ber of the Methodist society. Though her Sept. 16th-At Walcott, in the Swindon Circuit, aged thirty-one years, Maria, the affectionate and beloved wife of Mr. H. E. Freeman, and eldest daughter of Mr. J. Mountford, of Swindon. In early life she became a subject of divine grace, and evidenced in her walk and conversation that she had indeed passed from death unto life. For many years she had been a consistent member of the Wesleyan society; and her deep humility, fervent zeal, and strong attachment to the ordinances of the Lord's house, gave proof that she had received the grace which bringeth salvation. In the various relations of life, she manifested the Christian spirit and temper, and adorned the doctrine of God her Saviour in all things. During a long and severe affliction her mind was kept in peace, and she departed this life in the full triumph of faith. T. L. Sept. 17th.-In the Sheffield East Circuit, after "a great fight of affliction," the Rev. John Strawe. On Saturday, the 1st instant, he arrived in Sheffield, with his wife and family. He complained at the time of being somewhat indisposed. On the Sunday he preached twice. On Monday he became worse; and, shortly after, his medical attendant pronounced his case to be typhus fever. On the day before his death his case was declared to be hopeless. But the intelligence produced no dismay. "His loins were girt, and his light was burning." His mind was kept in perfect peace; and his anchor of hope sure and steadfast, entering into that within the veil. Among his last words were, "Christ is my Saviour. POETRY. THE TWO ADVENTS. HE came not with his heavenly crown, his sceptre clad with power; An humble manger cradled first the Virgin's holy birth, He came not with the robe of wrath, with arm outstretch'd to slay, And thou hast borne them, Saviour meek, and therefore unto thee, Yet once again thy sign shall be upon the heavens display'd, For not in weakness wilt thou come, our woes, our sins, to bear, The terrors of that awful day, O who shall understand? Then grant us, Saviour, so to pass our time of trembling here, G. W. D. SONNET, ON READING COUNT KRASINSKI'S "HISTORY OF POLAND," LET a poor poet, who, with heart sincere, Feels and laments with thee thy country's wrong, Thy glorious fame will long thy name endear, Bright on thy page stands Ferley's deathless name, A. M. A CHERUB. "I am in some little disorder by reason of the death of a little child of mine, a boy that lately made us very glad; but now he rejoices in his little orb, while we think, and sigh, and long to be as safe as he is."-JEREMY TAYLOR. BEAUTIFUL thing! with thine eye of light, Beautiful thing! art thou come in love, To the better thoughts, to the brighter skies, Winning our hearts, by a blessed guile, Beautiful thing! art thou come in joy, With the look, with the voice, of our darling boy? He had twined about with his infant arts, To dwell from sin and sorrow far, In the golden orb of his little star: Beautiful thing! art thou come in peace, Cheering us still on our lonely way, Lest our hearts should faint, or our feet should stray, Till risen with Christ, we at last shall be, Beautiful thing, with our boy and thee! G. W. D. Relating principally to the FOREIGN MISSIONS carried on under the direction of the METHODIST CONFERENCE. CONTINENTAL INDIA. OUR recent communications from India (latest date, July 12th) are of a peculiarly painful character. The Missionaries, whose number had been already reduced by the lamented decease of Messrs. Squarebridge and Fox, and the necessary departure of Mr. Arthur for Europe, were further interrupted in their work by cases of personal or family affliction. Under these circumstances, the operations of the Missions, on several stations, were, in some measure, suspended; and Mr. Crowther and his brethren very earnestly request that additional Missionaries may speedily be dispatched to their assistance. The state of the Society's finances, however, absolutely prevents a prompt compliance with this urgent and reasonable request. Never do the Committee more deeply deplore the insufficiency of the funds placed at their disposal, than when they are under the necessity of refusing a supply to fill up such vacancies as Providence may permit to occur among the labourers in heathen countries. But they cannot allow themselves to conclude, that their present difficulties shall long continue; or that the ground which has been won by so much holy effort, and the impression in favour of Christianity which has undoubtedly been made on the minds of many thousands of the Hindoos, shall be lost, and rendered ineffectual, from the want of pecuniary aid; more particularly at a season when, after much prayer and exertion, many of the obstacles in the way of the spread of Christianity in India have been providentially removed. They confidently call on their friends to afford them speedily the help which they require. The general aspects of the eastern Missions are not all unfavourable. The following letters from Madras, Bangalore, Melnattam, and Manaargoody, contain many details and particulars which show, that