beginning of June. Dr. R. is a man that will assist in every good work, and he seems to be the most evangelical of all his brethren in the place. I visited several of them, but found they knew little or nothing about our Society and its views; they all, however, received the tract, No. 17, entitled "Attempts," &c. and the prospectus, with interest, and as the Hesse Bible Society distinguished itself for activity from some neighbouring Societies, we may hope that our cause also will be favoured at Cassel. There live at Cassel about 130 Jewish families. Liberality of sentiment in religion seems not to be the prevailing character among them. I made the acquaintance of two very scientific Jews; the one is editor of the Hesse newspaper, the other a private tutor. But the lat ter, with whom I had some particular conversations, is exceedingly zealous for the ceremonial law, and averse to the Christian system, to me quite a phenomenon, as I have hitherto found that progress in science, and indifference to externals kept pace with each other among the modern German Jews. At Cassel I made also the acquaintance of a young Curlandish Baron, who is making his tour to Switzerland, and who though a man of the world, is not a worldling, but possesses a very feeling heart. He embraced our cause from the side of tenderness, and pity towards the Jews. As he has Jews on his own estate, and as there are many in his country, (now under Russian dominion,) I gave him some tracts, and we promised mutually to remain in epistolary correspondence. At Eisenach, I chanced, in the inn, to make the acquaintance of a very pious neighbouring minister, who interested himself much for the cause. At Saxe-Weimar, I visited the legation-counsellor, Falke. This excellent man offered to assist us in our great work. You may easily imagine that I shall avail myself of his correspondence. His excellent and Christian hints on education may be very useful to us, if ever we succeed in erecting a school at Schlichtingheim, in Bohemia, as was hinted to you by the late Rev. Mr. Nitschke. At Weisenfels, a little Prussian town near Leipzig, I made the valuable acquaintance of the worthy superintendent, Schmidt. He has the episcopacy over no less than eighty-eight churches. The mode of ecclesiastical government has lately been changed from the Consistorial into the Synodal form. Now this worthy man promised TO MAKE THE cause of the Jews a concern of THE CHURCH, and to lay it before his clergy at the next Synod, to be held in the present month of July. On my return here, you may imagine it was one of my first employments to send him as many copies of the tract, No. 17, (Attempts,) as I could well spare. But the place where our cause has through my humble endeavours been most cordially embraced, is Leipzig. The late formation of an independent Missionary Society there was not a little favourable and preparatory to my views. The persons I visited were the following, the Magistrate Volkmann, the Court-counsellor, (Hofrath,) Suabedissen, Tutor of the prince of Hesse-Cassel, who studies at the university of Leipzig, the Rev. Professor Lindner, the Rev. Mr. Sander, Mr. Tauchnitz, &c. They unanimously agreed to make our cause an appendix (an expression of one of them) to their Missionary Society, which is the sooner practicable as it is formed independently of that at Basil. Mr. Volkmann promised to recommend and plead our cause at Dresden, where a Missionary Society has lately been formed upon the same principles, and where he is well acquainted and greatly connected. The excellent Suabedissen showed himself ready to plead the same cause to his young prince, who, he said, was always ready to promote a good work, though too young to take an active part in any. Rev. Professor Lindner will. be my correspondent, and I expect daily his communication about the success of his proposal to the committee of their Missionary Society. The young Mr. Tauchnitz, as well as Rev. Mr. Sander, are burning to do something in the matter, and I was happy to hear that the former is going to receive books directly from you. He also told me that the Jews are opening next fair a synagogue at Leipzig, on the plan of our newfangled one here, and the first professor has allowed them the saloon where the theological lectures are read, the fair being just during the vacations. At Leipzig itself, the number of inhabiting Jews is very inconsiderable. Since my return, I have been informed they are erecting another of these temples at Koenigsberg in Prussia also. Since my return, I have been gratified with the acquaintance of two or three proselytes, who are real Christians indeed. But they have become so subsequently to their baptisms. The one has been but lately awakened, and on his departure from here (he is an officer in the army) wrote to me a letter so descriptive of the fervency of his love to Jesus, that I cannot help sending you withal a copy of it. The history of the other is very remarkable. His mother lived at Halle, his father was one of the first Counts in Silesia, hence the circumstances were so at his birth that his Christian guardians (Chancellor Niemeyer, &c.) decreed he should be educated neutrally to either religion till come to years of discretion, when he should choose for himself. But through his mother's persuasions he embraced Judaism in his thirteenth year, was sent to Amsterdam and circumcised there. He became a very strict Jew till about his nineteenth year, when