68 66 66 GEORGE SCHMIDT. fourteen miles from Tahiti. They left Ta- At length the morning broke-the Sabhiti with a fair wind, and expected soon to bath morning-and as that Sabbath sun be at anchor in the harbour of Eimeo. They arose, the wind went down, and the sea had only got half-way across the channel sank to rest. A breeze sprang up from when the heavens began to gather black- another quarter, and helped the boys to run ness: the wind blew, the sea rose, and in a their boat towards the port they had left short time they were in the most imminent on the Saturday evening. But another danger. As there was no deck to the boat, danger awaited them. As they neared the she was soon nearly half full of water, and harbour, they found that the sea was breaklying over almost on her beam ends. The ing violently all across the opening in the lad who was steering said to his school-fel-reef, through which they had to pass. They low, Can you pray?" No," answered were afraid to venture, lest the boat should the boy. Then," said the other, " you be swamped. One said to the other, "Let come and steer, and I will pray." He knelt us pray again before we try to go through." down, and prayed that God would preserve They again called upon God, entreating them, and deliver them from their perilous him still to preserve them. They then situation. headed for the opening, and in a few minutes were carried safely through, and got on shore in time for public worship. When Mr Pritchard went into the chapel, he was surprised to see them seated in the gallery with the other Sabbath-school boys. They had hastened from the boat to the house of God, to thank him for their deliverance. Youth's Missionary Reposi Still the wind blew, and the sea raged, and perhaps the boys feared that God did not hear their prayer. One angry wave breaking over them, one dip of the boat, and it must have filled with water, and gone down. They were alone, far from land, from friends, from pity, and from help. The night came on: they were cold, wet, comfortless; and there they were, tossed on tory. the stormy waves, with no hope but in God. GEORGE SCIIMIDT, THE FIRST MISSIONARY TO THE HOTTENTOTS. (Continued from page 60.) They SCHMIDT had not been long at Hernhut land and the Bechuana country. before he again set out to visit the awakened through Bohemia, into Voigtland; and then in the Palatinate and Switzerland. This time, however, he got safely through, returned to Hernhut in 1736, and immediately received an appointment to go out as a missionary to the Hottentotsa work on which his heart had long been set. The Hottentots, as you already know, live about the neighbourhood of the Cape Colony, at the southern point of Africa, and towards the north, going up to Caffre were considered, at the time Schmidt visited them, as amongst the lowest and most degraded of human beings; and many of them are so still. They have no right idea of God, and no rites or religious worship of any kind amongst them. They believe in the existence of a great spirit a devil, whom they call Gauna; and of heaven, which they call Huma. In appearance they are very disgusting. They are very short, have a yellowish coloured skin, black hair, very much like wool, all clotted, in general, with grease and dirt, and there went on with his school and his flat noses, and thick lips, like negroes; and work. In a little time, one of the young are dressed up in a couple of sheep skins, men, whom he named William, paid much sewed together, and smeared with grease; attention, and seemed to be deeply impressand too often filled with different kinds of ed with divine things. Besides him, two vermin. They live in clumsily made tents, of the officers were converted to God; and and roam about from place to place in lit- the Lord seemed thus to give him proof tle companies, as they find proper pastu- that he approved of his labours. In 1742 rage for their flocks. They live on milk, William expressed his wish to be baptized, boiled meat, and roots; and are generally and after proper instruction, Schmidt kind and hospitable to strangers. They granted his request. I shall give the are thought a stupid race of people, and account of this ceremony in his own words. during the hot weather, generally sleep Schmidt was travelling with William from nearly all day, and dance and sing nearly Cape town when the circumstances here all night. related occurred. all his works? Art thou willing, in dependence on God's grace, to endure reproach and persecution, to confess Christ before all men, and to remain faithful to him until death?' To all of which he severally answered, 'Yes!' I then made him step into the water, and baptized him in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and gave him the name of Joshua." Schmidt was furnished with introduc- "On coming to a running stream, I distions to the governor of the colony, which mounted from my horse, knelt down with was then in the hands of the Dutch, (though him and prayed. I then put to him the folnow it belongs to us,) and was kindly re-lowing questions:- Dost thou believe that ceived by them; and in a few days set out the Son of God died on the cross for the sins on his journey to the Hottentots. His of all mankind? Dost thou believe that first place of residence was about sixty thou art by nature a lost and undone creamiles up the country, on the river Sonder-ture? Wilt thou renounce the devil and end, and near a military station. On his coming near the Hottentot encampment, the chief, Africo, and his people, came out to meet him with music, and gave him a hearty welcome as their teacher. He found that Africo could speak Dutch very well, and so they were enabled to hold conversation together with great ease. The next day he began to build his hut. Africo and his people helped, and in six weeks it was so he could sleep in it. While this was going on, he tried to learn the Hottentot language; but he found it hard to manage. There were three clicks connected with the pronunciation of the words that completely beat him, and the people were high-vest yet to be reaped? ly amused at his attempts to sound them. Finding their language so difficult, he resolved to teach them to read the Dutch, and numbers of them readily began to learn. After spending about a year at this station, he removed with eighteen Hottentots to a desert spot on the Sergeant's river, This was the first Hottentot convert, and the first Hottentot baptism. Do you not think that angels rejoiced as they gathered above the spot and hailed the scene as the first fruits of a large and abundant har Shortly after Schmidt's return to his station, he found others fit to be baptized, and he tells us how he proceeded, thus, " April 2d, I took brother Joshua and Africo into my chamber, where we knelt down and prayed together, after which, I put the same questions to Africo, that had been put to Joshua; and receiving the same answers, I baptized him