for whom no one cared, and that she had had nothing to eat for a long time, and was very faint. On hearing this, our young friend Tara instantly ran to the boat and fetched some biscuits and boiled rice, which the famished woman devoured with great avidity; after which he went to the river for some water for her to drink, and, seating himself on the sand near her, tried by kind words to comfort her. (See Engraving.) She seemed very grateful for these acts of kindness; and Tara would not leave her till her hunger and thirst had been appeased. Poor woman! she was so deaf that it was with difficulty she could be made to understand what was said to her, and so blunted in her faculties, that an attempt to speak to her about her soul was met only with a vacant stare. Before leaving, we gave the poor creature some small coins, and a piece of cloth to cover her withered limbs, which she hugged to her body as if she had never possessed such a thing before.

"It was most gratifying to our feelings to see, as we did on this occasion, a young man of high Brahminical lineage sitting down near a poor, outcast, beggar woman, feeding her and comforting her with all the anxiety and affection of a son, whom, when still a follower of Hindooism, he would not even have condescended to notice. Truly Christianity produces a wonderful change in those who sincerely embrace it as our young friend Tara has done! O! what a different aspect will India wear when that blessed religion shall prevail, and influence its millions of degraded inhabitants. The country, with its natural fertility and beauty, will indeed then be as a garden of the Lord!

SUPERSTITION.

"On the same day, our boat people exhibited a specimen of superstition which proved anything but agreeable to themselves. We met a fisherman who had caught about a dozen of a fish called Hilsa,' highly prized by the natives, and which is obtainable in Calcutta only during the rainy season. Wishing to put our crew into good humour, we purchased the fish, and made them a present of them. But when they were engaged on the deck of the boat in preparing them for their meal, a kite which was hovering over their

heads pounced down upon the fish with a view to get its share of the feast. Its attempt was unsuccessful; but it seems that in making it, the bird had touched one of the fishes with the tip of its wings. This was enough to render the whole unclean in the estimation of these poor ignorant people, who, with doleful countenances, cast all the fish away. This is only an instance out of many in which I have observed the superstitions of the natives marring their comfort and proving a great thraldom to them. O! may the blessed Gospel soon free them from this and all other kinds of bondage under which they are groaning.

THE EXAMPLE OF EUROPEANS POWERFUL FOR GOOD OR EVIL IN COMMENDING THE GOSPEL TO THE HEATHEN.

"January 4th, 1853.-Arrived at Serajgunge. A very considerable trade is carried on at this place, which is one of the Gunges' referred to above, and one of the greatest emporiums in East Bengal, and frequented by individuals not only from the neighbouring, but also many very distant districts. Rice, hemp, tobacco, coarse sugar, molasses, beetle-nut, mustard seed, and pulse constitute the chief staple. There were about two thousand boats moored along the shore in double and treble rows to the extent of full three miles, which put me not a little in mind of Saugor Island at the time of the bathing festival.

"Soon after we had made our boat fast to the shore, several natives who had known Mr. Hill when he resided at this place some years ago, in the capacity of agent to a Calcutta merchant, having been informed of his arrival, came to the boat to salute him, and it was most gratifying to me, as well as highly to the credit of Mr. Hill, to witness their pleasure at seeing him again, and to hear them say that they had not forgotten the kind services he had rendered them, and the good instructions he had given them when he lived among them. Ah! that there were more of those Europeans engaged in secular business all over the country, thus seeking to benefit the people by acts of kindness and by Christian instruction! Christianity would then stand in much higher esteem among the natives, who,

alas are apt at times to form very unfavourable ideas of it from what they see of so many of its professors, who not only do nothing to recommend it, but by their bad lives are a great stumbling-block to the people, and in this way prove one of the most formidable obstacles to the success of Missionary labours.

"Among the visitors was a native doctor who had been a disciple of a certain old Gooroo, the head of a numerous sect, and well known to Mr. Hill in former days. This Gooroo had died some time before, and on his dying bed, the doctor said, had de clared that all his hopes of salvation had forsaken him, and he admonished his disciples to listen to Christian instruction, as he was sure Christianity would eventually become the religion of the land. This testimony had evidently made an impression on the doctor and other disciples of the old Gooroo ; but, alas! immersed as they are in worldly cares, and with no one to teach them, it did not seem that the good impression had been productive of much tangible effect.

