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men; and the progress of education, the extension of knowledge, and the colossal powers of the press, are every where concentrating them to a focus, and bringing them to bear upon the great question of civil government. The ultimate result we would trust will be beneficial; we would hope that in the end it will open the way to social happiness, public and private virtue, and, above all, the diffusion of the Gospel of peace: but in the mean time the struggle may be fearful; for contending passions are afloat, and justice and mercy are not the characteristics of our fallen nature, either on the side of the besieger or the besieged. Let us pray to Him who is the author of peace and the lover of concord, that our fears may be frustrated, and that the political institutions of Europe, and ultimately of the world, may be placed under the guidance of his Almighty Providence on the footing best calculated to promote glory to God, and peace and good will to man.

ties on whom it was imposed, especially to Belgium. No two nations could be less fitted to be wedded together: their institutions, their habits, their religion, their language, were and are complete antipathies. The inhabitants of the Netherlands, or Belgium, are somewhat Gallic in their temperament: the inhabitants of the United Provinces, or Holland, are the antipode-Dutch: the former are Catholic, the latter Protestant; the former are a manufacturing, the latter a commercial people; the former are accustomed to foreign dominion, the latter have for ages been proud of their independence; the former prefer France, the latter England: and their very languages differ, so that the books, and laws, and proclamations, which are vernacular to the one, are unintelligible to the other. The only reason for uniting them was not the wish of the parties, but to maintain the conservative policy of Europe. In order, however, to conciliate both nations, it was determined by the allies that the king should reside alternately at Brussels and the Hague; and that both should be represented in one common legislative body. But no cordial union has ever existed; and the late events in France having removed from Belgium somewhat of the extraneous pressure which secured her coherence with Holland, she has broken out into rebellion, and openly seeks, besides the redress of some alleged grievances, a dissolution of the alliance.

The particular case of the kingdom of the Netherlands, which at present excites peculiar attention, stands as follows:Belgium and Holland were united, not at the wish of the parties concerned, but by a confederacy of foreigners, who paired these two states, to make one sufficiently powerful to interpose an obstacle to the hostile loco-motion of France; for which purpose, a strong line of fortresses was to be kept up along the whole frontier. This forced political matrimony has not however proved altogether acceptable to either of the parHaving laid down these preliminary statements, we had proceeded to narrate the events of the month at home and abroad; and were preparing to wind up the whole with some remarks on their bearing upon the state of continental affairs, and also upon our beloved country, when we found that, owing to the great length of several articles in this Number (which must be our apology for the postponement of Literary and Philosophical Intelligence, and other articles), our space was exhausted, and that it was too late in the month to add an extra quantity without risking the publication. We are forced, therefore, for the present to cut short our remarks, and perhaps to leave some of them liable to misconstruction; but we purpose resuming the subject. We are obliged also to omit what we had penned in introducing the interesting documents appended to our Number; but our readers can supply this defect for themselves. Much does the aspect of affairs both at home and abroad require their serious reflection and earnest prayers; yet, we would trust, not without a mixture of hopeful circum

stances.

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.

J. B. H.; T. C.; C. E. I.; D. T.; A CONSTANT READER; P.; AN OLD READER; H. C.; J. W.; M. F.; D. M. P.; SIMPLEX; N.; and C. H. H.; are under consideration.

SUPPLEMENT TO RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

ANTI-SLAVERY SOCIETY.

HIBERNIAN SOCIETY.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN SCHOOL SOCIETY.

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during the day. While we were at dinner the Bishop was informed that the Rev. Mr. Winckler, a missionary

WE left our beloved prelate from the Netherlands Society, re

delivering his farewell discourse at Madras, March 12, 1826: we now, by the guidance of his chaplain, follow him on his last journey; not noticing every stage, but selecting a few passages. In three weeks his labours were ended, and he entered the joy of his Lord.

March 13th.-We left Madras this afternoon, after a fortnight of great enjoyment as well as exertion. The novelty and variety of the objects that have engaged the Bishop's attention, the excellence of the public institutions, and the foundation of missionary labours in the venerable establishments at Vepery, have all conspired to excite the strongest interest in favour of Madras; and no where has his own character been more justly appreciated. He has been particularly gratified by observing the harmony that so happily prevails among the clergy, and their disinterested kindness in assisting each other, and even seeking for opportunities of extending their sphere of usefulness.

