mission-with a command, from the Being who was himself the atonement, that every creature should hear the gospel-with such proofs before us that this gos pel is the power of God to salvation-how, with all these facts staring us in the face-how is it, that we have never attempted to carry these glad tidings beyond the walls of our own churches? The cause of this total abandonment of effort, under such a leader, under such an inspiration, and with such prospects, is one of the most singular, and yet one of the most important inquiries, which Christians at this day can possibly institute. It will be said, that for many centuries those who felt the genuine force of Christian principles, were in too depressed a state to make efforts for the spread of the gospel: their whole strength was required to preserve any portion of united existence. They were in the situation of men in a besieged fortress; attacks upon the territories of the enemy were out of the question. This defence, to a certain extent, must be admitted. But will He "whose eyes are as a flame of fire, and his voice as the sound of many waters," accept this as an apology for the indifference and inactivity of the last two hundred years-for the apathy of the present hour? Ward's Letters. CHINESE PASSING THROUGH THE FIRE. This afternoon we rode about six miles in the country, and attended a Chinese ceremony, which reminded us of the rites of Moloch, bloody king." It occurs on the birth-day of the Taou gods, and is performed by running barefoot, through a heap of ignited charcoal. The fire covered a space of about 10 or 12 feet square, and was probably about 18 inches in height. It threw out a sweltering heat, and kept the spectators at some distance. The concourse was large, and the crash of gongs almost deafening. When we arrived, we found two priests standing near the fire, carnestly conning a book, and performing a variety of acts which its pages appeared to prompt. One of them held a cow's horn in his hand, with which he occasionally assisted the noise. The other was more actively engaged in burning paper, making his obeisance, sprinkling water upon the heap, and striking it violently with a sword. During these ceremonies, he frequently bowed to the ground, and gazed upwards, with an expression of most intense earnestness. There was something striking in the whole appearance and conduct of the man. It was very evident, that if not himself fully persuaded of the presence and power of the being he invoked, he well knew how to produce this persuasion in the minds of the ignorant around him. The prescribed rites being performed, the priest approached the pile, went through a number of antics, and dashed furiously through the coals. A passage was kept clear from the adjacent temple, and as soon as the signal was given by the priest, a number of persons, old and young, came running with idols in their hands, and bore them through the fire. Others followed, and among them an old man who halted and staggered in the very jaws of death. The scene was one of mad confusion, but its continuance was short, and the crowd soon dispersed. It is thought a test of the character of those who attempt it. If they have a "true heart," and confidence in the gods, they cannot receive injury. Some of them pass through the fire in fulfilment of a vow made in time of danger or necessity. One of the votaries last year fell in the midst of the fire, and was severely burned. After the confusion had in a measure ceased, our budget was produced, and the tracts disposed of without delay. The madnesss of their minds rendered them so rude, that it was thought expedient to check the violence with which they snatched the books away. The Lord in mercy dispel their delusions, and grant them the light of life. A CONVERTED INDIAN, Al Sault Ste Marie. Among those who give evidence of a saving change, are two or three Indian young men. In a conversation with one of them, 17 years old, I asked him how he used to feel before he heard of the Christian's God and the Christian's Saviour? He replied, "When I was a boy, very small, as we were moving from one hunting ground to another, the old men used to collect the children at night and spend the evening in telling them what they had heard from their fathers. One thing they told us was that the Great Spirit, who inade heaven and made earth, and made all the people on the earth, would one day destroy all that he had made. This made me feel very bad, and I would go away, and lie down, and cover my head in my blanket, and cry all night, and could not sleep. Sometimes I would wish I never had been made, if I could live only a few days and then must die. But now, since I have heard of the true God, and of the Saviour, and of heaven; and since I have loved God, I am willing to live while God has any thing for me to do, and I am not afraid to die, for I hope then to be with God and the Saviour. My friends laugh at me because I pray, and try to tell them what I have heard about God; but I do not mind that; I cannot help pity them, and pray more. And when I think of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, who