conscious," he was asked, "of any strong desire as to the result of your sickness?" "I am not. If the proposition were made to me, whether to live and labor for the church a few years, or to be confined here in pain, or to be removed from earth, I should prefer that God determine for me. In a temporal respect my life seems needful to my family, but that is of but little comparative importance."-It was a luxury, and yet it was sad, to sit by his bedside during his mental aberration, and hear him rove from one of his calamities to another, uttering his majestic periods which few men in their sagest moments could throw around their sagest discoveries, suppressing every word of complaint, and showing the wreck of an intellect well disciplined, and of passions wonderfully chastised. About three weeks before his own death he heard of the death of a favorite son. He groaned in spirit, being troubled, when he heard of it; he repeatedly mentioned it in his delirium." One, two," he is counting the number of his children, "three, four, six,"-the fifth was no more, for God took it; he counted the second time, yet in all this the patient man sinned not even in a single word.

He was often discovered in prayer, especially when his pains were the keenest. On Saturday morning, Sept. 14, when he found his hand too tremulous to take the medicine which was offered him, he cried out with a most imploring voice, "help, Lord; help, Lord; help, Lord,-and I shall be helped, and the glory shall be given to the Father, and the Son, and the Spirit, forever and ever." And on the next morning he was helped; he began to give the glory to God, and we now hear his strengthened voice shouting aloud-" The Lord hath holpen me in all mine infirmities;" and he has left to us the cry,-" Help, Lord, for the godly man ceaseth, for the faithful fail from among the children of men.'

THE LIFE OF A FAITHFUL MINISTER.

He lives to show the futility of all terrestrial hopes. Man is of the earth, earthy. Though composed of two natures, bodily and spiritual, he becomes, in general, a slave of the bodily. The motto of the whole world is, "What shall we eat, what shall we drink, wherewithal be clothed?" and the great difference between man and brute seems to be, man has a conscience which troubles him in these earthly longings. His whole moral nature seems little else than a disqualification for his desired pleasures. The minister, more than any one, must discipline his animal tendencies. He is in a constant fight with flesh. "A bishop," Paul says, "must be temperate," temperate "in all things;" and says the same vigorous scholar, "I keep under my body." But who can tell how hard it is to do this? The mechanic may indulge himself at his morning table, and not be seriously encumbered in his daily work; but let the minister tamper at all with his appetite, and flesh-flesh presses its thick hand over his eyes all the day; a serpent of lead coils about him; his mind will not work for God. And even if he curbs himself, flesh is a stubborn obstacle to his aims. Do look at the discouragements of a minister in his intellectual life. The infant is weaker than the young of any animal; the child grows up forming sluggish habits; and when sin has secured a firm hold on the

man, then at great disadvantage he begins to resist.

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"Oh I have lost so

His

much of my life," says the new convert, "let me rush at once into the pulpit, begin now to preach for God." His ardent soul is driven back'ward by the voice, Lay hands suddenly on no man.” He has no instrument to work with but his mind, and that is out of repair. For nine long years must he bend over his preparatory books; the midnight lamp drinks up his strength. He tries to mortify his body, the body rebels. He contrives various and often imprudent plans to give the spiritual its just predominance, but flesh will have its own way. His face becomes sallow, his form emaciated, all the play of his system disturbed. It is now settled. He has little to expect, but to drag with him through life a lump of sickly clay. What a clog will it be to the rapidity of his soul! It will chain him down whenever he would rise! Many a tear does he shed, because the creepings in of animal nature prevent his preparation for the Sabbath, and make him wrestle against the world with a puny arm. disorders throw a sombre veil over his spirit, like the drapery of death. Every thing looks dreary. He sees the blackest hues, where others see the brightest. He grieves at his own grief, and his invincible dulness. Yet in the midst of that dulness, nothing has half his work to do. He has to carry the cares of his church; to drive off the impenitent from their beaten track; to keep himself not only from evil, but the slightest appearance of it. I behold the minister standing on the walls of Zion. He stands alone. His eye sinks to the ground. His sword dangles by his side. His hands are still. He would fain lie down and sleep. But, "son of man, I have made thee a watchman." A whole company are dependent upon him; if he falls, they are scattered. And how many arrows are aimed at him by the enemy!“ Mark that man," saith the leader of the legions of hell," mark that man, on the walls."—If he can be prostrated, if in some unguarded moment he can be drawn into a snare, it will be better than the fall of ninety and nine privates; will be hailed with a louder joy," so, so would we have it," and will inspire the aliens with more frantic courage. How can the watchman stand when so many, even principalities and powers, are eager for his halting. And ever and anon, as he receives a new wound in his side, he groans out, "it was not an enemy that did this, then I could have borne it; but it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance; we took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in company." Yet he must return no railing for railing, but continue to toil, all his life, for the archers that "hit him."

