No. 9. NEW SERIES.]

[DECEMBER, 1850.

THE

CHURCH MISSIONARY GLEANER.

WORSHIP OF JUGGERNAUT AT MAHESH, NEAR SERAMPORE.-Vide p. 106.

LIVES OF MISSIONARIES. THE REV. THOMAS MAYHEW.

1642-1657.

IT may be interesting to our readers to hear of Missionary labours carried on by English Protestants so far back as 200 years. This is one of the earliest instances. The good man, whose name is given above, was appointed in 1642 Pastor to the English Settlers at Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, North America; of which, with some adjacent islands on the coast, his father was Governor. The Settlers were but few in number; and he resolved, with the help of God, to try and do something for the poor Indians around, who, without God, and having no hope, were living under the painful yoke of Satan. They were indeed plunged in the deepest gloom. Some thoughts they had about the Great Spirit, but of His love and tender mercy over all His works they knew nothing, and they neither loved nor feared Him. Their habits and mode of life were miserable; their houses, a few crotched stakes thrust into the ground and overlaid with bark, a fire being kindled in the middle, and an aperture left at the top to carry off the smoke; their dress, a blanket girt at the waist and thrown loosely over the shoulders, to which the women added a petticoat, and the men, in winter, stockings of blanket and socks of deer skin; their pastime, war carried on by treachery and cruelty, for they never fought in the field, but skulked and attacked by surprise; their most glorious ornaments, the scalps of those whom they had slain, which often proved to be the scalps of women and children. Their feet were swift to shed blood; and when they buried the hatchet, they were not slow to take it up again.

Knowing that he could do but little until he could speak with them in their own tongue, Mr. Mayhew commenced to learn their language, which, from the extraordinary length of the words, and the strong guttural sounds that prevailed in it, he found to be a difficult undertaking; but assistance was given him in a young Indian, of a thoughtful and inquiring mind, named Hiacomes, who was converted, through his instrumentality, in 1643.

He now began to speak to the Indians one by one as he had opportunity, and to visit such families as seemed most willing to be taught. Hiacomes also told his countrymen all that he learned from Mr. Mayhew, and God blessed their united labours.

In 1646 a great meeting of the Indians was held, at which Mr. Mayhew was called upon to make known to them the Word of God in their own tongue, one of the Chiefs addressing him in the following striking language "Thou shalt be to us as one that stands by a running stream, filling many vessels: even so shalt thou fill us with everlasting knowledge." That Chief's heart, like that of Lydia of old, was opened to receive the Truth: he helped Hiacomes in his work, and the number of believing Indians increased. The Powaws, or sorcerers, who pretended to be able to cure sickness and foretel

ONE TAKEN, AND THE OTHER LEFT.

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future events, fearing they should lose their gain, tried to hinder the good work; but Mayhew, encouraged by the tokens of God's blessing, redoubled his diligence, travelling from place to place, lodging in the smoky wigwams of the Indians, partaking of their homely fare, and gladly enduring fatigues and hardships to show them the way of life. Two of the Powaws, who had violently opposed him-convinced of sin, and especially of the sin of witchcraft-began to entreat that God would have mercy on them. "It was very affecting," Mayhew remarks, "to see these poor naked sons of Adam, and slaves of the devil from their birth, come toward the Lord as they did, with shaking joints and troubled spirits, uttering words of sore displeasure against sin and Satan.' There was indeed a powerful shaking amongst the dry bones to whom he preached.

Mayhew's labours were carried on with untiring zeal until the year 1657, by which time he had the great joy of seeing "many hundred men and women" united in Christian fellowship, and proving, by their intelligence and holy walk, that the Truth had come to them, not in word only, but in power. He then undertook a voyage to England, in order to confer with the benevolent persons who had greatly aided him in his work, and to take measures for the further benefit of the Indians. From this voyage, however, he never returned, the ship, it is supposed, having foundered at sea. Thus mysteriously was his course cut short, in the midst of his usefulness, before he had completed his thirty-seventh year. This devoted man had so endeared himself to his Indian flock, that the place where he took leave of them was remembered with sorrow during all that generation; and for many years after his death his name was seldom mentioned without tears. Had other Settlers acted like Mr. Mayhew, and, while they occupied the lands over which the Indians had for generations hunted, been careful to give them compensation by making them acquainted with the Gospel of Christ, the fearful wars, which afterward broke out between the White and Red races, would have been happily prevented.

After Mr. Mayhew's death, Hiacomes continued to do the work of an evangelist amongst his countrymen. In 1670 he was ordained Pastor of an Indian Congregation in Martha's vineyard; and, having persevered with fidelity in his work for a number of years, died in a good old age.

ONE TAKEN, AND THE OTHER LEFT.

