of missionaries previously in the field. Whether heralds of mercy shall be sent to the tribes of Africa or Australasia, is intimately connected with the conduct of Missionaries in the wilds of Tartary and the plains of Hindostan. The labours of Elliot and Brainerd, of Zeigembalg and Swartz, of Carey, and Marshman, and Martyn, have given a mighty impulse to the Christian world, -have fired the hearts of others to carry the standard of the cross to heathen lands,-have animated the several missionary societies to embark in new undertakings, and to conduct them on a scale which they once would have deemed presumption and folly. But unfaithful Missionaries, by their inactivity, worldlymindedness, unhallowed tempers, and unholy practice, grieve the hearts of the friends of missions, chill their zeal, and paralyze their efforts for the conversion of the Heathen. Oh! how incalculable is the mischief done by a faithless Missionary! He is chargeable with the ruin of souls, not only in the country which is the scene of his labours, but in countries perhaps thousands of miles distant. Had it not been for his negligence, ambassadors of salvation might have been sent by the Christian world to many other lands, to proclaim the glad tidings of "peace on earth, and good will toward men."

Such considerations as these may well impress your mind with the transcendent importance of the work of a Christian Missionary; there is, however, involved in it, not only the salvation of men, but the glory of God. Among the Heathen his honour lies prostrate in the dust. They practise the cruellest rites, the grossest superstitions, the most abominable idolatries. "They have changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things; and worshipped and served the ereature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.' " What an important trust then is committed to the Christian Missionary! It is his office to vindicate the honour of God; to maintain his injured rights; to display his glory in the eyes of the Heathen. What trust can you conceive equal to this! To have the fate of empires suspended on your single arm is nothing at all in comparison of having in charge the glory of Him who is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords.

Secondly, Consider the TRIALS and DIFFICULTIES of the work. Of late years the character of a Christian Missionary has been invested with a splendour, which is calculated to dazzle the eyes of the young and inexperienced; while, on the other hand, the sufferings, the hardships, the disappointments, the temptations, and the dangers to which he is exposed, are comparatively thrown into the shade. The Directors of the Scottish Missionary Society, though not entirely ignorant of the nature of the warfare, feel themselves unequal to the task of describing its

trials and difficulties: these, none can delineate but one who has been in the field of battle, and who has himself been engaged in the conflict. We shall say nothing of your taking farewell of your native land, never perhaps to behold it more of your parting with your nearest and dearest relatives, to whom you feel your hearts knit by the tenderest ties. We shall pass in silence your voyage across the stormy ocean, and your journey through a wild inhospitable country. We shal. suppose you arrived at the scene of your future labours. There you find yourself surrounded by men of a strange language, and, notwithstanding all your assiduity, you find it no easy task to acquire such a knowledge of it as to be able to read, and write, and speak it with correctness and fluency. When you go out and make known to them the message of salvation, you are struck with their ignorance. With whatever truths you begin, you find you take for granted others as known by them, of which they have not the slightest conception. You are surprised at their stupidity. Though you labour to make the truths of religion level to their comprehension, and to express them in the simplest language, yet your attempts are vain: they seem not to have the understanding of children. You are astonished at their insensibility. You address them concerning their sinfulness; you speak to them of death, and judgment, and eternity, of the joys of heaven, and the torments of hell; you point them to the Saviour; you tell them of the wonders of his love; you beseech them, by his incarnation in the manger, by his agony in the garden, by his passion on the cross, to be reconciled unto him: but you are scarcely able to win their attention, or, if they listen to you, they treat the whole as if it were but an idle tale. You are amazed at their obduracy. In reasoning with them, you employ incontrovertible arguments; you expose, in the clearest manner, the falsehood and absurdity of their system; you show the futility of their objections; you involve them in contradictions; but though silenced they are not convinced; the very next time you meet with them, they return to the combat with the same arguments and the same objections in their mouth. You are shocked at their credulity. While they treat with neglect and contempt the sacred truths of Christianity, though supported by the clearest and most satisfactory evidence, they receive, not only with confidence, but with reverence, the most frivolous stories, and the most irrational opinions, which an artful priesthood has chosen to impose upon them. When you first thought of becoming a missionary to the heathen, you perhaps represented them to your imagination, as listening with transport and with joy when you told them of the wonders of redeeming love: but when you reach the scene of your labours, you meet with so discouraging a reception from them, that you are ready to conVOL. VIII, January, 1825.

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clude nothing can be effected with the present generation; you sink into a state of apathy and inactivity; or if you go through the external routine of duty, it is without that zeal and energy which hope inspires, and even without that faith in the divine promise, and that prayer for the divine blessing, which are essential to success.

Your difficulties, however, will not arise merely from the heathen; even your fellow missionaries may prove a fruitful source of trial to you. You perhaps imagine that all who embark in this sacred work possess those various endowments which are requisite to it; that nothing prevails among them but peace, and harmony, and love; that jealousy, and envy, and bitterness, and evil-speaking are unknown; that the only strife among them is who shall be most holy, and most humble, and most heavenlyminded, and most devoted to the service of Christ, and most active in winning souls to him: but as among the disciples of our Lord there was a traitor, so among missionaries there have not been wanting men who were altogether unworthy the high office with which they were invested. Some have "made ship. wreck of faith, and of a good conscience:" while others, by their proud, overbearing, disputatious, irritable, obstinate tempers, have been as briers and thorns in the sides of their brethren; have ruined their peace, and damped their zeal, and paralyzed their exertions in the cause of the Redeemer.

