chists, readers, &c. There are amongst them, we rejoice to say, very many truly God-fearing people, who love their Saviour, and endeavour daily to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they are called;' and efforts are not wanting, on the part of all engaged in this work, to deepen and strengthen the hold which Christianity has on the minds of those who profess it, and to extend its influence among the surrounding heathen. It is deeply interesting to read the accounts of the different districts sent home by the missionaries; and much there is to gladden the hearts of those at home who desire the salvation of poor sinners and the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom.

"In one of the reports-that of the Rev. P. P. Schaffter, of the Nullur district, for the half year ending June 30, 1853-we find the following instance of conversion, one of the most remarkable he had ever witnessed. He expresses a wish that many hardened sinners might read it and reflect, and that many burdened and heavy-laden souls might get peace and joy in Jesus the crucified Saviour. We are anxious to make it known, in the hope that such a prayer may have its answer, and that this fact, like a seed borne on the wings of the wind, may fall on some heart, and, sown there by the Spirit of God, may bring forth fruit unto eternal life.

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Vitheyalingum, of Alankullam, was deeply versed in astrology, magic, necromancy, and all those secret arts calculated to render him the oracle of an ignorant and superstitious multitude. He had studied the rarest books on those subjects,-which enabled him, in the estimation of others, and perhaps, also, in his own, to divine the fate of new-born children, the success or failure of an enterprise, the eligibility or ineligibility of a piece of ground to build a house or sink a well on. There was scarcely a mystery which he did not profess to fathom; so that he was incessantly consulted, his advice was implicitly followed, and he grew rich by the reward; and, as he was generally kind and fair in his dealings, he was looked upon by the Shanars, to which caste he belonged, not only as a clever, but also as a most respectable man. He was one of the corner-stones of heathenism in Alankullam and in the neighbourhood, and did probably much harm to Christianity, not by oppos ing it openly, but secretly, and by artfully casting contempt on it.

"In the beginning of March last, I was informed that Vitheyalingum was very ill, in great agonies of mind, and wished much to see me. I found the poor man in a con

can you

t strain for some was much shocked,

dition deplorable beyond description. He was much reduced by illness. Fear and anguish were depicted in his countenance, and he was bewailing his state in an agony of mind. Oh!' said he, as soon as he saw me, 'I am miserable beyond description; it will soon be all over with me. I am undone! Vain knowledge! wicked world! how yo have deceived me! I know now that Christianity.i and all the rest is a lie. Sir, you are a teacher not advise me? What have I to do? I am undone! I am undone!' He went on in this vehem time, fixing an eye of despair on m and was apprehensive he was sing out of his mind. He grew more composed; and men he gave me, in a weak and less agitated voice, a leg account of himself; by which it appeared that he as deeply conscious of his sinfulness; that all the payers on which he had stayed himself had failed him, one after the other; and that the problem, What shall I do to be saved? now proposed itself to his nind with an overwhelming power. As he went on exposing his great misery, I felt myself as poor and as needy as he did, with this only difference, that I knew there was a Saviour for him and for me. I read to him the parables of the lost son and the lost sheep-blessed parables!-and a few other portions of Scripture which record the tender love of God in Christ Jesus towards the greatest of sinners; making a few remarks, as I went on, to render the meaning clearer to him, and apply it to his own case. He became more and more calm. His countenance cleared up, and the gloom disappeared, and at last he said, 'It is even so. O Jesus, I have laid hold of Thee! Jesus, here Thou art! It is even true I have Thee!' His joy was indeed great, and his speech overflowed with prayer and thanksgivings. I never witnessed yet such a sudden, complete, and happy change. It was a complete transition from darkness to light. We all felt the presence of Christ, and, on his request, I baptized him forthwith. Then he addressed his wife and children, charged them to forsake heathenism and all the works of darkness, and committed them to my care. In this happy state I took leave of him, and saw him no more, for he soon after died; but the catechist told me that he continued in the same happy frame of mind to the last, relying on the merits of the Redeemer for salvation, and that he once more spoke seriously to his wife and children, and charged them to join the congregation, which they have done."

POETRY.

The last composition of James Montgomery.

AMONG the hymns for the Sheffield Sunday School Union, ng on Whit-Monday, June 5, 1854, is the following, recently mposed for the occasion by JAMES MONTGOMERY, and probat, his last poetical composition :—

For till time his roll has seal'd,
And the dead in Christ arise,

(Heaven, and earth, and hell reveal'd
Unto all created eyes,)

Soldiers, valiant for the truth,

Shal this holy war prolong;

Men and angels, age and youth,

Sing the Church triumphant's song.

Learn we now that wondrous strain,
In our schools, our homes, our hearts,
'Worthy is the Lamb once slain!”

In all languages, all parts:

Then the countless chorus swell,

Round His Throne, with glad accord,

Never more to say. Farewell!'

But, For ever with the Lord!'"+

"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose."-Isa. xxxv. 1,

No

OT many years ago the spot now occupied by the neat church and houses sketched above, was an uncultivated "wilderness and solitary place." The native inhabitants, for many hundreds of miles round and round, consisted only of hordes of Red Indians; and myriads of wild animals roamed up and down through the desolate wilderness. The country is that vast district of territory extending to the north-west of Canada, and to the south of Hudson's Bay, covered, we are told, "with dense forests, expanded lakes, broad rivers, and mighty mountains." It is now upwards of one hundred-and-eighty years

No. XI.

NOVEMBER 1854.

since this country was taken possession of by England. Some Europeans settled gradually in these dreary regions; but they had no churches-no ministers; they became very wicked people, and instead of being an example to the Indians, they only led them into deeper depths of iniquity than before. It is scarcely fifty years ago when numbers were invited out from Scotland, Canada, and elsewhere, to dwell there. They went, but still without a minister to care for them, or a church to worship in. The case was a very sad one. "The Indians,” said an eye-witness of their misery, are sunk to almost the lowest state of degradation to which human beings can be brought; their life is spent in struggles for its support; and they pass on from infancy to death without comfort, without hope in this life; while no bright gleam of future hope enlightens their dark and cheerless path, for no one has ever told them of a Redeemer's love."

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At length some Christian hearts were found to beat with earnest desire for their salvation, and some Christian men came forward to their help. The Church Missionary Society sent out their first missionary in 1820, who laboured on, as well as those who followed, with unwearied zeal, amidst the greatest privations, the most crushing trials, and difficulties to all appearance hopelessly insurmountable. But when they remembered, that "with God all things are possible," their desponding spirits were cheered up, and onwards they boldly went, through trial, difficulty, and danger, in the promised grace of Christ. Year after year did these patient labourers continue using every means for promoting the comfort and welfare of these neglected outcasts, and seizing every opportunity of sowing the seed, and watching for some joyful issue. Schools were opened, and habits of civilization were gradually introduced and formed, and every effort made to win the affections and the confidence of the natives. The precious truth of the Gospel began slowly to take effect. They sowed in tears, they reaped in joy. Just as the cloud pours out its watery treasure, when, illumined by the rays of the golden sun, immediately there appears the cheering rainbow with