March 13th.-A ride of a few miles brought us to breakfast at our camp, a little beyond Sadras. With all the comforts even of this princely mode of travelling, the heat is still intense, and it is almost impossible to attempt any thing like employment CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 346.

sided in Sadras; and, as it was then too late to invite him to our tents, he sent Mr. Doran and me in the evening with a kind message to him, expressive of his regret that he had not sooner known of his being in the neighbourhood, that he might have made his acquaintance. He has two schools, and is about to build a small chapel with subscriptions which he is collecting for that purpose. He has a small Dutch and Portuguese congregation from the poor remains of the Netherlands inhabitants, and their dependents, still lingering among the ruins of their former settlement. The small fort near the sea shore is now dismantled, and a few handsome tombs (on which the Dutch seem always to have bestowed considerable care and expense) is all that remains to remind us of their

greatness. Mr. Winckler's sphere of duty is of the most humble and unpromising description, but yet is almost more than his nervous and sickly frame can bear. He was very grateful to his lordship for the kindness that suggested our little embassy. On our return to camp we found the Bishop and the rest of the party drinking tea on the shore, under the light of a lovely moon, and, after our usual evening

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prayers, we were all glad to retire to bed early and prepare for our march to-morrow.

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March 17th. We arrived at Pondicherry after an intensely hot march, and found our tents pitched on a burning sand, about a mile from the town. After dinner, while the Bishop walked out with Mr. Cordier, the governor, I went with the rest of our party to visit the college and church of the Jesuits. The titular Bishop of Halicarnassus, who resides here as the chief of the mission, sent his compliments to me, and invited me to visit him in his cell. He was drest in the usual plain robe with a gold cross. I found him a gentlemanly well-informed man, and very good-natured in giving me all the information about the establishment which our short interview allowed me to ask. He complained much of the sufferings of the mission, almost from its first foundation, by the constant wars between the French and English, the suppression of the Jesuits, and the Revolution. They had once a noble library; but, after the first capture of Pondicherry by our army in 1761, it was almost entirely dissipated, and (as he expressed it) the books have never yet found their way back again. I was in hopes of finding some Persian or Syriac manuscripts, but he assured me they had nothing of the kind. There is at present a small seminary for European children, and another for the native clergy. The government contribute towards the support of the former, and the latter is supported entirely by the mission. They have at present thirteen native students. I believe they supply from hence most of the churches in the northern circars, and in the provinces of Mysore and Hyderabad.

On my return to government house, I found the Bishop had been requested to confirm four young persons, the children of an English officer, deceased, by a French lady. We went immediately to their house,

and he spent an hour in examining and conversing with them on the subject of religion. I was much struck with the patience and carnestness of his manner in this interesting service, and not only the ease but the manifest delight with which he left the crowded party of the governor, which was anxiously expecting his return, for this unexpected call of duty. The fatigue of travelling, the excessive heat, and the constant engagements of the day, had all been extremely exhausting, and we have to march at three to-morrow morning; yet he did not shorten in any degree what it was right to say. He expressed great pleasure in their answers and general appearance, and, after confirming them, returned før a short time to the government house, and retired early to his tent.

March 18th.--A long and sultry march brought us to Cuddalore. This is the first English station we have visited since we left Madras: it is one of those places to which pensioners and invalids, who prefer a residence in this country, are sent to end their days; with but little or no restraint of military discipline, and with too great facilities for the indulgence of their destructive habits. There are here at present 180 soldiers, of whom 140 are Protestants. Most of them are married to native Christian women; and Major Hicks, the commanding officer, has an excellent school for the education of their children, which is supported chiefly by the subscriptions of the resident families. The Bishop has been much interested in the account he has received of the labours of Mr. Church, who was formerly chaplain here, and died some time ago at Madras. His simple and judicious instructions united with great kindness of manner, and, above all, the example of his own life, more eloquent than a thousand sermons, effected a very considerable reform among the poor pensioners, and his

name is remembered by all classes with affectionate respect. The Bishop has been engaged in ascertaining from the Reverend Mr. Allen, the chaplain, the particulars of his own immediate charge, and giving him directions for his future conduct.

March 19th (Sunday). The Bishop preached in the morning an admirable sermon from Rom. vii. 24, 25. In the evening service, which the Bishop established today, he, confirmed thirteen candidates; and there was an excellent congregation of soldiers, whose at tendance is altogether voluntary. There are two Tamil services for the native Christians.

March 20th. The Bishop has passed a most fatiguing day in the investigation of the mission property and devising some plan for its future improvement. He inspected the whole of the mission premises at day-break. On the whole, he has felt much interested in the future capabilities of this mission, rather than its actual state, and much may be hoped from those plans which he has already formed for its advance

ment.

March 23d.-A ride of thirteen miles through a richly cultivated and very populous country brought us to Myaverum, where we expected to find nothing but a bungalow to shelter us during the heat of the day; but we had just separated after breakfast, when the Bishop, who was sitting alone in the hall reading his Greek Testament, was agreeably surprized by a visit from a German clergyman. He supposed at first he was a traveller, but found that he was a missionary in connexion with the Church Missionary Society, and stationed here in the centre of a circle of thirty schools, which he has lately established. Strange to say, no one had mentioned to his lordship Mr. Barenbruck or his mission. He spent the day with us; and in the afternoon, before we began our evening march, the Bishop visited the mission house and schools,

which are built in a noble compound and with a great degree of comfort. The mission is at present in its infancy.

