willingness of the denomination to quadruple that insignificant average, under any system of finance and administration that shall commend itself to the intelligence and the conscience of the great body of our people, would be a grievous reflection upon their piety, in which it is at least premature to indulge. It is a fact well known that the vast majority of Methodists contribute nothing to missions, and that no earnest, systematic endeavor is made to interest them in the enterprise; while those who actually give, do it in amounts which, if equaled by the mass of their brethren, would swell the society's revenue to hundreds of thousands. Now, in forming our estimate of what may be accomplished in the department of funds, we are entitled to reckon on American Methodists as a Christian people, and on the great body of the preachers as men of God, and we know that under a system of applications at once energetic and comprehensive-under any system not greatly defective-carried to the doors and consciences of a pious people by a zealous, laborious, evangelical ministry, results may be reached far more satisfactory than any which we have hitherto ventured to propose. What has been done by others can be done by us; and it is an historical fact that much more than we have suggested as attainable by the Methodist Church, is from year to year accomplished by the Wesleyans in England, and in Canada; and by Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Episcopalians, in this country. What we have said of money may, with some change of terms, be said of men-the actual supply does, to an extent at once painful and embarrassing, exceed the demand. While the board speaks doubtfully of sending two or three missionaries to the heathen, five times that number of unexceptionable, well-qualified young men are competitors for the post of honor. Well does the Report warn the church of its "fearful responsibility," in restraining the grace of God, which urges so many of her devoted sons into the missionary field. We trust that this gratifying fact will remove an apprehension which we believe has hitherto silently operated to deter many excellent men from lending a cordial support to foreign missions. It has been apparent to them that a good degree of literary preparation would be indispensable in preachers set apart to a work for which new languages must be acquired, and where strange forms of blended religions and philosophical error must be combated by a higher science, as well as a purer theology; and they have not seen how this manifest urgent want could be satisfied without some infringement on what they deem the true Scriptural method of ministerial training. As if to remove this practical objection from all sincere minds, God has been

pleased to awaken these convictions of duty in regard to going to the heathen, especially, if not exclusively, in young men already possessed of competent intellectual advantages; and His faithfulness is pledged, in answer to the prayers of his people, to pour out his Spirit more and more upon this large and growing class of young preachers. Should the church, however, in the prosecution of this great work, be ultimately called upon to make special provision for the training of its missionaries, this can never be deemed a good reason for withholding obedience to the great commandment, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." In the primitive church the missionary was miraculously endowed with a knowledge of the language in which he was called to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. Now the indispensable qualification must be reached by providential, not by miraculous, means; and the toilsome season of preparation, whether spent on the shores of China, or at home, has become one of the conditions under which the missionary and the church, whose messenger and agent he is, must be content to offer an acceptable sacrifice to the Saviour of the world.

While, then, we gratefully accept the facilities so opportunely presented for an immediate entrance upon this long-deferred enterprise, we ought ever to hold ourselves ready to follow the leadings of Providence in all arrangements for the maintenance and future enlargement of the work. That the instruments hereafter to be provided, like those who now voluntarily offer themselves to the board, must be young men, we may thus early conclude without trespassing upon the prophetic function, or giving a too hasty interpretation to the intimations already vouchsafed to us. Young men alone can learn and speak a foreign language with facility. This consideration of itself conclusively determines the question. In all ordinary cases it will require twice or thrice the time for a man of forty years of age to learn a difficult language, which, after all, he will never use effectively, that will suffice for one of twenty-two or twenty-five, to obtain good facility both in writing and speaking it. In addition to this, young men alone adapt themselves to new climates, and habits, and new states of society, with little risk and inconvenience, and with the utmost readiness and tact. We have felt some surprise at hearing the question raised, whether the church can trust young men in a work so responsible as the establishment and superintendence of a foreign mission. The history of, we believe, every successful enterprise of this sort answers in the affirmative; for no church, that we are aware of, has thought it wise to deprive the home work of the