do not love God, I feel so bad I cannot help crying and going away and praying for them." Having proceeded thus far, I said to him, I am soon to write my friends; have you any word you wish me to say to them? " Yes," replied he, "tell them I am glad that God has sent you to my people, and I wish you to ask your friends to pray for me, that I may love God more, and that he will give me a heart to serve him till I die. I am only a little child, very small, very weak; his eyes are just open; he is just getting up and learning to stand; he can only walk a little; he has heard a little, and he knows only a little. But your friends have always heard of God; they know how to pray for me." CORRESPONDENCE OF THE A. H. M. S. REPORTS OF MISSIONARIES, &c. MICHIGAN. From Rev. Jeremiah Porter, Sault Ste With eight days travelling I was at De. troit, every thing working for my comfort. We had a delightful trip across Lake Erie, after a few hours roughness, the lake and sky were delightfully calm and mild. He. ber's missionary hymn, sung by moonlight, on the upper deck, when the sky and the waters bounded our prospect, was highly grateful to my feelings. Ten days I tar. ried in Detroit, waiting for a passage up the lake. I found delightful Christian so ciety there, some indications of a revival. I sailed, after " being somewhat filled with the company" of the pious, on the 1st November, in a fine schooner for Mackinac. Our progress up the river was slow. Books, pleasant society, attempts to do good to the officers and men, with the killing of a noble deer that was at tempting to cross the river before us; with occasionally an Indian lodge, sending forth its degraded occupants to utter the only word the white man ever taught him, and call for the greatest curse the white man ever gave him, "whiskey," "whiskey;" and with these, the loss of my hat overboard, from standing under the rigging carelessly, gave variety ind interest to the passage. On the fourth day, after dining at Fort Gratiot with a devoted and faithful Christian, we entered the expanded Huron. This is another ocean, and a most beautiful body of water. The Lord still smiled on us. On the evening of the seventh day from Detroit, we approached Mackinac, passing the lighthouse at the extremity of the Straits just at sunset of a beautiful day. As we turned the eastern extremity of the island, and entered the beautiful crescent bay on the south, on the edge of which stands the vil lage, and over which, on an elevation of a hundred and fifty feet, is the fortwe were charmed by the grateful sound of the church bell. It was ringing for the monthly concert. How happy was I to be thus welcomed upon missionary ground! On the last similar evening I was in New York. Mackinac, in nature, in art, and in morals, is a charming spot. Ten years ago, they hardly knew there was a Sabbath. Now, Mr. Ferry (the superintendent of the mission) has a church of about eighty members, and his influence is felt through all the Indian country. It is most gratifying to see what God hath wrought by his means. The Catholics, fearing his influence, have erected their chapel near his beautiful church. I was astonished to find so much christian refinement, such exalted piety, and such generosity. Their Sabbath and infant schools are models. I passed sixteen of my happiest days in this pleasant community, preaching and exhorting. But two Sabbaths have passed since I left Princeton, in which I have not preached. My way to the Sault seemed now hedged up. The last vessel had gone, and the men who could carry me out in a canoe were absent on the fishing grounds. And they at M. wanted my services through the winter; besides, Bro. Boutwell, from Andover, Missionary for the west of Lake Sup rior, was at the Sault, acquiring the Ojibwa language, and could preach, though it would make inroads on his time. So I waited for Providence to direct. In the mean time they had providentially heard at the Sault that I was at M. They soon sent off a canoe, which was overtaken by a severe snow storm and driven back. The people des. patched a second. This reached me, and on the 23d November I embarked, in an Indian bark canoe, with every necessary for a voyage of ninety miles in such a vessel, and at such a season. My oarsmen were French, who could no more talk English than I could their language, with one black man, in all five souls on board. In this new mode of conveyance, at first, apparently so frail, I soon felt perfectly safe and happy-read, tried to talk French, admired nature around me, the splendid lake while we were in it, and the beautiful river afterward, with the deep forests on its banks, and the snow-covered shores. At night, encamped in the snow, before a fine fire, every thing was comfortable. I took my cup of tea, and read in my tent with as much satisfaction as Tecumseh could ever have felt in his lodge. I had continually to praise the Lord for carrying me forward so prosperously, and to plead with him, that he would make me faithful in the work on which I am entering. How weak is man without the blessing of the