sider the connection exa pastor and his church an, and too important a severed by any little gust ows. "Be patient, brethe husband nan waiteth for it of the earth, and bath for it until he receive the atter rain." orget to mention that my entered the baptist college ith a view to the ministry. atisfactory accounts, both from them. I intended thing for the Children's I must do so at another e God of all grace bless yours at all times and by Yours in the truth, WILLIAM HERON. writing the foregoing, The al Report of the "Americiety" has come into my voluminous production of 300 pages, and of great cords the death of seven ors in foreign lands during , and amongst these, honon is made of the late Rev. of Derby. Of his three ks, "Persuasives to Early le to Young Disciples," and d Eternal Life," nearly have been issued from the 5 Society, which have enme and memory to tens of Families, and to many indiwhom they have been the kening and guiding to the d, which taketh away the -ld." memoirs, discourses, and various religious subjects, blishes the American Meshe Child's Paper, both of free of postage; and a considerable number penetrate the other neighbouring provinces of Great Britain. Three thousand copies of the Child's Paper make their way monthly to Edinburgh, Scotland; and an enterprising publisher there, has sent over the advanced sheets of a Child's Paper which he designs to issue. Sixteen hundred copies of this Paper go to Melbourne in Australia. Its introduction there is worthy of note. A few interested friends at Niagara sent out the publications of the Society, and twenty copies of the Child's Paper, by a person who went to Australia to seek gold. He was obliged to return soon on business, and before his second voyage had found the "pearl of great price," and took this means with him to aid others in finding the Saviour. The Bishop of Melbourne and his clergy adopted the Paper in their Sunday schools, and an order was returned for a monthly shipment. "The seeds of truth are barbed seeds and adhere We know not where, to spring we know not when.", Half a It is no small occasion of thankfulness that the preponderating influence of the periodical press in this country is on the side of good morals, if not directly friendly to the gospel, and that, for the most part, the open advocates of error have but a sickly existence. dozen Roman Catholic journals have died within a year, and almost the only openly infidel newspaper in English gives signs of decay, while the avowed organs of evangelical truth count their readers by tens and hundreds of thousands. There have been upwards of 600 colporteurs employed during the past year, who have visited 640,000 families, and numberless instances are received where they have been led, by those fireside visits, to the house of prayer and to the cross of Christ. 1 Christian Activity. THE EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS OF 1855. WE rejoice exceedingly that we are able to use the words we have just written. For now nearly thirty years we have, we believe, every returning season, endeavoured, in these pages, to excite the christian public generally, and our denomination in particular, to the necessity and importance of special and extraordi nary efforts for reaching the masses of the people; who, it was notorious, were living in a state of awful alienation from God; and now it delights us beyond expression to find christians of all evaugelical denominations, both in the Establishment and out of it, not only recognizing this serious duty, but vigorously engaged in its efficient discharge. And so every thing comes in its time, if we have but patience to wait for it. There is first the seed-time and then the harvest. And we are glad now the harvest of souls is seen to be fully ripe, that labourers have been raised up who are willing to enter the field and gather fruit to life eternal. But it was time, and more than time, for deadly agents were already engaged in the dread work of destruction. We allude chiefly to the extraordinary preaching of the gospel in the open-air, which commenced during the summer of the past year, and the opening of public buildings, other than churches and chapels, for the same good purpose during the past winter. This has been done, and is doing, so extensively, that we have not had space to record more than a few specimens of what has been done; and we shall not regret selves unable to keep movement in recording But we have received a from a friend in Live of a peculiar characte appear, if we understa rightly, that a place which addresses were d the whole of the sabb whence preachers went f the gospel in the open-a for further instruction anxious to "flee from the This being a new featur we give our friend's repo "Feeling greatly intere that are now being mad departments of the king our working classes and masses of this country others are much deligh notices which occasion your valuable magazine a and success which atter those who are so indefa exertions for the spiri their more immoral and creatures. It is, theref hail every new attemp made to evangelize those men who are yet ignor and of their Saviour. be animated by the sam with every other that elevation of the work great pleasure in being you with a short repor cessful movement that ed solely for those whom Pentecost, been pricked to the heart, , and who, from various crying, 'Men and brethren, what shall evented attending our we do?' It is calculated that upwards pels on the Lord's-day, of eight thousand persons entered the worked admirably well building during the day, the greater part t time. But during the of whom never enter a place of worship. vement was made which The services were conducted by chrisipse all similar move- tian men belonging to nearly all denomittempted. This is like- nations; those who addressed the meet; ministers and chris- ing being limited to half an hour each. denominations joining to In consequence of this unprecedent sucpublic meeting was held cess, the hall was taken for the next and April 22, in the Teutonic following sabbath, and the service cont, and commenced at ten ducted in a similar manner. Dr. Roach forenoon, and continued (baptist) and Mr. R. Radcliffe (an on until after ten o'clock attorney) appear to be the principal e plan selected seems to conductors of the movement. Though ently successful. Num- unsectarian in its nature, yet I am happy preachers, armed with to state that the baptist denomination Spirit, proceeded from occupy a most prominent position in its to proclaim in the open management, the Rev. Hugh Stowell ved population the glad Brown, of Myrtle