con-
gregation at Sheldon, Vermont.

" If I may be allowed to sum up what I
have done during the month just closed, I
may say that —

" 1st. I have addressed hundreds of
Americans who knew nothing of the mis-
sionary work in Vermont, and of the doings
of the Society in general.

" 2d. I have conversed with a number of
ministers on the same subject, and have
been invited by them to visit their churches.

" 3d. I have come in contact with a large
number of French I had never seen be-
fore, and to whom I presented Christ,

" 4th. Daring my visit at the Washington
County Conference of Ministers, which met
at Montpelier, on being invited to address
the Sunday-school scholars in the evening,
I accepted. My subject was, Roman Ca-
tholic Sunday-schools, their teachers and
teachings. And,

" Lastly, I have presented two of those
who in my field have of late become pious,
to an American church, in presence of a
large assembly.

" As I said in one of my late reports, I
have yet to see the first American opposed
to my work or to the Society, The churches,
wherever I go, and elsewhere, constantly
invite me to preach to their foreign popu-
lation, and offer to co-operate with me.
Individuals offer to buy all the Bibles I may
in time be able to distribute in their re-
spective towns, and the inquiry among many
is, How can ice approach the Eoman Catho-
lic mind ? Tell us how to approach your
countrymen, and we will try to benefit them,

"I hope the day is approaching when
Americans will cease leaving the evangeli-
zation of their foreign population wholly
to so few laborers. Let all unite in that
great work, and before many years the
strong 'Man of Sin' will in this country
become weak indeed,"

INTERESTING MEETING IN
MASSACHUSETTS.

The meeting in behalf of the benevo-
lent Societies of Hampden County,
Massachusetts, took place this year in
the town of Chicopee. It was unusu-
ally spirited and numerously attended.
The happiest feelings prevailed, and it
cannot be doubted that good in various
ways will flow from it to the cause of
the world's evangelization. The Rev.
Mr. Hovey, one of the Society's Dis-
trict Secretaries, who was present, has
sent us the following note respecting
the place allowed in its deliberations
to the American and Foreign Christ-
ian Union, and the feelings and remarks
of some of the pastors and others in
regard to it and its work. Under date
of October 15th Mr. Hovey wrote :

" Yesterday and the day before I was at
Chicopee, and I was very cordially welcomed
as the representative of the American
AND Foreign Christian Union. The at-
tendance was large, and I do not recollect
ever to have attended a more interesting
meeting of the kind.

" Wednesday morning, from nine to ten
o'clock, was assigned to our Society, The
first thing was to call for the Treasurer's
report. This was soon disposed of, for it
was short. The Corresponding Secretary's
report was then read by Brother Seeley,
and was in fact a pretty fair speech in be-
half of our Society. Then came Rev. Mr.
Murphy's speech. It was full of argument,
persuasion, and eloquence. It was really
noble.

"By this time only twenty minutes re-
mained, I used up about twelve of them,
and then called on Brother Buckingham, of
Springfield, to '•free Ms mind.'* He spoke
of the Society's operations abroad, especial-
ly in Rome and Paris. Said, in his opinion
no other single enterprise in the world
equaled in importance that of Paris; and he
called upon all present to sustain, at what-
ever sacrifice, the Society which was doing
works of such inconceivable importance.

1857.)

BOOK NOTICES.

393

" The time was now all gone, and more
too, but I was compelled to add a few facts.
The Rev. Mr. Parsons, of Springfield, then
begged for a moment, which he occupied
eloquently. Instantly on his ceasing, an
old man, a deacon from the church in Lud-
low, begged to be heard, and was heard.

" On the whole, I never saw an hour bet-
ter or more effectually ' used wp.'

" Most of the brethren will preach to their
own people on the subject, though I shall
hope to be ready to preach for any who
prefer it. January is the month for most
of them."

BOOK NOTICES.

The True Woman, or Life and Happi-
ness AT Home and Abroad. By Jesse T.
Peck, D. D., Author of " The Central Idea of
Christianity." New- York : Published by
Carlton and Porter, 200 Mulberry-street.

This is a beautiful 12mo. volume of 400 j
pages. It is written in an easy and agreeable
style, and leaves no doubt upon the mind of
the reader of the thought which the writer
designs to convey. The portrait which Dr.
Peck presents of " the true woman," is in
marked contrast with what he has denominat-
ed " the woman of accident," " unregener-
ate," " artificial," " useless," and " Lady "
"by profession." It is in happy conformity
to the type brought to view in the Sacred
Scriptures ; and if copied in practical life, must
show its superiority to patterns which, for the
best interests of those concerned, have, at
least in some circles, had too large and too
long a " run."

