morning and afternoon. They were greatly surprised to see so small a book contain such wonderful things, and inquired how I obtained it, and what country it came from! I informed them that it was the Book of God; that it was written by the holy Prophets of the Lord, many hundred years ago; and that it contained an account of the nativity, life, and death of the Son of God. They were all perfectly astonished; and, after I had read a few chapters in the beginning of Matthew, the man of the house ran out in haste to two of his next-door neighbours, and brought them in to see and hear "the Book of God;" for by this name my little Bible is now known, These individuals also expressed their surprise; and, after hearing me read of the birth, miracles, and death of our Saviour, they went out and brought in their wives to hear the same glorious news!

He adds, on a subsequent dayThis day I was employed, morning and afternoon, in reading the Scriptures; and experienced great pleasure at beholding the attention paid and the knowledge acquired. The people are anxious for the winter, in order that they may have the long nights to hear the Scrip

tures read; and are devising means to raise a fund to provide candle-light for that purpose.

and expressed his surprise how the Priest got such a "fine account from God." Upon my telling him that I could show him the same words, he replied " All the books in the world cannot contain half as much as the Priest said this day. I am sure he got the account from God." I then produced my Irish Testament, and, sitting on the side of the road, read the chapter containing the account of the Passion of Christ. He was so astonished at finding it contained in a book, that he fell on his knees, and with streaming eyes and uplifted hands, returned God thanks for having heard such a book. On his return home, he went among his neighbours, inviting them to his house on the following Sunday to hear a book read, which would tell them of what his Saviour had done and suffered for sinners, and that it was the Book of God.

Another reports that he visited a Night School, in which many Adults had asall evinced a great desire to learn, and sembled, in very inclement weather, who adds

In the evening, I read the Scriptures to a number of individuals who came to my

lodgings. They were very attentive, and In the morning, before it was quite light, when it became late, left very reluctantly. they again assembled, and called the man

of the house out of his bed to let them in to hear the Scriptures read. I accordingly arose, and read to them a considerable time. When they departed, it rained hard, and they prayed that it might continue to do so, to prevent me from travelling.

Zeal and Proficiency of the Aged in learning to read the Scriptures.

One of the Readers in the Irish Tongue says.

I classed eight fathers, three grand-fathers, fourteen adults, and the remainder boys. The old men could not see a letter without spectacles; and I was astonished when I again visited the School to see the great progress which they had made.

Of an Evening School of sixty-six scholars, he reports

I classed a grandfather, who regularly attends, with his four children and seven

grand-children; one of whom persuaded him to come, saying, "Perhaps, grandfather, the Lord will enable you to learn to read His Word." This old man now attends the school with his primer in his hand. He is a Protestant, and had learned to read a little when he was young, but, through neglect, had entirely forgotten all. In a Third School, he says

There are five men who were accustomed to come with their children, and return with them after school hours, as they had to cross mountains and bogs. These men, perceiving the progress made by old men who attended the school, were encouraged to commence spelling themselves; and now they can read the Scriptures tolerably well. On the Sabbath they sit together, and read the Testament; and one of them has become not only the teacher of the rest, but of the surrounding villages: at first he was cool

ly received; but now they are glad to see and hear him.

Of the progress of the aged people, the same reader adds afterward

Fathers and grandfathers, whom I arranged a few months before in the junior classes, are now reading the Scriptures, and rejoicing that they are so privileged.

One grandfather, with two of his sons and three of his grand-children, were put by me in the first class; and, in the course of a few months, the grandfather outstripped the rest, and was promoted to the third class. I told him that if, at the next inspection, he was able to read in the Testament, I would write to you to send him one. At the next inspection, I found he could read correctly in the New Testament; and, accordingly, gave him an order for a large-sized one, which I trust. he will make good use of.

[The remainder in our next.]

EXTRACTS OF LETTERS.

TO THE DOMESTIC SECRETARY.

long been in the habit of contributing for the support of missionary exertions, both

April 14, 1823.

I enclose to you, for the Society, two dollars, which were handed to me a short time ago by a farmer, in the vicinity of this place, as the avails of a small piece of ground, cultivated as a Missionary Field. After making several observations about the drought which was experienced in his neighbourhood last season, in consequence of which, crops of corn were generally very light, and regretting that the avails of his little Missionary Field were so inconsiderable, the farmer incidentally remarked, that "though in some instances nearly whole acres of his corn produced very little, and all of it was much lighter than usual, yet the little Missionary Field did considerably better than any other part."

