he and Mr. Calvert interpret with amazing ease and fluency. I was surprised to see this clumsy way of preaching produce such effects. All were listening with fixed and solemn attention; and many, very many, were suffused in tears: among these I noticed the Queen of Vewa, and Varani. In this respect, as in many others, the Feejeeans and NewZealanders very much resemble each other, and come much nearer than they do to the Friendly Islands. These go in multitudes to the public worship; but they are less orderly, and are neither so much impressed, nor melted down into subdued weeping, as I have seen both in New-Zealand and in Feejee. It must not, however, be supposed that in the Friendly Isles they have not order and feeling in their public worship: they have both; and there are times when they send forth a strong and bitter cry. I have seen a congregation of worshippers so excited, that their cry might be heard as far as the full voice of a multitude could reach the ear. In the afternoon Mr. Jaggar preached in the chapel, with ease, energy, and full compass of voice. : 27th. I am surprised at the difference between the native servants in the Friendly Islands, and those of Feejee. In the former, they can only be obtained in rare cases, and for a short time; and then they do little, and expect much moreover they are so trying in Tonga, that Mrs. Thomas can just as easily do her own work, as suffer the plague which they give her. At Feejee the Mission families are well supplied with both male and female servants, who are respectful and kind, every way answering the end for which they enter the premises. The truth is, the Feejeeans are far more industrious than the Tongans, who, though they are more comely in our eyes, are not so sharp, nor so well disciplined, as the Feejeeans. Here they have no difficulty in landing goods from the vessel, and getting them conveyed to the Mission-stores, almost for nothing; but, in the Friendly Islands, such matters sadly plague the poor Missionaries, who have to pay most exorbitantly for all they get done by the natives. The severe system of subjection to the arbitrary club-law of the Feejeean Chiefs, who strike every one dead who offends or disobliges them, may in part account for this difference. No eastern tyrants can rule with more absolute terror than the Chiefs do here; and few people are more thoroughly enslaved and trampled upon, than are these islanders. They are the subjects of a grinding system of oppression, hard labour, demon-worship, and most debasing superstition. But the Christian natives are free from this thraldom, and they prize their liberty, and love those whom they know to be their liberators and their true friends. The present aspect of Christianity in Feejee is in no respect discouraging, and in some places it is exceedingly cheering. 28th. This morning early I walked over the little island of Vewa, containing probably about four hundred acres. It is removed from the large land by only a narrow sheet of salt water. If we are to judge of the soil by its productions, this land must be among the richest I have ever seen. The bread-fruit abounds. The banana also is every where seen in great perfection. The pine-apple and sugar-cane luxuriate here. The land is almost covered with trees, fine and stately; but not mere forest-trees; for most of them bear fruit, and the fruit is the food of man. The shores teem with excellent fish, and the women are the chief fishers, when the net only is used: the men fish with baskets, spears, and hooks. One would think that everybody here would have enough and to spare; but such is not the case. The Chiefs demand more than they need, the people are improvident, and war is not merely a destroyer of life, but also of the bounties of nature, bestowed by the Lord of all the earth. 29th. A singularly clear case,illustrat ing the indirect influence of the Gospel, is stated by Mr. Calvert. One of the native Teachers, sent by him to a Heathen part of the island, tried to prevent the people from going to war; but they would not hearken to him. All things being ready, they were starting for the battle-field upon the Sabbath-day, when the Teachers warned them of the sin they would commit, and of their exposure to danger, closing his address by saying, "If you will go on the Lord's day, should any of your opponents fall into your hands, the least you can do, is to keep them alive, and bring them here." Two of their enemies did fall into their hands they brought them home alive, and well, and exhibited them to the Teacher, who said to them, "You did well not to kill these men: my advice to you now, is, to let them go home to their friends, that they may tell them what a fine religion this is, that teaches us to love our enemies." They were accordingly liberated, instead of being cooked, and are gone home to report what has not often been so reported in Feejec. The parties bave not since been heard of; but no Act of Parliament could have produced such a result, as this silent teaching by facts, clothed with benevolence and light. The moral hereby conveyed to this gross people will be much the same as that which our Saviour taught to the gross Gadarenes, when he said to the man who had been possessed with devils, "Go home, and show what great things the Lord hath done for thee." (To be continued.) MISSIONS IN FRANCE. OUR veteran Missionary, the REV. WILLIAM TOASE, after long and very useful labours in various departments of our French Work, has recently been compelled by age and growing weakness to retire from his official duties in France. He has the esteem and grateful respect of all