influence and counsels of middle-aged and aged ministers, in order to employ them in distant fields of labor, for which they are not qualified, and can by no effort become so. It occurs to us that the Methodist Church ought to be the last to withhold confidence from her young men, whether for this or any other department of usefulness. From the day when Methodism was first planted on our shores, young men have been its pioneers in every enterprise involving toil or sacrifice. The same thing has been exemplified both in the west and the east; and the venerable fathers who still remain to counsel and bless us, gained their greenest laurels in their youth. Providential circumstances thrust them into the most trying and responsible positions, at an age when the fullest development of bodily, as well as mental power was favored and hastened by the magnitude of the trusts confided to them. Francis Asbury was only twenty-seven years of age when Mr. Wesley appointed him "general assistant," and "constituted him the head of all the preachers and societies in America, with power to station the preachers," &c., under his own direction. Mr. Asbury, it is readily conceded, was an extraordinary man, but his example, nevertheless, illustrates a general principle; and if he, at so early an age, proved himself eminently qualified for duties and trusts so difficult and responsible, may not young ministers of the present day, selected for their piety and discretion, and always acting under the instructions of the board, be safely trusted to take care of themselves during the incipient stages of a mission, while they must be chiefly employed in learning a new language, and afterward, and with the lights of growing experience and years, to take care of the work in which they are expected to be, under divine guidance, the sole efficient instruments? We should not dwell upon a question which appears to us so very free from difficulty, but for the fact that the want of suitable men of mature experience and established ministerial reputation, to go out as superintendents of the enterprise, is believed to constitute no slight obstacle to the early establishment of missions to the heathen. We verily believe that this maturity of years and ministerial experience will be found to constitute a precise unsuitableness for the strange field of labor. Shall the middle-aged or veteran preacher be sent forth with his youthful coadjutors, attended probably by a numerous family, to swell the expense of the enterprise? He cannot learn the language, or not till the advance of years shall have robbed him of opportunities to use his new acquisition with the greatest benefit to the cause. Shall he follow at the close of the period which must be devoted to preliminary measures, that he may superintend

the active evangelizing operations? He can only act upon the knowledge gained by his predecessors in the field. He must inevitably be superintended by them, or only embarrass and mar plans which they alone are competent to form.

Long as this article is, its limits have compelled us to exclude several topics, and many reflections and suggestions, which it was our anxious wish to present. To the large class of our readers, who think silence should be observed in regard to deficiencies and errors such as we have dwelt upon, we submit in all humility that, in our opinion, great harm has already been done by the want of the disclosures which the Report under review contains; and that it is a first principle with us to trust unreservedly the candor and discretion of the church, in all that concerns the church's interests and responsibilities. To this and all other objections we offer as our final reply, that we have been led into the train of remark which terminates with the present sentence, by a sense of duty as clear and constraining as any to which we ever yielded a reluctant obedience.

ART. VII.-The Life and Correspondence of John Foster: edited by J. E. Ryland. With Notices of Mr. Foster as a Preacher and a Companion. By JOHN SHEPPARD, Author of "Thoughts on Devotion," &c. In two vols., 8vo., pp. 306, 385. New-York: Wiley & Putnam. 1846.

JOHN FOSTER was a man of great and extraordinary qualities. His "Essays" are among the most masterly productions in the English language. They have made a deep and indelible impression upon the age, and given immortality to the author's name. That a man who lived so long, and was so extensively known and admired, should have left behind him a multitude of letters and private documents which would illustrate his character, is what might be expected, and their publication would naturally excite deep interest.

The present work is almost wholly composed of Foster's productions. The editor gives us a rapid sketch of the life and labors of his subject; but even in this he weaves in passages › from his letters and other documents in great abundance: so that there is scarcely a page that is not adorned by the scintillations of his genius. It is rare, indeed, that the letters of a shining character, written to his intimate friends, serve to elevate their author

in public estimation. There are many sad evidences of the truth of this remark in the numerous biographies which are extant. By this means a multitude of things freely and carelessly written, which their authors never intended for the public eye, are handed over to posterity as part and parcel of the evidence upon which a correct judgment is to be formed of their spirit, talents, and character. All this would be right, if the world is entitled to an acquaintance with the secret workings of men's minds, and to gaze upon the sanctuary of their private communings with their intimate friends. This is a question upon which we have strong doubts for it is rarely the case that the world, for generations after a man has been dead, is competent to judge correctly of his private and confidential communications. They are generally made upon the assumption of a state of mind, and a knowledge of facts, upon the part of those to whom they are addressed, which are peculiar to them as individuals, and consequently cannot, with perhaps a few rare exceptions, be transmitted to others, even those who live in their own times; and much less to such as shall live generations afterward.

There are several of Foster's letters to his confidential friends which we regret to see. We should infinitely prefer to have known him only through his published works, illustrated by such private letters and papers as breathe the same spirit and speak the same language, to the vexation of a labored effort to reconcile John Foster the essayist with John Foster the correspondent.

We are aware it may be urged that impartial history requires that everything which is tangible, that goes to illustrate a man's character, should be brought out. And we confess there is force in the plea, and it would be perfectly conclusive, provided we could have his own explanations and qualifications, just as he would have made them if he had been writing for the gaze of the world. In his private communications he supposes these explanations and qualifications to be unnecessary; but if he had imagined himself in communication with millions of minds, extending down through countless ages, he would have judged them indispensable; or, possibly, would have withheld altogether the matter, which, if published to the world, would require them.

We have been led into this train of reflections by the perusal of the work now before us; though the matter which we deem exceptionable occupies comparatively but a small space. The letters, as a whole, rank among the most spirited and instructive compositions of the class. The exceptions are like spots upon the sun; and we confess we are grieved to see them. Indeed, we most VOL. VII.-20