dignity, while opposing the wickedness of a corrupt age, their dauntless resolution in making tyrants tremble on their thrones, and their holy extasy in communion with the "rapt seraph that adores and burns," an almost celestial transport fills his soul, sudden as the lightning darts across a midnight cloud.

4. Although by amplifying the views of the believer, his fondness for temporal possessions is diminished, still, as he thus learns more of the value of the soul, his activity will be greatly increased. Having understood, that all men have a great work to do, he will consider idleness criminal. He will know, that the most laborious diligence, exercised each day in seeking to promote the salvation of his fellow men, will not, in the world he is about to enter, appear to have been too great; and that the most strenuous efforts alone will appear most rational. The stupidity of sinners here will certainly appear to have been no less than madness to the tenant of the world to come; the cold indifference of those called Christians, who have neglected the Souls of their fellow men, will seem unaccountable cruelty. The man whose heart is deeply afflicted at the miseries which encircle him, will be earnest to bring the remedy within the reach of every sufferer. In doing this, he must make many sacrifices. By an intelligent survey of the state of society in any place, a susceptible conscience will not be lulled asleep. Motives of the best kind, and most powerful action, urge the benevolent man to go forward. The longer his attention is directed to the calls of suffering humanity, the more numerous and importunate are the cries for relief. This has been exemplified in the lives of eminent philanthropists. When once they had begun their labors of love, they found no point of rest. Their zeal in the cause has also kept pace with their knowledge of the woes to be mitigated, and has borne them through a series of toils, which to an indifferent spectator seems incredible. Z. Y.

For the Panoplist.

MISSIONARY SHIP.

MR. EDITOR,-On the last Saturday evening, I sat down with my family, to read the concluding part of the Report of the Prudential Committee. When we had finished the Report, we were naturally led to a conversation relative to the missions from our country. Though accustomed, as all the members of my family had been, to do something for the advancement of this cause, we were of the opinion, that we had not done as much as we ought to have done. Among other things, important to the successful prosecution of the great enterprise upon which the Board have embarked, a "MISSION SHIP" seemed to us, as ultimately of high importance. Whether the time had arrived, in which it was best for the Board to be possessed of this carrier of heavenly treasure to the nations, we did not feel ourselves at liberty confidently to determine. Our confidence in the wisdom and integrity of the Board is entire. Still, however, it seemed to be a subject of sufficient importance to invite the attention of the Christian public. And that we might avoid the censure, "they say

and do not," we pledged ourselves to each other for an amount toward the object, according, as we supposed, with our circumstances.

Sir, this "winged messenger" has long been the subject of thought with me. I am among the number of those, who would wish a messenger from the Board, to visit, in a ship at their command, the dif ferent stations of our Foreign Missions. How would it cheer the hearts of our beloved missionaries, to welcome, on the shores of a heathen land, the immediate representative of their patrons. What new life would it wake up in the lovers of missions, when on his return he should say, "I have seen them, and have witnessed their untired zeal in the great work of obeying the command of Christ. I have heard them declaring to the heathen, in their own language, the wonderful works of God. I have seen them clothed with the armor of the Gospel, attacking victoriously the fortresses of idolatry. I have seen the poor heathen, once hedged in with superstition, and drunk with pollution, rising into a correct estimate of his immortality and his God; and slaking his thirst of sin at the fountain of holiness." Would not the information of such a record, throw off the drowsiness which sin casts upon the heart of piety, and rouse to vigorous and extensive effort the hand, that has hitherto tendered a stinted and a grudging charity?

I am also, Sir, among the number inclined to believe, that it is not necessary, as a guarantee to the integrity of missionaries, that they should part with home and country with the assured prospect of seeing them no more. They should indeed be willing to part with home, and even life, for the name of the Lord Jesus. Nor should they think of returning without the unqualified approbation of the Board. But what would be the effect upon the great cause in which they are embarked, should some of the distant brethren return after the lapse of years, and go through our country? How many prayers would their presence, their information, and their zeal inspire? How would it augment the resources of the mission. Would not the loss of a few years among the heathen be doubly repaid?