From a Gentleman at Prattsburgh, Steu

ben Co. N. Y. March 24, 1823. The good people of Prattsburgh have

tute in our own country. Prattsburgh is not a place of wealth, and cash is very scarce. On account of the difficulty of obtaining money, a number of individuals, about two years since, united in a society which is denominated "The Prattsburgh Labouring Society." Each member is to perform three days' labour annually, under the direction of a Committee, the avails of which are to constitute a fund for Religious Charity. At the annual meeting of the Society, a few days since, it was found that there were eighty dollars to be appropriated. The Society resolved, that twenty dollars of this sum should be sent to the United Foreign Missionary Society, and the sum was handed to me for transmission, and is here enclosed. The Society will expect you to send them the. Missionary Register.

From a Gentleman in Bridgehampton, L.I. April 18, 1823.

SIR-Please to insert the following in

ORDINATION.-On Thursday, April 17, 1823, at Bridgehampton, L. I. the Rev. Amzi Francis was ordained by the Presbytery of Long Island, and installed Pastor over the congregation in that place. The introductory prayer by the Rev. A. Luce; sermon by Rev. E. King, from 1 Timothy, iii. 1-7, inclusive; consecrating prayer by the Rev. L. Thompson; charge to the Pastor, by Rev. N. Reeve; address to the people, by Rev. S. Robertson, and the concluding prayer, by Rev. E. Phillips. The day was pleasant, the assembly large and solemn. The attention and deep solemnity of the audience manifested the interest they felt on the ocsion, and inspired the pleasing hope, that the ascended Redeemer has rich blessings for this branch of his beloved Zion.

Narrative of the State of Religion within the Bounds of the Presbytery of New-York, April, 1823.

The free conversation on the state of religion in the Presbytery of New-York at their present sessions, has occasioned little or no diminution of that" abundant thankfulness" which, on the last similar opportunity, they so peculiarly felt and expressed in their report to the General Assembly. They have, indeed, augmented evidence of the stupidity of sinners, of the imperfection of saints, and of the widespread prevalence of sin; still the Great Head of the Church, "of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, appears to be, as we know he is, ever mindful of his own cause," "working salvation in the midst of the earth,” and manifesting his everlasting faithfulness and grace in their appropriate fruits; his people recognise his agency, are edified in the faith, and "rejoice in hope of the glory of

God."

The happy spirit of union and mutual confidence between the ministers and members of the churches under their jurisdiction, has, they think, been more and more consolidated. Their common sentiment is, "let brotherly love continue;" their experience is, that it is both "good and pleasant" as the holy and consecrating oil of the Christian priesthood, and it is their " earnest expectation, and their hope in God, that this, their dwelling together in unity" may be the presage of "greater things than these," even "as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended on the mountains of Zion; for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore."

The public worship of Almighty God has been generally well attended, both as it re

The

quently closed, while the consternation was constant and almost universal. The moral effects of this calamity on the spirits of survivors, both the church and world, were obvious and peculiar at the time. Many migrated to the country; and of those who remained, while Christians were praying and confessing their sins before the acknowledged "Lord of heaven and earth," the irreligious were in many instances Presbytery greatly lament also, that the perclamorous and bold in their ungodliness. The manent consequences of this visitation upon the churches generally, and upon those more especially which have their location in the immediate circle of its desolations, were not so beneficial as they fondly and ardently anticipated.

The ordinary institutions and objects of Christian benevolence have been maintained and multiplied. Several new churches have been built, and several others are now contemplated or actually erecting in the city of New-York. One other church has been organized and furnished with the regular ordinances of the Gospel, and we now number fourteen churches in the city. Sabbath schools, Bible classes, catechetical instruction, prayer meetings, among which we may particularize the Monthly Concert of Prayer, have been continued and increased in most of our congregations. A spirit of Christian activity and effort in the cause of our blessed Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, seems to be extending. Missionary operations become increasingly the object of common interest, patronage, and prayer; and the more conspicuous enterprises of good, such as Bible Societies, Missionary, Tract, and Education Societies, societies for the instruction of Seamen in the truth and grace of the Gospel, the American Society for Meliorating the Condition of the Jews, societies auxiliary to these, and other combinations of Christian effort and resources, appear to be advancing, under the benediction of God, in the thoughts and feelings of our general community.

