retire. This last alternative in many cases changed their love for, and admiration of their christian books, even into a strong feeling of dread. They renounced the Shastras they had almost adored, and to remove their danger and prevent reproach they took in good earnest, and in public, to the reading of the Bhagabat* and other orthodox Hindoo Shastras. In many cases however the disciples had become too well acquainted with the New Testament, and with scriptare doctrines in general to permit them to renounce them. The sublime and important doctrines revealed in the Bible had entered so fully into their understandings, and had produced far too powerful an impression on their hearts to allow them now to give them up and again swallow unmixed the wild fables and unnatural, unphilosophical doctrines of the Bhagabat gita. They saw they had been imposed upon, they saw that the baishnab+ was a wicked designing man; but they loved the scriptures the more, because by their light they had been enabled to discover the cheat. These persons, among whom was Rhadu Das, resolved to renounce Sundara Das and his service altogether, but they resolved also to continue the perusal and study of the christian books and Scriptures. Gangadar was at this time baptized, and Rhadu retired to a small village situated near the place of his paternal residence, where he practised as a devotee on his own account. The state of Rhadu's mind at this time was a very unhappy one: he had too much light to permit him to adopt the deception, lies, and trickery necessary in the case of a Hindu bairagi, if he meant to succeed in establish. ing a name, yet not moral courage enough at once to renounce his caste, his heathen com. panions, and his objectionable livelihood to satisfy his own conscience by following Christ, whom he knew was the true and only light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. But the grace of God had taken deep hold on Rhadu's heart. He struggled hard against light and conviction, he tried to collect disciples, he preached the Ten Commandments, and explained away the command which enjoined the renunciation of all things in order, if need be, to follow Christ; he commuted a public profession of Christ into a love for, and study of his Word, and even maintained that such a profession would be in itself wrong because it would involve a loss of caste, and cause thereby a large diminution of usefulness A very popular religious poem. Radhoo, however, had tried one scheme, which very much succeeds among hindoos, that of pretending to desend into a well in one place, and then to be found in another place. among the people. Such fallacies, however, did not long avail to satisfy him. His mind was full of disquietude, his old companions were one after another renouncing their caste, and becoming christians. His convictions of sin, his poignant sense of spiritual danger, as well as the persuasions and warnings of his best earthly friends, constantly increased, and all pressed upon him with irresistable importunity. After about six months independent practice as a bairagipeople teacher in this miserable state of mind, Rhadu formed his resolve and came over to Cuttack, where he proposed himself a candidate for christian baptism. He shaved his head, and cast away therefrom that mass of filth, his jata-the accumulation of years; bathed his dirty body, cast off his iron chain and kapni, and was clothed and in his right mind. After some months' probation, Radhu was received into the church and was baptized on the 17th of July, 1831, the seventh Oriya convert by the General Baptist mis. sionaries at Cuttack. The change from bairagi to the christian habits cost Radhu no difficulty. The former had been merely outward, and were contrary to nature. He liked comfortable clothing, and good food, and all the social affections flowed as freely as if he had never worn the jata or kapni, and as if they had suffered no interruption. After his baptism Rhadu found no difficulty in changing his asceticism for a domestic and married life, and became united in marriage to the daughter of Balaram-jachack of Bhogerpor, with whom he lived till his death in great harmony, and by whom he had four children. Towards his wife he was kind and affectionate, but like many Hindus, was too indulgent and too tender a father. A few months before his death he lost his only son by the small-pox. This was a grievous stroke to Radhu, and he never properly recovered his cheerfulness of spirit and activity of habit. He used, when deeply sunk in grief, to talk of his former ascetic life, and observed that if he had remained a devotee he should have avoided this sorrow. These complaints, however, were only a momentary alteration from his usual good sense and settled piety, for he presently raised his eyes and hands to heaven and said 'It is the Lord's will. He has done right; the child was not mine, and was only a frail possession,' calling upon his wife to dry her tears and cease to weep. For some years after he became a christian, Radhu was employed as a school amin, and his industry in that office proved that he was not idle. He affords in this respect