OLD CALABAR, WESTERN AFRICA. THE Old Calabar river falls into the Bight of Biafra at a point of the African continent, N.W. by N. of the island of Fernando Po, and about sixty miles from Clarence. This river was formerly one of the chief seats of the slave trade, and as many as 15,000 slaves were exported annually. At the present time a considerable trade is carried on in palm oil, and some of the largest ships employed in this trade may be seen lying here at anchor, partly dismantled, and waiting for cargo. The chief town, of which a view is given in the engraving, is called Duke Town, and is situated some distance up the river. It is far better built than the African towns generally, and contains a population of six or seven thousand persons. The neighbourhood of this river is the scene of some of the most cruel and degrading rites that even Africa can witness; and this was one of the places to which the attention of the Society was directed, when it was first contemplated to establish a mission on the coast of Western Africa. Our brethren established at Clarence, Bimbia, and Cameroons, have repeatedly paid mission visits to Old Calabar, and for a time a station was maintained. But this most necessitous field of labour is now occupied by the Scottish United Presbyterian Church, and we fervently hope that the devoted labours of their excellent missionary, Mr. WADDELL, and his associates, may be abundantly prospered to the spiritual advantage of this part of Africa. INDIA. CALCUTTA. LALL BAZAR. On the last sabbath in June, six persons were baptized on a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the number had recently arrived from London, where he had been connected with the Wesleyan body. He had long been convinced, by the reading of the scriptures, that it was his duty to be baptized in obedience to Christ's command, and in accordance with His example. Another was the son of a clergyman of the church of England residing in this country. He was accompanied on the deeply interesting occasion by his wife. There were also among the number, a father, and his daughter, the wife and mother having a few months previously gone through the same sacred rite." The following extract from the Report of the Bombay Tract and Book Society, is an important testimony to the influence the gospel is exerting throughout the dense population of India. The Committee say : Truth is gradually making an impression over the minds of many. There is a Chrisupon the public mind, and gradually chang- tianizing, so to speak, of the ideas, and even ing the views prevalent in the community. of the language of the people. The reverHindooism is losing its hold upon the people, ence once felt for the brahmins is fast passing and the Hindooisin of the rising generation away, and it would not be strange if they will be a very different system from that of should yet be as much hated and despised their fathers. Christian Ideas, and Christian as they were once revered and feared. Of Joctrines are quietly gaining an influence this, even now there are many indications, BARISAL. From Barisal we have the interesting information that on Lord's day the 16th of June, our esteemed brother PAGE was privileged to baptize a young man of whom he says, "He is, and has long been so ill, that I fear every day he is dying; but the state of mind evident in him for the past six months and more, gives the hope that he has undergone the great change, and is a humble disciple of Jesus. He was, strange as it may appear, when in the villages, one of the proudest, most overbearing fellows possible, and this, while for two years he was suffering from the wasting disease the nature of which we cannot discover. Sincerely do I trust the Lord has had mercy on him. In his baptism I do feel very sensibly how good the Lord is to the poor and afflicted." DACCA. This station is one of the most important of the Society's mission in Bengal. It is one of the principal cities of the presidency; extends, with its suburbs, for six miles along a river that unites the Ganges with the Brahmaputra; and has a population of about 200,000 souls. For many years our brother ROBINSON has laboured alone amidst this dense mass of Hindoos and Mohammedans, and with many indications of the divine blessing. In the following letter he refers to the urgent claim it has on the Society's immediate attention, and to the kind of men required to carry on the evangelization of India. It is dated June 25, 1850. termined, if possible, to send out preachers. A few good scholars are very desirable, almost essential we might say, but how distressing to find that these men of intellect, these first linguists, as some of them really are, have no popular address, no preaching talents. What a loss to the mission! If great learning, and a popular address, cannot be found in the same person, then, as we have brethren in just and high repute for learning, send us out, if you can, a few popular preachers, men who, like Chamberlain, will be able to fix the attention of a heathen audience in the open air. These are the men we want now, though I disclaim all thought of disparaging our dear brethren who may not possess that popular manner of address of which I am now speaking. A few days ago I was favoured with short