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'WEEP NOT FOR ME.'

Written after hearing a discourse by the Rev. R. Stanion, from Luke xxiii 28, 'Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children:' delivered after the interment of an aged member of the General Baptist Church at Melbourne— the text having been selected by the deceased.

WEEP not for me-'tis the voice of the dying,

Of one who has cross'd o'er a boisterous sea;
'Tis the language of faith, on the Saviour relying;
She feels she is safe, and says, Weep not for me.'
Weep not for me-though the body lies broken
With pain and disease, there is peace in my soul;
I know whom I've trusted—he gives me his token
To banish all sorrow, my fears to control.

Weep not for me-the dark valley's not cheerless,
Through the pathway of death, and the land of the tombs;
A light breaks upon me, it renders me fearless,

Disperses the shadows and scatters the gloom.

Weep not for me, though my heart-strings are failing,
And the pale hue of death gathers over my brow;
The Strong One supports me, blest spirits are hailing,
They beckon me upward, they smile on me now.
Weep not for me, though the conflict grows stronger,
I'm arm'd at all points, and my captain is here;
Hold on faith and hope but a few minutes longer-
The conquest is certain, deliverance is near.

Weep not for me, now the struggle is ended,

The blood is victorious,* my spirit is free;

From the confines of earth even now I'm ascended-
The city's in prospect, its turrets I see.

Weep not for me, I have pass'd through the portals;
I hear the sweet melody, gaze on the throne;
The sight, O how glorious! too dazzling for mortals :
The strains, how seraphic! to mortals unknown.
Weep not for me, the redeem'd one's are greeting,
Who once were my friends in the valley below;
They hail me with rapture-how joyous the meeting!
All saved from destruction, all ransom'd from woe.
Weep not for me. Hark! The Saviour is calling,
He beckons me near him, he holds out a crown;
He bestows it with smiles, at his feet while I'm falling,
And the praises of myriads re-echo around.

Weep not for me-'tis the height of enjoyment,
To stand in his presence, his beauties to see;
To praise and adore him is now my employment,
I'm happy; yes, happy; then weep not for me.
M.
J. H. W.

Rev. xii. 11.

MISSIONARY OBSERVER.

LETTER FROM MR. BUCKLEY.

Berhampore, Oct. 16th, 1844.

MY DEAR BROTHER INGHAM,

*

Be assured of this, my brother, that if ever you enter a heathen land, you will never wish to quit it; you will see so much to be done, and so few to do it, that you will desire to be employed in missionary work till your dying day. For myself, I cannot conceive it possible that a man can come to India inflamed with love to Christ, and to perishing souls, and ever leave it, unless compelled to do so. Such an one will feel, that necessity is laid upon him;' will very gladly spend the longest life in directing the feet of benighted idolaters into the way of peace; and will sympathize with the ardour which induced the seraphic Henry Martyn to say, 'Gladly should every drop of my base blood be shed, if one of India's children might be benefited.' But I must not forget, that you will expect some account of what I have seen and heard since reaching India.

I suppose you have seen the particulars of the voyage, and of my landing at Madras on Saturday afternoon, Aug. 31st. I begin, therefore, with a description of my first Sabbath in India. After six hours of undisturbed slumber, I awoke much refreshed, and exclaimed, on rising, as I had often done in my native land, and on the pathless deep,

'Welcome, sweet day of rest.
That saw the Lord arise.'

At half past ten o'clock I went to the Independent chapel, Black Town, and had to go through the bazar. O, thought I, how unlike the Sabbath in England! Heard the Rev. W. Porter, pastor of the church, preach a solemn and practical sermon, from Eccles. ix. 10. Several recent instances of mortality had led to the selection of the text. I felt that it was the voice of God to me; it seemed to say, 'Throw your whole soul into the work on which you are now entering; do all that is in your heart for the salvation of the idolaters of India, like a man deeply in earnest. The time for exertion will soon close, and close for ever.' In the evening I went with my friend, the Rev. A. Leitch, whose hospitality I was enjoying, through the bazar: saw several idol temples. The first that arrested my attention was one of Kali's, (the bloody goddess:) it was a fair specimen of the temples in this part of India. There was nothing fine, nothing to please the eye, or interest the imagination; all was in keeping with the dark, degrading,

devilish superstition of the country. A few yards distant, was a temple, dedicated to Honooman, (the monkey god.) The officiating priest was lighting it up as we passed. It was an affecting sight; and, when turning from it, I said to my brother, with feelings stronger than I had ever be. fore realized,

