THE HINDOO SCHOLAR. THE ENGLISH SAILOR. A few weeks ago Mr. Brannigan resolved to open a third school, and wrote to the Ladies' Committee in Edinburgh, asking them to support it. But when they found that the other two were supported by a Juvenile Society in Dublin, they thought it would be much better to cast the care of this school upon YOU. The expense, including books and calico, is only about £10. This is what we ask you to raise each year. I daresay some of you will say, "Ten Pounds! that very little-far too littlewe will raise a great deal more." My dear children, I do think it is far too little. I think that the children of Scotland ought, at this time, to make a large special collection. In short, I think you should not only raise ten pounds to teach these children, but ten times ten (it will need that) to feed them. I am not desired to ask this, but I cannot help proposing it to you; for when I look on the happy children of this land-so well-fed and clothed -and turn to the Irish hovels, with their little shivering skeletons, I say, surely the hearts of Scotland's children must be harder than stone, if they will not send a few crumbs of bread to these dying little ones. But I am sure you will. I know that you are now contributing to many different schemes. These of course you must continue; and in order to give largely to this new object, you may have to deny yourselves a little. But would you not like to do this, in order to lighten 63 the miseries of some of these poor children, and save some of them alive? Let this be a year of saving and self-denial. Do not waste your own or your parents' money. Be careful; and do not ask your parents to buy you new things if the old will do. Say, "I would not like to be gaily dressed in this mournful, miserable, dying year." In this way you will be able to give both for the poor Highlanders and the poor Irish. -A school in the wilds of Roman Catholic Mayo-a Bible school, where a hundred children shall be taught to know God and Jesus Christ, and that school maintained by the children of Scotland-this is our proposal. And what a delightful thing it will be, some years hereafter, when the famine is gone, and the people are resting under the shadow of the Almighty-to hear the mothers telling their children, how, in the dreadful 1847, when their kindred were all swept to the grave, they were preserved alive by the kindness of Scottish children, who sent them, day by day, their daily bread-and the blessed Bible, which rescued them from Popery, and brought them to Jesus! Dear children, would not this be very delightful? Then, come all, and help us. And may the Lord bless you with an humble and prayerful heart, that you may grow up in the likeness of His Son Jesus, counting it your meat and drink to do your heavenly Father's business!-In name of the Committee, A. J. CAMPBELL. THE HINDOO SCHOLAR.-THE ENGLISH SAILOR. ABOUT two years ago, dear reader, I was and whom nothing would satisfy but a seaholding a children's missionary meeting in faring life. He had accordingly left his a town in Scotland, and the next morning home, gone on board a vessel, and sailed breakfasted with a good old minister of to a distant land; his pious parents could Christ. He and his partner were at the time full of joy and gratitude; they had had a careless and ungodly son, who would not settle down to any right occupation at home, do nothing but pray for him, and when they wrote give him proper counsel. It was, however, a matter of hope to them to know that God was a prayer-hearing God, and that 64 THE HINDO0 SCHOLAR.-THE ENGLISH SAILOR. their son had had many deep impressions in his childhood; and they thus waited patiently always hoping to hear of his conversion. Months, many months, rolled away, but no such good news arrived. Still they hoped, and still they prayed; at last a letter came which filled them with delight. It told them that their prayers were answered; that he had been stopped in his sinful course by the Spirit of God; brought a penitent to the cross of Christ and made a new creature in him. It was this letter that so filled them with joy the morning I was there. Dear reader, are your parents godly? Oh! if they are, they are looking with deepest interest for your conversion: shall they see it before they die? or shall they go down to death, praying for, but not rejoicing over it? Of the circumstances of that boy's conversion, I never was informed till the other day; but then I heard them, and the story is so interesting I have thought it well to write it you. At The vessel in which he sailed had reached a port in India, and was there waiting to take in a fresh cargo, when the sailors went on shore and brought back with them to the vessel a little Hindoo boy, to play some musical instrument for them, while they danced around him. The little boy played as they directed him for a long time. last he threw down the instrument and jumping up, said, "You