who have marked his truly honourable course; and we deem it to be only an act of justice to him and to our own feelings upon the occasion, to place on record the following valedictory Letter. May the blessing of Almighty God attend him in his comparative retirement! Extract of a Letter from the Rev. William Toase, dated Guernsey, HAVING terminated my official duties, in connexion with the Wesleyan Mission in France, I beg to express my best thanks to the General Secretaries, and to the Committee, for their uniform kindness, during the twelve years I have had the honour to labour under their direction; and for the encouragement and support which at all times they readily gave me; and especially under circumstances of difficulty, arising very often from quarters where better things might have been expected. My long residence in Paris was not a sinecure, nor was my position one of pleasure or of ease. I was placed there by the will of my brethren; and I can say truly, that in all things I did the best I could. Through the goodness of God, the Wesleyan Mission in France has a name and an existence, such as a few years ago it had not. There is one fact connected with our Mission in France, which cannot be denied, many hundreds of sinners have been converted to God by our instrumentality, and they are now walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost. Our societies are not large anywhere; but, in point of personal piety and Christian zeal, they are not inferior to any of our people with whom I have been acquainted during the forty-four years of my ministry. Although the English work at Paris, Rouen, and Calais, has been nearly destroyed by the Revolution, I am not aware that the French work has suffered much anywhere. Many new and promising openings are presented to us, and might at once be embraced, if we had suitable men to employ, and money to support them. You will permit me to say, that from the time of my Mission on board the prison-ships at Chatham, which begun in 1809, and ended with the war in 1814, I have always felt a deep interest in the spread of the Gospel in France. From the year 1815 to 1822, while stationed in Guernsey and Jersey, I had many opportunities of visiting France; and, during four of those years, I had the superintendence of the French Mission, in connexion with the Guernsey District; and now having resided in the country twelve years, without interruption, the whole working of the Mission, as well as the state of the work in each Circuit, is familiar to my mind, and to the latest hour of my life will be the object of my anxious thoughts, and one great subject of my humble prayers. And now, dear and honoured brethren, I once more thank you, very sincerely, for all your kind attentions to me, and to the brethren in France. May I earnestly request of you, that when you have the map of the world before you, and are considering what you can do for the conversion of mankind, you will still think of France? Convert France, and you will do much for the conversion of the world. I am now learning to be a Supernumerary; but so long as I shall have a little strength left, I will endeavour to do something for France, especially on the coast which is so near my present residence. MISSION IN SWITZERLAND. WE regret to state that the position of our persecuted Brethren in Switzerland continues to be one of great trial and suffering, and demands our sympathizing and prayerful consideration. Nor should the WALDENSES of Italy, and the interesting labours of our Missionary MR. MASSOT in the country endeared to us as the scene of the toils and successes of the saintly FELIX NEFF, be forgotten in our plans of usefulness, or in our stated intercessions. SWITZERLAND.-Extract of a Letter from the Rev. Matthew Gallienne, dated Lausanne, September 27th, 1848. IT is now a long time since I last made you acquainted with the state of things in the Circuit; and I would have written before, had not my second visit to the Waldenses, and a few exploring excursions in the neighbourhood, caused me to delay till now. Besides, I really have no cheering intelligence to communicate with respect to our situation in this country. The dark cloud still hangs over us; and almost every week brings with it the sad history of meetings dispersed, Christian worshippers beaten and bruised, Pastors expelled, and led as criminals to their place of exile! In some cases, doors have been broken open, and all the forms of equity and common decency trodden under foot! All at tempts at obtaining redress are perfectly useless. Only last month the Grand Council, being assembled on extraordinary State business, was petitioned by Mr. Germond, the founder of the Echallens Hospital, for redress against the arbitrary and harsh measures employed in his case; but his petition was rejected by the famous majority of eighty, who still stand forth in one formidable phalanx, against all attempts at toleration and religious liberty! In fact, I now see no redeeming feature in the case; some are hoping that the elections, and others that some other circumstance, will put an end to this monstrous state of things; but I see nothing below but clouds and darkness; it is only when I lift my eye above, that bright spots of hope are seen to chcer my heart, and encourage me in this my work of patience. As to our cause in particular, we have to sing of mercy as well as of judgment. Many a time have we been wonderfully kept. On one Sunday, both our morning and evening meetings were closely watched. All attempts to detect us in the morning proved ineffectual: our enemies ferreted everywhere, except