"He that desireth the office of a bishop, desireth a good work," says Paul. I shall not dispute the apostle. I do not know, but that it is a good work. He was a giant minister, and could bear any thing. Doubtless he spake the truth; but I should have said, he that desireth the office of a bishop desireth a work. It is a work. Glorious indeed, delightful, if conscience is "void of offence," but after all—an anxious, harrowing, responsible, awful, even holy, work. The pulpit is the highest place on earth, and to fall from the pulpit into hell,-is to fall to the lowest place in hell. The descent will be as low, as the ascent was high. This it is, that darts fearfulness into the preacher's spirit. Even Paul trembled and wept at this, "lest having preached to others, he himself should be a cast-away;" Gabriel, with his strong arm, and vigorous intellect, would shudder at this; how much more then must preachers, made out of dust and ashes, and uninspired. So violent is their pressure of care, that they often feel impelled to transcend their

est.

strength, and therefore often drop into an early grave. They have no right to feel so; you will not misunderstand me when I say, they have no right to die so early; in a multitude of cases a culpable imprudence has cut short their life. The more studious and laborious they may be, the less is that right, the worse is that imprudence. Still, we must take men as they are, and in modern days, there is scarcely a just man who doeth all the good he should do, in the ministry, and then sinneth not by over-acting. Lift up your eyes, therefore, and where do you find an aged preacher ? Our literary fathers-where ?-Gone, like the leaves of a tree. Gone, in the midst of their days; their light put out when it was burning brightChrist died before the age of forty; in this a throng of his watchmen have followed him, and when the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised, there shall arise among the ministerial dead, a full band of middle-aged, and young men. How do they die? They have expended their property for their education, and die poor. They leave families, with no inheritance save the memory of their provider, called from them as he began to provide. Where do they die? Mills, a young man, dies on the ocean, and his body goes to be played with by the leviathan; Huntington falls by the way-side; Worcester, in the height of his manhood, lays his bones all alone in the wilderness; and Cornelius, the strong staff and beautiful rod, is broken down away from his family.

THE LESSONS OF NATURE.

IT is heart-thrilling, to read the lesson of beneficence which God has written on all nature. The leaves on the trees are not made for their own beauty, but are always breathing forth a secret influence which refreshes the atmosphere and "invigorateth man and beast." The stream, that flows through our meadows, gives itself away to the ocean, and the ocean does not keep it for itself, but sends it up in mist and vapor, and it settles on our rising grounds, and comes down again in rivers, or floats through the air, and distils in showers, and fertilizes and gladdens the earth. The insect, though it may seem vain of its gaudiness, yet lives for others. It was an insect, that fed the bird which charmed the ear of David; and he wrote the bird's song in his own sweeter song, and at this very hour the pious mourner is cheered by that imagery, and says, "In the Lord put I my trust, how say ye to my soul, flee as a bird to your mountain." It is a law of the animal kingdom, that one tribe shall give maintenance to another, and every one give aid to man. The grass of the field grows for the cattle; the cattle live to labor for us, and die to sustain us. The winds are bustling through the heavens, the clouds sail about and drop down fatness, the earth is rolling forward its seed-time and harvest in quick succession, and all for us; the sun is in a ferment for us, and while sunk in rest, gives away its radiance to the moon, and the moon, instead of coveting the bright gift, sends it to her mother planet, and the faithful earth reflects it back. There is a brotherhood in nature. A golden chain of dependence and prop, communication and reception. Interchange is law. "When thou hearest the sound of a going upon the tops of the mulberry trees, then shalt thou bestir thyself; for then shall the Lord go out before thee." But we hear it always; always is there a voice coming forth

from woodland and sea,—it is the Spirit of the Lord,—and says, to give is more blessed than to receive. Why then shall not man bestir himself? Why shall rational beings witness all nature fulfilling its end, and they dislike to fulfil theirs? Why shall, how can they who have souls act worse than they who have none ? Are we not of more value than many sparrows? We for whom all things were made, to whom all things are servitors," every herb will I give thee and every beast of the field,”– shall we prostitute our high eminence to the baseness of self? The sun, and moon, and eleven stars making obeisance to us, is it fit that we spend our time in dreaming, and telling our dreams? "Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise."

CONVERSION OF THE WORLD.

Is giving the following condensed accounts, we have several objects in view. We wish to show, so far as may be in our power, the nature and the number of the obstacles which lie in the way of the universal diffusion of the gospel. If we are not mistaken, the bright side of the picture is too often and too prominently exhibited. We must be accustomed to look at the condition of the world as it is. We, in Christian lands, have formed very inadequate conceptions of the amazing influence of evil, which systems of idolatry and superstition do exert on the soul of the poor victim. It is an influence, which cannot be eradicated in one generation. When crushed in one place, it will break out in another. The truth is that the aversion of men to holiness in pagan and in Christian lands is intense and indescribable. We must examine and appreciate this aversion, before we shall pray to the Holy Spirit with that perseverance and fervency, which the exigency of the case demands. If it were not that the omnipotent resources of this Divine agent were pledged, we should instantly give up the work of the conversion of the world as the idlest folly imaginable. Has a nation changed its gods, which are yet no gods'?

