temptation. He was a diligent student of the word of God; a meek and patient guide of inquirers; and a valuable preacher of the gospel. He never was formally set apart for the work of the ministry, although that measure was seriously contemplated for several months before his death; nevertheless he was, for years, in the habit of preaching to Hindus, Musalmans, Roman Catholics, and native Christians. When in Calcutta he usually went out several times in the week to proclaim the gospel to his benighted countrymen, sometimes in the Ján Bazar chapel, sometimes in the streets and lanes of the city. His ministrations among the native Christians, both in Calcutta and the villages, were very acceptable to them, and well adapted to their state of knowledge and their spiritual attainments. His discourses were at times somewhat diffuse, but always methodical, plain, and very practical.

His conciliatory disposition rendered him a most valuable assistant in the management of native churches. Bengálís, especially those of the lower classes, are notoriously given to quarrelling; and this feature of their character shows itself not unfrequently among native Christians, at least among those who are Christians in name only. Our late friend was emphatically a peace-maker, and possessed, in a high degree, the art of reconciling discordant parties.

Although a decided baptist, and never ashamed of professing his sentiments on the subject of baptism, his Christian love extended to all who loved the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity, whatever particular denomination they might have joined. And in his public ministrations it was a frequent subject of prayer with him, that denominational differences might entirely cease. He viewed them as one of the greatest hindrances to the progress of the gospel in Calcutta.

His intercourse with pious native Christians of various denominations was pretty frequent, and all seemed to esteem and love him. In his conversations a spiritual vein ran through all he said. He would not obtrude the subject of religion in an unnatural manner; and yet he succeeded in introducing it almost invariably. Although he was mild and frank, yet there was no levity about him; and his very presence seemed to banish it from the lips of others, for they felt that he was living near to God.

alluding to 1 Cor. x. 1-4, pointed out the necessity of following Christ by a living faith, if we would be sure of entering the rest that remaineth for the people of God. In the afternoon of the next day, Monday, he was seized with fever, which continued for several days, and although not violent, yet reduced him to a state of great weakness: on Friday evening he took a powerful medicine, which proved too much for his exhausted frame. It brought on a most profuse perspiration, which in the forenoon of Saturday began to be accompanied with many symptoms of cholera. He continued in possession of his faculties until within the last half hour of his life, when the application of powerful stimulants was ordered by his medical attendants. But even these seemed only partially to impair his consciousness.

Before any of the bystanders were seriously apprehensive of the approach of death, he was aware that his course was run. No mark of fear was to be seen in his countenance; no expression of doubt escaped his lips: but he seemed to express much inward peace; he only gave utterance to the wishes of his heart respecting the support of his wife and children, and of his heathen mother, for whom he had all along provided to the best of his ability. That mother was sitting by his side, and when, overcome by grief, she once endeavoured to comfort him by enumerating his excellent qualities, which she said would entitle him to a state of happiness, he waved his cold hand, as a token of disapprobation, and said: "Do not speak of that." He was too weak to say more, but upon being asked: "So you do not trust in your own righteousness, but in the merits and the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ?" he nodded in token of cordial assent. When in the agony of her sorrow the mother exhorted him to call upon her gods, he showed every symptom of horror at the thought, and faintly expressed his faith in Jesus Christ. Although not many words were spoken by him during the last hours, yet his perfect calmness under the prospect of death, and the pleasure he took in prayer, showed that his faith neither forsook nor disappointed him at the last. He expired about sunset, in the presence of a number of friends, who had gathered around him, to witness his last moments.

our late friend could be removed to the burial ground, it was determined to give to the usual afternoon service the character of a funeral service, in the hope that it might produce a deep and salutary impression on the hearts of some of the spectators. The native congregation usually meeting in the Colingah, having been joined by that of the Intally chapel, and by several European and East Indian friends, the small place of worship

was filled with attentive hearers. In the centre stood the open coffin, containing the lifeless body of him who, but a week before, in the very same place, had discoursed on death and on that living faith by which the sting of death is broken. Rámkrishna, a native preacher, after giving out a hymn,

and reading a portion of scripture, offered up an impressive prayer. The Rev. J. Wenger then delivered an address from Heb. xi. 4, "He being dead, yet speaketh;" and the Rev. G. Pearce concluded the service," and subsequently, in the Scotch burial-ground, offered up a prayer at the grave.

I feel truly obliged to you for inquiring after my health and Mrs. Wenger's, and after our labours. My own health is never very strong, but I am rarely taken seriously ill; and much the same may be said of Mrs. Wenger. If I stay at home during the heat of the day, and have no great excitement, I can go through a good deal of plodding work; but exposure to the heat unfits me for exertion. God has mercifully preserved us during an unhealthy rainy season; I had, however, a smart attack of fever in the latter part of July, and again early in August, which rendered the repeated application of leeches to the head necessary, and has left a tendency of blood to the head. Mrs. Wenger, on the 26th of October, was made the happy mother of a little son, and I am thankful to say, that hitherto God has preserved them both in excellent health.

In connexion with the native church in Colingah, I conduct two services on the sabbath, one at 10, the other at 4 o'clock; these being the most convenient hours to the natives. We also have a prayer-meeting, combined with a brief exposition, on Wednesday evening at 7. On Lord's day evenings and Thursday evenings I frequently have two or three inquirers with me in the study. Then there are other interviews with the members which need not be detailed.

