after which she had so long and so ardently aspired. She had just completed the thirty-ninth year of her age, and had been a inember of the Methodist Society fifteen years.

She was interred in the burying-ground connected with the Methodist chapel, at Newark, by M. PooL, her funeral being attended by a great number of people; and, on Sunday evening, June 18, a funeral sermon was preached on the occasion by MR. HICKLING, from Psalm cxvi. 15, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints."

MR. HICKLING, who frequently visited the deceased during her illness, has, in a few sentences, given a striking view of her christian character:-" Her conversion was clear and undeniable:-her experience was deep and evangelical:-her zeal was ardent:-her patience invincible:-her conduct was uniform and consistent:her gratitude was abundant:-her sufferings were great :-her death peaceful and triumphant." It was a voice from heaven that said, "Blessed are the dead which die in the LORD."

MISCELLANEOUS.

ON THE DISTRIBUTION OF RELIGIOUS TRAGTS.

To the Editor of the Methodist Magazine.

REV. SIR,

The very excellent paper on the circulation of Religious Tracts, inserted in your number for May last, it is hoped will receive due attention from your numerous readers. Should the measures which your valuable correspondent recommends, be adopted through the whole of your extensive Connexion, the most beneficial effects might, by the blessing of Almighty Gon, be confidently anticipated. In Sheffield, in Manchester, in Sunderland, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and in several other places, Methodist Tract Societies already exist; and, in not a few instances, have been a means of great spiritual good to the souls of men. All classes of Christians appear, at present, to be actively engaged in the use of this silent and unostentatious means of promoting the best interests of mankind. But perhaps no denomination of religious people possess greater facilities for the successful prosecution of this "labour of love," than the Wesleyan Methodists. The Travelling and Local Preachers, the Leaders of Classes, the Conductors of Prayer-Meetings, the Missionary Collectors, the Teachers of SundaySchools, might all be advantageously employed in this work, were Tract Societies only formed in the different circuits, for the purpose of furnishing them with regular supplies.

The utility, and even the urgent necessity of such institutions, must be obvious to every reflecting mind. To use the language of the Manchester Report, "Means of instruction are now multiplied on

every hand. By the charity of British Christians, not only the young and rising generation, but also the adult poor, are gratuitously taught the art of reading. An appetite for knowledge is thus created and if that appetite be not supplied with the wholesome food of evangelical truth, suspended on the branches of the tree of life; it will catch at the forbidden fruit of Infidelity, which, while it assumes a fair and alluring aspect, is always found in the end to be only the apples of Sodom. Better would it be for the unsuspecting children of the poor never to learn the use of letters, than after they have been taught, to be left to squander away their precious lives in the perusal of those publications which teach them to cavil at the Revelation of GoD, and to pour contempt upon the momentous obligations of morality and religion. Those teachers of youth incur an awful responsibility, who neglect to guard the objects of their charge against the literary evils by which they are threatened, and to afford them every facility in finding Him of whom Moses in the Law and the Prophets wrote.

"Besides, to Reprove Sin, is a duty the performance of which the Holy Scriptures peremptorily require : and in these days of abounding iniquity it is a duty which loudly calls for the special attention of those who wish to preserve a conscience void of offence toward Gon and toward man. Every one, however, must perceive that this is a duty which not only requires firmness and resolution, but prudence and tender compassion; otherwise those who engage in it will only excite irritation and resentment when they mean to soften, to convince, and to reclaim. Perhaps the least offensive, and at the same time, one of the most efficient modes of reproof, at least, under many circumstances, is to present the offending individual with such a tract as is calculated at once to expose the vice to which he is addicted, and to evince the affectionate good-will of the reprover. An admonitory tract can be read in secret, and may there suggest topics of reflection of a nature the most salutary and beneficial. A tract counts no tears, and notices no blushes of conscious shame; but leaves the transgressor at perfect liberty to express the feelings of his burdened conscience, without any of that restraint which the presence of a reprover generally imposes.

