pious stories, &c., he first took up one containing an account of the Miracles of Christ, then the Parables of Christ, and then the Discourses of Christ. Many others did the same; and on one boy hesitating whether he should do as his companions, and

choose a part of the Testament, another called out to him "That's good! take that, it's out of the Bible." These books many carry in their hands wherever they go; and while others are playing, they read.

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Instance of Catechetical Instruction on the Bible.

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I called suddenly upon the Second Class, while reading the account of Lazarus being raised to life. The part they were reading was, Jesus, therefore, cometh to the grave, &c. I said, What is the grave?" Dirt, Sir, where 'em put dead body.” "What do you say they put in the grave?" “Coffin, sir.”—"Yes, but what else?" Corpse, dead body."—"There is something else than a body to us, while we live; what is that?" "Soul - spirit."—"Is that buried, too?" No." Where does that go?" "To heaven, Sir.". "What, every soul?" "No."-" What souls ?" "The good."."-"Where do the wicked go?" "To hell." "What are the good?" "Those that love God: another, "Those that pray to God: " the Teacher, "Those that believe on Jesus Christ.". "What becomes of the dead body?" "It go to rotten, Sir."—I then spoke of the original curse, Dust thou art, &c. "Will the body always lie in the grave?" "Yes, Sir," from two: "No, Sir," from many.-" Who will take it away, or raise it again?" "Jesus.". "When?" "In three days," said one, inferring this from Christ's resurrection."Did you ever know a body raised in two or three days? or did you ever know one raised at all?" No, Sir."- "Then at what time will the dead be raised?" "At the Last Day:" another, "At the Judgment Day."- "Who will raise the dead?" Jesus Christ."-"How do you know?" Children puzzled. The Teacher answered immediately: "Jesus said, I am the Resurrection and the Life." All this occupied no more than six or eight minutes, at most. I leave the Christian friends who read this to make their observations on it; beseeching them to remember the poor children of the once-enslaved Africans, and their Teachers, in their private and social addresses to the God of all Grace. May we not hope, that the time

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to favour many young and old of this longdegraded people is near at hand?

Catechetical Instruction of this kind cannot but be regarded as one of the most effectual methods of making the young well acquainted with the lively oracles of God. following relates the

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Hopeful Death of a Young Negro.

The

I have to record that B. died on the 29th of April; and on the following day I was called to commit his remains to the earth. I saw him a short time before his death, when he seemed rather despondent. He said, with his eye cast down with sorrow, I can't remember, Sir, what I read, or what is read to me.' I encouraged him to look to the Lord for help. I am credibly informed that he died in peace of mind. I learnt, also, that he was continually solicitous to be prayed for-to hear a hymn, or chapter of the Bible read. He said, some time before he died, “Thank God, that He spared me so long by this sickness, and did not cut me down in my sins!" He saw, just before his death, an acquaintance standing near him, weeping; of whom he said, "Tell her not to be foolish in crying about me. I am going home: I am happy: don't weep about me! I shall soon be at rest."

Since I first began to visit this young man, I have observed a gradual change in his attention to my remarks. This I ascribe to God. I have seen him weep and tremble as a leaf, when thinking upon his sins. I have witnessed him inclined to hope, and even ready to rejoice in Christ, when His death and sufferings have been described. This I would ascribe to God also; for Satan's work is of a very different nature from this. These seemed like the workings of grace; although the individual on whom those divine operations were proceeding was of such a character, and so subject to the shadings of the dark workings of depravity, that, at times, my mind was deeply and sadly perplexed, as to what was the decided state of his heart. But I am disposed far more to believe the soul of this once careless young man is now in heaven. And I the more readily come to this conclusion, when I remember, that several times, in my hearing, he earnestly cried to Him for Salvation, who will not break the bruised reed nor quench the smoking flax.

Mr. Seddon's health having suffered from the influence of the marshes, he was subsequently removed to Elstree, a station situated in the cool mountains of Manchester; and an effective Native Teacher was placed at Port Morant.