Street baptist chapel, pel, their audience being being the principal of the Working-man's me of the very humblest Association. of society, and who, for are strangers to the gosThey afterwards adjourn med hall. These chrisbrought in during the persons, inhabitants of eys in which ignorance, impiety mostly exists, Not wishing to trespass further on your valuable space by any remarks, I, for the present, close; but should I have any interesting particulars hereafter to communicate I shall be happy to do so. Wishing every success to the Reporter. J. R." Narratives and Anecdotes. Midway between Engthe lands of Eastern of Western civilization, >st remarkable countries estine, the land of the alled from the pursuit rly peopled it. It is about two hundred miles long, and at its widest seventy broad,—a small region which never reckoned more than five millions of inhabitants, and now containing less than one-tenth of that number. Once it was the most beautiful country on the face of the earth, and is now a and fir. tropical and of Near the summit Higher still are moss of the polar regions centre-belt grow the oak woods of Europe, with c Lower still is the vine; an cus and Palmyra may be s of the palm and the fig. S of hill and valley cover t try. Here, in the north, ground of Carmel, wher of the Red Sea. On the east, we have are found most of the pr the sandy plains of Arabia, stretching of the away to the Great River, "the river zones. Euphrates:" and, on the north, the bands of what was once the settlement of Asher, are still "iron and brass," a mountain chain terminating on the snow-capped summits of Lebanon. Horses and ships (both those of the sea and those of the desert), were alike forbidden to the inhabitants of this region, and it was clearly intended that they should live alone among the nations. And yet this region seems adapted to play no unimportant Amos fed his flocks. Herpart in the history of our race. It is nearly in the centre of the ancient world; equally distant from the heart of Asia, of Africa, and of Europe, and on the highroad between them all. One of its plains has been a battle-field of successive armies for more than three thousand years. Assyrians and Persians, Persians and Greeks, Jews and Gentiles, Crusaders and Saracens, Egyptians and Turks, Arabs and Franks, have all fought here; and here, in very recent times, a victory was gained by Bonaparte which might have changed the destinies of the East. From this region have flowed the truths and precepts which have civilised and blessed the earth. All Western nations look to it as the origin of their greatness, and Mahommed himself has extolled the religion for which it is illustrious: the religion of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: the religion which was taught by the lips and embodied in the life of the Son of God. All, indeed, that is commendable in the teaching of the false prophet is taken from those disclosures which the earlier religion of the people of this district had revealed. Nor is it uninteresting to glance over the surface of this region, and mark its peculiarities. Here, the city of palm-trees, is mer. Everywhere there justify the hope that one and one year in seven, ma from toil, and yet the pe midst of abundance. A ca moreover, looking only at the country itself, would p fitting residence of a hard ous race. It combines th of Darjerling with the fru alluvial districts of Beng Here may have lived a bined the qualities of the with those of the accom or the fortitude of the Af softness and repose of th virtues of both without either.—From Dr. Angus Life." POLITICAL PERSECUTI AND NAPLES.-Before Pa rated Mr. Bowyer comp had been said by Lord J the present state of these offered a sort of defence of the Pope and the Ki when Lord Palmerston sai Mr. Bowyer would co ave been the victims of e. The other day I was Lord P., "upon what I od authority, of a circumsome time ago, occurred n of Naples, and which - specimen of what is pasparts of Italy. A very m, in a provincial town in Naples, was arrested by nt authorities; and his rated with the officer who im, saying, 'This man is ent; he has committed no er; he leads a quiet life; cused him of any thing, ve been arrested through istake whatever. I know Par blood of our Saviour shed for sinners, don and forgive me, my beloved ones, that I may be saved through him. for any thing I may have said or done to cause you one moment's unhappiness. Unto God I commend my body and soul, that I fall in the performance of my duty, which are his; and should it be his will in the defence of my Queen and country, I most humbly say, Thy will be done.' God bless you and protect you; and my nite goodness, may preserve me to you. last prayer will be, that he, of his infiand my dearest children; and, if we God ever bless you, my beloved Eliza, meet not again in this world, may we all meet in the mansion of our Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ. God bless The officer replied, and protect you; and ever believe me, fectly innocent, and that your affectionate husband and loving father, mmitted an offence any or I.' 'Then why have m?' was naturally asked. arrested him because I ely taken to task by the for want of activity. I d, You have arrested ch a length of time, and somebody.' Why, then, rest your friend as well se?' Such is the course overnments of which the d learned member has he advocate. And this is s informed a short time had been arrested in one simply for the purpose of som from his friends; and is no rare occurrence." FACT OF THE WAR.orth, of the 57th, was the 17th of June to join the Redan next morning. ve felt some presentiment ing fate, for he took leave THOMAS SHADFORTH." Her Majesty has granted a pension of £200 a-year to Mrs. Shadforth, and has intimated that she will take advantage of any future opportunity which may occur to manifest her appreciation of Colonel Shadforth's services. Who does not regret that such a man should be cut off from his beloved wife and children in a moment by a deadly shot! It has been said that the circumstances of war often brings out the display, as in this case, of the noblest qualities. We do not deny it; for this is a fact in proof. But does it require war to produce them? We think not. We all have heard of one who displayed equal courage on another stage, when he said, "Neither count I my life dear unto myself" and "I am ready not only to be bound but to die for the name of the Lord Jesus." And many an humble, unknown, and unrecorded martyr has gone calmly to the stake under less exciting and far more depressing circumstances - alone and unsupported by |