32 Contributions to the American Bible Society.—Poetry.

saving of expense, and our American missions would have presented a very different aspect from what they do at present.

This business having been first introduced into the Board of Directors of the Northern Missionary Society, particular notice was taken of it in their report to the Society, which met the following day. The Society having become auxiliary to the United Foreign Missionary Society, resolved, that their Board of Directors express to that Society their views respecting the expediency of forming a Seminary, and pledging themselves to aid it to the utmost of their power. Might there not be a meeting by delegates upon this very important subject, either in New-York or Philadelphia ? A Constant Reader.

,

AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY.

CONTRIBUTIONS of thirty dollars each, to constitute the following clergymen members for life :-Rev. Stephen N. Rowan, by a number of ladies at Greenwich, N. Y.; Rev. Samuel Fisher, of Paterson, N. J., by a friend; Rev. Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Fredericksburg, Virg., by the female members of the congregation; Rev. Thaddeus Pomeroy, by the trustees of Randolph, Mass.; Rev. Asa Meade, by the Female Reading Society in Canterbury, Conn; Rev. Peter F. Wynkoop, of Hyde Park, Dutchess County, N. Y., by a friend; Rev. Thomas De Witt, by the ladies of Hopewell and New Hackensack, Dutchess County, N. Y.; Rev. John Gosman, by the Female Bible Society of Kingston, Ulster County, N. Y.; Rev. Jacob T. Schultz, by the ladies of Lebanon, N. Y.; Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green, President of Princeton College: also, thirty dollars from Mr. Robert Gosman, of Kingston, Ulster County; $200 from the Montgomery Auxiliary Bible Society; $400 from the Ohio Auxiliary Bible Society; $300 from the Bible Society of Salem and vicinity, Mass.; $32 from the Cumberland Bible Society, N. J.; $100 from Thomas P. Ives, Esq. of Providence, R. I.; $100 from Roswell L. Colt, Esq. of Baltimore.

DONATIONS to the Biblical Library, by the British and Foreign Bible Society-Royal Stereotype Pica Bible-Brevier ditto-Minion ditto-Nonpareil ditto-Pica Testament-Welsh Bible, 8vo.-ditto ditto, 12mo.-Gaelic ditto, 8vo. -ditto Testament-Mank's Testament-Irish ditto--French Bible-ditto Testament--Dutch Bible, 8vo.-Danish Testament--Italian ditto-German Bible, 8vo.-ditto ditto, 12mo.-do. Testament, 24mo.-Spanish Testament-Portuguese ditto-Ancient and Modern Greek Testament-Modern ditto-Arabic Bible, 4to.-Esquimaux Testament-Mohawk Gospel-Ethiopic Psalter, 8vo.-Syriac Testament, 4to.-7 setts of the Society's Reports, in calf, extra.

Yon lovely solitary rose,

On seeing the last Rose for the Season hanging on the Tree.
As sweet and fair as they :
They'll kiss the sun, and drink the
dew,

That bends the stem whereon it grows,

And drops in seeming woe;
Those flowery friends it seems to
mourn,

Who fallen never to return,
Bestrew the dust below.

Despoiled of beauty, see them laid
Beneath their mother's leafy shade :
They tell that lovely flower,
That it, like them, must quickly die;
"Then, wafted by the zephyr's sigh,

Its leaves will strew the bower.
Returning spring again will grace
Their mother with another race,

Be praised while they're unspoiled and

new,

Yet only have their day.
Thus man's frail race spring up and

bloom :

To-day they live-but in the tomb
To-morrow low they lie.
Yet when the soul is purged from
crimes,

Though sinks the frame, the spirit
climbs,

And blooms beyond the sky.
[Youth's Mag.

THE CHRISTIAN HERALD.

VOL. IV.] Saturday, October 11, 1817.

[No. 3.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY. Speeches at the 13th Anniversary, (continued from page 24.) JOHN WEYLAND, jun. Esq. said:

"My Lord and Gentlemen,

“I have always, in whatever situation I have been placed, whether visiting my friends in this town, or executing the duties of a country gentleman in my own neighbourhood, felt it my duty to advocate this Society: I have always felt it equally my duty and my delight, to stand forth in its support; and to say, that, in my humble opinion, it is one of the wisest and the noblest efforts that ever the grace of God put it in the heart of man to make, for the promotion of God's glory, and the good of mankind. If I am asked wherefore I think this, I reply, because it is founded on the only solid principle of human improvement: I would say, that almost divine principle, the moral equality of mankind. I mean the principle which consecrates, this great truth, that the poorest man in the poorest cottage, nay, the wildest savage in the remotest desert, has a soul, as valuable in the eye of his Creator, and which should be as valuable in the eyes of those who have the power of protecting and instructing him, as the greatest monarch on his

throne.

