seed of the kingdom, having found a genial soil, has sprung up and brought forth fruit, in the saving conversion of souls to the faith of Christ. Mr. Charles Addis, who has for some time past assisted his father in the duties of the Coimbatoor Mission, writing under date 3rd June, ult., communicates the following details: "I am happy to say that our work in these parts, though slow in its progress, has been accompanied by some gracious tokens of the Lord's presence and blessing. Annexed is a short account of some cases of conversion, which I hope will interest you. "Perrooman is an old man, and a person of some small property; he lives in a village three miles west of the out station, Pallardum; he had ofttimes heard of the way of salvation, both from the lips of the Native Teacher stationed at the above-mentioned place, and from us at Coimbatoor; nevertheless he remained careless and unconcerned. While in this state it pleased the Lord suddenly to arouse him, and to cause him to think seriously of the things belonging to his peace; he thereupon became very much troubled in mind with respect to the course he should pursue, as he felt assured that were he to embrace Christianity he would suffer much persecution from his relatives and friends, and especially from those of his own household. He has two sons, both of whom had evinced a great hatred to the truths of the gospel, and who he knew would be amongst his principal opponents; these considerations produced much agitation of mind; he had recourse to prayer, and was comforted; this was the first time he had applied to the true God for help, and the Lord succoured him; he summoned up courage, and determined to embrace Christianity, whatever the consequences might be. The Native Teacher, to whom he made known his decision, encouraged him to stand firm in his resolutions, and to look for support and strength to do this only from the Lord. He then came to Coimbatoor, visited us at the Mission-house, and announced his resolutions; we conversed with him for some time, and were very much pleased on hearing his motives for forsaking idolatry, and seeking salvation through the merits of Christ alone. On the following Lord's-day he attended Divine service at the Mission chapel, and worshipped with us, after which he boldly declared himself to be a Christian, in the presence of a number of heathen, and desired that his name should be enrolled amongst those of professing Christians at this place. "He has ever since been very much persecuted by his relatives, friends, and the people of his village; however, he received grace to stand firm, and rendered to them good for all the evil they had done to him. He also sought to reclaim them from their periious courses by making known to them the salvation freely offered to sinners in the gospel; for this purpose, having obtained books, tracts, &c., from the Native Teacher, he visited many villages, making known to the inhabitants the way of salvation, and distributing tracts amongst them. His sons opposed him greatly, and endeavoured by various means to make him resume his old opinions and practices, but he stood firm, and continually exhorted them to repent of their sins, and believe the gospel. For a time his efforts seemed to be all in vain. The poor old man was very much distressed to see his sons act thus, and often mentioned his sorrow to us; we endeavoured to comfort him, assuring him that the Lord could change their hearts, and that it was his duty to pray that he might do so, and rest in hope of their conversion. "A few days ago, on a Sunday afternoon, he called at the Mission-house with his two sons, who I was surprised to see accompany their father, knowing them to be amongst his greatest opposers. I asked him for what purpose his sons accompanied him; the old man brought them close to the place where I was sitting, and pointing to them said with much feeling, 'Sir, my two sons have determined to have nothing more to do with idolatry, and have come to you for the purpose of having their names enrolled among the followers of Jesus.' The father spake with joy beaming in his countenance, and with a feeling of lively emotion and sympathy I exhorted the youths to persevere. "I am happy to say that both father and sons have continued to be faithful to their engagement, and are endeavouring to bring others to the knowledge of the truth. They live in the same village they formerly inha bited, and go every Sunday to Pallardum for the purpose of attending public worship which is held there by the Native Teacher Eign Brook.' There are several others also who have embraced Christianity in the villages around, and who join them in their devotional exercises." Again, under date 3rd July, Mr. Charles Addis writes: "I regret to say, that since my last communication our Mission has suffered another loss in the death of a person of much influence, who was a member of the Christian congregation at the out station of Pallardum, under the supervision of the Native Teacher 'Eign Brook.' Pallany (the person who died) was in the employ of Government for several years, in the department of police. Like many others, he had frequently heard the gospel preached, and spent many of his evenings, after he had returned from his public duties, in reading the Scriptures and other religious books. By so doing his knowledge of the truth increased, but his heart remained as prone as ever to cleave to the world. We had many conversations with him, and endeavoured to arouse him from his state of carelessness; and though he never evinced any open opposition to Christianity, yet he seemed to consider his own religion as far preferable. But after some time it pleased the Lord to arouse him from this state of mind, and to incline his heart to embrace the truth, and which he did without further delay. He attended public worship in the Mission Chapel at this place on a Sunday forenoon, after which time he openly declared himself to be a Christian, in the presence of a number of people, composed both of Christians and heathen. When his relatives and friends heard of his having done thus, they endeavoured to make him change his purpose and join with them again; but grace was given him to remain firm, and all their efforts proved unavailing. His attendance on public worship was regular; the interest he took in the spiritual concerns of his fellow-creatures was very pleasing; and during his lifetime he was the