according to the melody of the singers; sometimes showing its tongue, and, with a whizzing noise, darting upon its master. Another part of the idolatrous ceremony was acted by a number of boys, holding earthen pots with flowers and leaves, upon their heads. With their eyes shut, and arms raised above the head to support the pot, they moved round in a circle, nodding with their heads, and staggering in a manner which made me think that they had been made drunk previous to the commencement of the ceremony. I pitied the poor creatures when they fell to the ground and wallowed in the mire: however, afterward, the people gave me to understand, that even this beastly act constituted a part of the religious ceremonies of this festival day. How grieved I felt for these poor people, whose very religion degrades them below the beasts of the earth! And yet the Hindoo defends his wretched idolatry; and cleaves to these things with a fondness and predilection which, to a thinking mind, is inconceivable. May the Spirit of the Lord soon shake these dead bones!

The festival of the goddess Kalee is celebrated to-day. On entering the village we were soon surrounded by people of every age, and women likewise, the sight of whom is rather rare here: they were just returning from the dance before the image of the idol. I read to them Col. iii.—If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above. I explained the first verses in a simple and intelligible manner; endeavouring particularly to im press on the people the importance of the Apostolic exhortation, to seek those things which are above; and showing, that, in their subjection to idolatry, and every kind of vice attending it, they could never obtain peace in their souls, nor find salvation in another world. For a while they all listened with great attention. At last, an old Brahmin said—" All you have now told us is good, and may be true; but you must not expect to make any impression upon us. Never shall we agree together on points of religion: we are, and will remain, Hindoos, and will

keep to the faith of our fathers, in the same way as you Christians are cleaving to yours: accordingly, your preaching to us is in vain." I answered, in conclusion: " I preach to you this gospel, in the name, and upon the command, of that God who created you and me, and who will not that any man should perish. You acknowledge that the doctrine I have delivered is good and true: if you reject it, it will be a witness against you before the judgmentseat of Him who sent it for your good, in that awful day when every man will receive according to his work." On our return home, Mr. Linke told me, that an old man, on hearing me pronounce the name of Jesus Christ, pushed his friend, who was standing by, and went away with indignation. So hateful is the very name of Jesus to them, that the very sound of it is to many a signal to go away as fast as possible. It was now night. We walked through the village. Hearing a great noise, with music, we followed the sound; and came to a house, evidently belonging to a wealthy Hindoo. In the courtyard, a motley group of men, women, and children, were assembled, who stared at the idol, which was illuminated by lamps: a chorus of young people were dancing to the boisterous sound of drums: the night was moonlight. It was suffocating to be among the throng of people, who seemed intoxicated from dance and riot. A real synagogue of Satan is such a place: here he literally receives offerings and worship from his devoted subjects. The Christian rejoices in the prospect of the glorious time approaching, when Jesus shall be adored by every nation, and in every tongue. A view of these heathen festivals, in the interior of Bengal, where idolatry, vice, and superstition are still exhibited in their strongest features, have a strong tendency to becloud such glorious prospects, and to fill the heart with sorrow and grief.-Missionary Register.

HINDOO CONVERSIONS.

THE following interesting particulars occur in a letter written by Mr. Ward:—

I am disposed to conclude, from the little success of our mission for the first six years, and from similar appearances in other missions, that the Christian public have been hardly willing to allow time enough for the acquisition of the requisite languages, for the characters of their missionaries to be known and appreciated, and for the seed to take root.

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After we had been at Serampore for some time, I well recollect, that, in walking through the streets, Mr. Marshman and myself would say to one another, Oh! if we had but one Hindoo brother, but one family in Serampore, into which we could enter, and converse on the things of the kingdom of God." The seventh year was then closing, and not one native appeared on the side of Christ; not one respecting whom we could indulge the least hope that he was under Christian impressions. Those who had made warm professions, had all forsaken our brethren and fled.