We are glad, for the welfare of humanity
as well as of evangelical religion, to welcome
such productions to the accumulating pile of
American literature, and will cheerfully do
our part in giving publicity to their existence
and merits. Let parents and guardians ob-
tain and read such works, and follow their
directions, and coming generations will feel
^ their beneficial influence. The author has
done a good service in giving the book to the
public.

We have also received from Messrs. Shel-
don, Blakeman Co., Publishers of this city,
the following books, viz :

The Roman Catholic Element in Amer-
ican History. By Justin D. Fulton, of St.
Louis, Mo.

This is a 12mo volume of 392 pages, very
neatly got up, and contains information of
deep interest and importance to all American
citizens. Unless the reader has given more \

attention to Romanism and its patrons than
has been common to Americans, this volume
will be read with surprise because of its de-
velopments of the struggles of the Papacy,
often encouraged and aided by unscrupulous
political demagogues for the control of this
country — and as often disappointed by a be-
nignant Providence, which has preserved its
Protestantism and freedom, and given it a
prosperity that no Papal nation ever realized.
There are a few things in the book which we
could wish were somewhat modified, and fu-
ture editions may afibrd opportunity for it ;
but, as a whole, it has much worth, and should
be widely circulated and extensively read.
Parents, guardians, teachers, pastors — all who
are to influence the present or coming genera-
tion, and who desire their welfare and the
prosperity of evangelical religion, need to
study and fully comprehend the nature and
tactics of Rome. Let books on the subject,
then, be multiplied, and planted at every fire-
side in the land.

Sermons of the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon,
of London. First, Second, and Third Series.
12mo, pp. 382, 382, 448.

The First and Second Series have already
had a very extensive sale. The Third Volume
or Series is just published. We have looked
over the volumes,'to see if we could find any-
thing in the Sermons themselves that would
account, in part at lea^t, for the wonderful
success and popularity of the preacher.

The Sermons, in style and manner, are
plain and simple, adapted to the understand-
ing of the ignorant and uneducated. They
are, at the same time, direct — aimed pointed-
ly at the heart and conscience, presenting the
great doctrine of" Christ and him crucified,"
as " the all-important, all-absorbing theme."
We hail with great pleasure their public-
ation.

394

CLOSE OF THE EIGHTH VOLUME.

(Dec.

Life Pictures From a Pastor's Note-
Book, by Robert Turnbull, author of " Christ
in History," the " Genius of Scotland," &c.

The character and design of the book will
be learned from the following sentence in the
Preface : —

"The_ object of the following 'Life Pic-
tures,' including narratives, conversations,
letters, and so forth, is to bring out, in con-
crete form, the true idea of the inner or di-
vine^ life. It is designed especially for in-
quiring minds, haunted, perhaps, by the
prevalent scepticism, or by other foims of
doubt."

We have not as yet found time to read all
these sketches, but w^e have read some of
them, and they are exceedingly beautiful,
sketched by a master-hand, and eminently
calculated to do good."

Notes on the Principles and Practices
OF Baptist Churches. By Francis Way-
land. 12mo, pp. 336.

The substance of this volume was first pub-
lished in a series of consecutive numbers in
the Examiner, a Baptist religious nevi'spaper
of this city. In his "Preface" to the book,
the author says that his "main object" is
"to present a popular view of the distinctive
belief of the Baptist denomination, and to
urge upon his brethren a practice in harmony
with their profession."

Dr. Wayland has executed what he under-
took with his characteristic ability. His
style is generally clear and easy, his language

select and appropriate. He has touched upon
a great variety of subjects, and brought toge-
ther a large amount of information, which to
his denomination, especially to the younger
members, must be of great value, and will
doubtless go far to secure throughout the body
unifonnity in theological, ecclesiastical, and
misssionary matters. The work is rather de-
signed for his denomination than for the gen-
eral reader, and those of other communions
might demur to some things found on its
pages. But there is much in it that every
evangelical Christian can read with pleasure
and decided profit.

The Life and Labors of the Rev. T.
H. Gallaudet, LL. D., by Rev. Heman
Humphrey, D. D. Robert Carter & Broth-
ers, Publishers, No. 550 Broadway.

