was sung; and the secretary, Mr. Mayfield, read a short and interesting history of the Leicester and Leicestershire Sunday School Union, from which it appeared that the Union now consists of 20 schools in the town, containing 658 teachers, and 4,000 scholars; and in the county of 23 schools, containing 467 teachers, 1,807 children, making a total of 43 schools, 1,125 teachers, and 5,807 children. It also stated, that in an inefficient canvass of the town, made in 1832, 1,600 children were found to be destitute of any means of obtaining instruction; and in a much more efficient canvass, made in 1840, only 400 were found, and that, too, with an increase of 10,000 to the population. The meeting was then addressed by the Rev. T. Jackson and Mr. Tyers, of Leicester; Revds. T. Mays, Wigston; J. J. Owen, Castle-Donington; J. P. Mursell, Leicester; J. Tunnicliffe, Longford; T. Stevenson and J. Goadby, Leicester. Mr. Swain then moved a vote of thanks to the chairman, which was seconded by the Rev. J. Anderson, of Leicester.A vote of thanks was also passed to the committee of management and the tea makers. "Praise God from whom all blessings flow," &c. was then sung, and prayer offered by the Rev. J. Anderson; after which the meeting broke up, delighted with their evening's entertainments.

Newark. On Friday, September 3rd., a number of young men, who form a class of inquirers, under the care of the Rev. C. Kirtland, requested him to accept of a handsome tea-pot, as a mark of their love to him for his work's sake.

Shacklewell. The young ladies in the Bible class, assembling in the Baptist chapel, have recently presented their beloved pastor, the Rev. J. Cox, with a splendid pulpit Bible. Upwards of thirty persons attend the class.

Tintwistle.—On the 29th of August interesting Anniversary Sermons were delivered at Tintwistle, near Manchester. The Rev. T. J. Davies, Minister of the place, preached in the afternoon, and the Rev. T. Atkin, of Littlemoor, preached in the evening. The collections amounted to £50 5s. 6d., though the friends here have lately commenced to lessen a debt of £600. This they have begun to do by weekly, monthly, and yearly contributions, at the present rate of about £100 per annum.

Wentworth.-On Friday, the 10th of September, Earl Fitzwilliam, with his accustomed liberality, invited the Church Sunday scholars and teachers to tea, on the lawn in front of Wentworth House. The most comfortable arrangements were made for their reception. After grace had been sung, 350 scholars sat down. The boys amused themselves at cricket, and the girls were conducted through the menagerie, by part of the noble family. In the evening all were most kindly addressed by the illustrious Earl; and throughout the proceedings, he and his family were seen mixing in the most affable way with the overjoyed visitors.

Westminster. From a Report just published of the Westminster Wesleyan Sunday Schools, we transcribe the following interesting passage:-As the principal object of Sunday schools is the conversion of the children, your committee are thankful to report, that by the blessing of God upon the exertions employed in connexion with these schools, that object, to a very great extent, has been graciously accomplished. About 60 children and young persons in Romney-terrace school have, it is believed, been brought under a deep religious concern during the last year. The first appearance of a scriptural and general awakening amongst them was seen on Sunday, October 4th, 1840. On the afternoon of that day an invitation having been given to all those who felt the need of salvation to remain with the secretaries and a few of the teachers, for the purpose of receiving special instruction, about 40 accepted the invitation, apparently with broken and contrite hearts, 11 of whom professed to obtain peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. On the following Sunday a similar invitation was given,

and about sixty remained behind, when the Holy Ghost was blessedly poured out, and about 16 professed to receive "beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness.' On the third Sabbath a similar invitation was given, when about 80 remained, and 9 professed to find the pearl of great price; and like the publican, to go down to their houses justified. Since that period, the after meetings have, with little interruption, been continued, and almost every week, some have professed to obtain the salvation of the gospel. With the view of taking care of these lambs of Christ, weekly meetings have been established for their especial benefit. About 35 of the elder boys are met by Mr. Packer, in a probationary class, after the public service on the Sabbath evening; and about 25 of the elder girls are met on Wednesday afternoon by Mrs. Young, to receive those instructions which their circumstances require.

Wigan: St. George's.-On the evening of Thursday, September 26th, when the teachers and scholars were assembled in St. George's school room, previous to the accustomed lecture, the Rev. B. Powell was presented with a handsome Bible and Prayer-book, accompanied with the following expression of gratitude and respect" Presented to the Rev. BENJAMIN POWELL, Incumbent of St. George's, Wigan, by those young persons of his congregation, who were confirmed on the 6th day of June, 1841. Hereby they desire to testify to him their respect, and also their grateful sense of the interest which he has ever manifested in their spiritual welfare." We need merely add that the above tribute was received by the rev. gentleman with those feelings of satisfaction which it was calculated to excite in the breast of a Christian minister.

The Portfolio.