in the very place where we had met. In the evening, they were more successful: our retreat was discovered, and away went these infatuated people to the Magistrates for an order to enter the premises. Through a merciful interposition, the Magistrate was from home, and we escaped. Another Sabbath, when I arrived at the door of the house in which a friend had lent her room for preaching, I found it closed, and the police looking slyly out of a window opposite. These hints, of course, sufficed, and I returned home, without having made any further attempts at entering. It was providential that I did so; for, five minutes after, a posse of constables had entered the premises in search of the meeting and the Minister! Poor people, how blinded they are! they wish to detect us, and use the means the very reverse of those likely to succeed. I cannot account for their stupidity, otherwise than that, like the Assyrians who were led by the Prophet in the midst of Samaria, they are blinded by our gracious Protector, and prevented from doing us harm. Very lately, while we were holding family worship in our own dwelling, where a few friends had met, after having been driven from some other place, an ill-disposed man was seen making the round of our house, and looking into our windows. He was afterwards traced in town, taking the direction of the police office. Of course, we found it prudent to separate, after reading a psalm, and offering up a fervent prayer to God for ourselves and our cruel oppressors. I afterwards went into the garden with our children, and waited in peace the arrival of the police. In a few minutes two constables in plain clothes, and an armed soldier, came towards our dwelling. But, thank God, their designs were fruitless. Again had the shield of God's protecting arm been around us, and we beheld the scene, not without emotion certainly, but with thankfulness to our God, and, I trust, with feelings of pity for our enemies. These particulars will give you some idea of the present state of things. You see that they are not improving. But, though cast down, we are not disheartened. Our society is small, and far from being in a situation to help us greatly in this fight of faith. Besides, we are surrounded with professing Christians, who take advantage of our state of weakness and of these times of combat, to discourage persons from uniting with us; and unhappily they often too well succeed. If we had full scope for action, we would not heed them; but all we can now do is to take patience, and go on our way as best we can. From all quarters the angry billows dash over us, and our weather-beaten ship seems hardly able to face the storm. Thank God, however, we feel that the best of all is, that He is with us. Aigle continues to be an exception to the above painful situation. It does one's heart good to witness the simple piety and the firmness of our people there. Circumstances favour us greatly in that locality. We are left perfectly quiet; ravening wolves are become harmless. Our congregations are somewhat on the increase, and hopes may be entertained that our cause will gain ground firmly though slowly. How kindly does our heavenly Father deal with us! If at Lausanne we are tried, at Aigle we are encouraged. Trials are mercifully mixed up with blessings by His skilful hands. My second visit to the Piedmont Valleys has been even more encouraging than the first. I have been received by an affectionate people with open arms; and the word, especially, has been received with all gladness. The political agitation is very great in the country; some of our friends I met in my first visit had left for the army, and others were called to the seat of war; some had lost in the late battles a father, and others a husband; but all was forgotten while we drew nigh the Lord's table, and read the promises of His blessed word. How often tears of joy were to be seen streaming down the dark features of these Christian peasants, while sitting under the preaching of the word! Truly it was good for us to be there. There is evidently in these Valleys a field of labour made ready of the Lord; and I have no doubt that, should the prohibitory enactments of former days be abrogated, as I believe they soon will be, our Society seems called upon, in the order of Providence, to administer to the spiritual wants of the Waldenses of Italy, in the same regular and fixed way as she now does to those of the French Alps. On my way back to Lausanne, I crossed the French frontier, and visited my old friends of Queyras and Fressmières, in our Station of the Upper Alps. I found our dear brother, Mr. Massot, in good health, notwithstanding his multiplied labours. He is quite alone to administer to the spiritual wants of both Valleys. He preaches, baptizes, administers the sacrament of the Lord's supper, catechises the young, from St. Veran to Dormillouse, throughout the year, and even in the depth of winter, with an activity and devotedness which is highly honourable. He really is, in point of labour, the successor of that devoted man of God, Felix Neff, whose parish is now entirely left under his care. May he largely imbibe his spirit and walk in his steps! The Sabbath I spent in Mr. Massot's large "parish" (shall I call it ?) I joined him in dedicating to the worship of God a neat little church which the few Protestant families of Pierre-Grosse have built in that village. Up to the present time, the people of that village had met with those of Fongillarde in the church which they built in Neff's time, at their joint expense, and of which Dr. Gilly gives an account in his "Memoirs of Felix