his conscience became uneasy about his choice, and he took baptism, notwithstanding all the remonstrances and threatenings of his bigoted mother. He then married a Christian woman, but continued without the experimental knowledge of Christ a year longer, when, upon hearing a sermon of an evangelical minister, he became serious, and now walks as becomes a disciple of Christ. He is a man of some parts, and of great theological inclinations, I think he might be usefully employed in our cause, for which he feels particular interest. His temporal circumstances are deplorably low, as he has the care of a family (and of a sickly one) to bear. My severe indisposition under which I have laboured, and still do so, since my return, has delayed this Report so long. My pains were so aggravating, that I have been obliged to discontinue all my studies and employments, and the physicians tell me I must go to a sea place, if I wish to recover my health and spirits. May the Lord further our work, and let his blessing rest on the endeavours already made for his glorious name's sake. Amen. I am, &c. G. G. FRIEDENBERG. BIBLE SOCIETIES. From the Rev. Professor Leander Van Ess. ALTHOUGH I have long delayed returning my heartfelt thanks to your Committee, for the last grants of 5007. and 300 florins; you will not, I trust, consider this delay as a mark of weariness or cessation in my Biblical work. On the contrary, you may hail it as a pleasing evidence of my continually increasing, and even overwhelming labours, in disseminating the Scriptures; labours which demand the sacrifice of almost all my time and strength. To this may be added, the work of publishing the Old Testament, the printing of which proceeds rapidly, twelve sheets being already struck off. Independent of this, I have experienced a severe trial in the illness of my Secretary, who has been confined to his bed for two months; in consequence of which, all the business, whether relating to the receipts or disbursements, devolves upon me. Herewith you will receive my half-yearly account, from July to December, 1820, as examined and countersigned by the Committee, by whom all the original documents are inspected. In the absence of one of the Committee Members, on account of indisposition, I supplied his place by calling in the Rev. Mr. Ritter. At the desire of your Committee, I have considerably lessened the gratuitous distribution of bound copies; hence it arises, that the number distributed is comparatively small. I exhort all my correspondents to pay the amount of binding, which, indeed, is sometimes done; but, in consequence of this condition, a voice, I may more correctly say, a cry of vehement desire and hunger for Testaments, gratuitously bound, was raised by those unable to pay for them. Thus, at the very period when I refused bound Testaments, gratis, the call for them has become more importunate and incessant on every side. By means of my reply to the Bishop of Coire, which was published in several public papers, many Catholic Clergymen and School Inspectors in the Rhenish provinces have been remarkably encouraged and stimulated to persevere undauntedly in their endeavours to introduce my New Testament into the Schools under their superintendence. Some of the districts contain from fifty to eighty parishes, and a still greater number of schools. I receive the most numerous applications from Upper and Lower Lusatia, from Silesia, and the Bohemian frontier. These applications are chiefly for bound Testaments, gratis. I have addressed a circular letter to all the Bible Societies in Germany, &c. which contains pressing solicitations for support, as the demands flowing in upon me, both for Catholic and Protestant Bibles and Testaments, are so numerous, that the British and Foreign Bible Society, with all its good-will and readiness, considering the large demands made upon its funds, cannot assist me to such an extent as its Committee, and as I myself, should wish. I hope to receive assistance from Russia, Amsterdam, &c. for defraying the cost of binding. Above all, I beg you will present my most heartfelt thanks to your Committee, in the name of many thousands, for that Christian liberality by means of which they have been supplied with the word of Salvation. For myself, I owe it to your Society to express my warmest gratitude for their continued confidence, in placing at my disposal the rich abundance of their Christian love. I shall never cease to devote all my powers to this sacred work, till death shall call me away. Have the goodness to commend me to the kind regard and to the prayers of the honoured Members of your Committee, and to all friends of the cause. I stand in real need of their supplications, that both my body and spirit may not sink under my accumulated burdens. From the last printed account, published by Professor Van Ess, it appears that the number of copies of the New Testament circulated, of his own version, up to the 31st of December, 1820, amounts to 394,067; besides which, he has distributed 5394 New Testaments of other Catholic and Protestant versions, in various languages, and 8749 Catholic and Protestant Bibles. In all, 408,210 copies of the Holy Scriptures have been put into circulation through the Professor and his friends. POLYNESIA. SANDWICH ISLANDS. JOURNAL OF THE MISSIONARIES.