'See human nature sunk in shame!' Several other temples were near, among which was a large one, dedicated to the abominable worship of Shiva. After this, we went to the native chapel connected with the London Missionary Society. The contrast was striking. The congregation could not be much under 100, and was comprized of the native church, nominal christians, and the children from two mission schools. We were a little too late, or rather, the preacher, Isaac David, (one of the most valued native agents of the London society) had begun too soon. The first hymn had been sung, and he was reading the scrip. tures. The place of the scripture which he read was' John xix. Prayer was then offered, all kneeling. I liked this better than our posture in England; it is more reverential and scriptural. Though I did not understand a word of the Tamil language, I had no difficulty in recognizing three of the words used in prayer, Hallelujah, Yasoo Christoo, and Amen. This last word they all audibly pronounced at the close-a practice which obtained in the primitive church, as appears from 1 Cor. xiv. 16; and which continued to be observed for several centuries, as a reference to the fathers would prove. After prayer, another hymn was sung. It was a Tamil translation of one of my favorites,

'Sweet the moments, rich in blessing,
Which before the cross I spend.'

They sang well; they all sang. I could have wept for joy at what I saw and heard. Delightful as it is in a christian land to see a whole assembly engage, heart and voice, in the worship of God, how much more so is it in a heathen land! The text was then announced,One of the soldiers, with a spear, pierced his side.' &c. My missionary brother, with whom I sat, translated the sermon to me sentence by sentence; it was all about sin, and salvation, and Christ; indeed, if it had not been translated, I should have felt tolerably certain, from the frequency with which I heard the name which is above every name,' that the burden of the discourse was Jesus Christ, and him crucified. The manner of the preacher was

marked by considerable earnestness, and occasional vehemence. He had quite enough action, often appearing as if about to smite the book or the pulpit, though he did not do this more than two or three times. He was serious and fervent in a cause, which, beyond all others, justifies and requires seriousness and fervency: and the attention of the people was as pleasing as the fervency of the preacher.

Before leaving Madras, I had the pleasure of spending an evening with eleven missionaries. We were of different nations, and attached to different sections of the church. England, Wales, Scotland, Germany, and America, had their representatives in this interesting missionary circle, as also the Baptist, Independent, Presbyterian, and Wesleyan denominations; but we felt that we were one in heart, because one in Christ. The conversation was chiefly on the character and successs of popish missions in India; and much important information was elicited, all of which served to prove, that the operation of popery in India, as every where else, is essentially mischievous. I shall enter into this subject in some future letter.

My voyage from Madras to Vizagapatam was not marked by anything worthy of record. Here I was met by our dear brother and fellow student, Mr. Wilkinson. On first seeing him, I was affected at the change which six years labor in India had made in his appearance; but rejoice to say, that, since we met, a very pleasing improvement has taken place in his health. At V. I was the guest of the Rev. Mr. Lugard, the excellent chaplain of the station.

In per

sonal appearance and mental characteristics, he bears a strking resemblance to our friend Mr. Jones, of March. Remained here a week, and travelled by palanquin to Berhampore with brother W. I reached Berhampore on the 24th ult.—a day that I shall ever think of as one of the bright and sunny days of my existence. Soon after my arrival, I received from the hands of a very dear friend the only overland letter that had then arrived. That letter, dear brother, was from you. My first Sabbath at Berhampore was a day of holy enjoyment: a brief account of its services may perhaps interest you. I begin with the prayermeeting at seven o'clock. Barlije commenced with giving out an Oreah trans. lation of that well known hymn, so often sung at the table of the Lord in England,

'When I survey the wondrous cross,' &c. Barlije, Deemabundoo, and brother W., prayed.

One of the native brethren prayed with great propriety and feeling for dear friends in England. I was struck with the posture of our native friends in prayer: it was prostration. Did not like this so well

