daily expected, it is reported there are many pious men already. May we have the happiness to witness their increase! As I think the society will be glad, at all times, to know how their missionaries fill up their time, I send the following account of the manner in which brother Siers and myself go through the week. Sabbath morning, one preaches at the Grand Pass, in Cingalese; the other, in the Fort, in Portuguese, alternately. These two places of worship are more than two miles distant one from the other. Sabbath evening, I preach in the Fort, in English, and brother Siers in the Pettah. Monday forenoon, I visit the Cingalese school, sing a hymn, give an exhortation to the children in Portuguese, which brother Siers turns into Cingalese, pray with them in the same manner, and inspect the progress they have. made during the week; after which, we examine a sheet or two of Mr. Siers's translation of the New Testament into the Portuguese of Ceylon, in which he has advanced to the middle of Luke. In the evening, we hold a prayer meeting in the Fort meetinghouse, in English and Portuguese; on which occasion we deliver a short exhortation in both languages, Tuesdays I spend at home in translating, reading, or composing Cingalese; in the evening, hold an experience-meeting for members of the church and others, who manifest any real concern to seek the salvation of their souls; and whose conduct is, at the same time, strictly moral. Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I spend the forenoon, from 10 to 1, at the translating room. Wednesday, half past 2, p.m. I preach in the gar rison hospital; in the evening, either in Portuguese at the Pettah, or in Cingalese at the Grand Pass and while I am preaching at one place, brother Siers is preaching at the other. Friday evening, we preach alternately in the Fort, in Portuguese. Saturday forenoons, we go in turn to the leprous hospital, and preach in Cingalese and Portuguese, to the miserable objects at that place. They are miserable looking figures indeed; some of them have lost all their fingers, some their toes, and part of their feet; others have their faces frightfully disfigured. However, they have souls. But, till brother Siers, some time ago, proposed to go and preach to them, these poor creatures had just cause for the complaint, "no man careth for our souls." They appear to be the most attentive of any of the little companies to whom we preach; and we entertain a hope, that we shall have some seals to our ministry from among them. From this statement you will perceive, that though our congregations are small, we have a considerable number of them to supply. Should it be the will of our gracious God, several of them may soon increase a little one may become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. That this may be the case, a few are constantly offering up prayers and supplications to that God who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think. In this, I have no doubt you unite with us. Allow me to entreat you to abound in it more and more. Brethren, pray for us, that we may witness a gracious out-pouring of the Holy Spirit (without which all our efforts will be unavailing,) that the gos. pel may have free course and be glorified, even as it is with you. I will conclude this long letter with a sad, yet pleasing event. On Lord's-day, the last of November, we lost Theophilus, the only Cingalese member of our church. His affliction was not then I take a journey to a distant neighbourhood, where I commence my work for the day. On my arrival the people collect, and I proceed with a school first; when they have all read, or those of them who cannot read have been taught once, some of them, if they have work in hand, go to their employment, others remain with me, and frequently hold conversation with me on various subjects, sometimes on domestic affairs-sometimes on subjects of a more public nature. Indeed, there is such a variety in their questions on almost every custom and usage in life, that to attempt to acquaint you with them would be in vain. I sometimes conceive myself situated, when seated in the midst of them on those occasions, like a father surrounded by a numerous family, who come to him with com long, but for a short time his pains were extremely severe. He continued, to the last, the same steadfast, upright character he had ever been from the time of his conversion. He had no ecstacies, but manifested an unshaken trust in God, under his sharpest affliction; and appeared to endure his pains with much patience. The last time I saw him, I asked him if he was afraid of death? he said, "No; he was afraid of his pains, but he had no fear of death." Being asked why he did not fear death? his answer was, "My trust is in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, therefore I do not fear death." On Monday morning, myself, and the members of the church, with the exception of one, followed his remains to the place of interment : a few of our Cingalese -friends, and some of the schoolboys, also accompanied