Lord, and how strong with it. He is good to my soul: I will praise Him. We were out but three nights. They were very cold, (the ice forming hard by the shore,) but beautifully clear. Yet I did not suffer, and reached this in perfect health on the 26th November. Their winter had commenced. Mr. S. invited me to his house, in which I am now enjoying all the comforts of the most genteel families. I find christian friends ready to engage in every good cause. Temperance, contrary to my expectations, had made great progress, through the exertions of the Rev. Mr. Bingham, (Baptist Missionary to the Indians,) in whom I find a kind Christian brother. About eighty are now members of the society; soon we hope to exclude whiskey from the place. None was allowed to go into the Indian country last summer, except to one individual. Not a drop is sold in the garrison. The commanding officers are staunch friends of the cause, and I have now a Bible class among the soldiers. Four have united with Mr. Bingham's church. There is now an interesting religious excitement among the Indians. It is delightful to hear them pray and sing the praises of God in their own language. The excite. ment began under the exhortations of John Sundy, a native, Christianized and educated on Grape Island, U. C. Bingham continues to labour faithfully with them. There have been several in Mr. teresting conversions, At the prayer meetings held for the good of the natives, one of the ladies is my interpreter. I have thought often how happy Brainard would have been if he had had such facilities when he commenced his work. Oh ness, help me to praise the Lord for his good- || and pray, and beg your friends to pray, that the Spirit may descend to make this a garden of the Lord, and that I may be a faithful labourer in it. My fellow voyagers reported me as speaking French, so I have tried to do something for the Catholics About forty met me last Tuesday evening, when I read them a French tract, and a passage of Scripture. They seem pleased, and I shall continue the exercise, hoping the Lord may bless this simple means. MISSOURI. From Rev. J. M. Sadd, Farmington, St. Francis Co., Mo. Since my last report things have been in no way discouraging, but, on the con trary, an evident change has been produced for good; and especially have the minds of the people been changed in view of the prospect of greater good yet to be done. The winter has been unusually severe, so as to render it very difficult to get about much, and to do much here in this place. We have as yet no comforta ble house for preaching on the Sabbath. We have sometimes had preaching at my own hired house, though quite inconve nient, and sometimes at a little school room, occupied by Mrs. Sadd in teaching a female school, though this too is very small and uncomfortable. I have rode thirty-two miles nearly every month to preach to my other congregation, where, as I observed in my last report, a great change has been produced, and where there is a pleasing prospect at present. In this place (Farmington) we have established a monthly tract distribution. A small subscription has been received from each family, about enough to cover the cost of the tracts. There is as yet no objection to the measure in this immediate neighbourhood; though some individuals a little distance from here are opposed to the distribution of tracts altogether. A new interpretation of Scripture. One man, professedly a preacher of the gospel, I understand, calls tracts the stings in the tails of the scorpions, spoken of in the book of Revelation; the tails in which the stings were fixed he calls missionaries, and the society by which they are aided, probably he calls the scorpions. He thinks their power is limited; they are to hurt men only for a season. Tracts have done, I feel quite sure, great amount of good to this section already. I have dis tributed them all around me for 100 miles or more. One revival of religion commenced about 100 miles west of me, through their instrumentality. On the subject of temperance they are doing a silent but certain work. I have in contemnplation the organization of a Presbyterian church here this coming spring, if the Lord will. The materials are few, but some good ones. When I came here there was a general idea in the mind of every one, so far as I can learn, that nothing could be done for this place; that the people could never be roused from their lethargy. But an old lady, beloved by every one, and a very pious Presbyterian woman, told me a day or two since that there was a very different feeling now. An agent of A. S. S. U. from the Baptist denomination, has just visited this county. I rode with him and assisted him all I could a number of days. We succeeded in every attempt, and commonly be. yond our expectations. In this place, where there was much opposition previous to our meeting, it seemed to be nearly all lost afterwards. The Catholics are not so numerous just about here: I am not therefore hinder. ed by their influence much at this place; but they are not at rest around me; they are making great exertions to extend