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few wicked men were found in the church, from whom I suffered much shameful treatment; but the Lord our God so strengthened me, even me who am by nature far from bold, (I here speak what is the fact,) that I yielded to none of their attempts. I afterwards returned thither from Strasburg, in obedience to a call which was against my inclination because I thought it tended not to usefulness: for I knew not what the Lord had appointed; and the situation was full of most serious difficulties. But, proceeding in my work, I found at length that the Lord had really #blessed my labours. Do you therefore also persist in your vocation: uphold the established order: and see that the people be at the same time retained in obedience to the doctrine delivered to them: for some are yet wicked and contumacious. Things, as you see, are now not ill settled: on which account you will be the more criminal before God if by your neglect they are suffered to go to decay.-I row that I have lived united with you, brethren, in the strictest bonds of true and sincere affection: and I take my leave of you with the same feelings. If you have at any time found me harsh or peevish under my affliction, I entreat your forgive ness. He then returned them his warmlest thanks for having taken upon them the burden of his duties, while he was unable to discharge them; shook hands with them all; and we took leave of him,' says Beza, with sad hearts, and by no means with dry eyes.'

"On the second of May, having received a letter from Farel, (now an old man of seventy-five, and in infirm health,) stating that he had determined to come to see him from Neuchatel, he wrote to him the following brief and affectionate reply; Farewell, my best and most faithful brother! and, since it is God's pleasure that you should survive me in this world, retain the remembrance of our friendship, which has been useful to the church of God, and the fruits of which await us in heaven. Do not expose yourself to fatigue for my sake. I respire with difficulty, and continually expect my breath to fail me; but it is enough that to Christ I both live and die, who to his people in life and death is gain. Again, farewell with the brethren. Geneva, 2d May, 1564. The good old man, however, came to Geneva according to his purpose, and,

after an interview with his sinking friend returned the next day to Neuchatel.

"The remainder of his days,' Beza tells us,' Calvin passed in almost perpetual prayer. His voice indeed was interrupted by the difficulty of his respiration; but his eyes (which to the last retained their brilliancy,) uplifted to heaven, and the expression of his countenance, showed the fervour of his supplications. His doors,' he proceeds, must have stood open day and night, if all had been admitted who from sentiments of duty and affection wished to see him; but, as he could not speak to them, he requested they would testify their regard by praying for him rather than by troubling themselves about seeing him. Often also, though he ever showed himself glad to receive me, he intimated a scruple respecting the interruption thus given to my employments: so thrifty was he of time which ought to be spent in the service of the church.' The 19th of May was the day on which the ministers were again to meet on the affairs of the church, and at this time with special reference to the celebration of the sacrament at Whitsuntide. On these occasions he was accustomed to partake of a friendly meal with them: and he would now have the meeting held and supper prepared at his house. When the time came, he caused himself to be removed from his bed to the room in which they were assembled, and thus briefly addressed them I come to you for the last time, never more to sit down with you at table. He then offered up a short prayer, took a small portion of food, and conversed with them for a little time in a cheerful manner: but before supper was finished, he was obliged to be carried back to his chamber. He looked pleasantly npon his friends as he went out, and said, 'This will not prevent my being present with you in spirit.' He never afterwards left his bed. On the 27th of May, he spoke with less difficulty and in a stronger voice: but this was the last effort of nature. At about eight o'clock in the evening the symptoms of dissolution suddenly came on. Beza, who had recently left him, was sent for, and on hastening to the house found that he had expired. He had departed without even a sigh, and in the full possession of his powers to the last."-pp. 481-484.

(To be continued.)

Literary and Philosophical Intelligence, etc.

London contains 30 square miles, and on the north side of the Thames, about 140,000 houses, and 850,000 inhabitants; and on the Southwark side, 50,000 houses, and 350,000 inhabitants; of course a total

of 190,000 houses, and 1,200,000 inhabitants; besides 50,000 strangers. The Thames is 310 yards over at Londonbridge, and 400 yards at Waterloo-bridge.

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INDIAN ANTIQUITIES.

No. 1 represents an earthen vase, found in digging a cellar, three or four years since, in the town of Wheeling, Virginia. It was first owned by Dr. J. W. Clemens, of that place.

No. 2 represents a bottle made of earthen ware, found in Scott county, Mississippi, twenty feet below the surface of the ground. It is difficult to conjecture to what use this antique bottle was applied. It was most probably used in burial ceremonies, or was in some way connected with superstitious rites. I have seen some ancient Grecian lachrymatories, not very unlike it in figure; and perhaps the aborigines of the west, employed this vessel to gather the tears in honour of the dead. On the upper part of the body of the vessel, there are four representations of the head of some quadruped.