must now take me on shore." The sailors refused, and said he must stay and play for them. "Oh no!" he said, "I cannot now. I am a poor Hindoo boy, and was a heathen, but a kind Christian Missionary has come to the place where I live. From him I have learned all I know about Jesus Christ, in whom I now wish to believe. This is the hour when he meets us to tell us more; I must go on shore to hear him." The hard sailors were quite over come by the boy's earnestness, and at once rowed him ashore. The young man who had left his home was standing amongst those careless sailors, and the Spirit of God was pleased to bless this circumstance to his soul's conversion. He was at once struck with the thought of his own wickedness. "Here am I," he thought, "the son of a good minister in Scotland, knowing far more about Jesus Christ than that poor little Hindoo boy, and yet caring far less about Him." He retired to his hammock that night in great distress of mind, but his father's instructions came back to his thoughts, and they told him how to seek salvation. In a few days he had come to Christ, and is now a devoted and useful member, though a sailor still, of a Christian church. Dear reader, how does this little story condemn many of the careless readers of this paper! They know far more of Jesus than thousands of Hindoo children, yet, I fear, too many of them care far less. How does it show the usefulness of missions! we send our missionaries to teach the heathen, and here the converted heathen are teaching our own seamen ! This, we hope, will go on more and more to be the case, till all nations shall act upon each other for the good and salvation of their souls. How does it show the wonderful leadings of God! The young man flies from the preaching of a Christian father here, but God prepares a preacher in a little Hindoo there. He was not willing he should perish, so he brought his salvation round. "God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform, He treasures up his bright designs, SON, 38 North Bridge, Edinburgh. J. ROBERTSON, Dublin. Price ¿d., or 4d. per dozen. Published by J. GALL & THE BOSJEMANS, OR BUSIIMEN OF SOUTII AFRICA. The country of these people lies to the north of the Cape Colony in South Africa, between the Orange River and a range of mountains running from Roggeveld eastward, to the Snowy mountains. It is a peculiarly barren and inhospitable tract; and sometimes whole years pass over without a single drop of rain falling. Amongst the animals that inhabit the district, and on which the people sometimes feed, are the Ostrich, the Eland-antelope, the Rhinoceros, and a sort of sheep introduced by 66 THE BOSJEMANS, OR BUSHMEN OF SOUTH AFRICA. former settlers in the country. The poor have generally an antelope or sheep skin Bushmen, however, have not always weap-fastened over the shoulders like a short ons sufficiently strong or suitable to attack cloak, and a jackal's skin hung before like these larger creatures, and they, therefore, an apron. The women are dressed much generally pursue and live upon lizards, ser- as the men, only have several skins hung pents, ants, and grasshoppers. The woods round their waists like aprons. abound with fruits, and there are some kinds of plants the stalks and leaves of which they chew to quench their thirst. The Bushmen are very great eaters. Some travellers once gave a sheep to five Bushmen, and, though they had that day had plenty to eat, they at once killed it, roasted it, and in an hour had eaten it all. They eat their food nearly raw. The sheep was not skinned, but great pieces were cut out by them, and pushed into the ashes of a fire of wood they had kindled, and when just warmed through, were pulled out and devoured. They tear the food to pieces with their teeth, and do not use knives to cut it up. The Bushmen have no houses nor huts, and live almost like wild beasts in the forests. In winter they sleep in caverns amongst the hills, or holes in the ground in the plains. These holes are about five or six feet long, and are of an oval shape. They are only a few inches deep, and have no roof. If there is much wind, they heap up some twigs or branches on the side from which it blows; but against rain they have no protection. In these holes a whole family will squat themselves, each wrapped in a skin, and rolled up almost like a ball. In the summer they live chiefly in the trees, where they make themselves a sort of nest with the branches. To make these, the Bushman seats himself on a good strong branch, and then, drawing all the branches within reach around him, fastens them together like a large bird's nest, and lays grass and leaves at the bottom. It is on account of their thus living in the trees that they are called Bushmen, or by the Dutch, Bosjeman, Bosje meaning Bush. They wear very little of clothes. They are a very lazy race, and do no work, excepting as hunger drives them to hunt or steal, or revenge makes them go