our labour in India has not been in vain. Religious education is making continual progress; and, in some cases, the desired results have followed. The native churches are preserved from the contagion of Heathenism, and are edified: several native Christians have recently died in the Lord; and some converts have been added to the number of those who have witnessed a good confession amidst surrounding idolatry and corruption. The letter from the Madras District-Meeting shows, that the Missionaries have formed judicious plans of operation, and duly feel the importance of the position which they occupy; and the communications from the individual Missionaries afford evidence, that laudable diligence is used, in order, by the divine blessing, to give effect to those plans. Extract of a Letter from the Madras District-Meeting, dated February, 1841. In answering the question, "What ean be done to promote the work of God in this District ?" we have proposed, in VOL. XX. Third Series. OCTOBER, 1841. the hope of procuring your sanction, first, to revive the Tamul Book-Committee, and call it the Tamul Tract and Book 30 Committee; and that it be thus re-formed for the purpose of printing, in the native language, Wesleyan publications, particularly translations of Mr. Wesley's Sermons, and tracts issued by our TractCommittee in London, as well as original tracts, and a monthly Magazine in Tamul, on a similar plan to our English one, though on a smaller scale. The object contemplated in the proposed Magazine is, to have it in our power to circulate more extensively among our native societies and congregations, 1. A knowledge of scriptural theology, especially of those doctrines which we believe and teach; 2. Useful biography; 3. Papers on the history and discipline of Methodism; 4. Miscellaneous notices of the work of God in general; 5. Sacred poetry. We propose to take the entire pecuniary responsibility upon ourselves, and hope to have no difficulty in defraying the expense by our own subscriptions, and the contributions of those who are willing to co-operate with us. We We also wish especially to call your attention to the proposal of establishing native female boarding-schools, as mentioned in the body of the Minutes. have most heartily responded to your various communications on the necessity of doing our utmost to improve the character of native females; but as long as they are under the direction and influence of their parents and friends, we have but little hope of producing that change in them which is so essentially necessary; but by having them boarded on the Mission-premises, and under the direction of the Mission-family, or under some judicious person chosen for that purpose, we may expect, under the blessing of the God of Missions, that their characters may be formed on that basis most likely to contribute to their own everlasting happiness; and prepare them to fill, with Christian virtue and piety, those stations in society to which Providence may call them; and for which the rising up of our native Agents daily becomes more and more necessary that we should make some provision. We feel the greater freedom in recommending this plan to your notice, as we have reason to believe it may be accomplished without trespassing, to any considerable extent, on our regular funds. Many would be willing to subscribe to an object of this kind, who would not, to the same extent, so readily contribute to the general funds. It is deemed advisable to provide for the instruction in Wesleyan theology, and the general training, of such East-Indian and European youths, as offer themselves as candidates for our general work, and give full evidence of true conversion to God. Were a sum equal to that granted to the Negapatam Head-Native School, granted also for this purpose, it would, we think, fully meet the wants of the case. We are anxious that you should continue to give your attention still more strenuously to the connexion of the British Government with the idolatry of this country; and embrace every opportunity of endeavouring to remove so great an impediment to our work. Every day convinces us still more strongly, that it is one of the strong-holds of Satan, and one of the main supports by which his cause is upheld in this country. Its removal, therefore, would greatly tend to weaken his power, and open the way for the more successful promulgation of the truth of God. Happy for the Missionary cause will be that day, when our friends at home have succeeded in removing so great a stumbling-block. The last year has been one of deep affliction to many of our brethren, and of loss to our work, in the departure of one of our brethren to England, the death of another, and the failure of the health of two others. We deeply sympathize with our beloved Chairman, Mr. Crowther, in the loss he has sustained by the death of his child, and in the various domestic afflictions which he has been called to endure. May the God in whose service he is engaged be his support and comfort in this the hour of his trial! We feel deeply with our dear brother Mr. Male, under the