I. IN THE HOSPITAL AT SCUTARI.

In a letter from the Rev. Mr. Drennan, chaplain to the forces at present in the Barrack hospital at Scutari, dated 3d March 1855, we find the following sentences:-"I am happy to say that 'still continue to like my work here very much, and to find it as hopeful as at the first. I have not yet got my work into quite such good order as I would have liked, there is so much of it; but I am gradually getting things made better. I had twice, yesterday, an opportunity of preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ to considerable audiences,-one of the men, and one of their wives; but I feel that I would require three services to do the work efficiently,-one for the men upon duty, one for the convalescent, and one for the women. As you may well imagine, the circumstances render these services peculiarly interesting; and from the quiet seriousness and attention

VOL. IV. No. V.

MAY 1855,

with which the men listen, I hope they may not be altogether without fruit.

"Since I last wrote to you, one great evil of which I then complained has happily been remedied in the working of our hospitals. Two additional chaplains have arrived to minister to our poor countrymen, and to the Irish and English Presbyterians.

"The hospitals have shewn a great improvement of late in point of health, the average of deaths here having sunk from about forty-five to about twenty-one. God grant that this may not only continue but improve, and that we may have a speedy issue out of our 'many troubles."

One of these additional chaplains, above referred to-the Rev. Mr. Ferguson-in writing to the Glasgow Society who sent him out to the hospital at Scutari, says:

"I was very happy to find Mr. Drennan here, who was ordained as chaplain by the Presbytery of Edinburgh. The day after my arrival, I took a walk through part of the hospitals. You ask, 'What are my first impressions?' It is difficult to say-the vast magnitude of the whole wellnigh confounded me. I walked first round the lower corridor of the Barrack hospital, a distance of about threequarters of a mile, in a narrow passage, lined on each side by my fellow-countrymen as closely as is possible, to allow the necessary space between each bed. The great majority are suffering from diarrhoea, some from dysentery, rheumatism, fever, &c. &c.; some have been lying ever since the battle of Alma, with little prospect of getting better; some are dying, (the mortality is somewhat less of late, between fifty and sixty are laid in one grave daily;) some are convalescent, and are walking about on tottering and aching limbs, and many upon crutches; some expecting soon to return to their hard labour in the trenches, or on the heights; and some to return to their native land, to tell the soldier's tale, and to reap the rewards of their honourable toils. Many are lying on their beds in good health; but with painful wounds; and some with frost-bitten feet -here, a toe or more-there, nearly a whole of one, or of both, lost.

"But there is no end to the variety of their sufferings. It is truly a sad, a heart-sickening sight. And this corridor is a mere fraction of the whole. There are, I am told, from seven to eight thousand at Scutari alone, and they

appear to be arriving from the Crimea almost daily. They were carrying them in on stretchers the whole day yesterday. I saw one poor fellow literally' skin and bone,' seated upon a bed, getting his entire body cleared of several months' accumulation of filth. The look of satisfaction, which shewed itself upon his spare features and hollow eyes, at once more getting a sight of his skin in its natural state, would have been a rich reward to me though I had performed the disagreeable work of scrubbing him! As I' came from the hospital this afternoon, about five o'clock, I met a few artillerymen just come from the Crimea. One poor fellow was creeping along with much difficulty. I asked him how he did, and what was going on at Sebastopol. He seemed to know little about it. His reply was: 'There is a deal of sickness in the camp. His feet were swollen, so that his shoes would not hold them. But when I suggested that he should get a carry, he smiled, and said: 'Oh! no; I'll make it out.'

"I began my labours in the General hospital on Saturday last. On the preceding evening, a chaplain told me that he had seen that day a Presbyterian who wished much to see one of his own chaplains, as he had never seen one since he left home. I went immediately and had a talk with him. He was able to move about, and promised to attend a meeting on Sabbath, in the chaplain's room. He had no Bible. There are very many in this state, particularly in the General hospital. It is quite distressing not to be able to put the Word of Life into their hands. If you only heard how they thank me when I promise to procure them a Bible. 'I'll be very muckle obliged to you, sir.' This case encouraged me to set to work on the following day; so, handing it over to my colleague, to whom it belonged, I went to my own division.