also, by the name of Chris- | tentot women, who received the names of tian. A few days after, I baptized Kib- Magdalena and Christina." bodo by the name of Jonas, and two Hot- I shall finish his history next month. out; but, teacher, do not leave this wicked place." At sun-rise the next morning Tupe and his friends were seen with their axes on their shoulders, on their way to the mountains, to cut wood, to build another chapel. FAR away in the southern part of the added. "Teacher," he said to the misworld, in the midst of wide seas, many sionary, " be not cast down; let them beautiful little islands are found. Their burn, we will build; we will tire them shores are lined with coral rocks; over the valleys the bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, and palm-trees, spread their boughs; and around the high mountains, vast numbers of most beautiful birds are seen flying, with their golden, green, and purple wings. These pleasant little spots are called the South Tupe loved the house of God; but at Sea islands. The people who live in them length he was too ill to go there. He was were once all idolaters; but the word of visited by the missionary. "Ah!" he said, salvation has been carried to them, and" it is the will of God my seat in his house many are now Christians. should be empty. Here I sit, and hear the people sing; and, oh! I wish to be there. I give myself to prayer. God is with me: he will not forsake me." Tupe was a chief in an island called Raratonga. Before the missionaries went to his land he was active in the service of vain idols; but when he heard the gospel he believed it, threw away his false gods, and worked hard to build the first house of the Lord that was raised where he lived. "Two portions At another time he said, of the word of God afford me much delight: that in Isaiah, Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty; they shall beThere were some who did not love Tupe, hold the land that is very far off;' and the because he left the worship of the idols, words of the apostle Paul, Having a deand they set fire to his house when he was sire to depart, and to be with Christ, which asleep. His house was burned down; but is far better.' I have no dread of death. God watched over him, and saved him. Christ is my refuge." Then, in a little The fire caught the chapel, which was next time, he added, Salvation is all of grace, door to Tupe's house, and that was also through the blood of Christ." "In our destroyed. "O teacher," he said, "the Father's house we shall meet again," said book of God is consumed! My house, his teacher. "Yes, we shall meet in my property, never regard; but oh, my glory, -no more to part. No, to be book! my book! and oh, the house of for ever with Christ: I long to be with God!" him. I have done with the world: what remains is, to set all in order, and think of the cause of Christ." The next morning he called a meeting of the chiefs. "See," said he, "the house of God in ruins! what shall we do ?" 66 Again the missionary went to see him. "Build it again," they replied. "Yes," How is it with your soul?" "All is friends, that very good; when shall we well." "Do you find your Saviour your begin?" To-morrow," they cheerfully support in death?" "He is." "Is the I HAVE heard of a good man who was very poor, a sort of second Lazarus; and when a good lady one day told him how sorry she was that he was so poor," I poor!" he answered, "I am rich, and have all I want, for I have a golden key that unlocks my Saviour's treasury, and supplies me with all I wish.” The poor man's golden key was prayer; and I am going to tell you a little about it, that you too may have it for yourselves, and so be as rich as he; and, I. WHAT IS PRAYER? 1. It is not saying pretty verses, or beautiful sentences to God. Many children think, that to say a few verses every night or morning is to pray; but they are quite mistaken. The Pharisees said fine things enough; but God declared it was in vain they worshipped, and that they only drew near with their lips. 2. It is not putting ourselves in some peculiar postures. No: Mahommedans throw themselves down on the ground and lie flat on their faces, pretending thus to pray. Many monks kneel for hours, and some have knelt till their knees were horny. Numbers of people stand up when the minister stands, kneel down when he kneels down, and put on all the appearances of prayer. Yet all this may be done and they not pray. 3. True prayer is something more than this. It is the desire of the heart. To show it, I will tell you a little story. One 2. Through Christ. day a lady went into a deaf and dumb is good, or because you are urgent, but school in which there were a great many simply because he has promised to do so. little girls all deaf and dumb; and as she Believing, in other words, that he will just looked at them and saw how readily they do as he says he will. wrote their answers to different questions put to them, she thought within herself, When the Jew wanted to come to God, "I wonder what these girls would say he took a lamb, and binding it to the altar, prayer was!" and taking a slate she wrote he slew it, and poured out the blood upon upon it, What is Prayer?" and gave it the ground, and kindled the fire; and now, to one of the little girls. Now this little when the smoke went up, the Jew came girl of course had never said a prayer, for near, and, knowing that God had appointshe could not speak, and she had never ed this way for him to come to him, he heard a prayer, for she could not hear; lifted up his hands and heart in prayer, what then could she answer? She took and sought for mercy through the virtue her pencil, and at once wrote underneath, of his sacrifice. So God has put Christ, Prayer is the wish of the heart." And" the Lamb of God," upon the altar of the so it is, dear reader, and nothing less. cross. He has poured out his blood, and For whatever you may say, however sweet he has accepted the sacrifice; and now, in language, or beautiful in thought, unless whoever comes to him, must seek for his accompanied with the wish of the heart, is blessing only through Christ's work and not prayer. But that wish rising up to merit. To come to God, looking to Jesus God is prayer, though nothing were said, as the Jew did to the lamb, is to come in and you were walking along the crowded prayer through Christ. street. Learn these pretty lines : -66 "Prayer is the seul's sincere desire, That trembles in the breast. Prayer is the burden of a sigh- II. How are you to pray ? 1. In faith. Believing that God will hear your cry; not because you are needy, or because he 3. You must pray with the resolution of Jacob, who would not let him go-with the perseverance of the woman who still cried after him-and with the earnestness of Peter, who called, "Save, Lord, or I perish!' Price d., or 4d. per dozen. Published by J. GALL & SON, 38 North Bridge, Edinburgh. HOULSTON & STONEMAN, London. |