but very kind letter from you, for which please to accept my best thanks. I am glad, very glad, to learn that you are so mindful of Dacca. It is a consolation to the distressed to know, that there are those who think on them and sympathize with them, even though relief cannot be obtained. It is something to hear that during the past year the debt has not been increased. May we not hope that things have come to their worst, and that another year will witness some improvement? One short phrase towards the close of your letter gives me great pleasure. You say, speaking of the prayer meeting of the preceding evening, "The spirit of prayer was poured out." How differently does this tell on the feelings of a poor, distressed missionary in India, than the words praise, applause, laughter, cheers, which appear too often in the reports of our annual meetings. Could I mount your It would be in vain to beg that help may platform, I would like to deliver a speech be sent immediately to Dacca, for where the which should cause great seriousness, looks means are wanting, even importunity must of contrition, sighs, tears, prayers. These fail. But I may ask, that when you have would best become many of our churches, that means, that Dacca should have the first and the supporters of our mission, seeing they have been so negligent of their duty as to bring the mission almost to the brink of ruin. Help desired. attention. I can give a good reason for this request, for while there are other stations which have but one missionary, and he past the prime of his age, yet it may with truth be said that the missionary at Dacca is the oldest and weakest of all your missionaries It rejolees me to learn that you are de I suffer greatly now from debility, the her. 4Y2 The men wanted, to me is insupportable, yet the Lord enables me to do a little; that little, however, is less han half what I could do had I my former trength. I had the pleasure of baptizing a poor native man near the end of last month. He had been with us several months, and had given us great satisfaction. CHITOURA. The mission at Chitoura, under the care of Mr. SMITH, continues to enjoy many tokens of the Divine blessing. The following letter will be found interesting as showing the influences amid which the Christian missionary has to labour, and will, we trust, excite the prayers of God's people, that his servants may be largely endowed with wisdom from above, and be sustained by the power of the Holy Spirit. Under date of May 27 he writes: Baptisms. Since I last wrote I hope the cause of Christ has been progressing amongst us. I had the pleasure of baptizing three native disciples in the month of April, and two more in May, and I have several more candidates for the sacred ordinance. There appears a little moving of the waters, and I sincerely hope we are going to receive large supplies of divine influence. Oh, that I could feel more holy zeal in my own soul. Effect of idolatry on the missionary. Nothing can be more distressing than feelings of lukewarmness in the midst of scenes of degradation which might well make angels weep. Yet living in such a polluted atmosphere as we breathe, inhaling as it were the fumes of idolatry at every breath; meeting the idols' hideous forms at every turn, we become accustomed to the iniquity, and in time it begins to wear a less heinous form. Thus the associations in which we live, with the want of soul-stirring sermons such as you enjoy in dear England, blunt the feelings and drag the soul down from its proper elevation of holiness and piety; hence the necessity of our brethren in England being regular and fervent in their supplications at the throne of grace, that those who are exposed (many single handed) in the battle's foremost ranks may be upheld faithful, that their cry may be victory or death! no surrender! and that they may never sheathe their swords until it be shouted from rank to rank, and echoed from one division of the grand army to another, “The Lord Omnipotent reigneth!" Labours. We continue to preach the gospel to all the people in the surrounding villages, and we attend regularly five markets weekly. The people receive us wherever we go, and show us the most marked kindness. I remark almost with regret, that opposition is completely gone. These results have been brought about partly by medicine. My place is sometimes like an hospital. The sick are brought a distance of forty and fifty miles, and considering the little knowledge I possess, it is surprising the success I have generally had in my treatment. Opposition. But notwithstanding such a general kindly feeling, and a general assent to the truths of the gospel, the enmity of the unrenewed mind is still visible, and no sooner is there a prospect of one out of a large family embracing Christianity, than all are up in arms; and they appear to think that one of the most dire misfortunes is about to overtake them. A few weeks since a young man who has been hanging about us for some time, declared, after attending a baptism, that Hindooism was false, and he would become a Christian. His elder brother at once told him if he did he would kill him; and about fifteen days ago another young man came and asked if I would protect him in case of his joining us. The obstacles