"In the afternoon we took a walk to view the town, which we intended to make the scene of our labours for some days, and marked several prominent spots and bazars well suited for addressing the people. We then proceeded by invitation to the house of a wealthy Hindoo merchant known to Mr. Hill, and, having been accommodated with seats, entered into a long conversation with him and a number of his townsmen who had assembled to meet us.

"Mr. Hill took up the word first by drawing the attention of our host and his friends to the importance of following the true religion, and went on to prove that Christianity shows itself to be that true religion by the excellent fruits it produces in making all those who cordially embrace it better and holier men; whilst Hindooism exercises no such renovating influence on its votaries, nay, has rather a tendency to make them worse and more depraved than they are by nature. This was assented to generally; but a shrewd old man present remarked that the statement made was all very well as far as words were concerned, but that practically he had not been able to discover the truth of what had been advanced,

because he had seen Europeans, who profess to be Christians, anything but holy; on the contrary, oppressing the natives, proud, licentious, and very passionate.

"This objection made us sad, because we knew it was but too well founded. In order, however, to remove its unfavourable effect, I took up the discussion, and endeavoured by various arguments and similes to show to the bystanders that Christianity must not be judged by the conduct of many of its professors, who are in reality anything but Christians, and exhorted them rather to judge of that religion by the Scriptures in which it is revealed, and the lives of those who sincerely believe it, and make it the rule of their lives. We were pleased to observe that the answer seemed satisfactory; and felt at that moment, in the presence of so many idolaters, with double force, the extreme importance of our Saviour's injunction: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.'

OBJECTIONS OF THE HEATHEN ANSWERED.

"Towards the end, a Brahmin came in who pretended that by means of 'Montros,' or incantations, wherein the name of the Hindoo gods is invoked, miracles were performed, which proved Hindooism to be true. He was immediately taken up by our native assistant, Gobindo Gir, who, having been formerly a Sunnyasi, or religious devotee, was acquainted with those incantations, and soon able to show the imposture of those who make use of them.

"Another man then took up the discussion, and rather triumphantly said he would prove from our own sacred books that we were acting a most sinful part in preaching against Hindooism, seeing that it was commanded in those books to abstain from slander, and from everything which gives pain to our neighbour; and that in the face of this, we were slandering the Hindoo gods, and were giving pain to our auditors by telling them that their religion was false. It was then necessary to point out to him that our referring to the evil deeds of the Hindoo gods could not be construed as slander, because, as he well knew, what we had said concerning them was not invented

by us, but recorded in his own Shastres; and that, as to giving pain to the people by showing them the vanity and falsehood of their religion, we did it reluctantly, and only with a view eventually to benefit them, and to lead them to embrace a more excellent one; just as a physician is at times necessitated to give pain to his patients by the operations he performs, or the medicines he administers, because he knows that only by such means the cure of his patients can be effected.

"It having become nearly dark under these interesting discussions, we took leave of our kind host and his friends, and returned to our boat for the night.

"January 5.-Very early this morning, we proceeded again by invitation to the house of a Mahometan landowner, with whom Mr. Hill was previously acquainted. A great number of his neighbours had assembled to receive us. Mr. Hill then entered into a long argument on the subject of Mahomet and the Koran, very ably show. ing the former to be destitute of the marks of a true prophet, and the latter to be evidently a mere human compilation. The Mahometans had many things to say in reply; but they spoke in a very friendly spirit, so that I trust that good may be done by this discussion. Many of the people in these parts appear really anxious to know the truth; it is therefore much to be lamented that they should be without pernanent instructors. This is a reflection which, I fear, events will force upon me many a time ere my tour is completed.

THE HINDOO CARPENTER.

"After breakfast we went to pay a visit to Mr. A. Mackay, post-master and merchant at Seraj-gunge, who received us very kindly, and gave us an invitation to dinner on the following day, which we accepted. As we were leaving Mr. Mackay's premises, his head carpenter, an elderly Hindoo, came to request the gift of a New Testament in Bengali, saying that a copy which he had formerly in his possession had been lost. On entering into conversation with this man, we elicited several interesting particulars which show that Christianity has made greater progress among the population