their dominions and sentiments. What will become of this country, I know not, unless some better means of education are enjoyed by the people generally. There is no public school south of St. Louis, and not any good district schools; that is, nothing where a good common education can be obtained. A good seminary, under the care of two or three good teachers, would be well sustained, I think, and be the means of doing great good. TENNESSEE. From a Missionary Report. My plan for catechetical instruction is this: I have prepared questions for the present on the doctrines of total depravi. ty, regeneration, and election, obtained their printing to the amount of as many copies as would be needed, circulated thein, not only among Presbyterian fami. lies, but among others that could be induced to receive them; visit as far as I have had opportunity all such families for private instruction, and appointed more public examinations in all the most suita. ble places, calling together at such places as many as live near, preaching to them, and then public catechising them all on the same list of questions. Such a course I do hope has already been, and no doubt will be, greatly blessed to their edification and growth in grace. I am now at this business, and hope to have gone through by the first of April, A call for "Working Men." Dear sir, can you not send us a work. ing man? I do believe there is scarcely another field where an active experienced man could do so much good, as in this section of country. Let me detail a few facts. About twenty miles from this place is the congregation of N., large, wealthy, and the oldest in the county, but now va. cant. A large unoccupied field is just opening before brother He told me a few days since, that he had ground enough, fully, to occupy the time of another preacher; and I know this to be the fact, and that souls are perishing for want of preaching. He preaches every day, and is almost broken down. I saw a letter a few days since from , requesting Presbyterian preach. ing half of the time. I know of no field where an active, prudent, self-denying man, could do more good, but he must be a man willing to go into the highways and hedges. A man that is willing to be useful and to labour for souls, will find work enough, and he shall not want a home so long as a few of us have a shelter. OHIO. In this place, (Plymouth,) there have been twenty-five hopeful conversions, and twenty-three added to the church, under the ministry of Rev. Mr. Salmon. From Rev. M. Kimball, Chester, Meigs I am again permitted to speak of the loving kindness of the Lord to the dear people with whom he has cast my lot.He has not taken his Holy Spirit from us, but has continued his work. The revival which commenced about a year ago, has recently received a new impulse, and a number have been brought into the king. dom of the Lord. My labours have been continued as usual. We know the Lord is with us, from the fruits of the Spirit which are manifest in peace, christian zeal and brotherly love; not that we would boast, but we would glorify God, who hath done great things for us, and pray that by his grace we may abound more and more in the fruits of the Spirit. At our last communion the Lord added to our number six, of such as, we trust, shall be saved; making in all during the year thirty-nine. PENNSYLVANIA. From Rev. Joel Campbell, Honesdale, Pa. REVIVAL. The last quarter of this year has been one of special interest among us. The Lord has come nigh by the outpouring of his Spirit, and revived his work. The church has been greatly encouraged and From Rev. Stephen Peet, Euclid, O. strengthened, and a goodly number of souls have been hopefully converted to From the annual schedule forwarded by the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of these Mr. P., we learn that during the past souls have already made a public profesyear a revival of religion has been enjoy-sion of their faith, and others will, no ed, which has resulted in the hopeful conversion of fifty persons, forty-five of whom have been added to the church, besides six who have joined on recommendation from other churches. Mr. P. remarks, "The congregation on Sabbath is increasing, and the privileges of the gospel are in a good measure apprecia. ted." From Rev. N. Cooke, Plymouth, O. When I went to Richfield, the church consisted of thirty-four members;-there were added, in August, one, and in November, thirty-five; number of conversions about forty. doubt, follow their example soon. Our meetings, both on the Sabbath and through the week, are well attended, and seem to say by their solemn aspect "the Lord is in this place." The Sabbath school has shared largely in the precious blessing of heaven on us. Several teachers and scholars are among the number of hopeful converts. Yesterday, being our communion, we had the pleasure of sceing some of our little children come out from the world, and enter into the full communion of Christ's visible church. They did appear to be indeed the lambs of Christ's flock, and they will need the sincere milk of the word, that they may grow thereby. |