that he would take me." When asked by her sister if it was not right for her life to be spared, she said, "Yes, for you it is; but for me it is far better to depart and to be with Christ." Seeing us weep,

she calmly said, "Hinder me not; I

have a call to heaven. Oh! that I had wings like a dove, for then would I fly away and be at rest." She requested to be raised up, and as her husband was supporting her head, she was asked if she wanted anything. "Yes," she said, "to be entirely blessed. I am now passing through the dark valley." Immediately her sainted spirit took its flight to the realms of perfect blessedness. Thus she exchanged the sabbath below for her everlasting sabbath above. It was at eight o'clock in the evening of sabbathday, May 9, 1847, she having been forty years in this wilderness, that she entered the heavenly Canaan. Thus was answered in the hour of her departure the prayer

she had often uttered in the language of our poet :

"Oh! for an overcoming faith,

To cheer my dying hours;

To triumph o'er the monster Death,
And all his frightful powers!"

Her dust, mingling with that of her three dear children, lies in the burialground of the Independent Chapel of her native town, and there awaits the glories of the resurrection morning.

Her pastor, Mr. Greener, preached her funeral sermon at Settle, from the words, "Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his," Num. xxiii. 10. The tears which the mention of her name called forth from many showed how she was beloved. May that saving grace to which she attributed her every comfort sanctify us also! "One thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that good part that shall not be taken from her." Reader! have you chosen this good part?

THIRTY YEARS' HISTORY OF THE CHURCH ASSEMBLING IN PRINCE'SSTREET CHAPEL, NORWICH.

On the evening of April 6, 1847, a large tea-party met in St. Andrew's Hall, Norwich, for the purpose of celebrating the thirtieth year of the ministry of the Rev. John Alexander, who read a highlyinteresting and instructive history of his pastorate, from which we have much pleasure in presenting the following narrative, which beautifully illustrates the power of principle and the progress of truth:

In connection with this abundant degree of peace and prosperity, our course has however been attended, externally at least, with difficulty and tribulation, and we have had to build the walls of our Zion in troublous times. It was no easy thing for a young and inexperienced minister to have the formation and guidance of an infant church committed to his care, and at the same time to have to give attention to reading; to have to prepare three, and afterwards four sermons every week; besides visiting the sick, attending a weekly prayer-meeting, conducting two separate Bible-classes, which at one time he had in charge, preaching occasionally at Thorpe and at Trowse, two village stations in connection with the chapel, and attending the committees and public meetings of various religious institutions in the city and county. In the earlier periods of these labours the debt which remained on the chapel began to press with most burdensome weight; and those who

had advanced the largest sums of money became more than wishful for repayment. Once the income of the minister was taken for the payment of the interest; but it was immediately returned to him, doubled in amount, by an affectionate and sympathizing congregation. One difficulty became, however, the forerunner and progenitor of another, as is generally the case when a chapel is burdened with an oppressive debt; and at length the state of things became so harassing and intolerable, especially to the pastor's mind, that after many struggles and much mental suffering, he wrote a letter resigning the pastoral office, and sent it to the church on February 4th, 1825. That letter, though sent, was never opened; for just as the church assembled, an arrangement was completed by which the burden of debt was diminished, and by which some persons whose pecuniary claims had been urgently pressed were satisfied. Thus our extremity became God's opportunity; and the minister and the people, instead of being separated, became, through mutual suffering, still more closely and affectionately united.

As the congregation had become pledged to raise between eight and nine hundred pounds in five years, to effect the proposed liquidation of the debt, every hand became engaged in the work, and great labour and liberality were manifested. But our troubles were not yet terminated. At the end of two years, out of the five, it was discovered that the roof of the chapel, which had been constructed on a false principle, was giving way, and that it, together with the upper part of the walls, must be taken down. The expense of doing this would be full three hundred pounds; we had yet to raise more than that sum towards the debt; how was it possible to do both? especially as the congregation must,