to war. When they catch plenty of food they will eat till they cannot walk, and then lie down and sleep many days, or until forced to hunt for more. They generally eat all they get, and leave their wives and children to seek food for themselves. In seeking food they show a good deal of cleverness. They make great pits by the side of their rivers, into which the sea-cow falls, and where they then easily kill it; and they have many curious contrivances for catching fish. They climb about the rocks and trees, hunting for nests, and find the eggs a good sort of food. They catch and eat the most poisonous serpents, and often live for days on white ants or locusts. Their language sounds very strange, as every word has a little cluck before it. They have very few religious superstitions amongst them, and no sort of idols. deed they seem too low to have any ideas of religious worship of themselves. In They are a great annoyance to all the people living on their border, for they frequently come down upon their cattle, and kill and carry off all they can. You may imagine how difficult must be the work of missionaries to teach and civilize such wretched creatures. Still we hope the day is coming, when even the poor Bushmen shall be seen blessed with the gospel of Christ. The company now exhibiting in London consist of two men, two women, and one little child. They are all very wild, and shout at and beg from all who go to see them. The picture at the head of this They Paper gives you an idea of them. You must think of these poor heathen Bushmen | all, that they may learn both the civilities when you kneel down to pray at night, and we know, and the great things that will ask God to send his glorious gospel to them save and bless their souls for ever. RAGGED SCHOOLS. You have often of late heard, dear children, of what have been called "ragged schools:" "-so called, I suppose, because the poor little children for whom they are provided are so friendless and poor that they have no clean and decent clothes to come in, but appear there in all their dirt and rags. Schools of this description have been for some time in existence in London, and though now they are taking all a deal of the attention of great and good men, this is not by any means the beginning of these schools. Some years ago, such a school was begun by a number of good people connected with Surrey chapel, London, and it has done much good. When it first begun, the boys and girls were very unruly, and made such noises and uproar in the school, that the teachers were almost afraid they should some day have to give up the work. They, however, still went on, till at last the school got more orderly, and now doing well. A few of the scholars have been converted, and joined the church under Mr. Sherman's care, and others have been very much reformed. The following letter, from a poor Irish girl that was in this school, will let you see what good effects came out of it to one; and we cannot tell how many more there may be who have not written, and yet who have been equally blessed. The letter was sent by the poor girl to her teacher about a year ago. "MY DEAR TEACHER,-It is five years since you met me in Gloster-street, and invited me to go with you to Jurston-street Sunday evening school. At the first I was not willing to go, but you would not go without me. You said, 'Come for once;' and so I went with you. You may remember what a monster I was, caring for nothing. Sure you must have wondered what could induce me to come so regular. I do not know myself, unless it was to disturb the school; for as soon as I came into the class, there could be no more order. In vain did you beg of me to attend to the instruction; my heart was as hard as a stone, and as cold as ice, yet nothing could have kept me from coming. Sometimes I have been afraid to look if you were there; for some of the girls used to say, if I did go on so, they were sure you would not come again. But, blessed be God, you were always there, so that I never had any other teacher. During the two years that I was in the school, no change whatever took place in my character; my conduct was shameful. I do not know how you could have borne with me with so much patience. At the end of two years, my parents were obliged to return to Ireland. Oh! my dear friend, never shall I forget that night, when I told you I was not coming again. How affectionately you talked to me. If I had been one of the most attentive scholars in your class, you could not have been more kind to me, you marked some chapters in my Bible, and begged of me to read them when I could not come to school; and when you bade me farewell, it was the first time in my life that I felt any real sorrow for my past sin. I thought I would give all the world, if I might but stop one month longer with you. In the course of the week we left London. could get no rest day or night; I could think of no one else but you. One day I I |