listened with unremitting attention, and afterwards united in chanting the praises of the divine Being, with fresh alacrity and spirit. The poet must have had a similar scene in contemplation when he penned the graphic description of an assembly worshipping God, in the following lines:

'Lord, how delightful 'tis to see

A whole assembly worship thee!
At once they sing, at once they pray,

They hear of heaven, and learn the way.'

"The congregation went out of the chapel with regularity and decorum ; those in the centre of the house occupying their places until the rest of the people had retired.

"After the native service, one in the English language was conducted by Mr. Cargill. In the afternoon, Mr. Cross addressed an assembly of natives, equally as large, well-behaved, and attentive as that in the morning; and in the evening, Mr. Hobbs preached in the English language." (Pages 38, 39.)

Till the latter end of the year 1835 Mr. Cargill remained in Tonga, ministering the word of life with encouraging success, assisted by his amiable wife, who was an example of domestic order, and of pious zeal. She studied the language of the natives, and both by precept and example taught them the nature of vital Christianity, and its attendant virtues. She then accompanied her husband to Feejee, where he and Mr. Cross were appointed to commence a Mission; and spent the residue of her days in a land where Satan had his seat, far from civilized society, with its accommodations and pleasures. On taking their de parture from Vavau, Mr. Cargill

says,

"The deck of the vessel was crowded with natives, bidding adieu to the Missionaries and their wives, and expressing an earnest wish that the blessing of God might accompany them, and prosper their enterprise. They shed many a tear; and some of them rent the air with their cries. Their sorrow at parting with those who had been instruments of good to their souls and bodies was unfeigned; and most of them said, 'We shall never forget your love to us; nor shall we cease to love and pray for you: do not forget to pray for us.' Such a

tribute of affection and gratitude to those who had laboured among them in the word and doctrine, was very gratifying and encouraging; and the friends whose removal from them occasioned such expressions of regard, reciprocated with them feelings of affection." (Page 92.)

Soon after her arrival at Feejee, Mrs. Cargill addressed a letter to her mother, of which the following is an extract. It cannot fail to excite a generous sympathy in be half of Missionaries and their wives, who may be similarly circumstanced.

"After three years' journeying, we have at last arrived at Feejee, a land of darkness and superstition, where men delight in cruelty and bloodshed. We left Vavau on the 8th of this month, and, after a voyage of five days, we were safely landed. We spent the first night in a canoe-house, where we were tormented with musquitoes, and were glad in the morning to return to our little vessel, where Mrs. Cross and I remained with the children, until the natives erected two houses, made of the leaves of the cocoa-nut tree. Here we shall Lord has disposed the people to receive remain until we can get better. The us with all the kindness they are capable of showing in their present degraded state. When we look round us, we are ready to say, 'Who is sufficient for this great work? But we can say, with the Apostle of old, 'Our sufficiency is of God.' We have seen his dealings with the Heathen, and are assured in his word, that all shall be brought to know, love, and serve him. We had service in the Tonguese language, when the King was present he listened with great attention. He is desirous that the service should be conducted in the Feejeean language, that his people may all understand what is said. This is very encouraging, and is perhaps as much as we could expect. But we find a great difference between them and the people we have left. But still we have great cause for thankfulness. We have now been here five days, and all the food we have had brought is one fowl and a few yams. You will know by this that we do not live on the fat of the land. Many of the people are quite naked; and those who are clad have only a small piece of native cloth brought up between their thighs, and tied round their loins. Many of them have their faces blackened, and their hair is dyed two or three different

:

colours. These things give them an uncouth and forbidding aspect. But we trust the time is come when all these things shall cease.

"In the last letter which I wrote to you, I informed you of the birth and death of our dear little John Smith; and I am looking forward with hope and fear to the end of next month, when I shall be called to give birth to our third child. Here, my dear mother, I can have no human help. Your presence, and that of my dear sister, would make my situation enviable in many respects, when compared with what it is. But I have all I can expect in these ends of the earth. I have a kind David, who does all in his power to make me comfortable. I want nothing which he can procure for me; and if you were here, we could be satisfied to endure the privation of many comforts we enjoyed in our native land."

(Pages 102-104.)

