rebellious sinners; he said, 'that his God was well able to save also.' I replied, 'you have 33 lacs of Gods, and how can you worship them all. Besides, your own books say that they were wicked, and wicked Gods can never save wicked men.' I spoke at great length, and the hearers appeared to yield, saying, that there is only one God over all, who is the creator of all.' I gave them tracts. Prayer is requested on their behalf." THERE can be nothing more encouraging to a Missionary than to find persons coming of their own accord for portions of scripture, and tracts, and making serious inquiry on religion. Instances of this kind are frequent, as follows:

July 28th." Mission House. Eleven persons, Hindoos, came in a crowd for tracts. Read and spoke to them and gave them tracts and books."

May 12th." Was visited by six Hindoos, who asked for books on the Christian Religion. I asked them why they wanted Christian Books. They replied, that this religion was much talked of, and they wanted to know more of it. They said that very few did and could understand it. I gave them tracts."

CEYLON.

Ir is a somewhat singular circumstance, that while the Committee were considering the best course to pursue in reference to the mission at Tulleygaum, a new field of labour should have opened in another

part of our Indian Empire. In the Gospel Herald for September last will be found an account of the formation of an English Strict Baptist Church at Colombo, under circumstances of great interest to all who appreciate conscientious action for the truth's sake. The church thus formed, though numbering only 14 members, is desirous of holding forth the word of life to the native population around them. Application was accordingly made to the Committee by Mr. Van Geyzel, an active member of the church, calling attention to one of their members, Mr. Andriesz, of Portuguese extraction, and a printer by trade, who was desirous of devoting himself wholly to the work of preaching the gospel to his fellow countrymen. A letter from Mr. Andriesz himself accompanied the application, and from both we gather that he is an earnest man of God and a conscientious Strict Baptist. The Committee felt that should the inquiries necessary in such a case prove satisfactory, they ought not to decline the services of such a man as Mr. Andriesz appears to be. The Committee have accordingly accepted him on a probationary engagement for Missionary work amongst numerous Portuguese-speaking inhabitants of Colombo, the chief town in Ceylon, amongst whom he desires to labour. We trust that he will prove both faithful and useful, and that the step may prove to be one which the Lord will overrule for his own glory and the good of heathen souls.

TWO PICTURES

ILLUSTRATIVE OF MODERN AND ANCIENT PREACHING OF CHRIST CRUCIFIED.

BY W. POOLE BALFERN.

THE DOMINICANS IN ENGLAND. [An event of great interest to Roman Catholics, the establishment of an order of Blackfriars, at Haverstock-hill, was celebrated yesterday with characteristic pomp and splendour. Dr. Manning among other things, said :-"The Church of God (His Church, of course) furnished with the like image as in the beginning, knowing nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, preaches still the same

truths, in the same accents, with the same immutability and inviolability as at the beginning."-Daily Paper.]

The aromatic incense floated high,
And the rich organ spread its mellow notes,
Blending its sweet and solemn cadences
With human voice and song. Paid artists
lent

Their aid to fringe with sweetest melody
The rich embroidery of sound. The Sun
His bright rays darted through the coloured
glass,

And with skilled hand tinted with gorgeous hues

The glowing scene. High on the altar steps Stood those who claimed to be the priests of

God,

Arrayed in costly vestments, on each back
A rich embroidered cross shone bright; anon,
These Priests went up the steps, anon came
down.

And then, again, bowed to the east and west, Each gesture studied, while the sound of bells

Fell on the air, and perfumes rich the senses
Lulled in sensuous bliss. Again these priests
Upon the altar steps appeared with looks
And hands outstretched to'ards candles
burning bright,

And other shining objects of their praise.
At intervals they uttered words, as in
An unknown tongue, and men and boys
well trained

Responsive flung them back the monotone
Their ritualistic, cabalistic art

Required.

To this vain scene of operatic toil,

Often called worship, all unexpectedly, Came in a woman, poor and meanly clad. Earnest and eager for the voice of truth, She forced her way to where her ears might catch

The words she hoped to hear; her heart was sad,

And bled beneath the weight of conscious guilt;

"Oh, sobbed she inwardly, could I but learn How God could pardon me, and how sweet

peace

Could reach this guilty breast! alas! alas! Poor am I and blind, and have no learning, And, much I fear, the Christian's hope my heart

Will never cheer, or loose me from my fears." She listened to the music as it rolled

Its waves of sound through vaulted aisles, and wept;

It seemed to mock her grief; she listened, O! How eager, to the singing priests, and strove To catch the liquid notes soft floating by; They seem to gladden all but her; "Ah,

me!"

