The circumstances (I was about to say antecedents, but that word would not image half I feel on the subject,) of the letter and its writer, render it (to myself at least) of peculiar, and I might say painful, interest.

Rocky Harbour, at the mouth of Bonne Bay, is one of several small settlements on the west coast of Newfoundland, which, until my voyage of Visitation and Discovery in the Church Ship in 1849 had never been visited by a Clergyman.

Mr. John Paine, the patriarch at the settlement, was married by a Clergyman of the Church of England in St. John's, nearly fifty years ago. He soon after went to reside on this (western) coast, near to the Bay of Islands, and has continued in this locality ever since; and during all those long years neither he, nor his descendants, nor his neighbours, have seen there a Clergyman of our Church, or I believe any Minister of religion. That indefatigable pioneer of the Church in this Colony, Archdeacon Wix, once penetrated as far as the Bay of Islands, and furnished some very affecting accounts of the spiritual destitution and wretchedness of its inhabitants. He could not, however, proceed further along the shore; or he would, I think, have been much and favourably impressed with the difference of the condition and character of the inhabitants of this settlement, chiefly due, under God, to the prudence and piety of one well-disposed and religiouslyeducated man. I arrived at Rocky Harbour with two Clergymen and a student on a Sunday evening in the Church Ship; and though nothing, I presume, could have been less expected by them, or further from their thoughts, than the visit of a Clergyman, we found the families of the settlement resting from their labour, dressed in their best clothes, and in other respects, as far as we could judge, 'remembering the Sabbath-day to keep it holy.' They had already attended a service at Mr. Paine's dwelling; but quickly and eagerly assembled themselves together again on learning who we were and the object of our visit.1 They were quite prepared to join in the service of the Church, which they had heard regularly almost every Sunday.

Many children and young persons were presented for baptism or to be received into the church, as we might advise. All had been previously baptized, and the parents married by the good patriarch. I shall never forget the effect of our singing on the children and young persons in the congregation. It almost seemed as if they were literally about to enact what the poet so touchingly tells us of Jubal's brethren, when they

'Listening, stood around,

And wondering on their faces fell,' &c.

Nor was the effect of other and more important parts of the service less evident or less affecting in the older members of the settlement, and not the least in the patriarch himself. Many were the entreaties with tears that a clergyman might visit them at least occasionally. Sad and shameful it is to confess that from that day to the present

1 A more particular account of this visit may be seen in the "Journal of a Voyage of Visitation, &c., in the year 1849," published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, and forming a Number of the "Church in the

that modest wish has never been gratified, and that I see no prospect, I might almost say (humanly speaking), no possibility of gratifying it. Their next petition was for books, of which we were able to furnish a tolerable supply, and our men on going on shore at five o'clock the following morning, found some of the party busily engaged in studying them.

The Rev. Mr. Moreton, to whom the letter is addressed, and who accompanied me in that voyage, was kind enough to procure and send a book which Mr. Paine particularly wished to possess I think the 'New Manual.' Having heard that I was expected at Forteau on the Labrador, in the summer of 1853, and concluding that Mr. Moreton, as before, would accompany me, Mr. Paine contrived to forward the letter to that place; where, however, Mr. Moreton was not, and had not been on that occasion. The letter came into the hands of Mr. Gifford, the Missionary of Belle Isle Straits, and was forwarded to, and after long delays reached, Mr. Moreton, in his Mission at Greenspond, on the Eastern coast of Newfoundland.

I fear I have already trespassed too long on your attention, but I cannot conclude without asking you and your readers one more question, easier, I would hope, to answer than either of the other two, Whom shall I send as "roving Minister" to these poor scattering" people?'

I am, Sir, your faithful and obedient Servant,

66

EDWARD NEWFOUNDLAND

P.S. I have forwarded with the original letter a copy, as the writing and spelling are, as might be expected, after forty years' residence at the back of Newfoundland, strange and inconformable.

TO THE REVERENT MR. MORETON, FORTO.

Rockey Harbour, June 13, 1853.