one instance, at least, that bairagi converts are not all idle, worthless characters. He visited his schools morning and evening, heard the children read their lessons, and gave them instructions on the important truths of revealed religion. In these labours Radhu was industrious and useful. On the breaking up of the numerous heathen schools in and about Cuttack (a very doubtful measure,) Radhu was for sometime engaged in the printing office at Cuttack, but being physically too small and feeble for his work, he commenced the business of a merchant, which he conducted with credit to his profession of the gospel till the time of his death. It is a circumstance that speaks much for the credit of Radhu Das, that whereas, when he first became a christian, his Mahajan,* a wealthy heathen, would not trust him a pice; when he first became a merchant, at the request of his pastor, he was enabled from the same Mahajan to borrow 400 rupees, and for years before his death he was gladly supplied by the same individual with whatever sum he asked. His honesty and truth-speaking were generally and fully acknowledged by the heathen around him, by others also with whom he was acquainted, and with whom he traded in Calcutta, and from thence to Berhampore and Gangam, both Christian, Hea then, and Mohammedans. In the present infantine state of christianity in India, and especially considering the state of mental and moral debility, and positive moral and mental perversion in which christianity finds the natives, it would be un. reasonable to look for eminent piety among the native converts to christianity. The physical inertness, moreover which is in. duced by the enervating climate of India tends to render what is called eminent piety a matter of more rare occurrence here than in the western region of the globe. Radhu, with one exception however, for the period of eighteen years maintained the strict consistency of his christian profession. In the early part of his religious course, he with several others fell into a mischievous and disgraceful delusion, which has in other lands than these, since the first days of christianity, involved many better taught and morally better trained than these new disciples in declension and final apostacy. He took perverted views of those passages in the New Testament which command perfection, and conceived that it was the duty and privilege of christians to arrive at the same state of innocence and perfection of physical subjugation as the first parents of the human race experienced in untainted Eden. This led Radhu and his companions into some disgraceful irregularities, and brought upon them the exercise of church discipline. He with several others suffered excision from church-fellowship, and were faithfully shown their errors, and admonish. ed to repent and forsake their sin. It was above said, that Radhu fell into a delusion, and the justness of this observation appears in * A native banker. the subsequent conduct of himself and the rest of the offending party: they at once saw their error, and gave the most satisfactory signs of repentance. The object of discipline being secured, by the recovery of the offending, after about a year's exclusion from the church, the repentant wanderers were restored to their places; and they were restored more experienced christians than they were before they went astray. God had made the errors into which they had fallen to work out' their good; he had taken occasion thereby to produce lasting benefit to their souls, they reaped experience most precious experience from their fall, and were more watchful and circumspect during their whole future course; every vestige of the pernicious error disappeared with the exercise of the wholesome discipline which was put into force, and it has never troubled the church since that period. A plea in palliation of Radhu's offence may be urged, viz., that at the time he and his companions were tempted into this snare, their pastor, who knew them from the beginning, was absent from the country, and those who had the oversight of them were new in this land-unacquainted with the language of the disciples, and unable to explain to them those doctrines and those passages of the inspired record which they had no means of understanding, and the misconstruction of which had led them into those disgraceful practices for which they were afterwards so sorry. Radhu Das was very anxious for the salvation of his family and relatives. He took great pains to bring over his elder brother, and once succeeded so far that the idol was offered for sale, and the land enjoyed for its support was about being devoted to the location and cultivation of christian natives. The resolution of Ram Kissen however gave way, and he tied up the god in a dirty cloth and reinstated him on his throne. He succeeded better with several other of his relatives; his aged mother joined him, and is still alive, a consistent christian. Others, to the number of seven or eight, followed the example of their aged relative and renouncing heathenism, put themselves under the sound of the gospel. They amount now, with their offspring, to fourteen or sixteen