"It is this feeling which soothes the mind of the philanthropist, on contemplating the political inequalities of the human condition, which he must necessarily admit to be an essential part of the ordination of Providence towards a fallen world. It is the principle of moral equality too, as it is acted on by this Society, which more than compensates to the man who is suffering under the consequences of political inequality, all the supposed hardships of his lot. For put the Bible into his hand, make him feel the objects we all feel, and instead of being the lowest in the scale, he is raised to the highest point of human happiness and usefulness; be becomes the member of an aristocracy, to which I heartily pray that I, and those whom I love, may belong. Now, Gentlemen, I feel it peculiarly incumbent on me to make these observations, because the motion which I have the honour to second, thanks those personages, who, in point of rank, are the highest in this kingdom: but notwithstanding all the enjoyments, all the business, and, let me add, all the temptations incident to their station, they have shown that their hearts are fully alive to the truth of the principle I have mentioned. They feel, and they have practically shown that they feel, the poorest man in the King's dominions to be their brother in a moral point of view; in that view which the Scripture takes of his condition, as one whom the same God created, and for whom the same Saviour died; and, on every occasion, where they

34 Speech of J. Weyland, Jun. & Rev, R, Watson at the

have been called upon, they have cheerfully and heartily given their time, their talents, and their money, in promoting the moral welfare of their countrymen.

"Having said thus much upon the principle of the Society, I will, in addition, only bear the testimony of a plain country gentleman to its excellent practical effects. I have seen in my own neighbourhood, that these are most satisfactory. I have seen a man profligate and immoral, given to use himself and his family ill, and to abuse the trust reposed in him by his Master, by joining in a Bible Association, become a useful and active member of society; I have seen him then employ the day in laborious occupation, and a great part of the evening in instructing his neighbours in the elements of useful knowledge. I know another man that actually saved 4s. 6d. a week by becoming a Member of a Bible Association; he was accustomed to spend 5s. a week at a publichouse, but a friend of mine put a Bible into his hand, and in a fortnight he came to the Penny Association and paid his penny; in six months from that period, he paid sixpence; and when the patrons of the Association expostulated with him, and told him they did not wish to deprive his family of the money, he said, Never fear, Gentlemen, I save 4s. 6d. a week by belonging to this Association; I formerly spent it at the public-house; I now spend my time with my family, and I have to thank you, not only for the saving of my money, but also for having made me a better man; for having given me the enjoyment of happiness that I knew not before; and I acknowledge towards you a debt of gratitude I shall never be able to repay.'

66

My Lords and Gentlemen, I shall not detain you long; I will merely express a wish, which I trust will reach the hearts of all for whose consideration it is intended. Let the country gentlemen of England go forth with the Bible in their hands, and the Bible in their hearts! That is, let them distribute it among their neighbours, and show, by their own conduct that they are themselves sincerely actuated by its precepts. Thus they will improve the moral habits of the people, whom they are bound to protect; and thus will they be able effectually to meet those difficulties, which the distresses of the labouring classes have brought upon all the rest. Then shall we indeed once more become a happy and united people; and, having had the glory, by the moral and physical energies which God has imparted to us, of rescuing ourselves from tyranny, and the whole of Europe also, (in so far as their moral capacities allowed them to be rescued,) we shall, as a people, have, in due time, the still greater glory, of being the instruments, in the hands of God, of carrying the knowledge of HIS WORD through the extended regions of the globe."

[Next follows Rev. Dr. Mason's speech, which was inserted entire in No. 24 of the last volume.]

The Rev. RICHARD WATSON, (Minister in the Methodist ConHexion,) after some prefatory remarks on the merits of the Committee, spoke as follows:

13th Anniversary of the Br. & For. Bible Society. 35

"My Lord,

"The Report and the addresses which we have heard this day, have turned our attention to the Russian empire; and delightful are the views which are there presented to us. We cannot listen

to such statements, without anticipating, from the circulation of the Scriptures in the Greek Church, the revival of religion there in all its purity and whoever considers the geographical positions of the Russian empire, its rising greatness, its political influence, and the character of its sovereign, must contemplate such a revival of pure religion, as the certain harbinger of the moral renovation of the world. To merely Pagan countries we send both Bibles and Missionaries; but where Christianity exists, though in decay, the Bible may be sufficient. The circulation of the Scriptures alone, may raise and restore the Greek Church ;-the frame of the temple still stands, and the Bible will re-kindle the fire upon its altars-an order of Christian ministers exists, though many of them are comparatively dead; but, like the witnesses in the Apocalypse, when the Spirit of truth shall enter into them, they shall stand upon their feet and prophesy.'

