could; and those who seemed most earnestly and devoutly concerned for the instruction and salvation of the people, were exhorted to be most fervent in prayer, and strenuous and prudent in their labours; to converse quietly, unostentatiously, and in the spirit of fervent and believing prayer, with every member of the several messes assigned to their special care, so that there should not remain one man to whom the Divine plan of our redemption had not been explained, and upon whom the reception of Christ had not been closely and faithfully urged, with reference to his immediate and eternal salvation.

December 24th was a solemn and an impressive day. About half-past one o'clock, P.M., all those persons who seemed to have embraced the gospel, or who were inquiring after salvation, assembled in the ward, for the purpose of uniting in earnest prayer for the still more abundant effusion of the Holy Spirit upon us all; and for the conversion to God of our fellow-sinners around us. I was able to be present ;-three successively conducted the devotional exercises, of whom two were prisoners; and I embraced the opportunity afforded to address all present from Malachi iii. 16, 17; Matt. xxi. 22; Rev. xxii. 17; with special application to our present circumstances. The Lord, I trust, was graciously present with us.

But, alas! every scene under the sun is chequered. Edward Marlow, who has served long as a soldier, and passed many years in India, is seized suddenly

with a disease, most obscure as it respects its real character, and which bids defiance to all remedies. His hours are evidently numbered, and his mind remains enveloped in thick spiritual darkness. The most anxious and prayerful effort is made to exhibit to him, in the simplest and most encouraging form, that truth, the reception of which is essential to his salvation. But he tries to cloak himself under excuses, alleging that he is "not learned." It is attempted to fix two ideas in his mind; first, "I am a guilty sinner; second, "Jesus is an all-sufficient and willing Saviour!"— Oh, how fearful is the condition of that person who delays to take refuge in Christ! How awfully dark is this poor man's mind! How successful are the efforts of Satan, practised on an unenlightened and deceitful heart, averse to the holiness of Divine truth! How long may people sit under the most affectionate and urgent calls of the gospel, and manage effectually to exclude every ray of its saving light from their benighted souls. At every turn we are reminded of the necessity of the omnipotent influences of the ETERNAL SPIRIT, without which, every soul of man must perish in the wilful and most sinful rejection of CHRIST, the unspeakable gift of the FATHER'S love. Oh! when will men take heed how they treat the strivings of the Holy Ghost?

Poor Marlow tells me he was often affected, even to distress, by what he heard from the Scriptures since he came on board; that sometimes he

was under the deepest convictions and compunctions, but always managed, after much struggling, "to get rid of serious thoughts and not to come to Christ." I continue to deal gently and truly with him, and, together with faithful and scriptural views of himself, set before him the clearest, most simple and encouraging views of Christ Jesus and his work. The poor afflicted man seems to try to look unto Jesus, and sometimes he seems to pray. He says he has been "a very wicked liver," and professes a desire to trust in the Saviour. Oh, how the dread of death distracts the mind, and gives not even one calm moment to perceive, understand, or believe the gospel! Is not the work of dying, work enough for any hour? Should anything be left to the hour of death, but just to die? Should believing, regeneration, repentance, justification, sanctification, and giving evidence of our faith by the fruits of righteousness, be all left to one brief, one agitated, one distracted hour? Oh, the folly, the perversity, the wickedness of men; how incomprehensible! Salvation brought to our very door,-free, complete, most suitable,-is rejected to the last moment of life, when the soul fears to put forth her hand, and to hold upon it, (though yet in mercy urged of God to grasp it,) and so perishes in criminal unbelief!

Life is fast ebbing; the eternal world opens on his view; the dying man "thinks he can trust in Christ for forgiveness." He "thinks" he can; he only thinks he can, and he has scarcely power

to think, at least, with calmness. The state of his heart, his real treatment of the Saviour, is known only to him "unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid." We have no satisfactory and scriptural evidence that he, by faith, laid hold on Christ-that he received the Holy Ghost, and was renewed in the spirit of his mind; and, therefore, we have no satisfactory and scriptural proof that he was a partaker of the great salvation proclaimed in the gospel. We cannot take a step beyond scriptural evidence; but this we know, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”* And again, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."† And, "The tree is known by its fruit." poor man's death was traced to the physical effects of a wicked and licentious life. His case warns us to beware of indulging in any sin, and to take heed that we delay not for a moment our believing, obedient, and thankful acceptance of Christ and of the Holy Spirit.

This

December 25th, (Christmas-day,) was the Lord'sday: our religious exercises were all marked by solemnity. Indeed, a becoming and promising seriousness has uniformly characterized the prisoners when assembled at church, and they have always made good use of their prayer-books, and † John iii. 3. Matth. xii. 33.; Rev. xxi. 27.

* John iii. 36.

generally, if not unanimously, joined in the responses. A hymn was composed by one of the prisoners, to be sung on this day; which, though it makes no pretensions as to poetry, is interesting as the song of praise of a poor convict :

A CHRISTMAS HYMN.

Awake, awake! this is the morn,
On which the Lord of life was born;
Now banish slumber from your eyes,
To join the triumph of the skies.

What charming news the angels bring,
That Christ, our Prophet, and our King,
Was born to save our souls from death:
O, blest for ever be his birth!

When Christ in human flesh appear'd,
What heav'nly music then was heard;
The valleys echo'd with the sound,
And heavenly glory shone around.

All glory be to God on high,
Proclaim the seraphs through the sky;
Good will to men, and peace on earth,
The angels sung at Jesus' birth.

Considerable portions of Scripture were recited by the prisoners in the afternoon. A young man who had deserted from the army, and who did not know his letters when he embarked, recited the Parable of the Ten Virgins with correctness and fluency. He now reads his New Testament very well. The whole of the Sermon on the Mount was also recited by three prisoners. Some time before the hour appointed for church, the whole of the people assembled, of their own free will, for prayer