AMONGST the various tidings, some of joy and some of sorrow, which reach the Church Missionary House from the wide circle of our distant Missions, there is one which every now and then recurs with a sound peculiarly solemn. It is that which announces that we have a Missionary less in the field-that some one well known, often written to and heard from, has been removed-that another death

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ONE TAKEN, AND THE OTHER LEFT.

has taken place. The interval between one and another of these is never long. Within the last few months there have been several— Haslam of Ceylon-Greenwood of Ceylon-Clemens of Sierra Leone-Müller of Abbeokuta! As to the dead, they are sounds of encouragement. They say, Our brother sleepeth! As to the living, whether at home or abroad, they are warning and quickening sounds. They say, The time is short! They counsel," Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." They urge, "Redeem the time"-for yourself, that when your summons shall come you may be ready; and for others, because, when death comes, our work is done: our tongue, silent in death, can no more speak of Christ to a fellow-sinner, nor can we any longer help forward that best of works, the making known of Jesus Christ and Him crucified to perishing sinners. Who can read the following account of the Rev. C. Greenwood's death, contained in a Letter from the Rev. G. Parsons, of Baddagame, in Ceylon, and not feel solemn thoughts rise within him, which seem to say, Are you ready?

The Brethren here had determined that Mr. Greenwood should remove to Cotta, to supply the place of our late dear friend and brother, Mr. Haslam, and that I should fill his place at Baddagame. Accordingly, a few days before the 21st of June, Mr. Greenwood began to prepare for

his removal.

He finished his accounts on Thursday night, the 20th, and Friday evening, about five, the packing, and sent off the last waggon there was ready. Saturday was intended for handing over the accounts and affairs of the Station to me; Sunday for taking leave of the people; and Monday for starting for Cotta; but God ordered otherwise. Having finished packing, Mr. Greenwood proposed our usual bathe in the river. We went; and after being in the water about five minutes, as we were both making for the bank, I was a little in advance of him, when I heard a plunge and a call. On looking round, I saw my friend in difficulty. I turned, and reached him just as he was sinking for the last time. Before I could catch hold of him, he had thrown both his arms round my body. We both sank together; and I thought I should never be released from his grasp, nor be able to save either myself or him. But the same loving Father who took my companion to Himself, spared me to serve Him longer. I got away from him, rose to the top of the water, and reached the bank as soon as I could, quite exhausted. I then obtained assistance; but the body was not found till next day, at 2 P.M.

As for myself, I feel that then I as good as died, and was buried. My life, therefore, is a new one, and shall be doubly devoted to Him who has renewed it to me, and who so distinctly and solemnly calls upon me to work while it is day, seeing the time is short. I am aware that the heart of man is deceitful above all things; yet I feel assured that so solemn an instalment will never be forgotten by me, and that it has left a lasting impression upon my mind, to quicken me to be diligent and zealous for the glory of my Saviour.

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NEW MISSION AT THE GALLINAS RIVER.

THE Gallinas river, about seven days' sail to the S. E. of Sierra Leone, has been, for the last thirty years, one of the most fearful slave-marts on the West-African Coast, not fewer than 15,000 human beings having been shipped from thence every year. The barracoons in which the slaves were chained while waiting for the slaveships, and the factories in which were stored the goods used to purchase them, having been burned by the British squadron in the beginning of 1849, and the slave-traders having been driven away by the Native Chiefs, over whom they had tyrannized, the Chiefs seem disposed to give up slave-trading altogether, and live on good terms with the English. We know, however, that it is only by giving the Gospel to these people,* that we can have any security as to the stedfastness of their good intentions; and it has been felt by the Society at home, and the Missionaries at Sierra Leone, that Missionary work ought to be at once commenced amongst them. The Chiefs, indeed, seem to have invited us to do so, for they have sent three of their sons, one the son of the principal Chief Manna, to be educated in our Grammar-school at Sierra Leone.

Accordingly, one of our Missionaries, the Rev. J. Beale, proceeded to the Gallinas, from Sierra Leone, in February last, in order to see whether the opening was such as to justify us in the commencement of a new Mission. The well-built houses of Prince Manna's chief town Gendama, and the European furniture to be found in them, such as chairs, sofas, pier and other glasses, crockery, &c., much surprised him. The people also were kind to him, and the King's wives and brothers-the prince himself not being at home on his arrivalconversed freely with him, many of them speaking in English; nor did he fail to improve the opportunity thus given to him of speaking to them about Christ. Poor people! they need the Gospel much, for around were sad sights, which showed that cruelty had not ceased at the Gallinas. In the prison at Gendama, Mr. Beale saw thirty-one men in heavy chains, and fastened, in different ways, by blocks of wood and irons so that they could not lie down. They were persons who had been sentenced to pay a fine for crimes of which they had been guilty, and until the fine was paid they were left in this state, without food or water, dependent on the compassion of the town's people. This painful sight of miseries which he could not relieve caused Mr. Beale to groan within himself.

Mr. Beale visited the site of the barracoons and factories taken by our cruisers in 1849, when property to the amount of half a million, intended for slave-trading purposes, was destroyed. He says

On the bar, the sea, as usual, was breaking fearfully. There, only lately, a large canoe was upset in conveying the Spanish slaves over to

When Mr. Beale told them the Spanish slave-dealers would never be all lowed to come back, many of them grew quite angry.