That bottles ornamented with various devices, were sometimes used by our aborigines, for idolatrous purposes, is quite certain, from the one found at Natchez, and now in the cabinet of the American Antiquarian Society, and also from the three-headed bottle, discovered in a mound, on the Cumberland river. These heads are supposed by Mr. Atwater, to represent the three principal idols of India, Brahma, Vishnoo, and Siva. He, therefore, is of opinion, that the authors of our ancient works in the west, originated in Hindostan. These works, we know, are located near our principal rivers. "To the consecrated streams of Hindostan, devotees assembled from all parts of the empire, to worship their gods, and to purify themselves by bathing in their sacred waters. In this country, the sacred places of the aborigines were uniformly on the bank of some river, and who knows, but that the Muskingum, the Scioto, the Miami, the Ohio, the Cumberland, and the Mississippi, were once deemed as sacred, and their

No. 2.

banks as thickly settled, and as well cult vated, as are now the Indus, the Ganges and the Burrampooter."

Both of these fine relics of ancient a are now in the Lambdin Museum at Pitt burg, Pa.

A particular description of these var with some remarks on American antiqu ties, by Jacob Green, M. D., may be see in the Cabinet of Natural History, Vol. p. 197.

Necessity for Atmospheric Pressure From experiments made by a barometer it has been satisfactorily ascertained th the atmosphere presses with a weight about fifteen pounds on every square inc of the earth's surface, and consequently pressure upon the body of a middle-size man is about 14 tons. But immense s this weight which we carry about upon o shoulders, it is absolutely necessary to b man existence. Were it removed, elastic fluid contained in the finer vesse of men and animals would burst themselv and extinguish life. It is a well attest fact, that persons ascending high mou tains, or rising to great elevations in b loons, suffer much from the swelling their limbs, and violent pains in their head stomachs, &c. Acosta, in his relation a journey among the mountains of Per states, that "he and his companions wer surprised with such extreme pains straining and vomiting, not without cas ing up of blood too, and with so violent distemper, that they would undoubted have died had they remained two or thre hours longer in that elevated situation and Count Cambeccari, and his compa nions, who, in 1783, ascended to a gre height in a balloon; "found their hand and feet so swelled that it was necessan for a surgeon to make incisions in thi skin." These effects are easily accounted for. The atmosphere, near the earth, i much heavier than at a considerable eleva

tion. The blood is constantly struggling to expand, and in the cases abovemention ed, the persons ascended to so great a height that the atmospheric pressure was insufficient to counterbalance the pressure of the fluids of the body. When we think of the immense weight which every man supports, and take into view the means provided by an All-wise Creator to prevent fatal consequences,-when we reflect upon the properties of the atmosphere we breathe, and with which we are surrounded, and realize that for the Almighty to extract only one of its constituent parts, would be death to the human species, how forcibly comes home to us the declarations of holy writ, "in Him we live, and move, and have our being." "In His hand is the soul of every thing living, and the breath of all mankind."

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Immensity of Creation.-Some astrononomers have computed that there are no less than 75,000,000 of suns in this universe. The fixed stars are all suns, hav. ing, like our sun, numerous planets revolving round them. The Solar System, or that to which we belong, bas about 30 planets, primary and secondary, belonging to it. The circular field of space which it occupies, is in diameter three thousand six hundred millions of miles, and that which it controls much greater.-That sun which is nearest neighbour to ours is called Sirius, distant from our sun about twentytwo billions of miles. Now, if all the fixed stars are as distant from each other as Sirius is from our sun; or if our solar system be the average magnitude of all the systems of the 75 millions of suns, what imagination can grasp the immensity of creation! Every sun of the 75 millions, controls a field of space about 10,000,000,000 miles in diameter. Who can survey a plantation containing 75 millions of circular fields, each 10 billions of miles in diameter!-Such, however, is one of the plantations of Him-" who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance;" he who "sitting upon the orbit of the earth, stretches out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in."

Human Nutrition.—At the Academy of Sciences in Paris, a letter was lately read from M. Roulin, a young physician of eminent ability, in which he vindicated the nutritive properties of gelatine, and point ed out the absolute necessity of salt entering into the regimen of animals upon whom the effect of different elementary sub

stances was to be tried.