During the last two months, or a little more, I have generally gone out with brother Leslie on Monday and Friday evenings about sunset, to preach to the Hindus and Musalmans in the streets. Brother Leslie is admirable in this kind of work. He usually collects the congregation, and speaks for about half an hour in Hindi or Hindustani, according as our hearers are either Hindus or Musalmans. After him I give an address in Bengali. If you look at a map of Calcutta, you will see that the Bow Bazar Road runs across the city, from east to west. North of that road the natives mostly are bona fide Bengalis; but south of it (where nearly all Europeans and East Indians reside) they are mostly Musalmans, or up-country Hindus, both of whom prefer either Hindustani or

Hindi to Bengali; although nearly all have a smattering of the latter language. As we live in this more southern part of the city, Mr. Leslie has ample opportunities for preaching in the languages which he acquired at Monghir. We usually go to a cross-road near the burial-ground, taking our stand in the Circular Road; in this place we find it comparatively easy to obtain an audience of 150 hearers or thereabouts. Some Musalman opponents made a grand effort to beat us out of the field by noisy and imperious disputation, but brother Leslie has settled them by insisting either upon their being silent, or upon our going to another place. The people evidently understand us well, and listen with attention. Sometimes a native preacher joins us, but these assistants usually go to other spots nearer their own homes. I could fill some sheets with accounts of our addresses and conversations on these occasions; but refrain, because you must have read the substance of them many times.

My chief work is connected with the publication of the Bengali scriptures. For nearly two years now I have had, alone, the correction of all mere reprints of any parts of them. This labour is greater than you are perhaps aware of, but I need not point out particulars.

To the Old Testament in Bengali, now in course of publication, I daily devote several hours. The selection of the references devolves upon me exclusively. The share I take in the other parts of this work is the following. When a page, or rather a long slip amounting to about a page, has been set up, I read it, with a view to ensure a correct pointing and orthography. This done, Dr. Yates compares it with the Hebrew, and makes the necessary alterations accordingly. Then it is corrected at the press, after which it returns to me. I compare it with the Hebrew, and write my observations on the margin. In these I propose emendations, and state the reasons which lead me to propose them. Then I write the references at the bottom, after which the proof goes to Dr. Yates. He reads it, weighing my suggestions, and either adopts or rejects them. Then the proof is corrected, and returns to

me in the shape of a page, regularly set up, with the references, &c., below. This page I compare either with Dr. Carey's version, or else (and this I have commenced since we came to the prophets) with De Wette's German translation, the best in the world, as far as I know, except in the passages which refer to the atonement and the divinity of Christ. The margins of such a page are again bestudded with suggestions. Dr. Yates next reads four pages (a form), again considering my previous remarks. In this proof he corrects chiefly the style. When he has seen it, it returns to me for correction. Another proof of four pages is usually the last Dr. Yates sees: I read that also, and a subsequent one, in which I chiefly pay attention to the typographical correctness, which being satisfactory, the proof is ordered for press. This is for the quarto edition. I am also responsible for the correct reprint of it in the octavo form, although I confess that the pundit alone usually reads the eight pages when put together. I only glance over it cursorily, before it goes to press. This, you will acknowledge, is tedious work, though by no means uninteresting. We are now far advanced in Jeremiah. You can easily imagine that sometimes much time is spent over a few verses. Occasionally Dr. Yates and 1 meet personally, to discuss some particularly difficult passage. Although our progress, in this way, is but slow, yet we hope it is sure; and the work, when completed, will stand for a considerable time. That it will be the final or standard version, I do not expect; for the language is still in a transition state, and forms an awkward medium of expressing true and Christian ideas on religion. When Dr. Carey came, he found the language scarcely so far advanced as the Greek was in the time of Homer. All the literature was of a poetical

nature-and poetry, not like Homer's as to the ideas and the colouring, but like the poorer parts of the Odyssey as to versification. Dr. Carey was the first Bengali prose-writer of any note. Since then the language has made rapid strides; but when it has become thoroughly Christianized it will be something very different, I expect, from what it is now. Take, as an instance, the word rain-bow. The real Bengali word for it means Ráma's bow; but to avoid the heathen term, Christian writers use a word which means cloud-bow, a word which may be justified by passages, I believe, from Sanscrit authors, but which the natives, as long as they are heathen, will not understand so well as they would Ráma's bow. A standard version of the bible will, I think, be executed some ages hence, by native Christian scholars: but it is of the highest importance, in the mean time, to supply the best temporary version that can be made.

I may here also mention that all Bengali tracts, printed at our press, pass through my hands; and that otherwise a portion of my time is devoted to the objects of the Calcutta Tract Society.

Then I have to collect the money for our auxiliary society, and to compile its reports; and here I am sorry to say, I find that owing to the instability of Calcutta society, and to the numerous claims upon the liberality of the small charitable public, I have not been able to get much this year-only 1600 Rs. Mr. Biss, our treasurer, has advanced about 1800Rs. Will you kindly, at your earliest opportunity, bring before the committee the important question, how far they are prepared to take upon themselves the charge of the village stations, so as to provide not only the salaries already given to some native preachers, but also those of the rest, their travelling expenses, and the building and repairs of chapels.

My dear young Friends,

It has given me great pleasure to hear that, although Calcutta is distant from Liverpool many thousand miles, yet your thoughts can travel so far, and your affections and efforts extend to the poor children who inhabit this heathen land. I thank you with all my heart for the promise you have made—and I am sure you will not forget it-to do what you can in order that the children of this country may receive instruction such as you receive in your favoured England. In order to give you an idea of the circumstances of the girls, for

whom your contributions are intended, I will tell you a little about them.

First, where do these girls come from? If you look at the map of India you will readily find Calcutta, that large city full of idolatry, where I am now writing. Now supposing you travel from Calcutta due south, you will see that there is a good track of land to be traversed before you reach the sea. It is easy to make this journey on the map, but not quite so easy to make it in the country itself; for it is covered with water, almost entirely, from the end of June to the end of