means of bringing several others to the knowledge of the truth. "His death was very sudden; he suffered severely for only a few hours, and when the disease (fever) appeared likely to prove fatal, he sent for the Native Teacher, and fully expressed to him his hope of his sins being pardoned; his having met with acceptance by God through Christ; his firm faith in Him as his only Saviour; and his views respecting the glorious kingdom which he felt he was about to enter. He thus died, trusting in that Saviour whom he had boldly confessed before men, and who, we have every reason to believe, will confess him before His Father, and the holy angels, at the last day. "Pallany had served the Government (as before mentioned) faithfully for many years, which made them place great confidence in him; and after his death the Native Officials (heathen) sent for his widow, and promised to place her son in the situation of his late father; but he being too young to hold so responsible an office, they very kindly conferred it on her son-in-law, who now holds it, till the lad becomes old enough to take the situation. "Some time before his death, Pallany expressed a wish that his daughter should learn to read, and thus become acquainted with the Scriptures. My mother told him that she would receive her into her Female School, should he wish it. With this proposal he immediately acquiesced; and after returning to his village, he sent his daughter to the Female School here. She learnt in the school for upwards of two years, during which period she made rapid progress. She afterwards returned to her parents, at their request, and has made herself very useful, both at home and in her village, by going about and reading the Scriptures, and other religious books, to the females who are engaged in spinning cotton, &c. She has thus manifested the benefits derived from female education, to a large circle of her relatives and friends. "We very much feared that the death of Pallany would increase the prejudices of the heathen against Christianity, this being the fourth case of mortality, within a twelvemonth, amongst those who had lately joined us: but the Lord's ways are not as our ways. A day or two after his death, his son-in-law, who had previously been a hardened heathen, but whom the death of Pallany much impressed,-invited the Native Teacher to his house, declared to him that he was a great sinner, and lamented he had so long withstood the gospel; saying, also, that he believed Christ to be the only Saviour; that he would no longer continue in his evil ways, but would forsake them all and trust in Christ alone for salvation. He desired that his name should be enrolled among those of the Christian congregation at Pallardum, and he has been a constant attendant at public worship ever since, and gives us every reason to believe him to be sincere in his profession." PROTESTANT MISSIONS AMONG THE CHINESE. A RECENT Number of The Chinese Repository contains an elaborate article, under the above title, embodying much valuable information regarding the number of agents, the date of their appointments, their respective spheres of labour, and the changes that have from time to time occurred. We are precluded, by want of space, from giving more than a brief summary of this analysis; but the subjoined extracts will, we are persuaded, be interesting to many of our readers. The writer of the article, after giving a carefully prepared schedule of the Missionaries of the different Societies, who have been engaged in the Chinese Mission, from the arrival of Dr. Morrison, in 1807, until the close of last year, comprising a total of 150, proceeds to observe :—— "Of these one hundred and fifty persons, seventy-three are now in China, and five are absent on account of health or other reasons. Twenty-five died in the field of labour, or on their passage home; of these, three were killed by violent hands among the natives; four were drowned; five died during the voyage taken for restoration of health. The remaining thirteen died at their station, or when absent in the prosecution of their Missionary labours. Twenty-five revisited their native land; forty-eight have retired, most of whom did so on account of their own ill-health, or that of their families. One hundred are, or have been married, according to this list, but satisfactory data in all cases have not been obtainable on this point; eleven of this number married again after entering the service of their Missionary Society. Nineteen of the whole number were physicians, and eight of these were clergymen at the same time. Four are printers. Of the hundred who were married, twenty-four lost their wives while at their stations, or in foreign lands, showing a far greater per-centage of deaths among females than males, being nearly one-fourth to one-sixth, including the seven males who died by casualties or violence. Of these twenty-four ladies, Mrs. James is the only case of casualty. In addition to the list of Missionaries and their families, eighteen unmarried females have been sent out as assistants to various Missions, seven of whom have married after their arrival. "The total number of years of labour of the twenty-five who have died in the field is one hundred and thirty-four, or an average of five and a half years to each; but four of this number aggregated seventy years, leaving an average of only three years to the remaining twenty-one. The total number of years of the fortyeight who have retired from the service of their Society, or from the Missionary labours among the Chinese, is two hundred and two, or an average of about four and one-fifth years to each. Some of these have been induced to retire, in addition to other reasons, by the little progress they made in learning the Chinese language; and fully three years may be deducted from the period of serviceable labour of every Missionary as time spent in learning the language. Most of those persons in the employ of the London Missionary Society are Congregationalists; and in that of the Am. Board they are Congregationalists or Presbyterians, except the members of the Mission to Amoy, all of whom belong to the Reformed Dutch Church. Most of those from the Continent are Lutherans. "Of the whole number, forty-seven were Englishmen, eighty-eight were Americans, and fifteen were from the Continent; of those now in China, including the five absent, forty-four are Americans, twenty-three are