She bitterly exclaimed," no ray of light,
Of mercy, peace for me!" The uplifted host
She saw, beheld the people rev'rent bow,
And she bowed too; she saw them leave the
place,

And she left too; and turned her weary steps Towards her sad home, her burden on her back,

And eyes suffused with tears-Alas!

'Neath the shade of a palm grove,
By the side of a stream,
Stood a little proseuka

Hid 'neath leaves ever green;

Plain and white were its stone walls,
Calm and peaceful its shade,
While through feathery palms
The breeze oft music made.

To this place of devotion,
God's Israel oft came,

To adore their Jehovah,
And to call on his name;
Oft to blend their glad voices
On their own Sabbath-day,
Or to mourn for their altars,
Now far, far away.

Through the streets of Philippi,
Past its temples and fanes,
Passed on a poor trader,

Not content with her gains;
To dispose of her purple

She had come from afar,
But the wealth her heart wanted,
Was the bright "Morning Star."

So, though footsore and weary,
Lydia passed on her way,
Towards the Jewish proseuka,
To worship and pray;
Her heart was all heavy,

Her conscience was sad,
For the Great Prophet's voice
Could alone make it glad.

Long, long, had she sought him,
And longed for His voice,
To heal all her sorrows

And make her rejoice;
And as weary and pensive
She now hurried along,
Her heart, sad and plaintive,
Low murmured its song.
"Oh, when will the Shiloh,
The Prophet appear;
Oh, when in His beauty
And glory come near;
From my guilt and my fear
Will He ever release,
And make this sad heart rest
In His presence and peace!'
Thus spoke our poor pilgrim,

And opened the door

Of the well-known proseuka,
And knelt on the floor;
When, lo! on her ears

From a voice, strange, but sweet,
Fell the glad news of mercy;
She arose to her feet.

Gracious Paul was the speaker,
His message but one;
Salvation through Jesus,
God's crucified Son;
Of pardon and mercy,

All flowing through blood;
She listened-and-listened-
But scarce understood.

But the Good Spirit shone,
Made the mystery plain,
And her heart found its peace
In the Lamb that was slain;
Threw wide open its doors,
And exaultant did sing,
As she found in her Saviour
Her God and her King.

On hearing a dear Christian Friend say, "I wish you would mend my bible for me.

'TIS ALL THE SAME TO ME.

'Tis all the same to me

Sorrow, and strife, and pining want, and pain

Whate'er it is, it cometh all from Thee,
And 'tis not mine to doubt Thee or complain!
Thou knowest what is best;

And who but Thee, O God, hath power to know?

In Thy great will my trusting heart shall rest;

Beneath that will my humbled head shall bow.

Then what Thou pleasest, send; To order all my destiny is Thine.

With Thee, in all Thy purposes, to blend In unity of heart, let that be mine.

No questions will I ask.

Do what Thou wilt, my Father and my God.
Obedience is my consecrated task,
Though Thou should'st lead me where Thy
martyr trod.

Alike, all pleases well,

Since living faith hath made it understood;

Within the shadowy folds of sorrow dwell
The seeds of life and everlasting good.

T. CUPHAM.

I "mend your Bible!" what a thought!
As if your Bible needed ought

To mend or make it better!
Or such a sinful worm as I
Could add unto Divinity,

Inspired in word and letter!

I "mend your Bible," what a task,
For a believer too to ask,

And of a sinful creature!
Since heaven and earth must first decay,
But not one tittle pass away

From God's most Holy Scripture.
I"mend your Bible!" no, not I!
Nor holy angels, did they try:

Yea, could its author do it? So perfect is his word of Grace, Wherein himself to us displays,

What more can add unto it?

Who dares this God-breathed book to mend,
Must first mend GOD, beloved friend.
Then, who's that bold pretender?
Not I; for tho' I should replace
Some leaves in this blest Book of Grace,
I am no Bible mender.

W. H. COLLYER.

THE LORD IS OUR JUDGE. THE following is note-worthy, respecting a remarkable judgment of God:

"The Lord will avenge his own." Those with whom our dear old friend Miss lived were in most easy and comfortable circumstances for their station. Miss paid over to them nearly all her income, but a few pounds were held in reserve, with which she delighted to help a few old friends and pilgrims in the same path to heaven. Of these last few pounds they became exceedingly jealous. They began intercepting her letters, opening any parcels, and abstracting money from them when about to be forwarded to friends in London. They kept her up-stairs, a prisoner from all relatives and friends whom they supposed might effect her deliverance. But the Lord was pleased suddenly to call them to account for their stewardship, by cutting them both down in one week by cholera, and laying both their bodies in the same grave upon the same day. The wife's brother came upon the scene, arranged all matters, and took our aged sister home to his house.