BIRNAM WOOD At this station, situated in the Parish of St. George, Mr. Sessing labours. His account of the eligibility of the site, and the progress of his work, is very full. He

writes, at the close of June 1836:

Birnam Wood, as a Missionary Station, could not be better situated. It is in the centre of the St. George's Mountains, at a distance of at least twelve miles from the nearest Place of Worship, surrounded by many coffee plantations, the greatest part of which are near enough to enable the Negroes to be in time for Service and School; and among a population of about 8000 souls, being destitute of all the Means of Grace and the pleasant voice of Instruction. Birnam Wood ought, indeed, to prove a city set on a hill, and a light put on a candlestick, to give light to all them that sit in darkness around us. There are three roads leading to it, which facilitate the approach to the Chapel and Schoolhouse; and the high road through these mountains, which connects the north and south coasts of this Island, runs along the foot of the hill on which Birnam Wood is situated. The property contains sixty acres of land; which, however, the garden and what surrounds the premises excepted, is, for the most part, worn-out soil; and in many places so steep, as to render its cultivation quite impossible. Though the St. George's Mountains, in which Birnam Wood is situated, are considered as belonging to the most rainy parts of the Island, yet the climate is delightful, and healthy. The air is salubrious; and clear streams of excellent cold water flow from the mountains, in almost every direction. Besides the dwelling-house, there is a pulping-house, and a large coffee-store; the first of which is intended for a School-house, and the latter for a Chapel; but all of them are in rather a dilapidated state, and ought to be repaired immediately, in order to prevent their going to further decay. The coffee-store has an upper story, which is floored; and,

Divine Service has been kept regularly every Sunday since my coming here, as far as I am permitted to officiate in the capacity of a Catechist. We arrived here on a Friday afternoon, and had only a few opportunities to acquaint the people in the neighbourhood that there would be Service on the next Lord's Day. However, we had the pleasure of meeting about 30 or 40 people, with whom we commenced.

On this first interview with my people, I read a short Homily of the Church of England, and concluded with a few words, by way of application. At the same time I informed them, that henceforth there would be Service here every Sunday; that I would never disappoint them, unless sickness or other urgent and unavoidable circumstances prevented me from meeting them; and that I expected as many as were within reach of the place would make the best use of the Means of Grace thus offered them freely. I also told them, that I had been a Missionary for many years in the Guinea country-so they call their home, in Africa; had seen their brethren, and made known unto them the Way of Salvation;—that the Church Missionary Society had now sent me to them to instruct them, the old and the young, in the Word of God, which alone could make them wise unto salvation ;-that the good people in England and Jamaica were not satisfied with merely making their bodies free from slavery in this world, but that they were much more anxious to make their evil hearts free from the world and the devil, and to save their souls from hell, and destruction after death. I also informed them, that, next Lord's Day, we intended opening a Sunday School, for every one who wished to learn to read the Bible; and encouraged their attention, by saying how delightful it would be, when once they should all be able to bring their Hymn-books, Prayerbooks, and Holy Bibles into Church, to

Join us in singing Hymns, in responding to the Psalms, and in reading the Holy Scriptures, for the good of our immortal souls ; whereas now they were obliged, from ignorance, to stand back, and be excluded, as it were, from such great and delightful privileges. These encouragements and remonstrances were, I am glad to say, not in vain. Our congregation has increased every Lord's Day; and now about 300 persons attend regularly. Our benches are full; and I am obliged to apply for materials to have more made; as the poor Negroes, coming from distant parts, being tired when they arrive, naturally expect a seat; or, if disappointed, may soon be persuaded by the Adversary to stay away. I commenced expounding a portion of the Holy Scriptures, adapting myself to the capacity of the Negro mind; and was soon rejoiced to see that they were all attention. I began with the Fall of Man; showed them man as a fallen, sinful creature; explained the meaning of the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent; gave them a short sketch of the work of God, in the History of the Old Testament, with regard to the redemption of mankind; and, leading to Christ, pointed Him out as the only Saviour, and the only name by which fallen man could be saved. Thus I purpose going, first, through the Gospel, explaining to them one portion of this precious book after the other; always making Jesus Christ the Foundation and Corner-stone upon which we must build' and the beginning and end of our faith, till it pleases God to open the eyes of their dark understandings; hoping and praying, that, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, both the wilfully ignorant European, and the neglected ignorant Negro, may at the same time be benefitted.

With regard to the Schools, the Lord has done far more than we could have expected, when we first came here. On opening our Sunday School, we had, indeed, only seven Scholars; but, like our congregation, it increased every succeeding Lord's Day; and now we rejoice to say, we have 130 regular attendants, of whom, however, the greatest part are yet learning the Alphabet. We labour under great difficulties, in not having a sufficient number of adequate Teachers.