The circulation of the Scriptures in the Latin Church, produced our own glorious Reformation, and gave us Protestantism with all its blessings. And we may look forward to the same results in the Greek Church, with this interesting difference, that the opposition made to the circulation of the Scriptures in the Latin Church, produced an angry schism; but, encouraged as Bible Societies are in the Greek Church, the free diffusion of divine truth will re-animate the body, and yet, probably, preserve its unity. This, my Lord, is a cheering consideration. Our Reformation dawned upon us with lurid glare; all our Protestant churches had their birth amidst the convulsions of political elements, and their cradle was rocked by storms; but in Russia we have the prospect of change without convulsion, of the good without the evil ;-its reformation approaches like a soft and beauteous sun-rise, shedding rays equally welcome on the cottages of Siberia, and the palaces of the northern Cæsar. What is doing in Russia, in comparison of the wants and population of that empire, is chiefly in preparation; yet such notes of preparation fall delightfully on our ears; they are like the first faint notes of the birds, wakened, even by twilight, into songs-preludes to the full harmony of nature, and the perfect light of day. One circumstance, in the operation of the Bible Society, has appeared to me equally singular and encouraging the eager desire of the people in all places to possess those Scriptures, which it is the object of the Society to furnish. Has, then, the carnal mind ceased to be at enmity with God?-Have vice and ignorance laid aside their hostility to truth ?-We believe a time will arrive, when those reproving words of the Evangelist will lose their application, The light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not;-a time when the darkness shall comprehend the light, and eagerly lay hold upon it. Have we, then, the encouragement arising from the consideration, that

36.

Speech of the Rev. Dr. Thorpe at the

we are approaching that period? I think we have. When the light of the Gospel faded away from the minds of men in former ages, there was no such feeling as that to which I have réferred; none sighed at the approaches of night; none laid hold on truth, as Jacob on the angel, saying, I will not let thee go.'-The shadows of the evening were welcomed, and the angel was repulsed. I have no other way of accounting for this change, but by referring it to the special influence of God; and this is one of the noblesť proofs, that the work of the Bible Society is taken up into the plans of Providence: God is not only with us, but there is a sense in which he goes before us. Wherever this Society directs its operations, his Spirit appears, to precede it: a holy influence is breathed upon the world, preparing it to receive those blessings which the Sacred Word alone can communicate. This is a pledge of ultimate and universal success; it is the quickening freshness which goes before the morning; the rising breeze, which indicates the descending and universal shower.

"I will add but another remark, and I make it, because it has been made before, and because it derives its interest from being made often. Our Christian union still continues; we are still one in this glorious work; the dew of Hermon has not, to us, lost its refreshing quality; the ointment poured on the head of Aaron still retains all its fragrance. I follow, with pleasure, the respectable divine who has just addressed you. He is an American, with a truly British heart; and he has furnished me with an American allusion, with reference to the principles of this Society, which embraces Christianity of all names and all countries. We have buried the hatchet of strife, and may the moisture which mourishes the root of that tree under which we have laid it, daily eat more deeply into its edge, and more completely destroy its temper. I know of but one malediction in the breast of charity, and that is reserved for the man who shall dig the hatchet from the earth, and again give sharpness to its edge.

The thanks to the Treasurer were moved by the Rev. Dr. THORPE, Secretary to the Hibernian Bible Society; and seconded by Major General MACAULEY.

Dr. TпORE, after briefly observing, that the Resolution which he had to move required nothing from him to recommend it, said, he should proceed to discharge that duty which would be expected from him, by giving some information with respect to the state of Ireland.

"I am happy," (said Dr. T.)" to be able to state, that the Hibernian Bible Society continues to prosper. The last year has been with us as it has been here-a season of unexampled pressure; yet, notwithstanding this, there has been but a very slight defalcation in our funds; and, as you have heard from the Report, we have issued 12,000 copies of the Scriptures more than in the preceding year; in that, our delivery was only 22,000 copies; and in this, it has amounted to nearly 35,000. This circumstance, my Lord, will, I trust, be admitted to show, that the lower classes