IN Tahiti, after nearly twenty years' missionary labour, not one conversion was known to have occurred, and the abandonment of the Mission was all but agreed on. But on the return of the missionaries to the island, after a native war, which had driven them from it, they found that two natives, who, unknown to them, had received serious impressions as servants in their families, and had met together for prayer in their absence, had been joined by a number more, and that little remained for the missionaries but to help forward what God himself had so marvellously begun. Meanwhile, the directors in London, urged by one or two of their number, who could not endure to see the Mission abandoned, had, after a season of special prayer,

get a comfortable living, which with half the toil they might get in almost any part of the United States.

During Mr. Dixon's fifteen days' stay in Salt Lake City, he had every opportunity of judging the peculiar institute of polygamy. It appears that the great bulk of the "saints" cannot afford more than one wife, while Brigham Young has a complete harem of twelve wives, and has forty-eight children living, many of them grown up and married. Our author says

"Has the plurality of wives proved a good bribe, inducing men of a certain class to join the Mormon Church? Only one answer can be given. Name the motive as you please; call it with the saints, desire of the spirit; call it with the Gentiles, desire of the flesh; the fact will remain,-that a license for making love to many women, for sealing them as wives, for gathering them up into secluded harems, has acted in the past, and is acting in the present, as a powerful and seductive bribe." (Vol. 1, pp. 297, 298.)

It appears also that incest is practised among these saints (?). Mr. Dixon says

"I name my example, one in which an elder of the church had married an English woman, a widow, with a daughter, then of twelve; in which the woman had borne four children to this husband, and in which this husband had married her daughter when she came of age."

Young said it was not a common thing at Salt Lake."

"But it does occur?'

"Yes,' said Young, 'it occurs sometimes.'

"On what ground is such a practice justified by the church?'

"After a short pause, he said, with a faint and wheedling smile, 'This is a part of the question of incest. We have no sure light on it yet. I cannot tell you what the church holds to be the actual truth: I can tell you my own opinion; but you must not publish it-you must not tell it, &c.'"

This model saint thinks that it is only prejudice that prevents the higher form of incest -a brother or sister marrying each other to the honour of human naturerather than to his religion, Young confesses that his prejudices are against it.

These violations of law, human and divine, in adopting polygamy and incest will probably break this Salt Lake fraternity to pieces. Poor drunkeu Joe Smith, when he palmed on the public the Spalding Novel as a rovelation from

heaven, bad as he was, never had but one wife; and his widow Emma and her four sons declare the document which goes under his name is a vile forgery. Twenty thousand Mormons have separated from Brigham Young on this question, among whom are the widow and sons of Joseph.

From all that Mr. Dixon could learn, the women at Salt Lake are not really happy, and many of them are very sore and ill at ease on the marriage question. These are the rumbling internal sounds of the volcano before the bursting forth from the mouth of the crater of the fire that consumes all with which it comes in contact.

Having described the Shakers of Mount Lebanon and Watervliet, near West Troy, who live in communities as monks and nuns, he gives us a graphic insight into the mysteries of the Perfectionists at Oneida Creek. These infatuated people are under the apostleship of John Humphreys Noyes, a tall, pale man, with sandy hair and beard, grey dreamy eyes, good white temples, and noble forehead. His system, for want of a better name, is called Pantagamy-a community of wives as well as of goods. Marriage, as a rite, they have abolished they say for ever.-What an awful picture of depravity these modern Perfectionists exhibit; and yet, alas! it is done under the name of religion!

It may be asked, How can such vile systems of delusion succeed? How did Prince's Agapemone succeed? Here, by the hand of a mistaken religious sentiment and the hard work of the poor deluded creatures who are led into the trap. Any body of 300 men and women settled on the rich soil of Western America, where land costs next to nothing, with a clever Yankee to guide them, would, humanly speaking, be almost sure to succeed, as a mere business undertaking, provided each did a fair amount of work.

Other important systems are described, and principles discussed. We deeply regret, however, that so little is said of the great religious bodies of America, as the Baptists, Methodists, &c.; but most heartily thank Mr. Dixon for the information contained in these volumes.

Baptist Handbook for 1868. Published under the direction of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland. London: Elliot Stock.

As usual, full of useful information which every Baptist family ought to possess.