REMINISCENCES OF A SABBATH SCHOOL TEACHER.-B- was an active superintendent-he occasionally took a little drink-he is a drunkard now, and wishing he were dead. I was a scholar-a promising young man-entered as a student for the ministry-a ́ter a few years of pride and self-indulgence, he became insane, and is now an inmate of a lunatic asylum. K- was a member of a church—employed in preaching-took to drinking, and sunk to the lowest degree of profligacy. L-was a young man of good abilities-became fond of wine-three times set up in business-ruined through drink-desolate. N-a member of the church-took to drinking, and is now an outcast. S left the school-opened one under his own control— his drunkenness has driven away the teachers, and completely closed T― had been a scholar-became a teacher-took to drinkinglost all regard for himself. U— an active teacher-set up in business-fell a victim to drink-went to sea.

it.

MORAL TRAINING.-The late General Harrison, President of the United States, appears, from the following anecdote, to have considered that the moral improvement of the young, is of greater value in preventing crime, than the ordinary penal checks which are interposed. In his last out of door exercise, the General was engaged in assisting the gardener to adjust some grape vines. The gardener remarked that there would be little use in trailing the vines, so far as any fruit was concerned, as the boys would come on Sunday, while the family were at church, and steal all the grapes; and suggested to the General, as a guard against such a loss, that he should purchase an active watch dog. "Better," said the General, "to employ an active Sabbath school teacher; a dog may take care of the grapes, but a good Sabbath school teacher will take care of the grapes, and the boys too."

INDIA, or HINDOSTAN, with its vast population of more than 130,000,000 inhabitants, is almost wholly

subject to Great Britain: its complicated systems of superstition, therefore, have engaged the liveliest sympathy of many British Christians. Missionary labourers have found it a most important field of evangelical enterprise, since the Baptist Missionary Society was formed in 1792, and led the way, by sending the very learned Rev. Dr. Carey to commence the work in that great country; and especially since the year 1813, when the East India Company's Charter was renewed by Parliament, securing protection to Missionaries of every denomination of Christians.

Hindoo superstition includes an immense multitude of gods; some of the learned reckon them to amount to thirty millions! but the Brahmins, or priests, assign the highest honours to BRAHMA, as the Creator of the world; to VISHNOO, as the Preserver; and to SIVA, as the Destroyer: they are frequently represented as in our pictorial embellishment, which is a cast from the beautiful engraving in the Rev. T. Timpson's instructive little “Manual for Missionary Collectors"-"WHAT HAVE I TO DO WITH MISSIONS;" from which we take many of our observations on Hindooism.

BRAHMA is represented as having four faces and four arms, holding in one hand a portion of the Vedas, or sacred book, which he is said to have composed for the study of his priests, the Brahmins; in another hand he holds a spoon, as if for use in religious washings; in a third a rosary, or string of beads, as if for aid in counting prayers repeated; and in the fourth, a vessel containing water for ablution, preparation for sacrifice, or religious ceremonies. Brahma, though chief divinity, is seldom worshipped by the Hindoos; and, as some say, he has not one temple in all Hindostan.

Brahma is pretended to have ordained the castes, or classes, into which the Hindoos are divided: as the priests pretend that he created them from his

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mouth; and hence their name Brahmins: the Khetri or Sittri, the princes and military, came from his arms; the Beise or Vaisy, including merchants, traders, and cultivators of the earth, were derived from his belly and thighs; and the Sudras or Sudders, comprehending labourers and slaves, the servants of the higher orders, proceeded from his feet. This system of castes, from which it is not lawful for any one to rise or depart, is productive of enormous impositions and miseries among the ignorant and degraded Hindoos.

VISHNOO, or the Preserver, has in one of his hands a chank, or shell, as a sort of trumpet; in the other a chankra, a weapon resembling a quoit, having a hole in the centre for twirling round, that when thrown at an object, it may, with its sharp edge and irresistible fire, be fatal. In the left hands are the gadha or club, and the lotos flower. Vishnoo is said to have been incarnate nine times, in various forms,of fish, reptile, or beast: the ninth is said to have been in the form of a man, Budha, who became a wise philosopher, founder of the system of Budhism, so prevalent in some parts of India, Ceylon, and China.

SIVA, SHIVA, or SHEVA, the Destroyer, has in his uplifted hand a trident, and in his left the pasha or robe, for strangling criminals: his foremost hands are supposed to indicate an invitation to seek, and a promise to grant protection. A third eye, in the forehead, is supposed to indicate, with the others, a view of time, past, present, and future: serpents, as ear-rings, are thought to denote immortality; and his collar, or chain of human skulls, it is believed, marks the extinction of the generations of mankind.

Siva, as the Destroyer, being mostly dreaded, is principally worshipped, and in various forms, especially in the grand temple at Juggernaut, which is one of his names and his wife Paroutee is worshipped as the goddess DOORGHA, and KALEE, with various horrid rites; and GANESA, the son of Doorgha, is worshipped by multitudes: but our limits will not