The following passage from Mr. Sessing's report will convey, especially when the heat of a tropical

climate is considered, some idea of the

Laboriousness of a Missionary's Sabbath. The Sunday is a laborious day for us. No bodily engagement during the week exhausts me so much, as the duties on a Sunday; for the whole rests entirely upon

me.

Our Service, which begins at eleven o'clock in the morning, generally lasts two hours. I read all the Prayers; and sometimes am obliged to respond also, when Mrs. Sessing is called from her place, to correct some of the children, whom she has continually under her eyes. We sing three times; and for the better understanding and retaining of the Hymns, I repeat them first, before I give them out. Next, I must pitch the tune myself; and thus, without being relieved for one moment, I must go on, from the beginning to the end. We allow ourselves only halfan-hour's rest after Service; which time, however, is mostly spent in talking to the people who come to see us, and to take our advice on different subjects. We then go to School, which lasts till four o'clock in the afternoon; when we conclude, by singing and prayer. Though these duties often prove greatly fatiguing, yet it is a delightful work, a holy engagement; and the Lord gives us strength equal to our day; for which His Name be praised

The value and necessity of daily instruction will appear from the following extract :

Having given notice to the people of our intention to open a Day School, we commenced on the 13th of June; when we at once had twenty children, from four to sixteen years of age, the greater part being Negroes. This number has since been increased by four more; so that we have now, in all, twenty-four day scholars on the list. This we consider a fair beginning in a place like this; though we have not much hope that their number will much increase, as these come from the nearest Properties, and the others are at too great distances to make it practicable for such little children to come and return every day. Three of these scholars read in the Testament; but are, to my great surprise, as ignorant of the contents of that precious book as the very Heathen.

At the close of the year, in Dec. 1836, Mr. Sessing reports a falling

off in the attendance of the Negroes, stating the following reasons: —

A former Report spoke of a decrease in the attendance, both on Divine Service and School, occasioned by the setting-in of the rainy or winter season. These difficulties

and hindrances to the attendance of the people have not been removed during this quarter, but rather increased by another visitation from God-the measles-which disease raged to a high degree in these parts. It attacked both old and young, and carried off many from time into eternity. Some of them had been our Sunday scholars; and I trust the spiritual instruction there received may have proved a comfort and a blessing in the hour of death, though no peculiar instance of the kind has come to my knowledge.

During the quarter, I was but once prevented by indisposition from holding Divine Service, but was twice prevented by heavy rain. The attendance has, from the same reason, been very irregular, varying from 60 to 200 persons.

Under the same date, Mr. Sessing states some of the difficulties lying in the way of regularly visiting the people in the winter season; but relates also some facts, which strongly indicate the

Fagerness of the Negroes for Christian Instruction.

In the way of visiting the Properties, with a view to catechize the people, I could do very little, for the following rea

sons.

The Negroes on the coffee-plantations have no breakfast-hours, like those on sugar-estates; which is almost the only time afforded to the Catechist of seeing them. Here the Negroes work from daylight till four o'clock in the afternoon, taking a hasty breakfast in the field. After they come home from their work, they are tired and hungry, and do not feel much inclined for instruction. My meeting and catechizing the people after shell-blow on their Properties may be practicable in the summer season, when the days are long; but now, and especially during the past quarter, the shorter the days become, the longer the Negroes are kept at work; so as to make my seeing them quite impossible. The next reason is, the bad roads leading to the plantations in these mountains during the rainy season. Some are almost impassable at day-time, and would prove exceedingly dangerous at

night; and as such precious time does not allow me to leave the people before dark, I can avail myself only of the moonlight evenings to visit distant Properties.

But though I am thus prevented from seeing them, the few individuals of whom I have made mention in my former Reports continue to visit us in the evenings, with a desire to obtain a lesson in reading. One of them has, of late, given us a pleasing proof of his great zeal and interest. He, like many of the rest, was attacked by the measles, and expressed a desire to see me. I was made acquainted with his wish, and promised to pay him a visit at his house. But no sooner was he informed of my intention, than he wrapped himself in his blue coat, and, with the measles in his face, and burning fever, hastened down to see us, to prevent my going to the Property, for fear of incurring the displeasure of his overseer. This was, indeed, a great mark of his love to us, and ardent desire for instruction. He obtained a lesson; and, after he got well, came every evening he could spare for the same purpose. On a very dark evening, he, with another Negro from the same Property, came for a lesson. After they had read several exercises, Mrs. Sessing reminded them of the dark night. 66 O never mind that, Ma'am," replied S., "we will have one more. 99 "Yes," she continued, you are a single man; but T. has a wife at home: she will be waiting for him." True," answered he, "but my wife cannot save me, Ma'am." These are very cheering expressions from such as, only a few months ago, lived in the grossest darkness, not knowing the Saviour, whose love and grace they have just now began to taste. May the Lord, in mercy, carry on in them and many others the work thus commenced in their hearts, to the glory of His Name!

