My dear Mother;

St. Andrew's, April 15, 1826.

I am afraid I have kept you in suspense regarding my plans. I have been waiting in daily expectation of hearing something more definite respecting the situation I wrote about.

Before I heard of this situation at all, I wrote to Mr. Orme, asking his advice how I ought to proceed after this session, telling him my views regarding missions, and particularly wishing to know the state of the Missionary Society's arrangements. I received his answer, and my father's last letter by the same post. His advice was to write to Mr. Arundel, making application to the Society. You know this was the plan I had purposed to myself, and you may guess that I was in no small perplexity how to act. prospect of benefiting by classes at Glasgow,-my extreme youth and inexperience,—and, above all, the wish to show my dear parents that I am willing to acquiesce in their wishes as far as conscience will permit, have induced me to accept of this situation. I hope the Lord has been my guide in this matter.

The

Accordingly I communicated my willingness to avail myself of his kindness, to Dr. Chalmers, who wrote to Lord Rosslyn immediately. A letter has come from Lord R. to Dr. Chalmers, this morning, inclosing a letter from Colonel M to his lordship, giving some more information respecting the place. Nothing is said about the salary. I do not expect it will be great, as my charge will be very small, and I am to have the liberty of attending classes.

I told Dr. Chalmers distinctly to state to Lord

R. that I am a Dissenter, and that if I am near Glasgow, I should like to attend Dr. Wardlaw, or Mr. Ewing. Perhaps this may be an objection to my settling in the family; if so, it is better that it be stated now, than afterwards.

Previously to his joining the family, then on a visit at Lord Rosslyn's, at Dysart House, he proposed a short missionary tour in the Highlands, along with his friend Mr. Adam; but he was taken ill in his father's house, and rendered incapable of any exertion for some weeks. While convalescent he wrote a long letter to an old fellow-student, between whom and himself there appears to have subsisted a very endeared friendship. I mean

Herbert Smith, Esq. of Egham, Surrey. The testimony of that gentleman, to the amiable, and christian character of my beloved friend, and to his high intellectual attainments, corresponds with that of all his other associates. To him John gives an account of some of the plans which had been prosecuted at St. Andrew's, during the preceding winter. In this respect it is particularly interesting, and also the reference to the simultaneous movements in the Universities.

My very dear Friend;

Perth, May 11, 1826.

I was just going to proceed with an account of the St. Andrew's University Missionary Society, (in which you have always taken so deep an interest,) when I was compelled to leave off, through weakness.-To resume the subject then. At our first meeting we had not a very large attendance: we presented the different presents of

books which had been received from yourself, Dr. Morrison, Mr. Townley, and other friends of the missionary cause. I then read to the Society that part of your very interesting letter, which directly referred to our Association; and, I trust, we have profited by the hints it contained. Votes of thanks were ordered to be transferred to those liberal donors who had made such valuable additions to its library. I took the responsibility of communicating to you, this expression of the Society's gratitude. I am ashamed to think that it has not been communicated long, long ere now. I cannot go minutely into details. Suffice it to say, that the Society has prospered even more than in the former session. We were kindly permitted to meet in the old Episcopalian Chapel. Dr. Haldane at once accepted the patronage of the Society, and offered any room in St. Mary's we might think convenient, as a place of meeting. One thing I think exceedingly interesting, is, that similar societies have now been formed in all the Universities of Scotland, and a kind of simultaneous movement was made this last session, towards a system of general correspondence. Might we hope that this could be extended to institutions of a similar nature, in the Universities of England. In a letter from the Society in the Glasgow University, they mentioned that they had had some correspondence with a Missionary Association in one of the colleges of America. It were very desirable (and I think it is not impracticable) to see all the pious young men in our great seminaries of learning, united to each other by this great bond of christian philanthropy. Perhaps you could do something by opening a channel of

Cambridge, and the Scottish Universities. I expect to spend next winter in Glasgow. I could communicate any thing from you on this subject, to the association there, and it would immediately be circulated among the sister Universities.

15th. There is a new system of religious instruction which has been attempted in St. Andrew's this last session, and which I think is a most efficient system for evangelizing large towns. The plan is very simple. We just inquired after some persons residing in different quarters of the town, who were religiously disposed. We called on these, and requested the favor of a room in their house, for a few of the neighbors to assemble in for religious purposes. We expected a little group of eight or ten persons to assemble, but were astonished to find the attendance increase in some of the stations to fifty or sixty. Many of these never went to church. We generally read and explained a passage of Scripture, and read some extracts from such books as we thought were most striking and useful. I have some doubt whether a layman in the Church of England could attempt this; but if the laws of the church and the state allow, I think many a christian would find ample scope for such employment, in the dark places of your towns and villages. You understand, we never called it preaching; and accordingly Dr. Haldane gave his consent that the young men in the established church should engage in the work. Churchmen and Dissenters all went hand in hand, and we forgot that there was any distinction. And this must be the case more universally, ere the cause of our great Redeemer go triumphantly forward. Tait has already begun similar meetings in Edinburgh,

and some have been commenced here. I do think this a most plausible method for getting at that class of the community who do not attend the public services of the gospel. You know Dr. Chalmers' plan is a little different. He wishes the christian philanthropist to visit every family. The great objection to this plan, in my estimation, is the difficulty of finding a sufficient number of agents. The Doctor's objection to pulpit instructions, when they stand alone, is, that you are setting up a centre of attraction; this will only draw some of the people, some are not under the influence of the attracting power, and they must be dealt with in another way. You must make an aggressive movement towards them. Before setting the plan I speak of in operation, I asked Dr. Chalmers' opinion of it. He gave his decided approbation to it, although he thought the system of individual visitation a better one, if it could be accomplished. This new plan, however, he thought had a much greater efficacy than common preaching, when alone. Instead of setting up one great centre of attraction, it was like carrying about the magnet, and bringing it near to the iron filings.

P. S. I am not sure where I

may be this summer, but a letter addressed to my father's care, will always find me. I could have written a great deal more, but my writing is so bad that I fear when written across, it is quite unintelligible. I wish I had taken a larger sheet.

From this time I shall do little more than make John his own biographer; a journal which he be