MORNING AND EVENING. ARISE in joy and gladness, and go forth to praise thy Great Creator. Every creature God hath made has its appointed use and duty. The sun, rising in majestic splendour and lighting up the world with his beams, causes all nature to rejoice. The woods, the hills, the clouds and mists, come forth arrayed in fresh tints and new beauty. The flowers bathed in the early dew, send forth fresh perfume-and the birds fill the air with thrilling strains of music-joy and gladness reign around;-and shall not the soul, conscious of all these harmonies join the universal chorus?—shall not man, renewed with fresh vigour, give thanks to God for all his mercies?-and when the day is gone, and the golden light is lingering in the west, and the star of eve takes her seat in the deep blue vault of heaven, and all around is still and calm,-shall we not turn our thoughts to Him whose power, wisdom, and goodness, sustains, guides, and blesses all which He has made? shall not the children of his love join in adoration, shall not the incense of prayer rise to God from the inmost hearts of the children of men? We who are created by God, shall we not praise Him? G. D. THE DYING CHILD'S INQUIRIES. BY THE REV JAMES KNAPTON. My mother, when the hand of death A child so frail and poor as I, O tell me, shall 1 ever Dwell with the countless hosts above, From every land and nation, Who, there through fire and flood have passed, And greatest tribulation; The languid hour of this frail life I feel will soon be over; The silent grave, where myriads sleep, My failing heart's last cover But when I think of that dread place, O tell me, shall I ever wear Their robes of spotless whiteness? Their crowns of dazzling brightness? Thou shalt, my child, although the path And thousands, stronger far than thou, Thou shalt! But O, through Jordan's streams, Thy faith must fail thee, never Dwell with that happy, happy throng, For ever, and for ever! Then hush thy sighs, my little one That home is mine, my mother, yes, Death now may come, I heed him not, THE YOUNG MISSIONARY.* THOSE readers of our Magazine who have the volume for the year 1851, will find at the forty-first page an account of a Coral Island, and will see there how the persevering labours of millions of little Polyps have been the means of raising multitudes of islands above the waves, on which, as years roll on, trees grow, and flowers *Taken chiefly from "Gems from the Coral Islands," a very interesting narrative of missionary labours in the South Sea Islands, by the Rev. W. Gill, of Rarotonga. bloom, and human beings live. The wide ocean lying between the great continents of America and Africa, is in one part studded over with these little islands; and on a calm summer's night you might almost think it was only a reflection of the starry heaven above, they lie so thickly clustered on the tranquil bosom of the transparent, deep blue sea. But beautiful as these islands are, the poor people who inhabit them were for a long time in the most degraded heathen idolatry, and were more like savage beasts than human and immortal beings. It seemed as if there was no trace left of the image of their Maker; and the cry arose from many a Christian heart,-" will He who raised those islands from the barren rocks, clothed them with verdure, made them vocal with birds, and peopled them with inhabitants, leave His work unfinished? Will not the light of pure religion shine even here, and the seeds of the knowledge of God and goodness exalt and purify the minds of their now savage inhabitants?" The cry has been heard, and many devoted Christian missionaries have gone to spread the light and knowledge of the Saviour in these benighted regions; but, sad to say, one great difficulty in their way has arisen from the conduct of those bearing the name of Christians, who have gone to trade amongst these islands, and by their rapacity, deceit and cruelty, have made the natives hate the name of Christ. The chief produce of these islands consists in the beautiful and fragrant Sandal wood, an article much employed by the Chinese in a variety of manufactures, and to obtain which our English merchants have perpetrated deeds at which our blood runs cold. It is sad that a production which might have been so beneficial in commerce has excited the avaricious desires of the white man to such a degree, as to make him resort to every species of deceit and cruelty to gain it; thus either altogether preventing, or greatly retarding, the successful attempt to spread Christianity amongst the heathen inhabitants. Amongst these lovely islands, Eromanga is particulary celebrated for its abundant growth of Sandal wood. It has been visited by Sandal-wood traders for more than five and twenty years, and during the whole of this period, down to the last two or three years, the most revolting deeds have been perpetrated with mournful frequency both by natives and foreigners; so that the beautiful wood brought from this island has been frequently seen besmeared with human blood, as the barbarous price by which it has been secured. Captain Cook visited this island in 1774, but instead of taking with him the glad tidings of "peace on earth, good will toward men," he carried dismay and death amongst the ignorant savages; which, with other instances of similar and greater cruelty, continued year after year, so exasperated the natives that they determined to be revenged upon the first white man who should return to their shores. The excellent missionary, the persecuted John Williams, was one of these. He landed on Eromanga on the 20th of November, 1839, with three other friends-hoping to be able to introduce Christianity there. The natives were on the shore watching themamongst them, one whose son had been lately murdered by some foreigners, and who was burning for revenge. After remaining a very short time, Mr. Williams heard a yell, and saw one of his companions struck to the ground. He immediately tried to regain the boat, but he was struck down by the man whose son had been murdered. Thus died this devoted missionary, by the hands of those he sought to bless, and in consequence of deeds of bloodshed done by white men on their visits to these shores. After his death, the missionaries endeavoured to carry on the plans which he had laid out; and, undaunted by failures and disappointments, succeeded at last in making a favourable impression upon the Eromangans. By unvarying kindness they effaced the terrible remembrance of Christian cruelty, which had filled the minds and actuated the conduct of these poor savages. The "John Williams," a missionary ship supported by the children of England, and so called in remembrance of that devoted friend of the heathen, had become a marked vessel, and the natives were prepared to welcome her on her return to their shores. Some young men of Eromanga were induced, towards the close of the year 1849, to return in the John Williams" to Samoa, a Christian settlement, where they were placed under religious instruction for nearly three years. When the "John Williams" returned to Samoa in 1852, these young men, filled with an ardent desire to return to their own island, and to tell their countrymen all that they had learnt and seen, departed with the missionaries to Eromanga. In this way God was preparing the people of that island for the full reception of Christian truth; but in tracing the progress of this blessed change, we must go back to the time when the beloved missionary Williams was murdered. About that time there was a little native boy on the island of Raratonga, who had given his heart to God. One evening in the year 1840, as the missionary of Arorangi in Raratonga, was sitting in his study, this little boy came from the settlement and knocked at the door. "On being admitted," says the missionary, "I asked him his errand; and in reply, he said he had been thinking a long time past that he would like to do "angaanga no te are te Atua," some work for the house of God. Rather surprised at such a proposition, I asked him what he thought he could do. He replied, that he would like to ring the bell. Now, in the islands we had no metal bells, but a kind of wooden gong, instead; a piece of wood hollowed out in the centre, which being struck with a stick of iron-wood, makes a sharp shrill sound, heard at the distance of a mile or two. This gong was used to announce the time for worship in the chapels, and also to gather together the children to the schools, and it was to this that the lad referred, when he said, 'That he would like to do something for the house of God,' and he thought he could begin by ringing the bell.' A few days after this interview, Akatangi, for that was his name, was installed into the office of bell-ringer;' and as I have gone to the services, I have often been delighted, to see him standing at the place appointed, beating the gong with all his might; his little soul beaming forth from his jetblack eyes, with evident delight at thus being employed in the service of God. "About two years after this first interview, I established a boarding-school, on our Mission premises, for 1 |