The United Foreign Missionary Society deserves a distinct recognition in this narrative. Its peculiar details will doubtless he known to the Assembly from its own report: it is proper, however, to observe that this mighty engine of beneficence, though complicated in its operations, and embarrassed in its resources,

continues to " go forward," and will, they devoutly pray, receive the all-sufficient subsidies and succours which He can so easily command, in whose own cause it is singly and efficiently occupied.

}

The Presbytery would also announce the formation of the United Domestic Missionary Society, as an institution of the most auspicious consequence, in the sphere of its operations, in the reaction of its influence upon the spirits of its members, and in its prospective achievements in the glorious cause.

They are also induced to state to the Assembly, that they have formed themselves into a Presbyterial Missionary Society, whose object, to supply the waste places of our bounds with the means of grace, has been successfully prosecuted during the past year. This society is growing in its promise and consideration; and we expect, from the blessing of our Great Head upon the counsel and exertions of its Executive Committee, to whom the manage ment of its concerns is intrusted, a continual augmentation of the number and the strength of Presbyterian churches in this city and its vicinity,

On that special subject of interest, revivals of religion, their communications to the As sembly cannot be in all respects so richly grateful as were their last, nor so meager and comfortless as often in those of preceding years In most of their churches there has been a gradual and considerable accession from the world, and in some of them the additions have been extraordinary and deeply characterized. The Rutgers'-street Church, in the city of New-York, is the only one, perhaps, which it is competent to particularize. This church was destitute of pastoral superintendence, formally, for several months, and, virtually, on account of the fever, for nearly a year. During the last five months they have enjoyed the regular ministrations of their present pastor, and the special influences of the Holy Ghost; the fruits of this refreshing, already in gathered to the church, are about seventy names. The importance of religious revivals is more extensively felt, their details more impressively heard, and their blessings more generally sought by prayer and suppli cation to the God of Israel, who only doeth these wondrous things. The aggregate of accessions from the world has been larger than at any former period.

On the reverse of this general survey they must, however, impress the usual characters of gloom. The majority of our population give fearful proof of continuing on the wrong side of the controversy of God with the apostate children of men. Where one has been converted, we fear that numbers, too many to be counted, are persisting in their native and chosen courses of sin and death. The supineuess, irresolution, and dubious indications.of some, who "profess that they know God," must be noticed among the most mournful of the occasions of grief. Several painful instances of discipline, and some of them dis

tressful in a singular degree, have occurred in the details of sessional and presbyterial administration. But here the deepest shades of human degeneracy on the one side are gratefully relieved on the other, by the unequivocal evidences that a spirit of discipline is ascendant in our churches, that the vital importance of official faithfulness in dispensing this ordinance of God, our Saviour, is more widely realized than in former times, and that the promise of this spirit is the most propitious to the interest of the gospel throughout our

Address of the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society, to its Auxiliaries and Friends.

At the close of the seventh year since the formation of the American Bible Society, the Managers take the liberty to address the following remarks to the Auxiliaries, the Members, and the Friends of that Institution, throughout the United States. The subject, to which these remarks relate, is deeply interesting to the future usefulness and prosperity of the Society.

Within the past year, by the liberal contributions of a number of persons, principally inhabitants of the city of New-York, and by a temporary loan, the Managers have been enabled to erect, in this city, a convenient building for the permanent use and accommodation of the Society, without encroaching upon its ordinary funds. The advantages which will be derived from the accomplishment of this very desirable and important object, will be great and lasting; particularly by concentrating under one roof all the mechanical and executive business of the Society; and thus enabling those to whom the superintendance of that business has been committed, to introduce into their measures more regularity and system, and to maintain a more constant oversight of all their operations. This remark is especially applicable to the departments of printing and book-binding, the conveniences connected with which are greatly multiplied; and if pecuniary means are afforded for the purpose, the appropriate business of those departments will admit hereafter of a much larger extension. For those means, the Society must be indebted to the liberality of a benevolent and Christian community, and particularly to their Auxiliaries, Members, and Friends, in every part of the United States.

This is,

The situation and circumstances of our land are peculiar, differing in some respects from those of almost all other countries. in the common acceptation of the expression, a new country: many portions of it are strictly and emphatically so. In States recently