with you." Instead of acceding to this fair proposal, they began to cry out, "Punish him, let him be punished for his daring presumption. He has been taught by the Padre and his people to speak against our gods and the worship we pay to them. He is become a Christian." The confusion and disturbance which took place increased to such a degree, that it was feared some distressing scene would occur; but the man who had occasioned this uproar was obliged to make his escape.

The above-mentioned affair happened on a Sunday. It has produced no small stir among the people, and has excited a good deal of angry feeling in the minds of those who are interested, and who derive a good deal of emolument, honour, and praise from the observance of this cruel ceremony of passing through the fire. Many consultations were held, as to the best method of putting a stop to the progress of the Gospel, which, in their estimation, appeared to be an alarming and growing evil, and if not put down soon, that it would spread to such a degree, that nothing would be able to withstand or arrest the influence of Christianity among the people. This, I think, at present may well be compared to the little cloud which the servant of Elijah saw rising out of the sea like a man's hand, the forerunner of the desired and expected blessing in that day when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.

Wicked attempt to destroy the Mission.

A few weeks after the above affair took place, a most wicked plot was laid by some of the enemies of the mission, which, if it had proved successful, would have produced serious and fatal consequences, not only to myself, but to my people. The design was to excite the inhabitants to rise up in a mass against us. Some wicked men came one night and removed the god Veniagen from its pedestal in the temple; brought and placed it in front of our Mission Tamil School in Sheva Petta; took off the idol's head, threw it aside, covered it with filth, and went away. Early the next morning, when those who had to pass that way, saw the horrible condition in which their god was placed, they went and informed the rest. In a very short time, almost the whole of the people residing in Sheva Petta were assembled on the spot, filled with indignation and rage against the perpetrators of this most atrocious and wicked act. Many cried out, That no one else but the Padre and his people could have dared to commit such a wicked deed. Others said,

"What is the use of our living any longer in the world, if Christians are permitted to ill treat our gods in this most shameful manner."

When the minds of the people were in an inflamed state, the Lord graciously, and in a very remarkable manner, rescued us from the imminent danger to which we were exposed. He raised up a few of the most respectable and influential men among them to speak on our behalf, and to prove to the people that what was brought against us was a false accusation; that what a set of wicked men said with an intent to do mischief, should not be relied upon, and that it would be well for them to consider before they rushed heedlessly on to destruction. With these words, in imitation of the prudent town clerk of Ephesus, they succeeded in dispersing the confused and irritated assembly. "Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all."

Powerful opposition to Brahminical power.

You and the Directors will, I doubt not, be surprised to hear that the sanctity, the prerogative, and the influence exerted by the proud, haughty, and selfish Brahmins, whom the poor heathen for ages past have looked upon as gods, and as a race of beings superior to themselves; to whom and in whom implicit obedience and faith were placed, and to incur whose curse was considered to be one of the heaviest afflictions which could befall a mortal man either in this world, or as regards the world to come, have of late been called in question by the considerable caste of natives called Kamalars, who say, that according to the Hindoo Scriptures and laws, they are the legitimate priests of Hindoostan, and Brahmins of the country; that to them only the appeliation belongs; but that the Brahmins of the present and of past days usurped that power and office which do not belong to them; and what right, say they, have the Brahmins to prohibit the reading and hearing of the sacred books by the lower castes of people, when they should be common to all. "Look," say they, "at the Christians, they make their sacred books to be known by all men, let their religion be what it may, and why should not we do the same? why cannot our books be brought to see the light?

The Kamalars have already assumed the garb and the insignias of the Brahminical priesthood. A great division has been made. Many of the people have coincided with the Kamalars, and have risen in opposition to the Brahmins, and begin now to act strenu

school, where a number both of children and adults had assembled; and in the evening, Dr. Philip preached in English, from John iii. 16, "God so loved the world," &c. A good number were present, although the English population is but small. In the evening, Mr. Elliott again preached in Dutch.

Next morning we visited the infantschool, which is in excellent order, and extremely interesting and well-conducted. The children are well advanced in general knowledge, and furnish evident proofs that no small pains have been devoted to their instruction. The whole appearance of the Mission gave us pleasure, and what we have

since heard of the emancipated slaves has increased our interest in them, and leads us to hope that their temporal freedom will be among the means employed for introducing many to that knowledge which shall make them spiritually free.

We left the Paarl in the afternoon of the 22nd, and for the first time slept in our wagon in the wilderness; it appeared strange at first, but we soon became so reconciled to it as to consider it preferable to many houses. The weather was extremely hot, and the road tedious, but we travelled a good deal by night, which made it easier for the oxen, although we ourselves suffered for want of sleep.

We left Zwellendam at nine o'clock in the evening, and fresh oxen having been sent from Zuurbrak to meet us, we arrived at that place at two o'clock on the morning of the 29th. As all had retired to rest, we slept in our wagon, and were awakened at day-break by the ringing of the bell to summon the people to the prayer-meeting. We found our friends, the Helms, rather in a weak state of health, particularly Mrs. Helm, who has been long declining. We were pleased with the appearance of the congregation, but the poverty of the people is very great-the drought for three years has in a great measure prevented their reaping any harvest, so that they are obliged to go to service among the farmers. Where the distance is not too great to prevent their leaving their families at the Institution to attend school, returning themselves on the Saturday evening to be ready for the Sabbath, this practice is not undesirable; but when they are under the necessity of going to such a distance as to deprive them of the means of grace, they generally suffer in their moral and religious character, and their children grow up ignorant and without restraint, so as too often to bring disgrace on the station to which they profess to belong. I wish we could say that the trials of the people appeared to have led them to seek more enduring riches than this world can afford, but such did not seem to be the case.