persons. One is a student for the ministry, and another a schoolmaster. Radhu was naturally of a benevolent disposition, and this disposition was strengthened by the grace of God. He readily asssisted the cause; and distributed to the necessitous as far as his means would allow. In these cases Radhu gave good proof of the sincerity of his profession of the gospel. That gospel made him in some measure like his Lord, who went about doing good, who lived not for himself but for others. Radhu Das evinced the same disposition: he did what he could to help the cause of his Lord whom he loved, and he successfully laboured to bring others to the feet of Christ that they might be saved. How much good would be done even by small and feeble churches, if every member would strive as Radhu did to bring others to the fountain of salvation. The latter end of Radhu Das was peace, and something more than peace: he desired to depart and be with Christ, which he felt was far better. A large wen for years had been growing on the right side of his throat, and for several months before the close of his earthly course had made serious encroachments on his vital strength. At length it destroyed the vitality of the imme. diate parts; he had no taste on his palate, and little sensation on that side of his face, throat and head. For a long time his friends in vain entreated him to submit to an operation for its removal, but he shrunk from the recommendation. At length, when he saw that death must soon occur from the progress of the disease, he submitted, and set out on his journey to Balasore, in company with his wife and other friends, for the purpose of undergoing a surgical operation by the Rev. Mr. Bachelor.* The surgeon he found, on his arrival at Balasore, had gone forward to Jelasore on his way to Calcutta. He laid his dák immediately, and overtook Mr. Bachelor at Jellasore-Patna. In a day or two the wen was skilfully removed under the influence of chloroform, and Radhu for thirty-six hours appeared to be doing well and promised a speedy recovery. On the Tuesday night following however, a virulent fever prevalent in the neighbourhood attacked the already much exhausted patient. He lingered till Thursday morning following, when he fell asleep in Jesus. The experience of Radhu during the last few hours of his life, when he knew that his time to depart was come, displays the power of divine grace, and the precious hope the gospel gives to those who have placed their faith on the almighty Saviour of sinners. It is from a letter relating to the end of this servant of God, by a christian brother who sat by his side, and received his last words and attended to his last wants. During the night of Wednesday while meditating on the great love of his dear Saviour Jesus Christ, Radhu exclaimed in accents of praise, 'My confidence and my desire are no longer in earthly remedies, but only in Jesus Christ!' He called the brethren and sisters round him and said to them, 'Come and pray for me.' At this moment he was in great affliction. Mr, Bachelor, the American Medical Missionary. He was delighted with prayer, and prayed My heart is unsteady! make steady my heart, He then prayed with great earnestness to God and said, 'O God, detain me no longer in this poor suffering body, nevertheless let it be unto me not according to my will but thine!' About day. break the same morning, his doctor gave him some medicine which he took in obedience to Mr. B's. desire, though he did not desire it. After this he again called his wife to his side and said, kissing her, My much loved wife, I cannot remain any longer with you, and I now commend you into the hands of my heavenly Father. I have now no more in this world to hope for or possess. Thus he committed his wife and children into the hands of the Lord. Having done this he said to his friend who attended him, 'I commit my dear wife and child to your care. Take her as far as Khundittur, and commit her to my brother Banamali, who will take her to Cuttack., After this effort he wept, but exclaimed,' no my will O, Lord, but thine be done!" t While the day was dawning, he asked all the christian brethren to engage in prayer for him, for he knew he should not be long here. Soon after this he asked for a little water which he drank, and begged he might have no more medicine. He gave directions about his burial-asked his friend to pray that the Lord would receive his soul into heaven-inquired the time of morning-and being answered that it was eight o'clock, quietly resigned his soul into the hands of its Saviour. The witnesses of Radhu's peaceful and happy death exclaimed after he had departed, The death of this christian brother is blessed; let me die such a death, and let my latter end be like his. Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord.' Let the reader love and embrace that blessed gospel which could change Radhu, the outwardly and inwardly dirty and disgusting bairagi-who prided himself on his very shame, and considered his very filthiness to be purity,- into a holy and bright spirit, now before the throne of God. C. L. C. LETTERS FROM REV. J. BUCKLEY. of his kingdom, just as British rule in NOTE FROM A YOUNG OREAH WOMAN. Cuttack, Sep. 30th. 1850. MY DEAR BROTHER. -Musing on the extension of the kingdom of Christ, I have recently derived (much encouragement and hope from a passage which I do not remember to have heard quoted, though the former part of the verse in which it occurs, (Zech. iv. 10.) has been repeated times without number, 'They shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel;' and I cannot but think that if we walked in the fulness of holy light and love, many portions of God's most blessed Word which are now read without suggesting any particular idea, or enkindling any special emotion, would beam with sun-light brightness, and disclose to our delighted minds soul reviving conceptions of the goodness of God, and the glory of his kingdom. Regarding Zerubba. bel as a type of Christ, (which I think we have good reason to do,) it is consoling to his faithful followers to know, that the building of the spiritual temple is entrusted to him; and that therefore the work will be brought to a successful issue. The Jews were a small and feeble band; their enemies were many and mighty; the work was again and again hindered; but the plummet was in the hand of Zerubbabel,' and the temple was completed. Mountains of difficulty before Zerubbabel became plains: his hands 'laid the foundation ;' his hands 'finished it;' the head stone was brought forth with shouts of transporting joy-' grace, grace unto it.' So Christ shall carry forward his blessed work till it be finished in triumph; and then 'Hallelujah for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth' shall be sung by myriads of blest voices. 'Earth shall roll the rapturous Hallelujah round.' Our first English annotators on the Bible remark on this verse, 'Christ shall go forward with his building to the joy and comfort of the godly, though the world be against him, and though his people for a while be discouraged, because they see not things pleasant to the eye. Neither Satan, nor any power in the world, can go about to bring anything to pass to hinder his work.' If our pious forefathers, who faithfully witnessed for Christ nearly three centuries ago, at a time of fierce persecution, could thus encourage themselves, much more should we who are privileged to see the foundations of the spiritual temple laid, and the sacred building rising in different parts of the world. Reverses and trials we are sure to have, but the plummet' is in skilful hands, and the work will ultimately and gloriously prosper. 'He must increase.' 'He must reign.' And events in Providence will be rendered subservient to the establishment and increase Orissa, which half a century ago was in the hands of the Mahrattas,-a set of wholesale robbers and murderers*-has been overruled to the establishment within the province of a kingdom which cannot be moved. I am thankful to tell you that the Spirit of the Lord is evidently amongst us, quickening one and another who were dead in trespasses and sins. At our last church meet. ing, which was a very delightful time, one was received for baptism, two who had been excluded were restored, and eleven candidates were proposed, most of them young persons. The number of young persons rising up amongst us is a very interesting feature of the mission. May they all from this time cry, 'My Father, thou art the guide of my youth.' At Choga too, there are several inquirers and candidates, and the Lord is graciously blessing the humble la. bours of his servants. It would of course, be our duty to be diligent and faithful in the service of the Lord, if we witnessed none of these pleasing appearances. Our obligation to make known the gospel to the extent of our ability, and always to abound in the work of the Lord,' arises not. from the amount of actual success that may be granted us, of which indeed, we can form but a very imperfeet estimate, but from the command of our Master. Duty is ours; events are God's.' But while this important principle should be steadily maintained by the friends of the cause, and while the influence which the message of grace has in aggravating the endless woe of the multitudes who despised it, and perish under deeper guilt, should not be forgotten, we cannot but feel thankful and encouraged when we are permitted to see that the hand of the Lord is with us, and that believers are added to the Lord.' I cannot resist the inclination to give you a translation of a letter which Kali, one of our girls who was married a few days since, wrote to Mrs. Buckley. Kali was baptized about five years since, and has walked very consistently. The letter is free from that fulsome adulation which sometimes characterizes Hindoo letters, and I have no doubt that it expresses the sincere feelings of her heart. It was written a few days before the wedding, and when the time was not, so far as she knew, determined. As an expression of the gratitude of a Hindoo orphan it is, I think, very pleasing. * In thus characterizing the Mahratta rule, I do not quote from history, but repeat what I have heard from credible living witnesses. I have statements of the anarchy, fear, destruction of heard some of our old people mention shocking life, insecurity of property, &c., which prevailed in their youth, when Orissa was under the Mahratta government. 