Concerning this blessed woman Mr. Cargill adds,

"The conversion and salvation of the Feejeeans were objects which she ardently desired, and for which she constantly and earnestly prayed. The ignorance and depravity of the people in general, and the humiliating degradation of the females in particular, excited her commiseration, and induced her to become a cordial abettor of every plan that was adopted for the amelioration of their circumstances. Believing that her usefulness among the inhabitants of Feejee would be very limited without a knowledge of their language, she prudently

availed herself of those means and opportunities which she could command, that she might acquire such an acquaintance with the Feejeean tongue, as to be able to converse in it with a tolerable degree of ease and accuracy.

"One of the methods which she employed in the execution of this laudable desire was, conversation with native females. At first she supplied her lack of words by signs, and by pointing to any object the name of which she wished to ascertain. In this manner, new accessions to her number of words were frequently made, until she was able to converse freely with them, respecting their customs and notions of religion. With uncompromising spirit, she then assailed their errors and vices; and with affection and assiduity, she urged upon them the necessity of reformation of manners, and pardon of sin from God through Jesus Christ.

Her husband never heard that

any native had taken umbrage at her faithfulness; but the invariable testimony of persons of all ranks concerning her was, A marama yalo loloma ko Misisi Kakile, Mrs. Cargill is a lady of a loving spirit.'

"Another circumstance which facilitated her progress in the Feejeean language was, her attention to those persons who visited the house in order to barter their commodities, or obtain medicine for the sick. The Missionaries in Tonga and Feejee purchase much of their food from the people among whom they reside; and part of every Mission-house becomes, at certain times, a dispensary. The duties of attending to those natives who frequent every Mission-house for such purposes, are numerous and onerous; and when health permitted, they were generally performed by Mrs. Cargill. Her principal motive in adopting this domestic arrangement was, that she might thereby enable her husband to redeem his time, and to devote his undivided attention and energies to the more peculiar and imperative duties which devolved upon him. Many an hour has he, in consequence, been enabled to devote to the study of the language, and the translation of a portion of Scripture; which, had Mrs. Cargill been less devoted and active, must have been consumed in secular engagements. Such intercourse with the Feejeeans had a direct tendency to extend and correct her knowledge of the language."

(Pages 108, 109.)

Some copious extracts from Mr. Cargill's very interesting volume, illustrative of the great spiritual and moral good which has been accomplished, by God's blessing upon the Mission in Feejee, are given in the Missionary Notices, which are appended to the present Number of this Magazine; to which the reader is referred. The following facts relating to the character and superstitions of the people will serve to show the power of divine truth and grace, in raising to peace, holiness, and hope, a race who are so thoroughly under the influence of sensual habits and malignant passions, that they scarcely seem to belong to the human family. Mr. Cargill

states, that

"When a temple is about to be erected to any deity, which their superstition

urges them to recognise and worship, the Feejeeans butcher human beings, bake and eat their flesh, that they may thereby propitiate the favour of the god to whom they intend to dedicate the edifice. On such occasions, the number of persons who are slaughtered depends upon the power of the Chief, at whose command the work is undertaken, the rank of the deity to whom the building is to be dedicated, and the success of the assassins in meeting with victims. At the commencement, and during the progress of the work, this cruel and diabolical custom is practised; but at no part of the process do they seek a greater number of victims, than when the posts of the temple are about to be erected. On that occasion, all the artifice, vigilance, and strength of the murderers are exerted, in order to entrap and secure their victims. They generally endeavour to seize persons who belong to a different tribe, or who, through misconduct, or the existence of national feuds, are obnoxious to the vengeance of the ruling Chief; but when such individuals cannot be obtained, they coolly imbrue their hands in the blood of friends or foes. The victims of this barbarous dictate of their religion are despatched with the club; for although they may have been shot dead with a musket-ball, yet the Feejeeans seldom think the work of destruction complete or secure, until they have beaten with their clubs the objects of their fury. Being thus deprived of life, they are baked in native ovens; presented as propitiatory offerings to the blood-thirsty cannibal gods, which their mythology teaches them to adore and fear; and are then distributed among the men who are employed in the work connected with the erection of the temple. The posts are then triumphantly erected in the pits which had been previously dug, and the votaries of a demonizing superstition rejoice at the success of their undertaking."