DEAR SIR: this comes with my Best Respects To you hopen these fewlinds will find you and Mrs. in good halth as leves me and family Thanks be to the all-mighty: Dear sir j Return you mony thanks for the Rimembrence you cep [kept] of me By sending me the Book, you could Not send me a better Present, as my old one was worn out. j all-ways ceep [keep] you in Rimembrence and wish j could be Nerere To you as we heve Not seen any Minaster since we seen the Lord Beshop and you; and scarsly herd of one except you, we here Talk of you som Times, so jm Blige to go on the same as I have for more than farty yers all-tho j Kno itis Not Lawful for me to Doo it. Το baptize children and marey coples, if Not they must go together as the Beasts; so jf j Brake the Law jt js Not willingly. Sir, jf you think me worthy your Notis you will plese sand me a fewlids [lines] to Let me Kno [know] wethertere his Lordship jntend sending a Rovin Minister as I Kno [know] that the people are tow scatering to have a sated [seated] one. j hope, sir, you will excuse him that wish you halth and Remaind your humble Sarvent,

JOHN PAINE."

182

Reviews and Notices.

Lectures on the Christian Faith and Life, addressed to the Congregation of the Church of England at Malaga. By the Rev. CHARLES BRERETON, Chaplain. London: Thomas Bosworth. WE gladly welcome this little volume of firstfruits from our only chaplain on the coast of Spain. The sermons are characterised for gentle thoughtfulness, which bespeaks a hand well practised to "soothe a soul in pain ;" and our invalids would be even more apt to choose Malaga for their winter sojourn, were it generally known how worthily the English Church is represented there. Would that our merchants at Barcelona and Cadiz, our factory workers at Seville, had equal opportunities of instruction and worship! Left to themselves, too many marry into Spanish families, and abandon the church which has neglected them; or else, holding aloof from the worship which surrounds them, they live without any religious or moral restraint, and become a disgrace to the English church and nation. Is there no cure for these things? Is it impossible to find a clergyman who should travel over the south of Spain, and minister to the little scattered communities of English people?

Matapariksha, Part II.; being an Exposition of the Evidences of Christianity for Hindoos: in Sanskrit verse, with an English translation. By JOHN MUIR, Esq., late of the Bengal Civil Service. Calcutta: printed at Bishop's College Press. 1854. WE will not affect to criticise the merits of Mr. Muir's Sanscrit verse. It will be of more service and interest to our readers, if we briefly indicate the line of argument which so thoughtful a writer thinks likely to weigh with the educated Hindoo, and subjoin a quotation from the writer's preface, which will go far, we think, to win confidence in his judgment. He begins by laying down the usual criteria for distinguishing a true and authoritative Sástra, viz. the external evidence of miracles, and the internal evidence of morality and doctrine. He argues the first point much in the same way that we have been accustomed to see it handled in our own manuals of the Evidences; urging the reality of the miracles, the genuineness of the records in which they are narrated, the admission of the main facts of the Gospel history by adverse writers, heathen and Jewish, and the warrant we have for the authenticity and genuineness of the Gospel in the succession of writers who have quoted them. To the objection of Vedavidwán, why if the account given of Krishna and Rama in the Puranas be unreal, should the story told of Jesus in

the Gospels be true: and if a belief in the deity of Rama and Krishna arose from an exaggeration, why may not the case be the same in regard to Jesus? Sátyarthi, the advocate of Christianity, replies, that the histories of Krishna and Rama emanated from the Brahmans, whose high caste would recommend their doctrine to the unsuspecting credence of the lower people; whereas the religion of Christ rose from among lower ranks, and had to win its way up against enemies who would keenly criticise every weak point. But to the rejoinder, that at least Buddhism won its way against enemies, and, in spite of the opposition of the Brahmans, obtained great influence in India, and held it, the advocate of Christianity answers not so clearly as we could wish :