-(Continued from p. 51.) ▸ This interesting mission has occupied several pages in our late numbers, and we are sure our readers must have had great pleasure in the important information to be derived from knowing the wonders that the Lord is working in behalf of these "isles of the sea." The Missionary Herald, from which we copy most of the accounts of the missions under the direction of the American Board, contains the journal of the Missionaries up to the early part of July, and letters to the 2d of August. From these we shall endeavour to draw a faithful summary, with such extracts as we deem most interesting. Petition to settle at Woahoo. On the 10th of August "all the brethren went on shore to make one more effort to obtain what seemed to all desirable." "The difficulty of obtaining wood and water at Kirooah," the residence of the late king, Tamahamaha," was an objection of no small magnitude, to settling altogether at this dry and barren place." After much delay in waiting for the arrival of the chiefs and influential persons, "the king and queens, as they are called, and all the principal chiefs, except Roka and Tamoree, from all the islands, were now at this village." "Before any decision could be made, two youths presented themselves near the king's dwelling; prepared for a public dance; two thousand people were soon collected to see this childish amusement." The application was now formally made, and after making many inquiries, and raising objections, which were answered by the Missionaries, it was finally decided by ballot that brother Thurston should remain at Kirooah. "Though some of our fondly anticipated plans are overturned by this separation, yet we are consoled by the full conviction, that our duty -requires it, and by the happy reflection, that we proceeded with deliberation and prayer, and according to the best means of judging which were in our power." First Settlement of the Gospel in Owhyhee. April 12. A busy, trying, joyful and memorable day. Brother T. and Dr. H. with their wives, and Thomas Hopoo and William Tennooe, VOL. VIII. 15 landed and took up their residence at Kirooah. The day was spent principally in selecting and removing their effects from the brig, dividing to them such portions of the common stock, as seemed desirable and necessary for their immediate use, and making the best arrangements in our power, for their comfort and usefulness. As the brig lay about a mile from the shore, the boats were employed all day in transporting the baggage, &c. to the beach, and several of the king's men, with one of the brethren, in removing them from the beach to a small house formerly occupied by Dr. Elliot, now designated for the temporary use of the mission. After tea, those of our number, who had willingly determined to commence their work here, took leave of the Thaddeus, and of most of the remaining members of the mission family, and repaired to their lodgings on heathen shores. They were accompanied by Mr. Bingham and Capt. Blanchard, and, with particular instructions, mutual counsels, and affectionate salutations, they were commended to the grace and protection of Him who said, "Lo I am with you alway," and were left to the peculiar privations and enjoyments of their new and untried situation. At a late hour in the evening the king was found diligently engaged with his book, having begun in earnest to learn the rudiments of the English language, and made pleasing progress for two or three days. Taking leave of him, we weighed auchor, and immediately sailed for Woahoo. Thus in the name of our God have we set up our banner on the benighted shores of Owhyhee, and have stationed a little feeble band to support it there. May the blessing of the God of Jacob rest upon them, make their house a Bethel, their instructions a light to those who sit in darkness, and their influence a perennial stream whose gentle flow shall fertilize the barren waste, and make glad the city of our God. Description of Kirooah and its Vicinity. Kirooah is a considerable village, containing two or three thousand inhabitants. It has a battery of 20 or 30 guns, and a garrison of about 200 soldiers. It is built upon lava and sand. The face of the surrounding country is not pleasing, as it appears to have been formed by volcanic eruptions, rising gradually from the shore, until it swells into a mountain, at the distance of 6 or 8 miles to the east. Cocoa-nut trees line the beach, together with a few low shady trees; and further back a tree yielding a species of oil-nut, which the inhabitants burn instead of lamps. About four miles back from the bay, bread fruit, bananas, sugar cane, sweet potatoes, and mountain toro, are produced, and a variety of vegetables here and there, where a little soil can be found to support them. There are no streams of water at Kirooah. The inhabitants generally use brackish water, which they find near the shore; or the water that is caught in the rocks; but the chiefs send back several miles for the water which they drink, which is found fresh and cool in caves and natural reservoirs. The case is similar at Karakakooa. But the country southeastward from Kirooah, at the distance of 15 or 20 miles, which Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Whitney explored, has an excellent soil, well adapted to agriculture; yet not very well supplied with living streams, or favoured with successive rains. 13. Last night we left Kirooah bay. We have lost sight of Owyhee, and passed Mowee again. Several of the family feel the motion of the brig so sensibly as to be sea-sick. The same persons were affected in a |