'Dear mamma, your unworthy daughter Kali, writing this little letter sends you very many loving salutations. Dear mamma: these many days I have remained with you; and you have given me much instruction, by which in body, and mind, and soul, I have been benefited; but now the Lord, according to his will, is separating me from you and taking me to another place. What can I do? Where he places me, there will I remain; and where he bids me walk, in that way I will go. Dear mamma, you have laboured much for my benefit. I have received from you nothing but love; to leave you was never my wish; and on account of leaving my mind is very unhappy; but pray for me, dear mamma, your unworthy child, that by the grace of God I may be a good child, and that I may be able to accom. plish the work which will devolve upon me. I am indeed to be separated from you now, but that I may not be separated from the Lord in heaven, but that you, and I, and all of us may meet together in his presence in heaven; for this pray for me to the Lord. Dear mamma: I have another word to say. If the marriage is to be this week, let my sisters in the school have holiday on that day; let there be a little feast for them, and let those who have been married from amongst us be invited. Dear mamma, forgive the errors there may be in the writing. Your unworthy child wrote it. Receive another word in your merciful mind. My mind is not happy in prospect of leaving, but is full of trouble. I have no confidence in any one; only in the Lord do I confide. In joy and sorrow, at all times, he will do me good.' I need not say that the little request in the letter was granted. I sincerely hope that Kali and her husband (who resides at Choga) will love and help each other till death them do part. Oct. 1st. Since this letter was commenc. ed, a very afflictive event has happened to us, but as the Lord has done it, it is fitting that we should bow with silent acquiescence. Another respected native minister our valued brother Bamadabe, has finished his useful course. He had been indisposed for three weeks, but I did not wholly give up hope till last evening. He died this morning in the faith and hope of the gospel; and his mortal remains were committed this evening to their last home. An impressive address was delivered by his spiritual intructer and father. God buries his workmen, but carries on his work.' May He who has removed our estimable brother raise up many more as affectionate, humble-minded and earnest as he was. Matt. ix. 38. Your affectionate brother, J. BUCKLEY. Nov. 1st, 1850, Mr. Buckley writes: Two months since, I referred to the government donation to Juggernaut, and in relation to what had been published in England, informed you that the donation was not discontinued, and that no orders to discontinue it had been received in Orissa. This informa tion, which was given on unquestionable authority, was at that time strictly accurate; but since then a communication has been received from the government on the subject, the nature of which has not been divulged, though it is supposed that it was an order for the withholding of the allowance. The Rajah of Khoorda who, as superintendent of the temple, receives the government donation, very naturally objects to the discontinuance of the payment, a great part of which, it is well known, he appropriates to his own purposes; and the collector of Pooree, has, it is understood, referred the question back to government, with his own remarks upon it, and with a letter from the Rajah. Such is, I believe, the present position of this important question. It must be fully understood, that the donation is not yet discontinued, and till it be so, we must continue to protest against the rulers of India supporting a system the most polluted and devilish which the world has ever seen. CHARACTER OF CHINESE IDOLATRY. BY J. S. HUDSON. Ar present China is enthralled and tyrannized over by one man, whose government is an hierarchy and oligarchy. All laws and appointments, religious or secular, are in his hands. All the gods in China have received appointments by one sovereign or another. The reigning Emperor himself is always a demi-god, for his tablet is placed before every idol that is worshipped in all the temples throughout the length and breadth of the land. It is found also in the Mohammedan mosques. Not only does the Emperor ty. rannize over the bodies, and dictate to the consciences and understandings of this people, but the government is so framed that the literati only can fill civil offices. The military profession is the only open path to political eminence to all those Chinese, however discriminating, wise, and judicious they may be, who cannot write an essay on a Confucian text to please the learned of the land. How narrow the policy, and how tyrannical the laws which exclude from a participation in the civil government agriculturists, mechanics, and merchants, merely because they are not literati, and are not able to pen a fulsome essay on writings |