for some time at least, leave the chapel, and perhaps be irrecoverably dispersed; for it was now the beginning of winter, and four or five months must elapse before the place could be repaired, and rendered fit for our return. We were perplexed, and almost in despair. But again, by God's great mercy, our light rose in obscurity, and the night of weeping was followed by the morning joy. The Lancasterian School, the Old Meeting-house, and the French Church, were kindly granted to us, for our Sunday and our week-day worship; the congregation, instead of sinking into despondency, was roused to exertions the most zealous and liberal; our Christian friends in the Old Meeting and in St. Mary's Chapel-Baptists as well as Independentsaffectionately sympathized with our circumstances, and in the course of a few days presented to us the noble sum of upwards of a hundred guineas; the walls were re-built; a new and substantial roof was raised; and we returned to the place on the 16th of March, 1828, with as large a congregation as we had when we left it, and which from that time continued to increase till every seat was occupied! Then, too, the God of all grace began to enrich us with a greater increase of spiritual prosperity. Many sinners were converted; the church was enlarged, and confirmed, and edified; our Sundayschools were invigorated; our interest in the place, and in each other, was strengthened; and God himself seemed again to repeat his gracious promise, "I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee."

Since that period we have made several alterations and improvements in our place of worship; and on one of these occasions, in 1842, we worshipped in the Dutch Church for the space of two months. Our own service was in the morning and evening; and the service of the Church of England, conducted by the clergyman of the place, was in the afternoon. On one of the afternoons the service was conducted by the venerable and excellent Bishop of the diocese, who preached from the same pulpit that had been occupied in the morning by the Dissenting minister; and during our stay there we had sermons from ministers belonging to almost every evangelical denomination of the Christian church. In our own place of worship, too, it has often been our privilege to contribute, in some degree, to the general communion of saints, especially at the Lord's table, the first place at which Christians should meet, and the last at which they should separate. There we have been joined by Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists, who have eaten with us of the same bread, and who have drank of the same cup, in devout remembrance of Him who purchased the church with his precious blood.

One of the objects to which we directed our attention, soon after the opening of the chapel, was the formation of a Sunday-school. Several young persons of piety and zeal offered themselves as teachers, some of whom continue to the present day, honourably and usefully employed in the beneficial work. We began in July, 1820, with eighty-one scholars. The pastor advised the teachers to form the committee out of their own body; to have no more rules for the regulation of the school than circumstances rendered necessary; to conduct all their affairs religiously; and to apply to their minister whenever they

needed help or encouragement. This undertaking, which has been pursued with unabating ardour and vigour to the present day, has been abundantly prospered by the Divine blessing. Not less than three thousand children have, from time to time, received from it some degree or other of religious instruction. Many of these children have become teachers; some of them have died in the Lord; and at our Sunday-school anniversaries we have listened to many affecting and spirit-stirring details of the resignation and the joyful hope which they have expressed in the prospect of death and heaven. The school, too, has been a fruitful nursery for the church. For many years past we have seldom had a church-meeting without receiving some one as a member whose religious impressions were either derived or deepened from his education or from his employment in the school. At this time, in addition to twenty-three youths in the monitorial class, preparing to become teachers, there are no less than a hundred and twenty, chiefly young persons, belonging to the church and congregation, who are actually engaged as Sunday-school teachers in Prince's-street, and in our other schools; and though, during nearly the last thirty years, they and their predecessors have conducted the general business of the schools entirely by themselves, yet they have co-operated steadily and cordially; no root of bitterness has sprung up to trouble them; and, by the grace of God, they still continue to feel and to manifest "how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." Such an institution, it will easily be perceived, must have afforded great help to the interests of religion in the congregation, and great encouragement to the pastor. It has indeed often been his solace in adversity, and one of his chief joys in prosperity; and his heart is glad of the opportunity which this festival affords to acknowledge the large circle of Sunday-school teachers by whom he is surrounded as his fellow-labourers in Christ, and as the joy and crown of his ministry.

Our Sunday-school operations, however, have not been confined to the chapel in Prince's-street. We have supplied teachers to the school in Pockthorpe, two of whom were mainly instrumental in raising money for the erection of the present spacious building, which is used for an Infantschool during the week, as well as for a Sundayschool; and we have also supplied teachers to the school in Stepping-lane, and to some others, while we have entirely supported the schools and the chapels in the villages of Thorpe and Trowse. Mr. Alexander began to preach in a room at Thorpe in the year 1819, which, several years afterwards, began to be supplied by some of the members of his church. The attendance there became at length so numerous and encouraging, that it was determined to build a chapel; and after encountering many discouraging difficulties, a suitable piece of ground was obtained; and the present building was erected, at a cost, including the ground, of £450, towards which one liberal friend contributed £100. The chapel was opened for Divine worship in 1839, and the Sunday-school was formed in the same year. Four religious services are conducted in the chapel weekly, by members of our church; about eighty children are instructed in the Sunday-school; and there is a vestry library for the use of the congregation. The Sunday-school at Trowse was established as early as 1821, and