I will not enlarge on the convenience of having a ship always at the command of the Board, nor upon the superior advantages of missionaries conducted by friends of the Redeemer; nor upon the profits which might accrue to the Board from trade.

If such a ship be desirable, can it be obtained?

I believe it can. Let every person devote something from the profits of his business to this good work, and it is done. Let the pious lawyer consecrate a portion of his gains. Let the merchant cast in of his abundance. Let the minister of Christ do as of the ability which God giveth. Let every tradesman increase the store. Let every agriculturist consecrate, in the ensuing spring, such a portion of land as his circumstances may admit, and cultivate it expressly for the Lord. Whatever it shall produce may be sold, and the proceeds devoted to this sacred purpose. Let those "that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters,” return a thank offering to God for their safety and success. Finally, let the widow cast in her mite. Let the child be permitted to give what he has gained as the reward of merit. And when the arm of God is bearing

to her destined port this ship, deeply laden with the treasure of the Gospel, may every one enjoy the pleasing assurance, that he has a venture on board,

Thus shall there be an abundance. On the first Sabbath in January, 1821, let it be understood, that a collection will be taken up in all the churches, which favor this righteous cause; when an opportunity will be presented for the collection of this consecrated property into the treasury of the Lord.

Such, Mr. Editor, are my views of the practicability of raising a "Missionary Ship." Most gladly do I descry from afar her signal. It is not indicative of commercial pursuit. It is not the "star span

gled banner," which waves proudly over the ocean, bearing to wretched nations the thunders of her war. It is the emblem of the Prince of peace. It spreads itself to the breeze, and points the way where are the habitations of cruelty; itself the bearer of an antidote to their Woe. What joy is felt in distant nations, when rising upon the mountain wave, she proclaims her approach. How does the missionary already there, triumph in her as his country's glory. It is a goodly sight. May the vision be real.

MISCELLANEOUS.

ON THE ARTIFICES OF DISSIMULATION.

For the Panoplist.

MEN are fond of giving false names to their known crimes. The effect of external appearance is well understood. To keep up the appearance without the reality, and make the shadow pass for the substance, occupies no inconsiderable share of the labors of the present world. This is sometimes attempted under circumstances which render the true motives of depraved beings a subject of difficult solution.

There are indeed thousands of instances, in which the covering is a flimsy one, and the pretender cannot hope to conceal his motives from the discerning; nevertheless, in public debates and official documents, such men as boldly and impudently assert the purity of their intentions, as if assured, that no one had the penetration to detect their imposture. Such proceedings are moreover often attended by circumstances of peculiar aggravation. A partizan wishes to carry a measure founded on the most complete selfishness, and demanded only by the ambition of a few. The design is so much at war with every principle of virtue and honesty, that with the utmost impudence he is sometimes ashamed to avow it, lest its true name should be the pioBeer of its ruin. At other times, the fear of defeat seems to be lost, and detection is no further dreaded than as it may influence a few timid spirits, who have yet a lingering respect for truth, and are not quite prepared to go all lengths with her enemies. But among those, who profess to share no partnership with vice, it is astonishing to observe with what yielding facility they abandon their true interest, and resign themselves and their families, their country and posterity, to the control of laws unjust in operation, as detestable in their origin: VOL. XVI.

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It is still more painful to see their renunciation of reason where the path is so plain, that effort seems required to go wrong; and to witness them giving up themselves and their services to the disposal of men as utterly destitute of principle as fiends.

Looking at examples of this nature, I have sometimes been almost ready to attribute the conduct of such men to infatuation. It is the folly of multitudes to be led into the plainest snares. They appear not to possess discernment enough to see what is palpably evident to all others. I think a full examination of the subject will fix the mischief on that natural fondness for error, which holds such a commanding empire over the minds of depraved beings. Men certainly love to be deceived. This is not indeed to be predicated in an equal degree of all; and if it may sound like a paradox to some, I am under no apprehension that the foundation on which it rests can be shaken.