It is seldom that we have taken up a book
and read it with more interest than the one
above-named. The book is admirably writ-
ten, and gives us an accurate history of a
great and good man. Mr. Gallaudet was a
philanthropist. He not only sympathized
deeply with that unfortunate class, " the deaf
and the dumb," but he carried out his sympa-
thy into action, by labors abundant for their
temporal and spiritual good. We can most
cheerfully commend this volume to our read-
ers, assuring them that in its perusal they
will not only derive pleasure but profif.

Notice of other books received
will appear in the next number.

CLOSE OF THE EIGHTH VOLUME.

We have now reached the close of
the Eighth Volume of this Magazine :
the present number completes it. We
have endeavored to make it a useful
and acceptable visitor to the families
within whose circles it has been invited
to come ; and w^e are happy in the as-
surance given us from various parts of
the country — north, south, east, and west
— from persons occupying different ec-
clesiastical, social, civil, and political po-
sitions, that we have not labored in
vain.

With the next number we shall be-
gin a new volume, and shall spare no
pains to make it as acceptable as its
predecessors.

For the promptness with which our
patrons have uniformly made their

payments, w^e extend to them our ac-
knowledgments, and we doubt not that
in future, notwithstanding the hard
times," they will place us in circum-
stances to justify a similar expression
at the close of the next volume.

There are some, however, who are
" in arrears," and as our terms contem-
plate payments in advance, we shall
forward their bills in the present num-
ber. We trust that even this will be
acceptable, and that the " stringency "
of the times in monetary affairs will
but ensure extra efforts to remit to ns all
(Ives, that the good work of the Society
may not be embarrassed.

And while we are highly gratified
with our subscription-list, which at its
present numbers opens a wide field of

1857.)

RECEIPTS.

395

usefulness, still we must confess that we
desire to see it much enlarged.

The Protestant and evangelical ele-
ment in this nation, though somewhat
more aroused in regard to labors to re-
form and save the corrupted parts of
Christendom, and to check the move-
ments of the "Man of Sin" in the
United States and vicinity, than it was
fifteen or twenty years ago, is still
comparatively inactive. Vigorous ef-
forts should therefore be made to rouse
and bring its energies, to bear upon
these corruptions, and to bring forward
the cause of evangelical religion. One
of the best means to effect this is the
diffusion of light upon the subject, by

which the duty and privilege of Christ-
ians, philanthropists, and patriots shall
be seen : and if each person who now
receives the Magazine will procure one
new subscriber for it for the year to
come, we shall receive an accession that
will greatly encourage us in our labors,
and much will be done to secure, ulti-
mately, the aid that the cause needs.

The time for making an effort to
obtain new subscribers is now favorable
Several weeks must elapse before the
new volume will be commenced. Let us
hope for such an effort on the part of
our patrons, and we will endeavor to
make the Magazine, in matter and form,
worthy of their patronage.

ON BBflALF OF THE AMRRICAN AND FOREIGN CHRISTIAN , UNION,
OCTOBER TO THE 1st OF NOVEMBER, 1857.

FROM THE 1st Oi

New-Hampshibe.

Concord. 1st Church, . . . . $18 75

A, Fletcher, SI ; Rev. Dr. Stone, SI ;
Mr. Chandler, $1, . . . 3 00
Rindge. Cone. Ch., Dea. J. B. Breed, $5 for L.

M. ; Jas. Ramsdel, S5 for L. M. ;
Mrs. J. Converse, 85 for L. M. ;
Addison Bancroft, S5 for L. M. ;
others, S17 81 37 81

Vebmoxt.

Springfield. Cong. Church, which constitutes

Amasa Woodson a L. M., . 37 22

Brattleboro. 2d Cone. Ch. and Society, . 72 25

Franklin. Free- Will Bapt Ch., ... 11 30

Milton. 1st Cong. Church, .... 6 40

Orange Co. Conference of Churches, . , 9 14

Jericho Centre. Cong. Church, . , . 17 00

Massachusetts.

Sheffield. Rev. Jas. Bradford, in full for L. M., 10 00
Amherst Faculty and Students of Amherst

College 28 60

* " A Legacy by Mrs. Elizabeth Haven,

by Rev. Prof. Haven, . . 20 00
Royalston. Daniel Foster, S4 ; Dea. Seth Hol-

man, $1 5 00

Byfield. Cone. Church, .... 6 25

Dedham. Ist^Cong. Church, . . . . 36 T5
South Dedham. Cong. Ch., in full to constitute
Rev. Moses M. Colbum a