than, from mere superficial observation, one would be apt to suppose. He told us that he was a native of Sulkea, near Calcutta ; that several years ago, he had met two native Christian preachers who gave him a New Testament and several Bengali tracts, which he had attentively read, and had, by the perusal, been led to forsake idolatry, and to worship the only true God. He added that he was a firm believer in Jesus Christ, in proof of which he repeated the whole of a small poetical tract descriptive of the birth, the life, and the death of the Redeemer, which he had committed to memory; and again most urgently begged we would give him a New Testament instead of the one the loss of which he lamented. We told him if he could send some one with us to our boat, which was three miles distant, it would afford us great pleasure to comply with his request. On this, he ordered his son, a boy of twelve or thirteen years, to accompany us; and it was quite refreshing to us on the way to hear the lad relate how his father endeavoured, whenever he found an opportunity, to dissuade his countrymen from idolatry, and to recommend to them the worship of the true God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He added that his poor father often met with great opposition in his efforts, and that many had become his enemies on account of his religious sentiments; but that this did not deter him from speaking to them about God and 'Ononto Jibon' (eternal life). When we reached the boat we gave the boy a Bengali New Testament and a hymn book for his father, and for himself suitable tracts, which he took away in high glee.

THE SEED OF THE KINGDOM SCATTERED

ABROAD.

"At noon we proceeded to one of the principal bazars, where I preached to a very attentive congregation on 'God is a Spirit,' &c., and distributed a great number of tracts, whilst Mr. Hill and the native assistants proceeded to other spots on the same good errand. As soon as we had returned to our boat, there was an incessant call for Scriptures and tracts by persons from all parts of the country. In the evening we again went to the town, where, in the fish

bazar, I addressed a large assembly on the parable of the Prodigal Son. The demand for books was so general, and the rush for them so great, that we were compelled thrice to shift our ground, and even then could barely succeed in distributing them in anything like order.

"January 6th. From day-break persons flocked to our boat, some for medicine (the country people in Bengal fancying that all Europeans must necessarily be doctors), and others for books and oral instruction. Among the latter was a very interesting man, who, on the previous evening, had heard the address on the Prodigal Son. He told us that for some time past he had been much concerned for the salvation of his soul, and wished us to read a chapter of the New Testament, and to explain it to him, which Mr. Hill did; he all the time listening with the most eager attention. When he left he begged us, with tears in his eyes, to pray for him that he might be saved.

"Much preaching was carried on the whole day in several parts of the town. Our native assistants also spent much time in private conversation with the shopkeepers and other individuals who were desirous of further explanation concerning the things they had heard or read of in the books given to them. In this department our native friends were very useful indeed; and I sincerely hope, from several facts which came to our notice, that their exertions will not have been altogether in vain. It is especially in the department of private religious conversation that native assistants excel. From being themselves natives, they have a better insight than European Missionaries into the thoughts and feelings of their countrymen; while the latter feel a far greater freedom in opening their hearts to them than to Europeans. On the other hand, as regards public addresses, a European Missionary who speaks the language fluently is generally listened to with greater attention and respect than native preachers. In order, therefore, to combine both adadvantages, it is very desirable that every itinerancy should be undertaken by one or more European Missionaries, accompanied by native brethren.

"January 7th.-Spent the day very much as yesterday. The demand for tracts and Scriptures was incessant. Many people of fered to pay for them. Our native assistant, Gobindo Gir, told us that during the sixteen years he has been a Christian, he had never seen such eagerness for books as was witnessing at this place. I should think two thousand copies, at least, have been put into circulation during the last three days.

"We were much pleased, in all our peregrinations through the town, to notice that there was not a single liquor-shop to be seen anywhere, which argued well for the sobriety of the people. In some other parts of Bengal, especially in Calcutta and the neighbourhood, such shops now abound ; and, it is very much to be regretted, tend to create among the population habits of in temperance, to which they formerly were strangers. In this respect, intercourse with Europeans has done no good to the natives.

OPINIONS RESPECTING THE MISSIONARIES.

"It was curious to hear the various opinions formed of us by the people. Some said we had come hither, commissioned to destroy caste; others that our preaching and distribution of books was only with the design of getting a large store of religious merit for ourselves. Others, however, gave us credit for more disinterested views, and said we were evidently good men who had come to promote their welfare; in proof of which, they added that they saw a great difference between our kind and friendly behaviour towards them and the conduct of other Europeans, who often treat them harshly and contemptuously. It was very gratifying to us thus to hear that we had been permitted to pursue a course tending to recommend the blessed religion we came to preach. All the people, however, agreed in one thing; viz., that unless we or other Missionaries came to reside permanently among them to instruct them, little fruit could be expected of our exertions. And in this opinion we perfectly coincided.

"January 8th.-Left Serajgunge to procced farther eastward, but with the full determination to visit this interesting town again on our return."

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(To be continued.)