In all legislative assemblies have been examples of flagrant injustice sanctioned by the voice of a majority, on whom arguments addressed to the understanding and appeals to the conscience were spent in vain. To show them that their regulations were fraught with mischief to the state, that they entailed curses on generations to come, that they tolerated and produced enormous injustice,-availed nothing. Some give present interest precedence to all other motives. These have the artifice to entrap many more, and make them throw their weight into the wrong scale. When a man has done violence to his conscience, and yielded his influence to the high handed measures of iniquity, however moral he may once have been, his reluctance to sin is seen to vanish; he thenceforward is sold to do mischief. Pleas of justice and calls of suffering are alike disregarded. It would spoil all the pleasure of such a spirit, to admit among its motives the desire of doing good. All its plans of aggrandizement would wither in the presence of so exalted a sentiment, as the love of its Creator.

The signal destitution of principle in many who direct the affairs of nations, gives a dark picture of the present world. While God makes use of depraved creatures as the instruments of his adminis tration, and leaves them to a full exhibition of their character, they show how much they are his enemies and their own. So far as uncontrolled by the restraints of providence, they have tarnished the beauty of the Creator's works, and changed the blooming landscape into a field of blood. The amazing combinations of baseness and malignity existing in a given space, as within a village, a city, or a County, would be enough to appal the soul of any man, who does not understand something of the dreadful evil of sin, by the knowledge of the human heart, gained in studying the secrets of his own. So likewise, were the numerous forms of fraud practised in a small district fully disclosed to human eyes, with the aggravations attending each offence, the frightful spectacle would be sufficient to silence many a proud asserter of the dignity of man's nature, his disposition to virtue, and the goodness of his heart. What a large proportion of the designs of men are originally wrong; and among those which have less vice in the foundation, how large a mass of iniquity attends their successive stages! the duplicity of one pretence, the sinister

motives of the agent, his aims at aggrandizement, and his hopes of impunity, if thoroughly known to his associates-would make them tremble for their safety.

For the sake of illustration, let it be supposed, that the Almighty were to make an immediate revelation of his design, in a particular instance, to disclose the true motives of the inhabitants of a single neighborhood, in all their conduct during the space of a month or a year, that each should know the most secret thoughts of all, and that no doubt should remain of such divine power being actually exerted in this specific manner,-what unutterable dismay would seize every bosom! Where is the man who could abide the revelation of the secrets of his soul, even though the awful disclosure should embrace only the period of a single day?

The same fraudulent concealment is observable in the intercourse between individuals, as in the transactions of public notoriety. In contracts, bargains, sales and purchases, all the precautions taken to bind man to his promise, speak an intelligible but reproachful language. But it is chiefly in the affairs of states, that the operations of such false dealing acquire a permanent character, which is transmitted through successive ages. The broad scale on which these are conducted, the space they occupy in the eyes of cotemporaries and in the page of history, and their effects on the happiness of millions, all unite to convey the stains of their guilt along the current of time.

In the dissolution of empires, in the destruction of their inhabitants, in the wasting march of death, triumphing over forgotten generations, in short, in all that is dreadful to the imagination and revolting to sensibility, are seen the immediate visitations of God upon the crimes of his revolted subjects, and a prelude to the destiny which awaits them.

"There is something imposing in the spectacle of a body of men, selected by the public voice from a great nation, and assembled in grave debate on the affairs of that nation, ostensibly for the sole purpose of promoting its welfare. Could we rationally hope that a spark of love to God dwelt in each bosom, we might expect to see its effects in benevolence to men. Had we any evidence, that a belief of their accountability to the Supreme Lawgiver ever unchained their souls from the slavery of human opinions, and gave them a momentary elevation that they habitually placed themselves in imagination before the last tribunal, as listening to the sentence of the Judgewe should be ready to hope, that they could not be so utterly abandoned, as to lead the way to national destruction. But to see men, whose minds are enlightened by science, in the face of the world, and in the solemn act of legislation, advocate a cause begun and supported by the most shameful iniquity-to hear them in one breath boasting of freedom and whining about the rights of men, and in the next blustering for the prerogative of holding millions of fellow beings in hopeless bondage;-to see them contend for the right of subjecting a fellow creature to suffering which knows no measure but the passion of an enraged tyrant, and no end but death,-to be a witness of all this, and reflect that these beings are men, and profess the highest regard for the institutions of humanity, is enough to make one blush