Englishmen, and five are from the Continent. The London Missionary Society has sent from the commencement thirty-four labourers; the Am. B. C. F. Missions, twenty-six; the Board of F. M. of the (Am.) Presbyterian Church, twenty; the Am. Baptist Missionary Union, nine; the Board of F. M. of the Baptist Southern Convention, nine, two of whom were originally under the preceding Society; the Am. Episcopal Board of F. M., ten; the Church Missionary Society, eleven; three other American societies, ten in all; two other English societies, four; and five Missionary societies on the Continent, fourteen in all; two are enumerated in the list who were supported in China by the Morrison Education Society; and three who supported themselves. "The Mission at Canton is the one which has been longest established, Rev. Dr. Morrison having occupied it alone from 1808 until February, 1830, with the exception of about a year, when Rev. Dr. Milne was with him. The total number of Missionaries who have been stationed at this city is fifteen, of whom nine still reside here. "The Mission at Hongkong has been established since the cession of the island in 1844. Rev. I. J. Roberts first settled there in 1840, and at no time has the station since been vacant. There are now ten Missionaries residing at Hongkong. "The Mission at Amoy was commenced in 1841, and since that time the station has been constantly occupied. Sixteen Missionaries in all, connected with five Societies, have resided there, of whom eight are now residing at the station. "The Mission at Fuh-chau was permanently commenced in January, 1847, by Rev. S. Johnson, of the A. B. C. F. M., though Rev. George Smith (now Bishop of Victoria) had made an exploring visit to the city in December, 1845. There have been sixteen Missionaries labouring at this place, eleven of whom are now resident at the station, and one is absent for the restoration of health. "The Mission at Ningpo was permanently commenced in 1844, by D. J. Macgowan, M.D., of the American Baptist Missionary Union, though Rev. W. Milne had resided there seven months during the two previous years. There are now fourteen Missionaries stationed at the city, and one lady, Miss Aldersey, engaged in female education. "The Mission at Shanghae is the largest at any of the five ports, there being now twenty-one Missionaries, with their wives and four female assistants, residing at this place." The foregoing statements may be appropriately concluded with one or two extracts from the correspondence of Missionaries, illustrative of The first is the description given by Chinese character and manners. the Rev. C. C. Baldwin, Missionary at Fuh-chau, of his chapel, and the mode of conducting religious services: as often used in China, is borrowed, or at "The rooms for my chapel and school are small, and very humble in appearance, sufficiently so to gratify the taste and meet the wishes of the most unaspiring. They perly fitted up, and of a convenient size, they In were Chinese shops, and are so still in general are good enough for any Missionary. The narrow doors of the chapel, appearance. such places the word of life is held forth; front and back, turn on wooden hinges-or and in such we hope to see poor sinners rather wooden sockets receive projections coming to Christ. from the last of the slabs of which the doors are made. The room is about eleven feet wide and thirty deep. It has no windows, but there are wooden slits occupying a portion of the front at the side of the door. Inside shutters are let down over these at night. The sides of the room are partly of bamboo plaster-work and partly of boards. Between the doors are ranged the seats, most A few are of them placed across the room. a kind of bamboo settee; but they are generally pine benches without backs. They are such as the Chinese use; and they may be seen at the refreshment-places on the street, where public readers pamper to the taste for foolish and filthy tales. "The most imposing object in the room is the desk, which stands against the back door. It is made of smooth planed pine boards, and is of a square form. It stands, not on pillars, but on the posts which form part of its framework. The flocr is elevated one or two feet above the general level of the room. In front of the speaker is a board or shelf for the books that may be needed in the service. In the tiled roof over the pulpit are a few pieces of glass, or some substance closely resembling glass. They are of a hemispherical form, from two to four inches in diameter at the base; and are neatly fitted into openings in the tiles. The desk may be moved farther into the room in warm weather, and the backdoor can then be opened, so as to admit the breeze from the river which flows in the rear of the building. "The minuteness of the above description, it is hoped, will give you some idea of a Missionary's chapel, and show that the term, "The duties of the Missionary in his chapel are various; and the ordinary exercises are not the most difficult part of his work. Other circumstances being favourable, that part might be attended to with much comfort and even credit to himself, as is the case at home. But his congregation, he will soon discover, is not a Christian congregation. He must invite and urge persons to sit; request them to be still during prayer; strive to check levity and laughter; and make known his great design in coming here. He must do these things again and again, and at the same time be in danger of becoming confused and disturbed, on finding that the discharge of his supernumerary duties is apparently in vain. This statement will show that his task is unenviable, and very difficult to be performed successfully. "But another circumstance tends to render the embarrassment still greater; I refer to the mode of preaching in Chinese. To many it seems preferable, for the present at least, to preach without notes, or at least with but few. But such a course has this disadvantage, that it exposes the speaker to much inconvenience, when obliged to pause in his remarks, and attend to the several duties already mentioned. Preaching in China, then, is not what it is in America; if we look at our preaching, in its nature and relations, perhaps we should say that this term, as well as chapel,' is borrowed, or has, as in the other case, a restricted meaning and application. "It is exceedingly difficult to make the Chinese understand the spirituality of our |