(Pages 161, 162.)

The following scene, connected with Feejeean warfare, is of the same appalling character:

canoe in the immediate vicinity of the house of the King of Rewa. These unfortunate victims of a cruel system of politics and religion, had been slain in war, and were sent by Tanoa as a present to Tuindrekeji. Although the King and Queen of Rewa have ceased to eat human flesh, and would not allow any of the bodies to be cooked within the precincts of the town of Rewa, yet they were all distributed among the Chiefs and people of neighbouring towns, to be cooked and eaten. The carcases were dragged about in the water of the river, and on the beach. The scene appeared to the imagination as if a legion of demons had been unchained, and let loose among the people, to revel in their degradation and misery, and to lash their passions into a storm of imbruted or diabolical barbarity. The children amused themselves by sporting with, and mutilating, the dead body of a little girl A crowd of men and women, of different ranks and ages, maltreated the body of a grey-headed old man, apparently verging on seventy, and that of a young woman about eighteen years of age. Their bodies were stretched side by side on the beach. The upper part of the old man's skull had been knocked by a club, and one of his arms had been broken by a bullet which had passed through the bone near the shoulder. Human entrails were floating down the river, in front of the Mission premises. Mutilated limbs, heads, and trunks of human corpses were seen in many places on the banks of the river, between Mbau and Rewa; and scenes of horror and disgust were presented to our view in every direction. How strikingly correct is the feature of human depravity which is described by the pen of inspiration in the emphatic statement, The dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty!'

"Whilst sitting at breakfast on the morning of Thursday, the 31st of October, we were startled by the shouts of the natives at the opposite side of the river; and going out to ascertain the cause of such an unusual noise, witnessed an appalling spectacle. The dead bodies of twenty human beings, men, women, and children, were being landed from a VOL. XXI. Third Series.

head of their canoes as flags of triumph. The motion of the canoes, whilst sailing, dashed the helpless creatures against the masts, and their piercing cries were soon silenced in death. Other unfortunate children were conveyed alive to Mbau, that the boys might acquire skill in the art of Feejeean warfare, by discharging their arrows at them, and beating them with clubs.

"To contemplate such horrifying spectacles, without suffering much mental pain, was impossible. During the course of several days, our time and attention were almost monopolized by these scenes; and we could only lament the degradation of human nature in Feejee, and express astonishment and dismay at the terrible effects of Satan's sceptre on the minds and manners of the people. But our trust was in the power of Him who had sent us to preach deliverance to these captives; and we could then say, with feeling and energy,

Arm of the Lord, awake, awake,

Thine own immortal strength put on;
With terror clothed, hell's kingdom shake,
And cast thy foes with fury down."

"Mrs. Cargill's delicate frame of body suffered much from the laceration of mind which the shock of such barbarity and cannibalism produced. Her heart was tender; and when the string of her fine feelings was touched, tears of burning pity flowed from her eyes, when she witnessed the atrocious crimes of the degraded Feejeeans, and reflected on their exposure to everlasting vengeance.

"A person from Mbau, who had been present at the siege of the settlements, and who had been commissioned to convey the inanimate bodies to the King of Rewa, entered our house, to spend a short time in looking at our persons, our employment, and household furniture. We entered into conversation with him respecting the origin of the war, the transactions at Verata, and the probable results of the late victory. He described some of the events which took place during the massacre of the inhabitants of the settlements, and at the distribution of the slaughtered victims, with an expression of countenance which thrilled through every nerve of the body, and every faculty of the soul. Whilst the stranger spoke, the spirit of war and cannibalism seemed roused within him. Mrs. Cargill listened to his recital, and observed his emphatic gesticulations, until she almost fainted; and, at length, feebly said, 'Do not ask him any more questions, David: I cannot bear it.'

Her request was complied with, and the curtain of ignorance remained over the rest of his details. We spoke to him of the God and Gospel of peace and love; but his mind was engrossed with other subjects, and it is feared that the effect of our instructions at that time was like that of a feather on a rock.