L. M 6 15

South Reading. Cong. Church, . . . 11 81

Lawrence. Lawrence-st. Church, . . . 22 11

Marb)ehead. A Friend, . . . . 10 00

HoUiston. Cong. Church, . . . . 45 59

Harvard. Mrs. Jemima Barnard, . . 5 00
Worcester. Ichabod Washburn, Esq , . . 100 00

Hadley. 3d Ch., per C. F. Hitchcock. . 16 82

Shrewsbury. Cone. Ch , per LeanderMaynard, 25 00

Charlemont. Cong. Church, ... 7 00

Montgomery. Mrs. P. Moore, . . . 5 00

North Amherst Cong. Church, . . . 19 42

North Adams. Cone. Church, . . . S8 95

Meth. Church, ... 3 53

Great Barrineton. Meth. Church, . . . 2 33

Housatonicvi'lle. Cong. Church, . . 6 64
Connecticut.

Stonington. Individuals, 49 60

Waterbury. 1st Society, per A. Townsend, 12 86
New-Haven. Cong. Society, per A. Townsend, 45 25
Warren. Cong. Ch., per F. B. Taylor, . 6 00
Norwich Town. Individuals, . . . . 16 50
Welhersfield. Cong. Ch., Mrs. Hannah Stan-
ton, S5 for L. M. ; Thos. N.
Griswold, $5 for L. M.; oth-
ers, S38 48 00

New-Yokk,

Troy. 1st Bapt Church 5 89

Individuals, 51 00

West Troy. Individuals, . . . . 17 00

Waterford. Individuals, . . . . 11 50

Brockport Lydia Gitford, . . . . 5 00
New-York City. R, Watrons, S5 for the Paris

chapel, S5 for Home, . 10 00

" 4th Av. Presb. Ch., Rev, Dr. i

Parker, . . . . 52 56
" Jos. McKie. $3 for Home, S5

for the Waldensian Table, 8 00

A. S. Marvin, Esq., . . 50 00

" Miss EUet, . . . . 20 00
Schuylersville. A member of the Ref Dutch

Ch., per S. T. Searle, . 3 00

Amsterdam. 1st Presb. Church, . . . 20 46
Smithtown Branch. M. E. Ch., to make Rev.

Daniel Jones a L. M., 43 04
Williamsburgh. M. P. Ch., to make in part

Rev. Mr. Smith a L. M., 10 34

Bokrolyn, Primitive Meth. Church, . . 4 17
1st Ref. Dutch Ch., Rev. Mr. Van

Giesen's, 75 10

East Norwich. M. E. Ch, to constitute Rev.

Albert Vernon and Rev. Lo-
renzo D. Rushmore L. M's., 60 CO
Hornellsville. Presb. Church, . . . 7 11
" Bapt Church, in part, . . 4 57

396

RECEIPTS.

(Dec. 1857.

Nunda. Presb. Church, .... SIO 22

Bapt. Church 3 26

Judge E. H. Gilbert, . . . . 1 00

Prattsburgh. Cong. Ch., in part, . . 16 52

" S. Jackson, for L. M. of his wife, 5 00

Bapt. Church, . . . . 1 06

Farmer. Ref. Dutch Church, ... 5 00

Oswego. M. L. C 2 qO

Rodman. In part, 8 00

Guilford, 15 42

Bainbridge and Nineveh Churches. . . 4 00

Maine 5 90

Lisle. In part, 2 01

Whitney's Point Add. for Rev. S. N. Robin-
son's L.M., . . . 80'1

Augusta, 15 00

Cbittenango. Add. for Sab. School, . . 5 75

Hoosick Falls. Add. for Sab. School, . . 4 00

N. Granville, 6 44

Middle Granville. Add. for Rev, A. B. Swift's

L. M„ . . . . 6 10

Malone. Cong. Church 28 83

New-Jebsey.
Newark, South Park Presb. Church, Rev. Dr.

Wilson, 81 34

Parsippany, Presb. Ch., in part, . . . 16 97

Hacketstown. Presb, Ch., in part, , . 39 21

Danville. A few Friends, , . . . 1 10

Pluckemin. Bedminster Ref D. Ch., . . 40 00

Hoboken. Ref. D. Ch., Rev. Mr. Parker, . 18 60

Pennsylvania.
Belle Valley. A Friend, through Rev, D, H.

Sanford, , . , . 5 00

Philadelphia. 1st Assoc. Ref. Ch., Arch-st, . 12 43

Germantown. Market Square Church, . 20 00
Erie, let Presb. Ch., $25 ; Sab. School, $5, to

make the Sab. School a L. M., . 30 00

Maryland.

Baltimore. A Friend 1 00

Virginia.