About this time, Mr. Thomas suggested the propriety of setting some time apart for prayer on this subject; and we began a service for prayer at seven o'clock on Tuesday morning, which has now been continued for twenty years.

This special acknowledgment of our need of divine aid, and our solicitude to obtain it, had not been long made, before we were blessed in the conversion of Krishnă. This person was a carpenter, and had a wife and several children. He had heard Mr. Thomas preach under a tree not far from his own house; but his attention had not been awakened to the message, when he fell from a tree, and dislocated his arm. Smarting with pain, he bethought himself of the white man under the cotton tree, for he recollected having heard that this person was a

surgeon. He immediately sent for Mr. Thomas, who went, and returned the arm to its position. But Mr. Thomas did not leave Krishnă till he told him of the salvation which is in Christ Jesus. Krishnǎ was much affected. Mr. Thomas daily renewed his visits, and daily preached on Jesus and salvation to this poor man and his family; so that, by the time the arm had recovered its strength, Krishnă was so much impressed, that he came himself for instruction, and ultimately solicited baptism. Here was the first-fruits of Bengal.

From that time to the present, the mission has been making a gradual but steady progress, while encountering many formidable difficulties, and sustaining many severe conflicts. It reckons at present the following stations: In Bengal, Serampore, Calcutta, Midnapore, Jessore, Chittagong, Cutwa, Moorshe, Dabad, and Dinagepore. In the Upper Provinces, Monghpr, Digah, Cawnpore, Allahabad, Benares, Delhi, and Rajpoot'hama. In the Islands of the Indian Ocean, Columbo, Batavia, and Sumatra. Divine service is conducted at these stations in the Bengalee, the Hindoos't'hanee, the Hindee, the Burman, the Portuguese, the Malay, the Javanese, the Cingalee, and the English languages.

More than a thousand persons have been initiated into a Christian profession by baptism, and more than six hundred of these were formerly idolaters or Mahometans.

About fifty of these Asiatics and Heathen converts are employed in superintending stations, or assistants to the missionaries in itinerating, &c. The gifts of some of these native helpers are very respectable; they preach with great fluency, and their labours have greatly succeeded: several large societies have been gathered wholly by their means. A few have been, or are respectable authors: among these may be mentioned Pitùmbur-sing, who wrote several pieces against idolatry, and in defence of Christianity, which, I hope, have done considerable good: they have been frequently sought for by the natives. Tarachund is one of our best Christian Hindoo poets: he has

composed more than a hundred of the hymns found in our Bengalee hymn-book; and a pamphlet, placing in striking contrast Heathenism and Christianity, which I hope will be the means of diffusing much Christian light: Krishnă and others also have written excellent hymns.

The converts maintain themselves by service with the Europeans, by agriculture, weaving, and various other means. Their own industry has improved the outward circumstances of many of them, so that their temporal losses in embracing Christianity have been made up to them. Large groups of children are rising up, and the education which they are receiving will, it is hoped, render them truly respectable in society.

A number of the converted Hindoos have died happy in the faith of Christ; some of them leaving cheering testimonies of the blessedness they found in Him, in whom alone men can be blessed.

Pitŭmbur-sing, before his conversion, was a very ra spectable man of the writer cast. His conversion is to be attributed, under divine grace, to his reading a tract written for the Lascars, by Samuel Pearce, and translated into the Bengalee. I have heard him preach with such a force of reasoning, that the idolaters have been cut to the heart. To show that he did not repent that he had given up all for Christ, when he came to die, he wrote a letter to his wife, entreating her to come to Serampore, and to cast in her lot with the Christians, and not to remain united to the idolaters, among whom her soul would be lost: and, just before his death, he intimated that he then realized the benediction of the Apostle: "The grace of the Lord Jesus, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit."

Krishnů-průsad, a most interesting young Bramhun, of a very respectable family, during the three or four years which he lived after baptism, exhibited a fine proof of the blessed effects of Christianity. And though he died at a distance from Serampore, yet, by the account given of his last hours, it appears that he possessed great tranquillity and peace in his death.