Neff," pages 129, 130, edition of 1833. Now they claim the privilege of having regular visits from their Missionary Pastor, and feel happy to be able to offer a better sanctuary for worship than a dark barn or a dirty stable. The new church is a small but neat building, whose whitened walls and pretty steeple present an interesting picture, and are quite an ornament to the Valley. People from St. Veran and Fongillarde, and even from Arviez, flocked together to the Lord's house, which was, of course, unable, that day, to contain the congregation. I found liberty while expounding the eighty-fourth Psalm, and passed a happy morning among this interesting people. During the week, I was at Pallons, the Voilins, and Dormillouse. How many recollections burst upon me at the sight of all these places! and how honoured I felt to have been able, on different occasions, to minister, in common with other Wesleyan Missionaries, to the spiritual necessities of these poor but well-disposed flocks! Should you think that my journals or any further details of my visit to the Vaudois might be of use, I shall be happy to communicate particulars. MISSIONS IN INDIA. THE following specimen of the various and assiduous occupations of a young Missionary in India will be acceptable and interesting. MADRAS.-Extract of a Letter from the Rev. E. E. Jenkins, WITH respect to our Missionary work in Royapettah, we live principally on hope. This neighbourhood is a source of painful interest to us. There are fields on every hand, white unto the harvest; but we want vigorous reapers to gather in the grain. Nevertheless, my hands hang not down, nor does my heart despair. A great door and effectual has been opened; and God in answer to prayer will, we doubt not, soon enable you to send us help. The inhabitants of this town are, for the most part, low ignorant people, untaught even in their own language; and apparently indifferent to all religions, while they profess to practise the rites of their own. The condition of the pariahs or outcasts here is truly pitiable. They indeed drink an unmixed cup of woe. There are many thousands of this class around us. If any picture of depravity and ignorance can wring the heart's sorrow, it is a group of these miserable beings; no one has a kind word for such; nor will any degree of want and affliction excite to a deed of mercy. In one of my evening walks, I turned from the public road leading to the Mount, and entered into what may be called compound-ground: following a narrow path, it conducted us (I was accompanied by a respectable Heathen of caste) to a few wretched huts. A little further on we saw a singular exhibition of misery and squalor. There was an elderly man and his family, consisting of several young men, and a few smaller children, sitting round what appeared to be a bundle of sticks, which they were cutting and shaping, I suppose for sale. But their extreme poverty, and their dirty, ragged, and solitary appearance, touched my heart; they hardly looked like human beings, yet I knew that even these were precious souls, redeemed by the blood of Christ. stopped and spoke to the old man, who seemed surprised that any kind word could be addressed to him. After a few words had passed, I showed them a tract, and inquired whether there were any there that could read. The father called a boy to him, and telling me the lad could, I gave the little fellow the book, who began to read up before us all. As other people drew near to see what was I going on, I gave a few of these little Gospel messengers to as many as were able to read, and then began to tell them why I went about circulating books and talking to the people; that I was sent to preach the Gospel to them; and, taking out a little copy of the Gospel of St. John, I read to them a portion of the third chapter, which enforces upon us all the necessity of a new birth; and while I was endeavouring to show the nature of sin, and of a carnal heart at enmity with God, and what God had done to save us from his displeasure and from hell, they all, men and women, (for the latter had crept out of their huts while I was preaching,) listened with gratifying eagerness. The old man never took his eyes from me, and, by signs which I could not mistake, discovered that he understood and appreciated the truth. One noisy fellow wished to disturb us: one of the women exclaimed, "He is an enemy!" but we concluded in peace. I gave the Gospel to one of the young men, who promised to read it. My caste companion had withdrawn, and stood at a distance. "The people were so wretched and dirty," said he, "that I could not go nearer." Blessed be God for a religion which levels on moral ground all distinctions, and commands us to "honour all men." I left them, thankful, I trust, for an opportunity of letting the light shine, even through an imperfect medium, where perhaps it had hardly ever dawned before. The people are generally desirous of hearing; with some few exceptions I have hardly met with any other than an encouraging reception. Every week I preach out of doors and distribute tracts, and sometimes see signs of good. But our hands are so cramped, and our labours so confined for want of help, that we cannot hope for any great amount of good till we have succour from God and from you. Would that our friends at home could see us in the midst of a willing people perishing for that which we have not the means to supply them with! I am sure they would renew their efforts and their sacrifice for the cause of Missions. If the church sow sparingly on the Indian field, she will reap sparingly. Let this interesting Mission |