dear departed child, by his good doctrines and example, draw many other children after him, that they may eternally rejoice together in heaven.”

It is scarcely possible to conceive of a true Christian, who does not possess a holy zeal to labour as much as lies in his power for the dissemination of that book, in which he has found his greatest treasure, and who does not cordially participate in the efforts of the age in which he lives, to cause the gospel of Christ to be preached to those who are still sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. This interest and this zeal we also observe manifesting themselves in Franké.

Charles Hildebrand, baron of Canstein, a likeminded friend of Franké's, and of the same age, was the founder of an institution, which had for its object the sale of the bible at an extremely low price, and thus rendering it possible for the poor to obtain it. This bible institution, which celebrated its centenary in 1812, not only entered into close connection with the orphan-house immediately after its commencement, when Franké warmly espoused the plan of his friend, without either Franké himself or the orphanhouse deriving the smallest advantage from it; but after Canstein's decease in 1719, Franké, in obedience to the will of the founder, joyfully undertook the management of the institution, notwithstanding the multitude of his official and other duties, and continued it till his death. A short time previous to that event, he was enabled to plan the erection of a spacious and massive building for it, within the range of the orphan-house, and see its foundations laid.

Long before undertaking the management of the

ESTABLISHMENT OF A MISSIONARY INSTITUTION. 199

Canstein printing-offices, Franké, who laboured unweariedly for the kingdom of God, had also begun, with equal zeal, to be active in the missionary cause. The pious Frederic IV, king of Denmark, after consulting with Dr. Lütken, his court chaplain, founded, in 1705, a college at Copenhagen for sending out missionaries to his territories in the East Indies, and applied to Franké, requesting him to select some able men for this purpose from the number of young divines either brought up by him, or from amongst such as were well known to him. Franké chose for the first missionaries, Henry Plütschau, and Barthomew Ziegenbalg, who reached the place of their destination on the coast of Malabar in 1706, and the result justified his choice. After that time, he laboured for twenty-two years in the cause of missions until his decease. He collected and transmitted the contributions made in Hallé for the mission, carried on a correspondence with the missionaries, to whom he was also serviceable in procuring a complete Malabar printing-press, and superintended the periodical publication of the intelligence received from them. This was the commencement of the "History of evangelical missions in the East for the conversion of the heathen," still continued to be published in Hallé. As long as he lived, he generally selected the missionaries that were required, and by this very circumstance, he proved such a blessing to that cause, since the whole result of missionary operations depends greatly upon the character of the missionaries, and Franké's principles and turn of mind were a pledge, that such only would be selected by him, as might labour amongst the heathen with a real blessing.

The wished-for progress, and the solicitude he exemplified for the mission to the heathens, afforded him, in the last months of his life, peculiar pleasure and gratification. Respecting this, he writes in a letter, which will be referred to in the sequel, after mentioning with what liberty he had frequently entreated God in the open air, and said, "Lord, give me children as the dew from the womb of the morning, as the sand on the sea-shore, as the stars in the heavens, which cannot be numbered! What shall I now say?" adds he. "God has so graciously regarded my child-like and believing prayer; for I should be no longer able to reckon up the number of those, who have themselves assured me, that they were indebted for their salvation to the word which had proceeded out of my mouth, not only in Germany, but perhaps even to a still greater extent in other countries; to which must also be added the work of conversion amongst the heathen, in which it has pleased God to make use of me as an instrument; of which some pious individuals have spoken, as if they regarded the heathen converts as my children, since they were converted to Christ by my spiritual sons, whom I sent to India. But who am I, that God should shew such mercy to one so insignificant, and that he should still continue to do so!" Although Franké had no opportunity of taking any prominent part in the conversion of the Jews; yet a remarkable sermon which he preached in 1714, on the occasion of the baptism of one of them in

1 By which he by no means overlooked the providing for distressed Christian brethren in foreign parts; and amongst other acts of beneficence, assisted a school with money and books, which Swedish prisoners in Siberia had founded, after the pattern of his own institutions.

the church at Glaucha, on Luke ii. 22-32,1 the subject of which was Jesus Christ, the light of the heathen and the glory of Israel,' shows us how important and cheering such days were to him, when individuals from amongst that people were brought by his co-operation to the knowledge of Christ.

In the consideration of Franké's labours in Hallé, we must not overlook the period spent in the considerable journies he undertook, in which also he did not lose sight of the great object of his life.

In August, 1698, he travelled to Berlin, accompanied by his dear friend Elers, which, though one of his shorter journies, was not only very much blessed to him, from the circumstance of residing with Dr. Spener whilst there, but was also productive of many advantageous results to his institutions. He also expounded whilst there, as he says in a letter to the crown prince, afterwards Frederick William I, in 1711,2 at the request of some individuals, the Epistle to the Colossians, for some hours every week. He expressly remarks in that letter, that not the smallest disturbance had occurred, and then adds, "This affair abstractedly considered, your Royal Highness, according to the good understanding inherent in you, will acknowledge to be good and laud

1 This sermon also contains a passing but serious warning against certain fanatical excrescences, which had begun to manifest themselves in some individuals. Respecting this, he remarks, "I warn at the same time every one not to be presumptuous in these things, nor to sin against the persons of whom we are now speaking, by reviling and calumniating them, by which no good is effected; for by so doing the individual would also prove, that he was no child of God himself, but only an instrument of the wicked one.

2 This letter was occasioned by some malicious insinuations, which Franké's adversaries had communicated to the Crown Prince.

able; and that it is from mere malice, that such-like things, which are well-pleasing to God, are branded with the hateful appellation of prohibited conventicles; considering also that His Majesty is only desirous of restraining outrages, but not the edification of others, afforded by regularly-appointed preachers, either publicly or privately."

The extraordinary activity in which Franké lived,' which called forth the unceasing exertions of his powers of body and mind, began, in 1705, to manifest such a prejudicial influence upon his health, which was otherwise very good, that the physicians were apprehensive of the worst results. The news of his friend Spener's decease, who had acted like a father to him, on the 5th February of that year, naturally operated the more painfully upon him; and the physicians saw no other remedy, than his entire withdrawment for a period from his wonted activity, in which scarcely a moment was left him for recreation. In the spring of 1705, therefore, he commenced a three months journey, again accompanied by his friend Elers, and travelled through Halberstadt, Brunswick, and Hanover, to Westphalia, and from thence to Holland, where he visited the most celebrated towns, particularly Utrecht, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and the Hague. By means of his frequent preaching upon the way, he was the cause of the awakening

1 "On rising early," says he,-"I reflect that all my previous days have departed into eternity, and that I have, therefore, to forget them; but that with the present day, I must make a real new beginning, in order to spend it as the first and the last-as the first, that a new and vigorous power may be excited in me, for the accomplishment of the Lord's work; and as the last, that it may seem to me, as if afterwards there was no time remaining to retrieve what I might neglect on this day."