As a proof of the manner in which animal strength may be supported, he related

the remarkable fact, that in travelling through some forests in Columbia, in 1825, he and his guides, being entirely without provisions, were compelled to eat five pair of sandals, (made of untanned leather, softened by the damp) and a deer skin apron, which they roasted and masticated. In the latter operation, two hours were occupied in getting through the part of the sole of a sandal. This singular aliment supported their strength, and though the journey which was to have lasted only two days, occupied fourteen, they arrived at its termination in good health. They occasionally eat the core of the palm trees, but found that it sustained their strength much less than a piece of the roasted leather.

A Storm of Mud.-The following account of a natural phenomenon is from the Cosmopolitan, a paper published in Buenos Ayres, dated on the 15th ult.

"On Saturday last, between one and two o'clock, a dense black cloud was observed approaching from the westward. The haste and apparent terror of street passengers at the time, indicated to us the nature of the coming storm, and we turned to behold an object most terrifically sublime. The cloud at first resembled black smoke rolling onwards with indescribable rapidity, driving before it flocks of affrighted birds, screaming in terror at seeming approaching destruction.-In a moment it was over our heads-the sun was hid from us-we were in darkness-utter darkness. We stood before an open window, but, for the space of nearly a minute, could not perceive that it was one. Then was heard a loud peal of thunder, which was immediately succeeded by a shower of "mud," thick mud,-" and there was light"-the dark veil which enveloped us had been rent, a part falling to the earth, mingled with water. On the reappearance of light, surrounding objects presented themselves in a different colour. The fronts of the houses, which, but a moment before, appeared to our view white as snow, now wore a dingy robe.

an

"But it would be idle to attempt to give

accurate description of this dust cloud.' We can only say that its appearance was awful indeed, and would, perhaps, in any other country, cause dire

alarm.

"We conversed yesterday with a gentleman just from San Pedro, who states that in the neighbourhood of that place there has lately been a plentiful supply of rain, and that the lakes are well filled; the cattle, however, had all strayed from the estancias, during the drought, in pursuit of water; but the owners entertained a hope that part of them would return."

Keligious Intelligence.

Not long since, the Protestants of France determined to take their part in the glorious work of evangelizing the heathen world. And on the return of Dr. Philip to South Africa,-whence he had gone to Britain to plead the cause of the oppressed Hottentots, and where he did plead it with success-the French missionaries accompanied him, as their patron and director. The following letter is a report

from one of these missionaries to the society in Paris, that had sent him out. A French Protestant missionary report, to a French Protestant missionary society, is an interesting novelty, even in this age of missions. This has been with us one inducement. to lay it before our readers. But beside this, it gives the most recent account that we have seen, of the progress of the whole mission in South Africa-one of the most important in the world-and an interesting exhibition of the manners of the people, and the nature of the country where the missionaries are employed. We shall give the whole report, although it will occupy a good deal of our space; but we do not know how to fill it bet

ter. The French letter, or report, was translated for the supplement to the last volume of the Evangelical Magazine, from which we

take it.

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country a door for the preaching of the gospel, we should request your consent to establish there a missionary station. Since he wrote, we have visited part of Caffraria, and have now returned to Bethelsdorp. I purpose to explain to you, in the close of my journal, the motives which have induced that return; but previous to giving the details of our journey, I shall venture to make some few general remarks on the country we have just visited.

The Caffre, or Amakosa tribe, now inhabits that portion of land which lies be

Not long since they extended to the Fish River; but now all the country on that side the Keiskama is occupied by the colonists. The natural beauties of Caffraria are very great: its soil is peculiarly fertile, and it is Its population, according to a minute calwatered by an abundance of small streams. culation made by the missionaries, consists of 100,000 souls, and is, consequently, much larger than that of the colony. It would be difficult to convey to you an idea of the feelings with which we, for the first time, saw ourselves surrounded by a crowd of savages. The children are absolutely naked; the men wear a large carass, which, suspended from the shoulders, reaches to the knees, and of which they avail themselves as a carpet when they wish to recline. The dress of the women is rather more complicated; it consists of an apron, formed of skin, and fastened a little below much lower than that of the men, and to the waist, and a cloak, which descends which, as an ornament, they fasten between the shoulders another skin, about a foot long, covered with several rows of give to their appearance an air of dignity. buttons, which train on the ground, and An antelope's skin generally composes their head-dress, part of which is curiously covered with grains of verroterie, and arranged in the form of a turban. Instead of this they sometimes wear a handkerchief, in the form of a crown; but they prefer the turban. Both sexes adorn themselves with necklaces of verroterie, and ear-rings, made of a still coarser grain. This serves also for money. The men never go out un. armed; they carry their assegais, which appear similar to those used by the an cients, and which they dart to a great distance. Each warrior has seven of these weapons, besides which he is armed with a stick, very large at one end, which is called kerri. It was in this costume that they approached us; but, far from appearing formidable, they had an air of confidence, benevolence, and simplicity, that is not always found even among civilized

tween the rivers Batha and Keiskama.