"It should also be observed, that in these times, when such immense multitudes of people absent themselves from all places of public worship, and are therefore never warned and instructed from the christian pulpit, it becomes the friends of Gon and man to avail themselves of extraordinary means to awaken and to save them. In various instances, the distribution of religious tracts has been a means, by the blessing of Gon, of producing these important results and if those who have in their hands such a mighty engine of good should neglect to use it, they cannot be guiltless of the blood of human souls. It is also worthy of remark, that the Holy Scriptures themselves were originally published and circulated, by their inspired authors, in the form of separate Tracts; designed to edify the church, and to convince and reclaim an ungodly world."

The disciples of Paine and Voltaire, it is well known, have been exceedingly active, within the last few years, in propagating the pernicious principles of Infidelity among the labouring poor, through

And

the medium of cheap Tracts; and have unhappily succeeded, to a considerable extent, in the more populous districts of this country. shall those who "love the LORD JESUS CHRIST in sincerity," and the souls of men for his sake, be less active in providing the antidote to this moral poison? Notwithstanding the moral culture which has been bestowed upon this nation, many places, alas! still resemble the sterile desert: but let Religious Tract Societies be formed, and they will be so many additional channels conveying the water of life in all directions, producing the richest verdure, and affording comfort and refreshment to the weary traveller.

The following interesting fact was related at the last Anniversary of the Manchester and Salford Methodist Tract Society,* as having recently occurred in the former place: A poor man had been unhappily led to disbelieve the Bible, and to "deny the LORD that bought him." When he had occasion to pass by the Methodist Chapel, he not unfrequently stopped, and expressed the most inveterate malignity against one of the ministers who officiated there. He had a pious daughter, whose mind was deeply affected by the awful condition of her apostate but beloved parent. Filial love, under the direction of christian piety, is ingenious in its expedients: and this young female procured a Tract from one of the Agents of the Society, adapted to her father's case. She placed it in a situation where it was likely to attract his notice, and then watched the result with trembling anxiety. He took it up, and began to examine it. She instantly retired into her closet, and falling down upon her knees, besought the LORD to render the perusal of it a means of his conversion. Her prayer was heard. Her father read; his attention became fixed: he sighed, he wept, he prayed; he made application for mercy to the SAVIOUR whom he had insulted and blasphemed; he joined himself to the Methodist Society, and became exemplary in his life and conversation. "Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and hide a multitude of sins." I am, Sir, your humble servant, T. J.

* This Institution, as appears by its Report, within the limits of little more than twelve months, distributed upwards of Fifty-three Thousand Tracts.

To the Editor of the Methodist Magazine.

DEAR SIR,

If there be on earth a human being who has claims on the attention, justice, commiseration, and benevolence of the Christian world; the poor, dark, bewildered, and miserable heathen is that being. He is the slave of his vile appetites, passions, affections, and diabolical tempers; the servant, and worshipper of the devil; the dupe of a vain and foolish imagination; a stranger to peace and comfort; a burden to himself, and a curse to his fellow-creatures.

The heathen has no central point of rest, either for his understanding, conscience, or conduct. In the whistling of winds, the howling of dogs, the roar of thunder, he hears the voice of demons, and

:

trembles. Frantic with misery and fear, he seizes the victims devoted to destruction, and offers them up as sacrifices on the altars of the cruel and bloody objects of his superstitious adoration. The infant, the lovely youth, the parent, the captive, the slave, &c. are the sacrifices which he offers, to assuage his mental misery. The sun, moon, planets, fire, water, earth, reptiles, idols, and devils, have their respective offerings. What a waste of human life! what scenes of human misery! It may be truly said of the heathen, "There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after GOD. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre ; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: there is no fear of GoD before their eyes." The following Extracts are evidences of the truth of this awful description. Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no Physician there? Yes; there is balm, and there is a Physician: there is a remedy to cure these mental evils: there is a Saviour who is able to save. But how shall the heathen call on him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a Preacher? And how can they preach to the heathen, except they are sent on this message of love and mercy, by those christian friends who have it in their power to send them to the uttermost parts of the earth? And is not this a duty, binding on all Christians? Is it not as much the duty of Christians to send the Gospel of JESUS to the heathen, as to feed the hungry, and to clothe the naked? It is a duty of the first importance of eternal importance: a duty that the LORD of the harvest will not dispense with a duty binding on the christian world, to all intents and purposes; and the neglect of which is a sin of the first magnitude.