about seven years afterwards we began to preach the gospel there; but we did not occupy the present chapel till 1830. There is religious service in it four times every week, a Sunday-school containing a hundred and fifty children, and a circulating library for the use of the village. We hope soon to be enabled to erect another chapel there, in a better situation, which may also be used for both Day and Sunday-schools. During the last eight years Mr. Barnsdale, who from the beginning has devotedly laboured for the welfare of Trowse, has been employed by us as a Missionary in the two villages of Trowse and Thorpe, on the plan of the City Mission; and the reports which he has read at our quarterly meetings have made us acquainted, not only with the peculiar difficulties which the gospel has to contend with in villages situated near a large city, but also with many blessed triumphs which that gospel has gained over human depravity, in the regeneration and salvation of the souls of men.

Our thirty years have therefore been spent, not only in overcoming our own difficulties, and in establishing and increasing ourselves, but also in endeavouring to extend the knowledge and influence of the gospel in the regions beyond. This indeed is the combined duty of every religious society. The church was instituted by its divine Lord, not only for preserving and professing the truths of the gospel, but also for propagating them. This, you know, has always been urged upon you from the pulpit as a solemn duty; and though you have perhaps sometimes felt as if you had been urged too much, and though your pastor has sometimes been kindly warned that his own resources would be diminished if he so earnestly pleaded for foreign objects, yet I trust many of you have found that the money you have given, and especially the personal efforts you have put forth, for the spread of the gospel, have not been in vain in the Lord, but have been spiritually advantageous to yourselves as well as to others. As one consequence of these appeals and urgings, your pastor has always been associated with many fellow-labourers in the work of the Lord, who have been distributors of tracts, collectors for public institutions, Christian Instruction agents, Sunday-school teachers, conductors of prayermeetings, and preachers of the gospel in the neighbouring villages. And by so doing, you have been the means of converting sinners from the error of their way, and of saving their souls from death; your personal piety and the prosperity of the church has been advanced; your pastor's heart has been strengthened and comforted; and the name of Christ has been glorified. May the Lord of the harvest never fail to supply us with such labourers, and may all succeeding pastors and members of the church be constrained by the love of Christ "to live not to themselves, but to Him who died for them and rose again."

Several other institutions, which it is needful or desirable should be formed in connection with a church of Christ, exist among us, some of which are more particularly for the use of our own congregation, and others for the general interests of humanity and religion. The Society for the relief of our sick and aged poor was instituted in 1821, and has all along been most economically and efficiently conducted by a committee of ladies, who meet for business once a

month, and who visit and relieve the needy and afflicted objects. They have thus distributed full £330. The Provident Society was instituted in 1835, and affords an opportunity for any person in the congregation, or for any child in the Sunday-school, to secure a sum of money weekly during sickness, and a pension for old age, by paying a proportionate monthly subscription during health. It has received from these payments about £200. The Vestry Libraries, connected with the chapel in Prince's-street, contain nearly a thousand well-selected volumes on various subjects, but especially on religious subjects, to which any persons in the congregation have access on subscribing a shilling a quarter, and to which the Sunday-school teachers and children have access gratuitously. Our Christian Instruction Society was formed for the purpose of paying religious visits and for distributing tracts in several districts, chiefly in the neighbourhood of the chapel; and though the subsequent institution of the City Mission has, in some measure, superseded its labours, there are now about fifteen agents connected with it, and it occupies a room in King-street for religious worship on the sabbath. We have also auxiliaries and associations formed among us on behalf of the London Missionary Society, for sending the gospel to the heathen; on behalf of British Missions, embracing the Home Missionary Society, the Irish Evangelical Society, and the Colonial Missionary Society; on behalf of the County Association for the spread of the gospel in Norfolk; and on behalf of the Norwich City Mission; besides granting collections and subscriptions to various other religious institutions, formed for promoting the spiritual welfare of our fellow-countrymen, and of mankind at large.

