words can speak, what pen defcribe, or what heart conceive, the big, big horrors of their fituation?

Their whole prifon, then, will appear around them, as they turn their frighted eyes on every fide, nothing but one vaft lake of flames below, and nothing but one vast cloud of smoke above. A dreadful "blackness of darknefs" reigns in every part, except that it is faintly enlightened by the pale reflection of the flames. And this dismal gleam must serve only to make the darknefs more dreadful.--They therefore turn with ghaftly eyes, and look at the companions of their ruin near them. They fee them rolling their eyes about in the fame confounding furvey of their prifon-house. They fee them turning to look at them. And they receive additional terror from one another's countenances.

[To be concluded in our next.]

An Extract from the Succefs of two DANISH MISSIONARIES to the East-Indies: in feveral Letters to their Correspondents in Europe.

A LETTER from a Friend at Copenhagen, concerning the Progrefs of the MISSION.

THE

[Continued from page 383.]

HEY pretend, that wife men among them perform their worship without images; thefe being defigned for children only, and the duller fort of people, who know not what ideas or reprefentations to frame of the heavenly beings. After the Supreme Being, there are 3300000 gods, all depending upon the first or primary fubftance. They fay, there are forty-eight thousand Rifhi, or great Prophets, and an infinite number of angels, and other inferior officers. The feries of their gods is as follows;

1. "The

1. "The fupreme God created eternity. 2. Eternity brought forth Tfchiwen. 3. By Tfchiwen the goddess Tfchaddy. was created. 4. This goddels Tfchaddy produced Putadi, or the elementary world. 5. By Putadi, found was framed. 6. The found's offspring was nature. 7. Nature begat the great god Tchatatfchiwen, and 8. this brought forth another great god, called Magefhurn. 9. From Magefhurn sprung up Ruddiren or Ifpuren; and 10. from Ruddiren the great god Wilchtnum. 11. This created Bruma, which 12. proved the productive principle of the foul. 13. The foul created at laft the heaven, or that vaft expanfion betwixt heaven and earth, which makes up the fifth element, according to the Malabarick Philofophy, or rather, the receptacle of the other four elements. 14. This heaven begat the air. 15. The air begat the fire. 16. The fire begat the water, and 17. The water begat the earth. As for the rest of their gods and prophets, they furnish out a large and long-linked roll or genealogy, too prolix and tedious to be inferted in this place.

"They confefs their gods are fubject to various changes, as well as creatures themselves, and that each of them hath his fixed term both of life and government allotted him. After the expiration of these times, every thing fhall return into the Being of all Beings, and then there fhall follow a new creation. They fay there are fourteen worlds, feven fuperior and feven inferior ones, with as many huge feas moving betwixt them. This notion furnishes their Poets with abundance of fictions.

"As for the creation of man, they tell us, that fixty thoufand men were created at firft, but that thirty thousand turned devils foon after, and thirty thousand remained men, both of them being in procefs of time multiplied to infinite numbers, Their Bramins tell you, they are no finners at all, but the offspring of the great god Bruma; and confequently think themselves to be a perfectly pure and finless generation.

"The greatest part of them think, that every one hath two fouls; a good one, and a bad one. Touching the fenfes of man, they maintain there are five inward, and five outward fenses; whereof they hold the latter to be bad, and the former good and holy. They are generally for the tranfmigration of the foul out of one body into another, in order to obtain a full purification. But fuch as have lived a holy life, they tell you, are immediately tranflated to a state of compleat happiness.

"Those that have been defiled by many fins, during their ftay in the world, they hold, muft wander from one body into another, and by this means be born over and over again, till they gain a perfect purification. It is then they are admitted to the holy company of the gods. From this principle they farther infer, that thofe that have indulged themselves in lewdness and vanity, are forced into wild and venomous beafts, or elfe born again into the world in a very poor and vile condition: whereas thofe that have done good in the world, but want higher degrees of perfection, are born again, fome like kings, fome like great fcholars, or other men of confiderable quality.

"In this vaft multitude of people, hurried about with fo many odd notions, I have never yet met with one atheist. On the other hand, I have feen many that will undergo a deal of pain and labour, to fit themfelves for a better ftate. Many will quit all they have; wife, children, and estate, and retire into fome diftant folitude, to do penance for their former life. Some will employ themfelves entirely about offices of huma nity, erecting numbers of Charity-houses, wherein both indigent travellers, and other poor people, may find reft and refiefhment. There are likewife many fpacious buildings, like Cloyflers or Colleges, to be seen in fome places, wherein often a thousand poor people are entertained at once.

66

Concerning the ftate of happiness after this life, our Malabarians inform us of four degrees of manfions, prepared for

the

the better fort of people. The firft degree is termed by them, Tichalogum, fignifying paradife. The fecond is, Tichalmibum, importing a very near access to the great God. The third is called, Tfcharubum. Such as arrive to this degree are made the very image of God. The fourth manfion is called Tfchaufchium, and unites its inhabitants entirely to the fupreme Being. Many, to render themfelves worthy of fo glorious a ftate, live a very precife and virtuous life. Some have fo far thrown off all manner of idolatrous worship, that they do not fo much as come near a Pagode.

"The notion of the tranfmigration, and the various revolutions of the foul, makes one of the ftrongest prejudices against the Chriftian Faith among the Malabar Heathens and it is befides, one of the greatest ftratagems of the devil, whereby he makes many think flightly of the most horrid fins and pollutions. For, whilst they do not believe any other punishment to be inflicted upon the wicked, than the being born again and again into the world, many of them grow quite familiar with this fancy about the rambles of the foul, and fall away into a loose and disorderly life.

"Many of the Heathens, it is true, are convinced of the foundness of the doctrine we have all along propofed to them; but cafling their eyes upon the profligate manners of those that protefs it, they are at a stand, and do not know what to betake themselves to. They fuppofe that a good religion and a diforderly converfation, are things utterly inconfiftent one with another. And because they see the nominal Chriftians. pursue their wonted pleasure presently after divine fervice; fome of the Heathens have from thence taken up a notion, as if we Preachers, in our ordinary fermons, did teach people all thofe debaucheries, and encourage them in fo diffolute a course of life."

[To be continued.]

PROFANATION

IN

PROFANATION of the SABBATH.

N the year 1598, the town of Tiverton in Devonshire, was often warned and advised by its godly Paftor, that God would bring fome heavy curfe upon the inhabitants of that place for their impious profanation of the Lord's-day, by buying and felling thereon; and, not long after their Minister's death, God fent a terrible fire, which in lefs than half an hour, confumed the whole town, except the Church, the Court-house, alms houfe, and a few poor peoples' dwellings. Above fifty perfons perifhed in the flames. Alfo in the year 1612 it was again wholly burnt, except a few poor houses, the inhabitants not being warned by the former judgment, but continuing in the fame fin.

Mr. Adderly, a pious Minister in Burton upon Trent, frequently took occafion to reprove, and threaten those that profaned the Lord's-day, efpécially thofe that bought and fold meat thereon. However, there was a taylor in the town, a very nimble active fellow, who lived at the upper end of the town, who had the impudence to go through the long street to the other end of it, and fetch fome meat on the Lord's-day, before morning-prayer: but as he came back with his hands full, he fell down dead in the middle of the ftreet. The judgment was fo vifible, that it wrought fome reformation, both in the butchers and others. Doctor Teat informs us he was an eye-witnefs both of his fall and burial.

At Alcefter in Warwickshire, a lufly young woman went to a green in the neighbourhood, where she said she would dance as long as he could ftand; but while fhe was dancing, it being the Lord's-day, God ftruck her with a violent disease, whereof the fhortly after died.