Alexandria. 2d Presb. Ch., in part, through

E. F. Whitmar, , . . 28 50

Triadelphia. Mary Brown, . . . . 4 00

Kentucky,

Danville, Bapt. Church, . . . . 7 75

1st Presb, Church 18 00

2d Presb. Church,which makes Geo.

W, Welch, Esq,, a L. M., . , 30 50

Owensboro' 14 50

Missouri.

St. Louis. 1st Presb. Ch., Dr. Hale, . . 10 00

Hannibal. N. S. Ch., in part, . . . . 12 15

Meth. Church, .... 70

— Illinois,

Woodburn. Mrs. Gordon, . . . . 1 00

Oakwood. Mrs. Safford 2 00

Quincy. Dr. A. Nichols 5 00

Moline. Cong. Church, . . . . 15 75
Griggsville. Add., which makes Rev. N. P.

Collrine a L. M., . . . 23 00

Shawneetown. Bapt. Church, . . . 1 50

Presb. Church, . . . 2 50

C O N T

The Present Crisis— What Shall be Done ? Page 369

Ireland, 372

Evangelical Alliance, 374

Foreign Field :—

Chili 377

Ireland 378

Belgium, 381

Indiana.

New-Albany. 2d Presb. Church, Mrs. Phebe

Brooks, . . , , $20 00

Monroe. Presb. Church, add., , . . 50

North Madison. Meth. Epis. Church, add., 05

Hanover. Presb. Church, in part, . . 15 00

Rockport 9 25

Fredericksburg . 5 00

Galena Euphema Ray 25

Martinsburg. Jos. Loughmiller, . . . 1 00

New-Providence. Wm. Borden, ... 50

Greeville. Individuals, .... 3 00
Ladoga. Sab. Collection, $4 88 ; Sab. School,

50 cts. ; Lutheran Church, $2 23 ;

others,$l 79 9 40

Mishawaka. Estate of Wm. Thrall, . . 4 00

Lawrenceport 4 50

" Hanover Assoc. Church, . 17 9;

Wirt Bapt. Church, . . 4 1£

Franklin, Hopewell O. S, Presb. Church, . 5 69

Ohio,

Greenfield, let Presb. Ch., to constitute Rev.

Jno. Wiseman a L. M., . . 52 00

" Bapt. Church, . . . . . 8 63

Pisgah. Presb. Church 11 88

Newark. 2d Presb. Ch., in part, . , . 15 36

Welch M. E. Ch., in part, . , 5 29

" Welch Cong. Ch., in part, . , 4 IQ

Painesville. Hon. R. Hitchcock, . , , 1 CO
Ellsworth, United Presb. and Cong. Ch., in
part, to make its Sab. School a

L. M. 12 12

Canfield. Union Collection 3 04

Berea, Rev. Mr. Clisbee 50

Edinburgh. Rev, Wm, T, Torrey, L. M., in

part, . ' 5 00

Perryville. Presb. Ch., in part, to make the

pastor. Rev. Wm.Hughee, a L.l^., 5 90
Loudonville. Union Collection, add. for Rev.

Wm. Hughes' L. M., . . 2 10

Collamer. Free Cong. Church, . . . 8 31

J. M. Aldrich, .... 5 00

Presb. Church, . . . . 5 02

" Morris Page, for L. M.,'*- . . 5 00

East Cleveland, Add., 1 00

Michigan.

Sharon, Church Collection, ... 4 00

Manchester. " " .... 9 24

Jackson. " " ... 41 35

Brooklyn. " " .... 8 49

Napoleon. " " ... 1 43

Chelsea. " " .... 2 50

Dexter. " " ... 2 96

Iowa.

Dubuque. O. S. and Bapt. Union Meeting, . 20 30

Cong. Church, . . . . 18 00
Davenport. Cong. Church, to make Rev. G.F.

Magoun a L. M,, . , ,55 65

O. S. Church, . . , ., 16 00

Lyons. Cong. Church, Evening Lecture, . 2 25

Muscatine. Cong. Church, . . . . 21 30

O. S. Church, . . . . 13 00

Burlington. Cong. Church, . . . . 21 00

O. S. Church, . . . . 2 35

E N T S .

Home Field : —

A Voice from California, . . . Page 386

Texas — Spanish Mission, 388

German Mission in Savannah, . , . 390

Labors among French Romanists, . . . 391

Interesting Meeting in Massachusetts, , 392

Book Notices 393

Close of the Eighth Volume, .... 394

Receipts, . . 395

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