The amount of money required for these various purposes, and for the support of the ministry, has of course not been small. A careful effort has been made to obtain a full and correct account; but it has been found impossible to ascertain all the items. Since the chapel was opened, many public collections have been made, of which there is no record, and which are now entirely forgotten. The following account may be considered correct as far as it goes, and at the end of it something may be added for omissions:

the cause of Christ, as a testimony of allegiance to their Lord and Master, and as a means of personal prosperity and usefulness. And let any people, under the influence of religion, which is the true voluntary principle, be suitably appealed to by their minister for pecuniary help on behalf of institutions for the spread of the gospel, and he will be far from injuring either them or himself. They will become better and happier by helping others, and he and his family will be the better and the happier too; at least such is the testimony which the pastor of Prince's-street can bear relative to himself and to his liberal congregation.

We commend the whole to our Junior Pastors, as supplying an impressive example and a strong encouragement. In the course of the evening the assembly, as well became them, passed, among other resolutions, the following:

That, on this Thirtieth Anniversary of the residence of our beloved Pastor in Norwich, we are devoutly grateful to God for having first directed him hither, and for having permitted him to labour so long and so successfully amongst us; that we affectionately thank him for his constant and faithful devotedness to the work of the ministry, and the welfare of his people; and that we earnestly pray that, for yet many years to come, he may be spared to enjoy richly the blessings of the gospel which he dispenses to others.

Thousands upon thousands of our readers will add their cordial Amen! for few men enjoy so largely, and none more deservedly, the general respect and affection of good men, both in his own and in all other communities.

Collection for the distressed Irish

75 8 0 166 3 6

The total amount of all these sums is £22,200 188. 4d.; and we may safely add at least £300 for subscriptions and collections which cannot be remembered; so that, in about twenty-nine years, there has been collected, for various purposes, the large sum of £22,500.

All this money, it must be remembered, has come from a congregation which, though numerous, has not been rich; and it has been contributed by them not as a compulsory tax, but in addition to the compulsory taxes which they have been compelled to pay towards the Church Establishment from which they have conscientiously dissented. We have, therefore, "not robbed other churches" for the support of our own; but all our contributions have been given on the voluntary principle, and as a free-will offering, which in many cases have, no doubt, been given as unto the Lord, and not unto men. It has indeed been contributed by a people who have often been taught the duty and importance of giving both money and personal efforts to

LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY.

ISLAND OF MANGAIA, SOUTH PACIFIC OCEAN. "The darkness is past, the true light now shineth." THE island of Mangaia was first visited by the lamented Williams, in the year 1823. He attempted to land native teachers, but the people robbed them of their property, treated their persons cruelly, and compelled them to take refuge in the Missionary Ship, still lying off the land. A second attempt, however, proved successful, and the teachers were just suffered to remain, at the peril of their lives. Except an occasional visit from one of our brethren at Rarotonga, no European Missionary, until 1845, laboured on the island. Mangaia now contains three Missionary stations. At these there are more than three thousand people under Christian instruction; nearly four hundred are united in Churchfellowship; about the same number are serious inquirers; and upwards of eight hundred children are taught in the schools. A Missionary brother, after visiting this island, supplies the following interesting particulars:

"Passing from one station to another in company with a few old men, formerly active agents in the kingdom of Satan, but now living epistles of Christ, known and read of all men; one of them exclaimed, as if awakening from a

reverie: This is a spot of ancient fame-the devil's ground. How many a heathen warrior has fallen here!' And, pointing to a valley at the foot of two small hills, he told us a tale of woe which presented all the cruelty and horror of their former practices. It was in substance as follows:

"About six or eight years after Capt. Cook's visit the island was at peace; the whole of the people were living in heathen harmony. At this season one aspiring and vicious chief, who had been defeated in a former war, conceived a plan of murder and bloodshed upon a scale before unknown. Sending his under-chieftains round to all the tribes, he gave an invitation to all to assemble at a given time on the spot then before us, where a feast of most extraordinary character was to be prepared, and the proposed scene of revelry was to continue for many days.

"On the morning appointed nearly the whole of the warriors of the various districts were there; and an oven of immense dimensions was heated, consisting of large heaps of stones on piles of flaming wood, When all was ready, and each from the different stations was about to cast in his portion of food, a host of bloody warriors, belonging to the chief who gave the invitation, rushed forward with fiend-like fury on the unprepared assembly, and hurried an unknown number of them into the flaming oven. For many days the sky was darkened by the ascending smoke of this funeral pile, amidst the cry and curses of the injured, and the hellish joy of those who must, from the old chief's description, have resembled devils in human form. But those days are passed away never to return. The bright Sun of Righteousness has arisen with healing beneath his wings, and a happy number who have been washed and sanctified have already joined the redeemed in glory, and others are following the holy throng."