The necessity of this influence is also becoming more and more apparent in respect to the deficiency of men for agents, and ministers, and missionaries. From present appearances, the work of God must on this account come to a stand. Nothing effectual can be done without qualified laborers. But where are the qualified laborers? The London Missionary Society cannot find them in England. The American Board of Missions are now ready to send out to heathen lands the whole annual supply, which the American Education Society furnishes. The church should have been aware of this great fact ten or fifteen years since, and should then have entered on measures for a most ample supply of living teachers. Now the matter is remediless at least for a number of years. Before a sufficient number of missionaries and ministers can be brought into the field, one third part of the pagan world, or two hundred millions of men, will have gone into eternity, unsanctified, without the gospel. Great, therefore, is the responsibility of those Christians, who are now on the stage, in respect to a supply of men. Not a moment should be lost. Two or three thousand young men ought to enter this year on a course of education for the Christian ministry. No reluctance should be felt on the part of parents and friends to set them apart to this work. No hesitancy should be allowed one moment in withholding the necessary funds.

The attentive reader of the following survey will be struck with the fact, that the fields are white already to the harvest. The providence of God is furnishing a lesson which the most avaricious or thoughtless Christian must read. How

different the scene from that which was presented in 1812, when Gordon Hall landed in Bombay? How great the political changes favorable to the diffusion of the gospel, which have occured since 1830 ? We now proceed to our survey, and begin with,

WESTERN AFRICA.

The principal missionary establishments on the western coast are within the territory of the British colony of Sierra Leone, and under the charge of the Church Missionary Society. They were commenced about sixteen years since. Freetown, the capital of the colony, on the south side of the river Sierra Leone, seven miles above its entrance into the Atlantic ocean, is the seat of the mission. Branches are estalished at Fourah bay, Kissey, four miles from Freetown, Wellington seven miles, Hastings thirteen, Gloucester four, Regent six, and Bathurst seven. The last three are in the mountain district, lying south and southeast of Freetown; the three preceding are in the river district, east of Freetown. On the first of January, 1833, the average attendance on public worship at all the stations was about 2,700 in the morning, and 1,500 in the evening, communicants 690, candidates for communion 332, day scholars 1,637, evening 282, Sabbath 1,080, total scholars 2,999. At Fourah bay is a seminary, called the Christian Institution, containing 14 scholars. Its design is to prepare native teachers and assistants. The conduct of most of the communicants is reported to be consistent with their profession. Some have been excluded for Sabbath breaking, adultery, and other sins. One of the missionaries has been separated from the society, in consequence of his openly falling into sin. It appears that the worship of idols is not yet entirely eradicated from among the liberated Africans. The want of laborers is a painful obstacle. The climate is such as frequently to prove fatal to a European constitution.

The Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society established a mission at Freetown in 1816. There are now five outstations. The meetings at the chapels are generally well attended. The same society have missions at Bathurst, a town on St. Mary's island, at the mouth of the Gambia, and at M'Carthy island, about 300 miles up the Gambia. The first was established in 1821, the last in 1832. M'Carthy island is considered as very well adapted for a missionary settlement. The Gambia is navigable about 400 miles, and enters the ocean in north latitude 14° 23', about 6° north of Sierra Leone.

Going down the coast about two degrees from Sierra Leone, we come to the American colony of Liberia. The Baptist mission at the colony has been relinquished. A free school for the benefit of recaptured Africans has been for several weeks in successful operation under the care of the Rev. James Eden. Mr. Savage is making arrangements to establish a manual labor school at Millsburg. There were previously five schools in operation. Sufficient attention has not, in our opinion, been paid to this point, by the managers of the Colonization Society. It is of fundamental importance. We are sorry to say, also, that a portion of the colonists, including some of the most respectable persons, are engaged in the traffic in ardent spirits. We are aware that it is said that no treaties could be made with the natives, and scarcely any intercourse carried on, without the assistance of ardent spirits. But has a full experiment been made? Is it perfectly clear, that it is morally right to make use of ardent spirits in any such way? Can the natives be induced to give up the expectation of receiving ardent spirits in barter, gradually? Ought not decisive and uncompromising ground to be taken at once? Would not really useful articles, if double or treble in value, be received in lieu of spirits?

Three American Missionary Societies, the Western Foreign Missionary, the Methodist Missionary, and the American Board, will establish_missions on the western coast, probably in the vicinity of cape Montserado, or cape Palmas, in the course of two or three months.

The German Missionary Society established at Basle, in Switzerland, have an establishment at Ussa, a negro village, near the Danish fort Christianburg, on the Gold coast. This mission commenced in 1828, is about one degree south of Liberia. The Gold coast has long been visited for the gold dust and slaves, which it furnishes. The forts and counting houses belonging to Europeans in this quarter are about 40 in number. The following are the names, stations, &c. of the different missionaries on the western We do not give the assistants.

coast.