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nations. The whole country being open to them, they often change their residence: their flocks frequently induce these emigrations; for when water or pasturage fails in one place, they must seek it elsewhere. It is owing to this that we saw so many huts empty, where we expected to have found inhabitants. In general their kraals are composed of from twelve to fifteen huts, built in the form of hives; the largest are fifteen feet in diameter and eight or ten in height. The whole building is supported by stakes of wood; the fire burns in the centre, and the smoke escapes by the door. When we visited them, they received us very cordially. Our dress attracted their attention but little; what struck them most was the colour of our skin: they drew their hands over their own faces, and then pointing at ours, they talked to each other with an amazing volubility, and laughed aloud. The women brought their children to us to receive presents; we gave them buttons, when they immediately took a little basket, which they use as a basin, and after having filled it with milk, offered it to us.

The Caffres keep their milk in a leathern bag, which they stretch on the ground, and keep continually supplied, so that it immediately contracts a sour taste. The first time, we tasted it, we thought it extremely disagreeable, but very soon became accustomed to it. Milk, meat, maize, and a sort of grain that the women cultivate, form almost the whole of their nourishment; they are very robust, and as the country is very fertile, and they have much cattle, they pass the greater proportion of their time in idleness.

Although to those wearied of the corruption and excess which predominate in polished society, this savage life may assume a pleasing aspect, yet we must not suffer it to deceive us: with this simplicity of nature great vices are mingled. After all, the Caffres are sensual, and must be 80, since all their hopes are limited to this life. When we hear of a country where the knowledge of the true God has not shone, and where the principles of Christianity are unknown, we may at once confidently conclude that nothing, either spiritual or divine, will be found among the people who inhabit it, and that, in spite of natural law, immorality will be found predominant. We must not, therefore, be astonished that polygamy has been established among the Caffres. Geika, who died last year, had six wives; all the chiefs whom we have seen have three or four, and the others take as many as they please. It is by no means an unusual thing to see families abandoning those of their relatives who appear near death, in a wood, thus exposing them to become the inevitaprey of wild beasts. They have such a Ch. Adv.-Vol. X.

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horror of death, that, when any one has died, all the inhabitants of the kraal quit their habitations, reduce to ashes the hut of the deceased, and all belonging to him, and remove to another situation. They give the rights of sepulture to the chiefs alone, and even then take such precautions, that scarcely any one knows the place of burial. The belief in enchantments exercises a fatal influence throughout the country. Every one knows that they attribute a great part of their sicknesses to the malice of sorcerers; but it is often only a pretence to rid themselves of an individual whom they hate, or whose flocks they desire. When a chief envies the riches of a neighbour, he sends for the fundis or doctor. They then assemble all the inhabitants of the neighbouring kraals, and, at the end of some dances and certain ceremonies, the fundis points out the guilty person, and the unhappy man is condemned to suffer death by burning, while his accusers divide his riches among themselves. Notwithstanding, the missionaries told us that these abuses already have become more rare, and that when the Caffres have resolved on an auto-da-fé of this sort, they are very careful to conceal their design from the missionaries, who thus often do not hear of the evil till it is too late to apply a remedy. But, thanks to the mercy of God, soon these horrors will no longer exist; already the light of the gospel has shown brightly through the country: the missionary stations are as cities set on mountains, whence light issues in all directions: many chiefs have embraced the gospel, and conduct themselves as true Christians; a great number of others regularly attend on divine worship, and strongly approve the instructions of the missionaries, although they confess that they themselves have not yet the happiness of being Christians. The work of the Lord has not, then, been in vain, since in Caffraria we find many churches, composed of a considerable number of the faithful, who have the same faith, the same hopes, and the same love to Jesus Christ as European Christians. Persuaded that you follow us with your remembrances, and receive the smallest details that we communicate as a father receives news of his children who are in a foreign land, I shall proceed to give you an extract of my journal.

The 13th of March we left Graham's Town, with Dr. Philip and Mr. Read, who had accompanied us from Bethelsdorp with the intention of visiting the missionary stations. Mr. Munro, missionary at Graham's Town, and Mr. Yeoland, a very pious military man, with whom we had lodged, conducted us to Herman's kraal. The roads being very bad, this day's travelling was very difficult, and what rendered it still more so, the country was very moun2 F

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