us.plaints-some for directions, othBrother Siers spoke a little in Cingalese at the grave. We sung a verse or two of Dr. Watts' hymn, "Why do we mourn departing friends"--and brother Siers concluded, with a prayer in Cingalese. Short has been the race of this our first, and at present, I fear, only convert, from among the Cingalese. But, I trust he has so run, that he has obtained; and that he will be found among those, of whom I may have to say another day, "Here, Lord, am I, and the chil. dren thou hast given me." LONDON MISSION. SOCIETY. Intelligence from the South Sea Islands. Extracts of a Letter from Mr. Hayward, Missionary at Eimeo, to Mr. T. Parkinson, London, 5 July, 1817. THE plan of my proceeding is as follows. In the morning I take my breakfast as early as possible; ers for advice, and all for instruction of one sort or another; and to do this satisfactorily, for their present and future good, requires the wisdom of the serpent, and the gentleness and simplicity of the dove. It requires great watchfulness and circumspection, in temper, in conversation, and in every way you have intercourse with them; for they are their new profession from our more ready to transcribe into example, than from what they are taught but my principal object is, as you suppose, to instruct them in divine things, which I attempt to do, by conversing with them on subjects of that nature--by exhortation, by counsel, and by catechising. After I have spent some hours with them, according to circumstances, and have gone through them twice in the school, I then return back to the neighbourhood nearest my own home, and go through nearly the same course, as circumstances will allow, with the people there, as above, until the approach of the evening, when I return to my home. By this mode of procedure, I become more accurately acquainted with them in all respects, and have an opportunity to teach, if not to preach the Lord Jesus. [Er.Mag. Extracts of a Letter from Mr. W. Ellis, Missionary at Eimeo, to the Rev. J. Campbell. Afareatu, Eimeo, Aug. 23, 1817. SINCE our arrival here, God has graciously favoured us with tolerable health. We have been busily employed in endeavouring to meet the urgent calls of these people for books, and have printed 2300 spelling books, which, with the exception of those for the Leeward Islands, are already in circulation among the people, who received them with the liveliest emotions of joy. There is a call for double that number, did our paper allow us to print so many. People are daily coming from Taheite with bundles of letters (written on plantain leaves) for books, but we are obliged to refuse them. Some hundreds We are have been disappointed. now engaged in preparing a catechism, of which we intend to print about 3000 copies; after which we think of beginning the Gospel of Luke. I beg your acceptance of a Tahitian spelling book, as the first effort of the missionary press among the South Sea Islands. It contains the most general and useful words in the language, and the lessons are principally translations of different parts of scripture. I trust God will abundantly bless Brother Davies' and Nott's exertions in teaching these people to read, and rendering so much of the word into their language. As a reward of their labours, they can look around, and see upwards of 5000 people read- A great work is going on. There are about 67 places of worship at Taheite, and 20 at Eimeo, besides those that are building. Their regular attendance on every means of grace would put many congregations in England to the blush, and it would cause the hearts of many ministers to rejoice, were their hearers as punctual at their pla ces in the house of God at the stated times of public worship. Very frequently the service commences before the usual time, in consequence of the house being full, and the people waiting. I desire to rejoice in having entered on the work so soon in life, and trust my youth will af ford me a facility that I otherwise should not have had in acquiring the language; the study of which, with the labour of printing, now occupies my time and engages my attention. The enclosed tract has been finished printing since I wrote my letter, and I send it, with the spelling-book, on board the vesse! which is on the point of sailing. The first 16 pages contain the Catechism, Ten Commandments, &c.; the latter 16 pages, select passages of scripture, extracted from both the Old and New Tes taments. [Lon. Ev. Mag. OTAHEITE. Further Particulars of the Progress of Christianity in the South Sea Islands may be gathered from the following Extracts, made from the public Letter of the Brethren, dated Eimeo, 2nd July, 1817. SINCE the date of our last, Christianity is become the professed religion, not only of Tahiti and Eimeo, but also of all the Society Islands. At a small island to the north of Tahiti, called Tetaroa, three places of worship have been lately erected. Tapua-manu has been professedly Christian for a good while. Huaheine, Raiatea, and Taha, have renounced heathenism, and make a general