"When getting out of bed, a short time after the dawn of the day after that on which the dead bodies had been stretched on the Rewa beach, I heard the sound of many voices talking loudly, and making considerable noise. As Mrs. Cargill had been unwell the preceding evening, I was afraid that any disturbance at that early hour would increase her indisposition; and hastened out, half-dressed, to ascertain the cause of the noise, and, if possible, prevent its continuance. It was still twilight, so that objects could not yet be clearly seen; but I was able to observe a group of persons stooping down, and scrutinizing something in the inside of our garden fence, not many yards from our front door. From them the noise proceeded; and one and another exclaimed, whilst they gazed on the object before them, "It is a man's head.' I hastened to examine the object of their scrutiny, and, to my great surprise, found it to be the head of the old man whose body had been maltreated on the beach the preceding day. It had been thrown into our garden during the night, probably by some malignant hand, and, doubtless, with an intention of annoying and shocking our feelings. The next day part of a skull, which had been cooked, was found near the front door of our house. We caused these portions of human beings to be buried, without giving publicity among the natives to such disagreeable and shocking occurrences. About this time, a man, with a dead child in his hand, was seen advancing towards our pig-sty; but discovering that the eye of one of our domestics was following him, he turned back, and went away in another direction, taking with him the little corpse."

(Pages 261-267.)

To those who regard Christianity merely as a system of instruction, the conversion of a people so diabolically degraded and wicked, must appear a hopeless task. But the Missionary who understands the nature of the evangelical message with which he is entrusted, knowing by whom he is sent, and under

what sanction his labours are prosecuted, abandons every fear, and inquires, in the spirit of an absolute trust,

"Is anything too hard for thee,

Almighty Lord of all?"

Wherever Missions have been carried on in this spirit, the result has justified the appeal to God, who has never failed to give the promised signs. In Feejee, at this day, are considerable numbers of people who "know the Lord," having practically received the Gospel of his grace. They sanctify the Sabbath; they read, with reverent and devout attention, those parts of the sacred Scriptures which have been translated, and printed in their language; they receive, with faith and love, the hallowed memorials of their Redeemer's passion; they discharge, with diligence and fidelity, the relative duties of life, as busbands and wives, parents and children; they offer to God, through the mediation of his Son, a spiritual worship, and enjoy communion with him in his ordinances; they contemplate, with all the enlightened confidence and joy of Christian hope, their future entrance into the presence of their glorified Saviour, and resurrection to eternal life. Some of the native converts already sleep in Jesus.

Mr. Cargill's volume is both interesting and instructive as a record of female piety; but its chief value arises from the authentic information which it gives concerning the triumph of Christianity in Tonga and Feejee. We pass over the greater part of Mrs. Cargill's personal history, comprehending her very laudable efforts to advance the interests of the Mission, her exemplary conduct as a wife and a mother, and the affecting particulars of her peaceful death, because we purpose, ere long, to insert a distinct article on these subjects, from the pen of one of her husband's colleagues.

trust

In the mean while, we very cordially recommend the volume, as describing a wonderful work of God. It is beautifully printed, and illustrated by several well-executed engravings in wood. Mr. Cargill is evidently possessed of facts and documents, the result of his own personal observation, which qualify him to write a far more extended account of “Missionary enterprises,' of profound interest, among the Tonguese and Feejeean savages; and we that he will be persuaded, with as little delay as convenient, to give them to the world, for the honour of God, and as a motive to perseverance in the great work of the world's conversion to the faith of Christ. This gifted Minister, whose labours have been very efficient, especially in the responsible task of biblical translation, having placed his children under the care of a pious lady in the neighbourhood of London, is, we believe, preparing again to leave his native land, and to resume his ministry in the far-distant islands of the South Seas. He will be followed by many prayers and blessings; and while men of such talents, zeal, and self-denial are raised up, to proclaim the truth in heathen lands, it cannot be that Christians at home will withhold from them the necessaries of life, or suffer the work in which they are engaged to languish for want of the requisite support.

The interment of deceased Missionaries, and of Missionaries' wives and children, in heathen lands, may be regarded as a certain pledge that those lands shall, ere long, be subjected to God and his Christ. The very ground seems to acquire a peculiar sanctity by the admixture of Christian dust, which was once the living habitation of the Holy Ghost. At the great rising morn, the Missionary and his family, with his numerous spiritual progeny, shall joyfully arise together, and he caught up to meet the Lord in the air.