Let Christians look at the ignorance, superstition, impurity, gross wickedness, malice, hatred, envy, cruelty, and misery of the heathen; and they must be convinced, that the Sun is not more essentially necessary to human comfort, than the Gospel is to the present and eternal happiness of mankind. Without the Gospel, man is a brute, a savage, a fool, a fiend: he is vain, superstitious, wicked, cruel, and wretched.

The Gospel enlightens the human mind; it draws the attention, the thoughts, the desires, and affections towards GoD and heavenly things. Its Divine Influence softens the hard heart, and purifies the affections and desires. Its precepts guide the feet into the paths of peace, and lead men to virtue and to glory. The Gospel puts an eternal end to human sacrifices, and all those scenes of misery which are so frequent in heathen countries. It demolishes the temples of the devil; puts an end to his infernal worship; banishes domestic misery, slavery, and cruelty. It raises man from his state of degraVOL. XLIV. JULY, 1821.

dation, exalts him, ennobles his mind, and gives him the means of salvation. It turns him from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God: by which he receives the blessing of pardon, and purity, and a good hope of immortal life by faith in the LORD JESUS.

It is in reference to these important circumstances, that I now take the liberty of sending you the following Extracts; that, through the medium of your Magazine, they may plead with your numerous readers the cause of the heathen world; excite sentiments of pity and benevolence; and prompt to those exertions which are pleasing to GOD, and beneficial to mankind.

Your's, respectfully, Rochdale, March 6, 1821.

PHILIP GARKETT.

An EXTRACT from a Work entitled, "An Account of a 'JOURNEY to LEETAKOO, the residence of the Chief of the Booshuana nation; being the remotest point in the interior of SOUTHERN AFRICA to which Europeans have hitherto penetrated.—The facts and descriptions taken from a MANUSCRIPT JOURNAL."

"Having received from his Excellency, Lieutenant General DoNDAS, acting Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the castle, town, and settlement of the Cape of Good Hope, our credentials and instructions; examined the invoices of several articles intended to be given in exchange for cattle, and arranged the contents of our six waggons, we this day," says MR. TRUTER, the 1st of October, 1801, commenced, under God's good providence, our long and interesting journey."

After a minute detail of every particular circumstance that occurred in connexion with this journey; the names of several farms, and their occupiers, where our travellers halted for the night, for obtaining refreshment, or a change of draught oxen; the little interruptions and mortifications they met with, owing to the want of punctuality in the boors in bringing their fresh relays of oxen, &c. &c.; the difficulty of ascending Roode Sand Kloof; the impracticability of passing the Witsenberg, or Mostaert Hoek, which compelled them to take a circuitous route over the Hex River Kloof (in their progress through which, MR. TRUTER observes, they crossed the rapid stream of the same name, rushing down its rocky channel, no less than seven times); their passage of the Bokkeveld, and that corner of the Great Karroo, or desert, between it and the Roggeveld, where the absence of all human habitations compelled them to sleep for several nights in their tents and waggons; their ascent from those plains, up the steep and lofty mountains called the Roggeveld; we are informed, that they arrived, on the evening of the 14th, on the South bank of the Great Riet river, opposite the Bonteberg, where they pitched their tents for the night: the weather being extremely cold, boisterous, and rainy. In this river they caught an abundance of a particular species of fish, the flavour of which was tolerably good; but the bones being something of the same kind as those of the herring, and the fish small, made it the less acceptable to hungry travellers. Here