profession of Christianity. The people of Borabora, particularly two chiefs, Mai and Tefaaora, have distinguished themselves by their zeal in destroying the idols, demolishing the morais, and erecting places for the worship of the true God. And it appears by letters which we have lately received from Raiatea and Borabora, that the Boraborans have made converts of their neighbours of Márua. That island is the furthest to the westward of us in this group, and as no one of us was ever there, it was, as might have been expected, the last in renouncing Idolatry. Some pleasing things have occurred in respect of the small islands to the eastward of us, called the Paumotu; these, viz. the VOL. II. 4 inhabitants of Ana, Awara, the Paliseers, and numerous small islands in their neighborhood, have been for many years past in the habit of visiting Tahiti and the Society Islands, and many of them have been witnesses of the wonderful change which has taken place here. Some have attended school, and learned to read well, and obtain some acquainttianity, as contained in our Cateance with the principles of Chrischism: but they have all a remarkable attachment to their own islands, miserable as they are, and, in consequence of several of them having come hither and returned, for some years past, many of their countrymen have renounced heathenism; and this will probably be the case shortly, through all these small islands which have intercourse with us and each other. The state of things being such, we can say, with more propriety than some perhaps in our native country will be ready to allow, 'the harvest is truly great, but the labourers are few-very few, and inadequate to so great a field of labour. laying before you a closing communication. Even now I can do little more than just glance at a few of the facts which presented themselves in my returning from the neighborhood of Charlestown on the Great Kanhawa. The country for many miles up this river is but poorly inhabited. The upper church, and the oldest in the Taze's valley Association, I found was in a very low condition. It had for a long time met only once in two months. The 29th of March had now arrived, and there had been no preaching near, of any kind, since Christmas. Indeed, from very near Charlestown to Lewisburg, a distance of at least eighty or ninety miles, the country was entirely destitue of preaching. The inhabitants are few and very much scattered; but most of them live along the road, the country back being too mountainous and barren for cultivation. 1 perceived it would be easier to visit them all at home, than to collect them to gether for the purpose of hearing the gospel. I therefore called at their houses, and conversed with them in such a way as seemed at the time, most likely to do good, and where they were able to read, distributed religious Tracts;for a good lady in Marietta, (Ohio) had kindly furnished me with a quantity. These visits, to say the least, appeared, in general, not to be unwelcome, and the tracts when offered, were most thankfully received. But to my astonishment, I one day found four families in succession of respectable appearance, in which there was not an individual who could read! The first of April brought me near Lewisburg, to the dwelling of the venerable author of a controversial work entitled, "David and Goliath." I found him, an old man of nearly seventy years, in the field ploughing. There are but two other ministers in the Green-brier Association-Elder Alderson, still more superannuated, and a preacher who lives in a remote corner among the mountains. There are five small churches, feeble and languishing. Lewisburg is a village about as large as Clarksburg. It has a Presbyterian minister, who is pastor of a church in the place, and preceptor of a flourishing academy. After proceeding over the summit of the Alleghany, I became acquainted with a Mr. F. C. a licensed Baptist preacher in the neighbourhood of the falling spring. He resides at a small distance from the road, and his house is concealed from it by the surrounding hills. He is a distinguished teacher; and in this retired spot, he has a fine English school of between forty and fifty young gentlemen and ladies collected from various parts of the country. He is, in the main, self-taught. He has published an English grammar, and has writien an original system of Logic. His age is nearly sixty. He contributed five dol lars for the Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Society. He had no distinct knowledge, if any, of the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions. I gave him some account of what his brethren in the United States are doing, and his heart leaped for joy at the intelligence. But I must hasten to close this letter. I can only add that I have at no time seen any reason to regret my engaging in the mission which led me to the destitute and dreary regions that I have visited. Providence has most kindly granted me protection. Many a precious, unexpected interview with christians and others upon whom the Spirit |