as kneeling. The scriptural examples adduced in favor of it, when carefully examined and compared together, appear to prove, that the occasions on which it was used were special, not ordinary- an opinion which is confirmed by the fact, that the only instance in which the Gospel history mentions the Lord Jesus as 'falling on his face' to address before his Divine Father, was at the time of his agony in the garden of Gethsemane. I thought the prayers of our native friends too long. Short and sweet' is a good motto, if you would have a lively prayer meeting, whether in England or India. The service at eleven was a pleasing one. The aspect of the congregation was truly encouraging. In looking on the scene before me, I remembered the way in which the Lord God had led us; contrasted the painful and awful failure of our first attempts to establish a girl's school with the efficiency of our present efforts in this de partment; reviewed the difficulties which had been surmounted; the success that had been enjoyed and, in doing this, felt, that, notwithstanding all that had taken place to humble us, and to prove the sincerity of our attachment to the holy cause, we had reason, very much reason, to thank God, and take courage. The order of the service was as follows: first, a hymu expressive of love to Christ was sung. In singing they all stand. After the singing of another hymn, the sermon was delivered, all reverently sitting on bamboo mats, the European females excepted, who occupied chairs. Brother W. wished me to preach, and I cheerfully complied. He translated with facility sentence by sentence, as I gave it in English. We felt that this was an experiment; but it succeeded admirably: the attention was of the most gratifying kind. The amount remembered by the children would have been creditable to any Sabbathschool in England. All of them remembered something; a few of them, a considerable part of the sermon. One of the native christians said, after the service,' Hear. ing the sahib's words of instruction, gave birth to much love.' In the afternoon, brother W. preached in Oreah, from the most gracious words that ever dropped from the lips of incarnate love,' Come unto me, all ye that labour,' &c. The evening service was in English; congregation, about twelve. Most of our fellow-countrymen that surround us, have unhappily no fear of God before their eyes. The theme of the discourse was the love of Christ-a theme that has been thought, sung, prayed, and preached about, for eighteen centuries, beyond all others, which will continue to be so till the death of time, and which, when this vain world shall have passed away, will employ the songs of the blood-bought family through endless

ages. Such was my first Sabbath at Ber. hampore a day spent in discharging holy duties, and enjoying holy pleasures. O that the disclosures of eternity may prove that it was a day of much usefulness!

I go nightly to the bazar, or to an adjacent village, with brother W., and find that nothing keeps up missionary feeling so much as going amongst the people. My health is good. I shall give my best atten. tion to the language till I have acquired it. My friends tell me that I have already mastered the principal difficulties, and they hope that, in six months, I shall be able to preach. I shall rejoice, if these expectations be realized; and can only say, that it shall not be through lack of application, if they be not. Bhobune, one of our native christians, came in while this letter was about, and wished me to send many loving salutations to his dear friends in England, and to say, that he daily remembered them in his prayers. My dear wife desires her christian love to yourself and Mrs. I. Oft as you bow your knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, remember the holy Dear brother, affectionately thine, JOHN BUCKLEY.

cause.

LETTER FROM MR. WILKINSON.

Berhampore October 14th, 1844.

MY DEAR SIR,-I have the pleasure this month not only of reporting the safe arrival of our dear brother Buckley, but also his marriage with our esteemed sister Derry; this latter event took place last Wednesday, October 9th. The commencement of brother Buckley's missionary career has been very auspicious; his voyage was so short that a letter reporting his arrival at Madras quite took us by surprize. I did not intend learing home to meet him at Vizagapatam until the following month; as it was, I only arrived a few hours before the Wellesley' made its appearance in the Vizagapatam roads, and it was with no ordinary emotions I recognized and welcomed the former companion of my studies, and future partner of my labours, on board the ship. Brother Buckley had for his fellow passengers, Mrs. Gordon, of the London Mission, the Lady of the chief magistrate of Vizagapatam, and a young lady who had come to be married to our young friend, lieut. Frye, who had hur ried with me from Berhampore to meet his ' intended.' You can easily imagine we formed a party of anxious hearts as we crossed the raging surf to join those we had so long looked for; and the meeting will be regarded as an epoch in all our lives. Truly no ordinary event takes place when a mis. sionary first places his foot on the shores of India.

We spent eight days at Vizagapatam,

during which time we had an opportunity of witnessing the operations of our brethren of the London Mission. We met with four of the missionaries, viz., Messrs Gordon, Hay, Dawson, and Johnston, from whom we received every mark of christian regard. We had the pleasure of seeing our friend Mr. F. married. When we returned home, as we were in the midst of the rainy season, and cholera was very prevalent on the road, we were obliged to travel by dawk, which enabled us to reach home in three days. As brother Buckley is writing to you this month, he will doubtless give you some account of his first impressions on reaching Berhampore. I may add that the native christians are delighted with our new brother; they compare him to the 'olou,' an esculent plant that throws out its roots before it is put in the ground, or the season for planting it arrives; this is in allusion to his having made considerable progress in the language before leaving England. He has delivered several addresses to them, which I have had the pleasure of translating; it was something very new to see the pulpit occupied by two missionaries at the same time. The addresses have had a good influence, as they have principally consisted of a description of the feeling entertained by friends at home towards the native christians, and the cause of Missions. Our dear brother appears to enter on his new career like one who had girded his loins for work; every night he accompanies me to the bazar, or to some village. Should he be favoured with continued health, I anticipate for him a life of much usefulness. How much to be desired it is that many others could be found who have been favoured with equal advantages for this work.

Since I last wrote we have had no baptisms; we now have some interesting inquirers, but as they are yet quite new, I fear to say much about them.