"Here let this be first attended to, that no trustworthy book exists from which the truth can be accurately learned. For in the ancient and still extant books of the Buddhists there is much exaggerated and improbable matter. Hence I shall concisely state the substance of the account contained in the Buddhist books which on consideration I find to be probable. There lived formerly a person named Gautama of the race of Sákya, and royal (Rajpút) caste; who, being indifferent to the world, embraced asceticism. He, abandoning his paternal home from devotion to the pursuit of true knowledge, visited many famous Brahmans in the hope of attaining it. But not being satisfied with certain of their doctrines, he set up a new Buddhist religion, different from the religion of the Vedas. Though he promulgated various doctrines previously unheard of, he yet admitted other doctrines acceptable to the people. Just as a revolution of births is declared in the Brahmanical Sástras, so is it also held in the form of doctrine promulgated by Sakyasinha. And of the new principles of belief which he proclaimed, some were exceedingly pleasing to the people. For Gautama declared that men being freed from the thraldom of further births, may obtain extinction (nirvâna). And he said that liberation could be attained by men of all castes, and that no learning was necessary for its acquisition. Without doubt the doctrine that liberation might be obtained by all men without distinction was acceptable to people of low caste. And Sakyasinha, being always devoted to the practice of righteousness, pleased all men by his continence, liberality, and so forth. He, abandoning the language of the Sástras (Sanskrit), going about, taught the people the principles of his religion in the simple vernacular language. Wherefore, being attracted by his acceptable instructions, many persons of this country embraced the creed delivered by him. And the Brahmans, though long powerful and reverenced, were unable to stay the increase of the Bauddha religion. For many of the common people, being devoted to the creed delivered by Sakyasinha, took its side. And it is said in the Buddhist books that some kings of that time being attached to Sákya, embraced his religion. Hence the Brahmans of that day, though hating the Buddhists, destrovers of the respect (which was paid to themselves),

could not stop the increase of their religion. But though many persons followed the Bauddha sect, yet many others adhered to the Brahmans. And these partisans of the Brahmans, just as they had regarded them as authoritative before, so too afterwards. At length when many centuries had elapsed, the Brahmans, having waxed powerful, expelled the Buddhists from India."

Under the internal evidence of Christianity, it is argued that in the Incarnation and Sacrifice of Christ, a suitable remedy is provided for the sense of sin, and the desire of a Saviour, which is felt by all mankind, and which is evidenced by their various sacrifices, and by the alleged incarnations of Vishnu. The nature of the Christian heaven is explained and vindicated as a restoration of man's original faculties in all their perfection and purity, and consequent happiness; and as thus fulfilling the desires of human nature far above that heaven of gross pleasure described in the Hindoo Sástras, or the absorption into Brahma which they speak of. In the same way the Supreme Being of the Sástras is not such as can satisfy the desires of the human heart, or be a meet object of our love and worship. He is described as being, previous to any creative act, characterless, and therefore no object of human affection. Or when revealed as Creator with moral qualities, Brahma is no exemplar of divine holiness, such as men can adore. He is said in his Bhagavata to have looked with a lustful eye on his own daughter Vach, and to have committed wickedness. And the forms of incarnate Vishnu, Krishna and the rest, are described in the Puranas as reflecting the various evil passions of men, instead of exhibiting the perfection of all goodness, such as good men wish for in a God. Compare for a moment the god Krishna with the true God manifest in the flesh. Krishna is but a lascivious young man addicted to sport. Jesus Christ was without spot of sin, a perfect man, and a holy God. This pure nature He imparts to his people, who are thus made one with God, not by being absorbed with Him, but by being transformed after his image. For this purpose God became incarnate, and the necessity of an incarnation for the redemption of mankind is no more than all the Hindoo Sástras teach. The incarnations of Vishnu are only images of the true. What they say has taken place so often in India, did take place once at Bethlehem.

So far the line of argument our author would adopt with the educated Hindoo. The general principles upon which he would have our controversy with them conducted are unfolded in his preface. The mere translation, he says, of European books and tracts is not likely to have much effect upon the native public. Works must be composed expressly for the purpose, in a spirit of conciliation, and in a genial oriental style, by men who are