"Oh! when will these Testaments be here? The desponding wish I had a complete copy, psalms and paraphrases, and all; but it went with my knapsack, and I fear I shall never see it again,' almost rends my heart when I cannot meet it by the hearty words: 'Here, my good fellow, is a new copy for you; regret not the one you have lost.' It would amuse, as well as melt you, to hear and see some men say: 'My Bible is gone with all my traps.' The arms are thrown out, and the hands opened wide, to shew how empty they are; and, when able, held up to shew that he is indebted to another for the very shirt he wears; and with a becoming indifference for an old knapsack, and an air, I think, peculiar to a soldier,

he exclaims: 'I have nothing here!'-apparently grateful that he is still here himself, although all else is gone.

"The books have not yet made their appearance. Men are asking almost daily for the Scotch psalms and paraphrases, and some ask for the Shorter Catechism. The psalms are much wanted on Sabbath for public worship, as we can have no singing without them.

II. AT BALAKLAVA.

The SOLDIERS' FRIEND SOCIETY sent out an agent with Bibles and tracts for our army before Sebastopol, and books for the officers.

"Day after day," he says, "I took my stand in the streets of Balaklava, and as I spoke to this man and that of the one thing needful,' I presented my tracts; the rush to get them was often great; the avidity with which they were seized remarkable. Each day my bag was emptied, and filled only to be emptied again, till within the last five weeks I have given away nearly twenty thousand tracts, besides one hundred Bibles and twenty New Testaments."

"Visited drum-major.-It was Sabbath, and that we might be left alone to worship the Lord together, we sought a quiet retreat, and found a sheltered spot not far from the camp, in a hollow between two hills. We could hear the sound of martial music, and see the material of war carried to Sebastopol, whilst the guns from thence shook the air. Together we read, sang, and prayed. It was an hour of much enjoyment-for from that time it was a Bethel. Friends far off-homes-countrymen-the army --all had a place in the petitions offered up. I was loathe to leave the spot, and only soldiers gathering fire-wood hastened us from it. The Lord's goodness to him had been great. With his regiment he stormed the strongest battery at Alma, and fought in the hottest of the fight, the ninetyfirst Psalm staying his spirit. At Balaklava he felt the everlasting arms underneath him, and escaped unhurt. He is a faithful soldier to the Queen, and a noble witness for Jesus Christ."

"On presenting a tract to a dragoon, he said: 'I wish you would meet our quartermaster, for he has often given us these little books.' I had gone a little way, when the quartermaster, (who had met the man,) riding after me, kindly asked a grant of a few, saying: 'We need anything calculated to do good, for we, as an army, need the deepest

humiliation in the sight of God, and I have often felt in this expedition there was no honouring of the Lord as giving the victory, and no acknowledgment of His hand. Truly were it not for God's Aarons and Hurs at home, I know not what would become of us.' We talked long together, and I supplied him with a choice selection of tracts, and some books for himself."

"I used to meet a young drummer boy daily from Sebastopol. If he was in a throng, he ran to meet me, and always with a face full of smiles used to say, 'Thank you for more tracts, sir.' I felt deeply interested in this young boy, and one day he came, bringing a comrade-an Irish boy-with him. I presented each with a copy of the Bible, and never shall I forget the scene that followed. I had witnessed not a few joyous scenes, but this exceeded all; they actually danced for joy; and 'God bless you, sir; long may you live,' &c., was repeated often. The dear young boys had tender hearts, and were far from a mother's smile; kindness had won their hearts, and I do pray they may become lambs in Jesus' fold.".

"Visited Transport No. -, with one hundred and forty sick on board for Scutari. The doctor was very, very kind; and the captain did all within him to further my work. They (the sick) had newly been put on board, and the scene was sickening. The worthy doctor was nearly sinking under his work; he received me kindly; and as I spoke to the dying men, I felt it peculiarly solemnizing. One man of the 42d, who lately had cholera, with tears in his eyes, once or twice repeated :-'I am dying-I shall never get better-Scotland I shall no more see.' I tried to speak to him of the great Sacrifice the Substitute-the Mediator -Christ Jesus; his own need of finding safety in Him, and his danger without Him. Three days in succession I had to visit this vessel, and each visit only made the work more painful, yet pleasing, for, oh! it is sweet to think Jesus shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied, and that all that His Father hath given shall come to Him."

He ends by saying "The field is large, and the deepest, darkest ungodliness prevails. Swearing is so common, it is rare to meet one that does not. Daily and hourly I am taught it is the Holy Ghost alone that can convert the soul. There must then be an honouring of Him-a seeking His grace-a crying for His power; and for me, that I may be kept low at the feet of Jesus, be freshly anointed with the Holy Spirit, and thus be enabled

To speak as dying, unto dying men.""