in the way of the natives embracing Christianity must be witnessed to be understood. Persecution of a convert. Our brother, Walayat Ali, has been a prisoner for four days. He belongs to a large and respectable Mohammedan family, and no sooner was he baptized than they determined to bring him back again to their ranks. The same day that his baptism took place, they made their arrangements, and the following day an action was commenced against him for upwards of £100, and although our brother was as free from debt as I am, yet the action was sustained, and judgment given against him by a native official-of course a Mohammedan. He was seized whilst preaching in the Shumshabad market, by two chuprassis, who conveyed him to Agra, and had not the Lord inclined the hearts of two of our Presbyterian brethren to advance the money, pending an appeal to a higher court, our brother must have re mained a prisoner in the midst of the most belonged are not burned, but buried, and loathsome company.. Through grace he was that in a most curious manner. After death enabled to witness a good confession, and he was placed in a sitting posture, as though when his opponents in the open court told engaged in tapasiye, and tied, so that when him that he had only to renounce his Chris- the body got cold it retained its position, and tianity, and they would give a razi nama at had the appearance of life. In this manner once, and release him from all obligation, he was carried to the grave, the deluded he replied, "You may kill my body, and people worshipping him all the way, the stiff cut it to pieces, but you cannot take from clay nodding and bobbing backwards and me the precious hope of the gospel." No forwards with the motion of the dholy, as if sooner had they effected their purpose in deriding their stupidity. On arrival, the arresting him and separating him from his corpse was placed in a deep hole, and water family, than his wife's brother came to copiously poured over it, with ghee; the frighten and persuade her to go back with earth was then carefully filled in, and with him to her friends, as her husband would water made hard and firm, all the while very probably be a prisoner for years; but some kind of incantations were being carried all their efforts were vain, and will, I doubt on, which I do not understand, and the not, turn out for the furtherance of the whole ended by a feast, at which I think gospel. thousands were present. This class of vairagees do not marry, but make disciples, and the eldest of them inherits the immense riches of the late Gosaen of Chitoura, celebrated throughout all the district for his riches and covetousness. A fakir's death. The schools. The owner of the village of Chitoura, within the limits of which our Christian village is built, has just gone to his long home. He was a reputedly rich man, and although by profession a beggar and ascetic, yet a number of villages in our vicinity belonged to him. In all my experience I have never My school continues to improve. We seen a man cling to life with more tenacity. have altogether, boys and girls, about forty, He, in fact, just acted like one who felt that and several men also attend. Our services every thing was at stake, that death would are well attended. On Wednesday evenings deprive him of all, for alas he had no hope. I give a lecture on the Pilgrim's Progress, He had truly lived without God in the world, and I intend after it to take up Barth's arrogating to himself his titles and worship. Church History, an excellent translation of On visiting him I was much struck by the which, in Hindi, our brother Parsons has just scenes I witnessed. A dying man, almost supplied. The females in India are the drawing his last breath, crying out to all greatest hindrance to the spread of the around him, "I shall not get over it. I gospel; I am, however, glad to say there is have robbed God, and he will punish me;" a visible improvement in our female comand yet still the deluded crowds bowing down and adoring him, notwithstanding the strongest proofs of his nothingness, and inability to help even himself. But such is the debasing influence of idolatry, it cheats men of their reason, and makes them worse than children in their actions. Truly may it be called Satan's masterpiece. Burial customs. The class of ascetics to which this man munity. About twenty attend Mrs. Smith's prayer-meeting regularly. Several of them read portions of scripture, and then engage in prayer, and thus edify each other. I have just employed a shoemaker, and put five of our boys apprentice to him to learn the business, as we had no shoemaker in our village. A supply of tools would be very acceptable, if any of our brethren could be prevailed upon to send us some. Perhaps some of our kind friends will assist our worthy brother with the tools he requires. DELHI. DEATH OF THE REV. J. T. THOMPSON. From the pages of the August number of the Oriental Baptist, we are enabled to present our readers with an account of the last days of our esteemed missionary brother THOMPSON. To this we append a brief notice of his life and character from the columns of the Friend of India, by one who knew him well, and under whose eye a large part of his missionary life was spent. The Society has lost in |