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PARADISE-At this Station, which is also in St. George's Parish, Mr. J. Pollitt has, for a season, laboured; though it has been deemed expedient, subsequently, to transfer his services to a more extensive sphere. We give his statement of the course of his labours, and Mrs. Pollitt's, up to June 1836 :

It affords me much pleasure to inform you, that, during the last quarter, God has blessed us with a tolerable degree of health,

and, in some measure, met our expectations, relative to the success of our Schools, both as to numbers, and the improvement of those under instruction. From close observation, I am led to conclude

that the plan which we are pursuing, of boarding the children in our house, is highly calculated to promote their best interests, and to lead to their moral improvement, in a degree which could not be attained on the usual plan. We already see much to lead us to thank God, and take courage. The children, when they came to us, were, with scarcely one exception, filthy in their habits, extremely indolent, and almost dormant. In a great measure, we see the first of these evils removed; and the Infant-School system, which I pursue almost entirely at present, seems admirably calculated to rouse their faculties, and excite their minds; while it affords them, at the same time, a great degree of bodily exercise. During the last quarter, the number of Scholars has increased from eleven to fifty-three, of whom 34 board in the house. The girls attend to reading and spelling in the morning; and in the afternoon they learn needlework, under the care of Mrs. Pollitt, by whom I am informed that they are making visible progress. I am also very well pleased with the progress of my boys. I have yet only two who can read in the Testament: five are in the Second Class Book; and the others are in the Alphabet, and commencing the First-Class Book. The knowledge of Scripture which they have already acquired from the Scripture prints is surprising their improvement is equally great in learning hymns, texts of Scripture, figures, &c.; and on the whole, the children are lively and full of spirit, whereas they were stupid and mopish. Of our Sunday School- at Hope Bay I can also speak favourably: twelve are able to read the Testament tolerably well: there are also thirteen who, during the last quarter, have been raised from reading words of three or four letters to the Testament Class. We have now 160 who attend regularly, except on wet Sundays, when they cannot cross the rivers. The school is in good order, and we are blessed with a sufficient number of willing Teach

ers.

KNOCKALVA-This Station, situated in the Parish of Hanover, was one of the earliest occupied by the RECORD, July 1837.]

Society. The Rev. W. K. Betts, who has had it in charge from the commencement, has been very recently removed to Kingston, to occupy temporarily the office of AssistantSecretary to the Corresponding Committee; for the performance of which his long experience in the Society's Mission at Sierra Leone gives him many advantages. The Rev. C. W. Winckler succeeds him at this Station. Mr. Betts has further had in charge the establishment of the Normal School, which the Rev. C. L. F. Haensel, on his retiring from the Mission, had given up. A new site for the Normal School, situated at a Property called the Grove, in the Parish of St. Andrew, at a convenient distance from Kingston, and possessing many advantages, has been chosen by the Corresponding Committee. Mr. E. Corner, a Catechist from this Country, is prepared to enter immediately on the duties of the Normal School, under the superintendence of Mr. Betts.

The following is the account given by Mr. Betts at the close of the quarter preceding June 30, 1836.

During the quarter now ended, the Sunday Services at Knockalva Chapel have been performed regularly by myself. The state of the congregation is the same as was detailed in my last Report; only the attendance has been rather thinner. One cause of this has been the great prevalence of sickness in this neighbourhood.

One of the three persons mentioned in my last, as Candidates for the Lord's Supper, has been admitted to that privilege, making the number of our regular Communicants fifteen; all of whom, so far as I can learn, are walking worthy of their profession. One other person has come for instruction, preparatory to admission to the Lord's Table; leaving the number of candidates for that Ordinance, three, as before.

The present number on the list of the Sunday School at Knockalva is 213. The last Report gave 28 as the number reading the Holy Scriptures: the number of these, now, is 33.