You have often heard that missionaries must lay their account with many personal hardships: but it is one thing to anticipate these at a distance, and another actually to struggle with them. In respect to external accommodation, some, no doubt, are placed in comfortable circumstances; yet, even with these, if they are faithful, it is a life, not of ease and pleasure, but of labour and toil. Others, indeed, have been destitute of every thing which the world calls comfort. They have had to take up their residence in some miserable hut, which scarcely sheltered them from the wind and rain; they have lived in a wilderness, banished from their friends and countrymen, and all civilized society; they have seen from day to day the faces only of barbarians and savages, and have often been exposed, through their caprice and cruelty, not only to danger, but to death. In journeying among the heathen, they have had to take many a weary step through uninhabited wilds, over stupendous mountains, amidst trackless woods, or along fields of ice or snow: when assailed by a storm, they have had no shelter but some solitary rock: when overtaken by the night, they have had no bed but the bare ground: cold, and hungry, and thirsty, they have laid down to sleep, until the sun arose, and warned them to proceed on their journey. In the midst of sickness, the situation of a missionary is often peculiarly trying; without medical advice, without suitable

remedies, without even a friend to sympathize with him, or to perform for him the most ordinary offices, he has to pass many a weary hour in solitude, trying to think of Him who has a fellow feeling with his people in all their trials, and endeavouring to pour out his heart to him in prayer. Many, indeed, have scarcely reached the scene of their labours, when a period has been put to their life; all their desires for the conversion of the heathen, all their plans of usefulness, all the anticipations of their friends, have in one day been buried in the tomb. Though the examples have not been frequent, yet some have even been massacred by the savages: the very men whose salvation they sought have taken their lives. We mention these things that you may fully count the cost before you engage in this arduous undertaking you may not meet with the precise trials which we have enumerated; but you may lay your account with others, perhaps not less distressing; and even though there was little probability of this, it may still be useful to inquire whether you are prepared to make these sacrifices, to endure these privations, and to suffer these trials, for the sake of Christ. "If any man come to me," says our Saviour, "and hate not his father and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. And whosoever forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple."

[To be continued.]

REMARKABLE PRESERVATION.

A WONDERFUL instance of the preservation of human life, when in imminent danger, occurred at Geneva, N. Y., on the 22d ult. Mr. James Gerry, an Irishman, had descended a well for the purpose of removing some obstructions. The well was sixtyone feet deep, and some of the stones in the wall near the bottom had been loosened by the washing of quicksands. Having descended between forty and fifty feet, as he was standing with one foot in the bucket, and the other resting upon the side of the wall, on a sudden the stones gave way and closed together, and the whole mass of the walls above sunk down upon him and buried him beneath the ruins.

The shock, says the Geneva Gazette, produced by such a disaster, can be imagined, but not described. A groan issued from beneath the stones and earth, which proved that life was not extinct, and inspired a feeble hope of extricating the unfortunate man alive! Hundreds immediately collected around the spot in painful solicitude, all anxious to bear a part in rescuing a fellow mortal from so terrible a grave! The most prompt and

active exertions were made to excavate as soon as possible, the stones and earth that had fallen in. It was half past 4 o'clock, P. M., when the catastrophe happened. In fifteen minutes a windlass and bucket were procured and put in operation. No less than eighty ton of stone were to be drawn up before relief could be given. But few could labour at a time-and though they proceeded with the utmost activity, the removing of so great a quantity of stones, mingled with the earth that had fallen in, was a task slow and tedious. As they proceeded occasional groans could still be heard issuing from the cold damp earth beneath. When night approached they had penetrated but a few feet below the surface, and the prospect seemed gloomy and doubtful. A crowd of two or three hundred anxiously waited the issue of the event. Every thing was soon put in a systematic train-persons were appointed to make all necessary provision, and preserve order and silence amongst the crowd. The night was dark and unpleasant, but by the assistance of lamps, they vigorously prosecuted the work. Those in the well would at intervals call to the buried man, to ascertain if he could hear them, but no answer could as yet be heard. A general silence and solemnity prevailed, broken only by the occasional murmur of inquiry among the crowd, the hollow noise of the stones tumbled into the bucket, the voice of the workmen, and now and then the groans of the distressed man beneath. It was now towards midnight, and they had gone about twenty feet below the surface; the workmen in the well called again to Gerry-a breathless silence prevailed, and a distinct answer was returned! At this a murmur of joy ran through the crowd, and the countenances of all were lighted up with hope. They now toiled with renewed ardour, occasionally calling to Gerry as before, and receiving, in return, distinct responses. They asked him what distance he thought he was down? He rationally replied "between forty and fifty feet." There now remained not a doubt but he might be extricated alive, provided the stones were not arched over him in such a manner as to fall upon him when loosened; they now proceeded with the utmost caution. Between two and three o'clock, when they had come to within twenty feet of him, they stopped about fifteen minutes to take some refreshment. The poor sufferer below, who for some time had been conscious of the exertions of his sympathizing fellows, perceiving that the noise from the tumbling of the stones into the bucket no longer continued, now fancied they had ceased their exertions, and left him to expire in that terrible situation. In this moment of despair he burst out into a pitiful tone of wailing, and "begged them for God's sake not to leave him!" They informed him of the cause of their stopping, and he was soon gladdened by the returning sound of the rattling of the