March 24th. We expected to have passed Good Friday alone in our tents, but were agreeably surprised on arriving at Combaconum to find it the residence of a sub-collector; and, though the Bishop was expected to pass through in the night, yet the necessary preparations were soon made for Divine service, and he had a congregation of twenty or thirty persons, among whom were several Native Christians who understood English. Mr. Mead, a Dissenting minister in connexion with the London Missionary Society, very kindly sent the desk from his own chapel for the Bishop's use, and attended the service himself. He enclosed to his lordship a statement of his schools and other plans of usefulness.

March 25th.-We went to bed in our palanquins, which the bearers took up at mid-night and brought us to Tanjore (twenty-two miles) at day-break, where we met with the kindest welcome from the Resident, Captain Fyfe, and his lady. The Reverend Messrs. Kohlhoff and Sperschneider, the missionaries of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, waited on the Bishop in the morning, and received his directions for the service of tomorrow. The venerable appearance of the former strongly recalled to our minds the expression of Bishop Middleton when he parted from him ten years before and received his blessing, that the less was blessed of the greater. He has now completed nearly half a century of Christian labour in India; and the simplicity of his manners and character are exactly what you would expect to see in a pupil and follower of Swartz.

After dinner the Bishop walked over the premises of the mission, visited Swartz's chapel, hallowed by the grave of the Apostolic man, and copied the inscription on the stone

which covers it, interesting as being the composition of the Rajah himself, and certainly the only specimen of English verse ever attempted by a prince of India. He was particularly pleased with the natural simplicity of expression in the last lines.

Firm wast thou, humble and wise,
Honest, pure, free from disguise;
Father of Orphans, the Widow's support,
Comfort in sorrow of every sort;
To the benighted, dispenser of Light,
Doing and pointing to that which is right;
Blessing to Princes, to People, to me:
May I, my father, be worthy of thee!
Wishes and prayeth thy Sarabojee.

The chapel is of the simplest order, with a semicircular recess for the altar at the east end: the tomb of Swartz is just before the reading desk in front of the altar. Before the southern entrance are the trees under which the venerable father used to sit and receive the reports of the catechists and examine the children just before the daily evening service. Immediately adjoining the chapel was Swartz's cottage.

March 26th, Easter day.-The Bishop preached this morning in the Mission Church in the Fort, all the clergy present assisting in the service. His text was from Rev. i. 8: "I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore." Many of the Native Christians who understood English were there, and entreated his lordship after the service that he would allow them a

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copy of his sermon. He promised to make some alterations in the style, so as to bring it nearer to their comprehensions, and have it translated for them into Tamil. assisted him in the administration of the sacrament to thirty communicants of the English and fifty-seven of the Native congregation; to each of the latter we repeated the words in Tamil. The interest of this service, in itself most interesting, was greatly heightened by the delight and animation of the Bishop, the presence of so many missionaries, whose labours were before us, and

all the associations of the place in which we were assembled, built by the venerable Swartz, whose monument, erected by the affection of the Rajah, adorns the western end of the church. The group in white marble, by Flaxman, represents the good man on his death-bed, Gerické standing behind him, the Rajah at his side, two native attendants, and three children of his school around his bed.

In the evening the Bishop attended a Tamil service in the same church, which was literally crowded with the native Christians of Tanjore and the surrounding villages, many of whom had come from a considerable distance to be present on this occasion. Mr. Barenbruck, assisted by a native priest, read the prayers, Dr. Cæmmerer from Tranquebar preached, and the Bishop delivered the blessing in Tamil from the altar. Mr. Kohlhoff assured me that his pronunciation was remarkably correct and distinct, and the breathless silence of the congregation testified their delight and surprise at this affecting recognition of their churches as a part of his pastoral charge. I desired one of the native priests to ascertain how many were present, and I found they exceeded 1300; yet by the judicious arrangement of excluding the infants, whom their poor mothers are in general obliged to bring, there was not the least disorder or confusion ; and I have seen no congregation, even in Europe, by whom the responses of the Liturgy are more generally and correctly made, or where the Psalmody is more devotional and correct. The effect was more than electric: it was a deep and thrilling interest, in which memory, and hope, and joy mingled with the devotion of the hour, to hear so many voices, but lately rescued from the polluting services of the Pagoda, joining in the pure and heavenly music of the Easter Hymn and the 100th Psalm, and uttering the loud Amen at the close of every prayer. For the last ten

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