dispensation of divine Providence, by which he has been visited by the death of his two children. Our fervent desire on his behalf is, that he and Mrs. Male may partake largely of the consolations of the God of Israel. We have been called to mourn over the grave of one of our brethren, on whom our hopes of future usefulness had been fixed: Mr. Squarebridge has been called suddenly to his reward. These circumstances combined lead us more than ever to feel a brother's care; for we know not who shall be next visited by similar afflictions, or who shall be next called to give up the charge which he has received from God. May we be equally as ready either for suffering or for death! We are also much concerned for the brethren Fox and Arthur, whose afflictions have for the present laid them aside from their work. May they be speedily restored to health and usefulness! * Mr. Fox, it has already been stated, died at sea, soon after his embarkation for England.EDIT. We have thus the field before us, with our plans and prospective operations. Whilst several efficient labourers are removed from their work, we have gained ground from the enemy which needs to be retained. We are anxious and willing to do our utmost in the cause in which we are engaged; but our ranks need strengthening. It is the last thought in our mind to abandon any part of the work which has been begun; but, unless we are re-inforced by strength from home, such must be the inevitable consequence of our present enfeebled state. We look to you, as our fathers and brethren, for the supply of men and means that shall enable us to advance in the great cause to which God has called us; and we hope you will assist us to realize those expectations as soon as possible. In conclusion, we state that we feel the work in which we are engaged to become daily more and more important, and to demand our whole energies to carry it on successfully. We labour under many discouragements, and are exposed to various temptations. Our only dependence is upon God: it is in him we trust; and to him we look for the wisdom and strength necessary to our character as his witnesses. Extract of a Letter from the Rev. Jonathan Crowther, dated Madras, I DARE not, under existing circumstances, encourage any very ardent expectation, either in my own mind or in that of my brethren, that the melancholy vacancies which have recently taken place amongst us will be soon filled up. But, on the other hand, I cannot conceal it from my own view, nor can I conceal it from the view of the Committee, that we have yet the prospect -but too probable of one or two vacancies more, at least, as likely to occur at no very distant period. My own case, I trust, needs not at present to be taken into the account, as my health is, on the whole, improving. But Mr. Hodson's health seems to be failing so rapidly, that I cannot reckon on his continuing much longer in India; and, according to the average of such contingencies, we may expect that some one or more of the other brethren will be obliged, for a season at least, to retire from the field. In the midst of these discouragements, my confidence as to our ultimate success in this most interesting field of labour, is rather augmented than diminished; and if we can only persevere in the patience which is a characteristic of true Christian hope, not less than ardour, I have no doubt results will hereafter be reported which will prove that we have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain. My colleagues are in good health, and are applying themselves most devotedly to the native department of the work, with indications of the most encouraging description; as you will learn, ere long, from their own communications. I am still living in town, but have removed my family for the present to a small house at Royapooram. My boys' day-school (for East Indians) is doing very well: my girls' school, in consequence of the failure of the Mistress's health, is, at present, in a low state. Before I write again, our half-yearly examinations will have taken place; and I may then be able to write more in detail. Extract of a Letter from the Rev. Samuel Hardey, dated Bangalore, THE man and his wife, to whom I made special allusion in a former letter, (March 28th, 1840,) as being baptized, with their two children, and as then being the objects of much persecution, have, since that period, been called to pass through great afflictions. Their heathen relatives and former friends commenced a series of most wanton and wicked opposition, which might have shaken the confidence even of more established Christians. In the midst of these annoyances, one of their children was taken sick, and, after suffering severely for some time, eventually died in convulsive fits. On this occasion, their wicked persecutors laid hold of the circumstance to afflict them, and upbraided them with apostasy from Heathenism, declaring that this affliction was sent as a judgment, by the god of the Heathen, to punish them for their sins; and some of them presumed to say, that they had prevailed with the devil to put the child to death, |