I was disappointed that brother Buckley did not bring out with him something to aid us in removing the debt on our new chapel; we had quite expected some aid from home.

I shall be glad to receive an answer to the request I made to the committee as to their securing the chapel by buying the land on which it is built.

My health is much improved, and the approaching cold season will, I hope, make me quite strong.

Believe me, yours in the gospel,
H. WILKINSON.

EXTRACTS FROM RECENT LETTERS OF MR. J. BROOKS TO HIS PARENTS.

You will be delighted, I am sure, to learn

that measures are being adopted to put down the swinging, and other cruelties attendant upon the Churruch Poojah. A very intelligent and respectable Hindoo, (treasurer of a bank), told me some time since, that a petition was drawn up by natives, Hindoos not christians, praying government to interfere in the cruel rites and ceremonies; but owing to the absence of several influential native gentlemen, the petition was not presented last year, but will be ready before another festival. I was present at the principal swinging rite, and saw but three persons swing. The previous year, in the same place, I believe I saw at least twelve. This looks well, and I hope in a year or two, this disgraceful and inhuman practice will be abolished.

I was at the Juggernauth festival, about sixteen miles from Calcutta, in June. Crowds of people heard the gospel for about three hours, from eleven to two o'clock. Many tracts were distributed. At three o'clock I went out again. But oh! what a crowd; not less, I should think, than one hundred thousand people! The car on which the idol was placed was upwards of fifty feet high, pulled along by hundreds and hundreds of people. I saw many persons in the crowd with tracts in their hands, which they had received in the early part of the day. I have just completed a large work in Bengalee, called The Preacher's Assistant,' and another small one,' Christian's Remembrancer.' I have abundance of work. I feel that I am called to preach the gospel wherever I may be, and in that work I take unspeakable delight.

*

*

I have had to preach in English since I have been in Calcutta, sometimes thrice in the week, besides native work, visiting the sick, &c., &c. I have been somewhat engaged latterly in preaching in the Bengalee. There is a chapel for seamen on the river Ganges, and I have frequently to preach there on the Lord's day, as well as at other places where labour is required. At a short distance there is a church of about 130 communicants. I believe my labours among them have been blessed. There are several schools connected with this church at but a short distance from Calcutta.

men say, 'It rests entirely with the ladies. On former occasions they have contributed money or materials, and we doubt not they will kindly lend their aid again. We are obliged to A. E. for hints to tradesmen, &c., and would beg to remind our friends who are farmers, that hams, cheeses, &c., would meet with a ready sale. We are pleased to find some of our poor friends intend to have a share in the undertaking: one aged friend said, 'I can knit a pair of stockings;' others, we will weave some socks or stock. ings.' A judicious friend of missions observed, I intend to send a few articles to the bazar; but on former occasions I have observed there were fewer purchasers than contributers, and shall therefore chiefly aid it in the character of the former, especially in purchasing such things as do not go off very well.' Such friends are invaluable.

We are glad to hear that friends in Yorkshire are hard at work, and that in various places committees are already formed. Some beautiful articles we have seen already completed.

We think utility should be studied even in fancy articles-plain sewing, neatly done, and children's dresses, &c., modern in style.

It has been suggested that in some neigh. bourhoods it might be well to dispose of some of the articles made, and either forward the money to the association, or purchase other materials for the bazar; thus securing double interest for the first outlay. If this plan were adopted, fewer articles would remain unsold, and probably more money would be realized.

While some are working for the bazar others may quite as efficiently aid the missionary cause by assisting in the outfit of at least four or five missionaries, who expect to proceed to China and India in a few months. Those friends who have leisure for plain sewing, &c.,and are desirous of saving the society's funds, would do well to mention their intention to the secretary of the Foreign Mission, or to their respective ministers, who we doubt not would feel a plea. sure in communicating such wishes to him. Yours truly, S. E.

Yours. &c.,

JOHN.

HINTS RESPECTING THE BAZAR AT NEXT ASSOCIATION.

DEAR SIR,-When it was determined to have a missionary bazar at Leicester, a friend observed, 'We intend to have a very good one.' I do hope that wish will be realized; I am sure it will if all unite in trying to do something. Let not the gentle

ON GIVING THE NAMES OF PATRONS TO CHILDREN IN OUR ORISSA ASYLUMS.

MY DEAR BROTHER,-The above title will, I trust, sufficiently indicate the import of this letter, and secure the attention of all who are interested in it. Not that I suppose my remarks will, in every case, be satisfac. tory, but I trust that where they are not, they will be received as an expression of respect for the wishes of our friends and patrons.

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