Things at this station appear to be not in the most flourishing state-both Missionaries and people seemed discouraged. The people have been so long promising to build good houses for themselves, and have been for so many years without fulfilling that promise, that the Missionary had nearly lost

all hope of their ever doing it. There is certainly much blame to be attached to some of the people, but we must not forget that many things have intervened to prevent the accomplishment of their intentions.

Notwithstanding these discouragements, pleasing changes have taken place in the appearance of the Institution since Mr. Helm first settled there. A good church and congregation have been formed-good Mission-houses and good school-rooms have been erected-the one lately built for the juvenile school is an excellent schoolhouse, and capable of containing 150 scholars. Neither of the schools possesses the efficiency we could wish, but a number of children are in attendance, and more will attend when a change of seasons permits the parents to bring their families to reside in the village. We trust that the present visit will be beneficial in infusing fresh energy into the Mission, and exciting to greater diligence and interest.

Dr. Philip preached to the people from Paul's address to the Thessalonians-" For from you sounded out the word of the Lord," and urged upon them the necessity of imitating the Thessalonians in adorning the Gospel.

He held several meetings with the people respecting their temporal concerns, urged upon them a change, and pointed out the consequences of neglecting to improve themselves and their village. They appeared to feel the importance of what was said, and promised to bear it in mind,

We left Zuurbrak on the afternoon of the 31st, being anxious to avail ourselves of the moonlight for travelling, and also to reach Pacaltsdorp by the following Sab. bath.

We had the pleasure to arrive at this place on the afternoon of the 3rd of No

our friends Messrs. Backhouse and Walker in a kloof, getting their wagon repaired, and had here an opportunity of distributing some Testaments and tracts among the farmers, by whom they were well received.

On Sabbath morning we heard Mr. Anderson preach, and united with the church in commemorating the Saviour's dying love. There were not many members present, and a smaller proportion of young people than we could have wished to have seen, but there was a good congregation at each of the three services which were held, besides the Sunday schools for adults, children, and infants.

We were particularly interested in the infant school, for it was evident that the children were in the habit of receiving much religious instruction-the number of passages of Scripture and hymns repeated, and the order and interest manifested by the children, gave me much pleasure.

Dr. Philip preached in the evening from Heb. vi. 7, 8-" For the earth which drinketh in the rain which falleth upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing of God," showing the responsibility attached to those who enjoy the privileges of the Gospel; the people appeared to feel it much.

The situation in which they are placed is peculiarly trying and affecting, owing to the drought, which, for several years, has dried up their tanks; and the single spring which remains in the place is so shallow that the water can only be taken up with a saucer.

For some time the people had been obliged to go a distance of four miles to wash their clothes and to fetch their drinking water, and in the Sunday-schools the children were complaining of thirst, but there was no water for them to drink; this, added to the scarcity of food, required a great exercise of faith and patience. Hungry and thirsty, their souls fainted within them, but they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he was pleased to open the windows of heaven and pour down a blessing. Few that have not experienced such a trial can form an idea of the delight of the people when it began to rain, and continued for

three days, so that nature wore another aspect, and the people were encouraged to make exertions to cultivate their gardens, many of which had been lying waste from the hopelessness which they felt of reaping any thing from them.

Few stations present more life and acti vity than Pacaltsdorp. Mr. Anderson, in his 70th year, appears as capable of action as I ever saw him, and the schools are upon the whole in a good state, particularly the infant school. Mr. Hood, the teacher of the juvenile school, is very useful among the people and the neighbouring farmers, in administering medicine and medical ad vice, and has been very successful. He is also useful in the temporal concerns of the station. We have on the whole been pleased with the appearance of the people, the cleanliness of their houses, and their increasing comfort; still there is room for much improvement in the houses, and we hope that if the times improve they will improve also. We were particularly pleased to see several excellent workmen who have shops, and work at their trades on the la stitution. There are two wagon-makers, who are quite famous for the taste as well as the excellence of their wagons; there is a smith, a cooper, and a shoemaker, who have sufficient employment.

We left Pacaltsdorp on the afternoon of the 8th, the rain having ceased, and on the morning of the 9th began to ascend Crad dock Mountain, with sixteen strong fresh oxen. We were four hours reaching the top. It was most trying and distressing to the oxen-the poor creatures appeared quite terrified at some parts of the roads, and it was sometimes nearly half an hour before they could be got to proceed, when the labour of advancing appeared to be beyond their strength. The descent on the opposite side, though shorter and much easier, except for the hind oxen, was more dangerous for the wagon. It was quite awful to look at it dashing from one place to another till it reached the bottom. We felt grateful when we saw it safely on level ground.

(To be continued.)