BAPTISM OF TWO CHINESE CONVERTS AT
HONG-KONG.

IT will rejoice the friends of Missions to learn that the blessing of the Most High continues to rest on the labours of our Missionary brethren in China. The seed sown in faith is springing up and bearing fruit; and the church of Christ has every encouragement to abound more and more in the work of the Lord among the inhabitants of this mighty empire. From the Rev. Wm. Gillespie the following very interesting account has recently been received of the conversion and baptism of two Chinese at HongKong, in whose deliverance from the bondage and corruption of idolatry God has exceedingly magnified his grace :

"On the 22nd of August, 1847, (writes Mr. G.,) two Chinese converts, named Laon- ting-Shen and Qwan Sang, were baptized in Union Chapel. The former is a rich merchant from Tung-Koon, In the beginning of last year he came to reside in Hong-Kong, having entered into partnership with several other rice-merchants; and his shop being opposite to the Bazaar Chapel in the Chinese part of the town, he had frequent opportunities of hearing the Gospel, and of conversing with Asûn, the keeper of the Chapel. He was struck most forcibly by seeing Asûn with the members of his family frequently reading a religious book, and then kneeling down to worship. What it was they worshipped, Ting-Shen could not conceive, as he saw no idol nor shrine; no

gilt paper nor incense; no offering of tea and fruits, nor burning of tallow candles; nothing but addressing prayers to some invisible being. His inquiries were chiefly listened to by Asûn, who is an old and tried disciple, who on this occasion exerted himself, as, indeed, he always does, in communicating to his neighbour a knowledge of the Christian doctrines. He continued to attend the chapel regularly; and about four months ago he began to attend the Bible-class, which is composed of inquirers and others, eighteen in number, who meet every morning at the Mission-house. The following extracts from a letter which he addressed to the Missionaries, begging them to receive him as a disciple, will show the state of his mind at this time:

"I have heard from the teachers that God purposely sent his beloved Son, Jesus, down to the world to be the Son of man, and to atone for all the wickedness and sins of all people in all nations under heaven. I, formerly, was wickedness itself. The teachers discoursed on the doctrines of the sacred books, such as contained in the Gospels of John, Matthew, and Luke. When I heard what they said, it was like thunder piercing my ears, like from a dream awakening up, like from drunkenness at first coming to reason again. Then I knew that there is a great Ruler in heaven, and that in my body there is a precious soul. They also said that God is my divine Father, and that they who hear the doctrines of the Scriptures, and receive the gospel, shall enjoy the everlasting happiness of heaven.

"I formerly worshipped idols and images, and observed and believed the words of the devils, so that thereby I suffered the deceit of the devil in my heart. Then I knew that I myself am a very great sinner, and I hereafter to eternity do change, and repent of my wickedness. Also I know that Jesus is the beloved Son of God, who expressly came down to the world to be a Son of man. When he was in the world, he went to every province, city, hamlet, village, market-place, and everywhere, bearing hardships in his travels and opposition in his journeys; when cold he did not add clothing, when hungry he did not eat; wandering and toiling, he endured ten thousand troubles and a thousand hardships, which he did not shrink from in order to atone for the sins of all men. Who could have done this? Only the Saviour of the world could do this. From Pwan-koo (the first man) to the present time, was there ever a man who could reach to the Saviour of the world-Jesus Christ's ten thousandth part? While in the world, he preached the gospel until he had toiled thirty and three years in speaking the doctrines of the true knowledge. All that were humble and saw Jesus, several tens of thousands, none but praised his great virtue and great kindness. As for the people that did not know the doctrine, and did not praise Jesus, these were low people. Look at the priests, and scribes, and elders, who always had an envious heart, and laid plans. and sought opportunities through the sacred books and histories. Why did they take the Saviour, Jesus, and nail him to the cross, and poisonously hurt him, and reward his kindness with enmity? That the Saviour suffered is only to be deplored. Those that hear it have their hearts wounded, and those that see it shed tears." When I heard of these sufferings I felt