the relation of whose experience I listened with more than common interest. It appears they were awakened to a sense of their sin and danger, and their need of salvation, by the conversation of some Basutos, belonging to the churches of the French brethren, with whom they were herding cattle in the fields. By the advice of these native Christians they began to pray; and now they seek to be more fully instructed in the way of salvation, by joining themselves to the com pany of the faithful. May they soon become altogether Christians! I have given the Class-Leader, to whose care they are intrusted, particular directions to watch over their spiritual progress with the deepest solicitude; and hope soon to have the pleasure of hearing that they have passed entirely from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Important as the salvation of the aged is, that of the young, especially with reference to their useful. ness in this world, is more so; and no effort should be spared to accomplish it. On young, thoroughly-converted, and energetic native Christians, will devolve the complete evangelization of Africa: the more, therefore, our numbers are recruited by these, the sooner shall the strength of Heathenism be prostrated,

and the triumphs of the cross of Christ universally manifested.

I am thankful to say, that, while the Basutos are panting for war, and many of them have plunged into it, the Barolongs are still eager for peace, and avoid everything likely to bring them into collision with their enemies. There is not a man, under my pastoral care, who has hitherto ventured to go on an expedition, even at the command of his Chief, without first consulting me as to whether it would comport with his Christian character. This I try to render imperative, as much as voluntary obligation can be so; and so far I have succeeded to the utmost extent of my expectation. At a late meeting of the Chiefs, called by the British Resident for the purpose of settling the disputes between Moshesh and Sikonyela, the Barolong Christians, who accompanied their Chief Moroko, arrested the attention, and called forth the approbation, of many by their strict attention to religious duty. Morning and evening their voices were heard in social worship; and this is their invariable practice whenever they are from home on any particular business. Thus they let their light shine before men, and that not ostentatiously, but with all simplicity of heart.

WHEN I last wrote, we were occupying a temporary residence on a spot which had been selected as a site for our station, on its resumption after the late disastrous war. That spot, though desirable in some respects, was found to be, on the whole, unsuitable for the residence of a native population; and we therefore thought it advisable, ere commencing any permanent buildings, to select a site suited to all our purposes; and none could be found in the neighbourhood more unobjectionable than that of the old Mission, the original Mount-Coke, founded by Messrs. Kay, Shrewsbury, and others on that spot we are now living. A portion of a good Mission-house, sufficiently large for the immediate wants of the Missionary, has been erected, the whole plan of which will be completed at some future time. We have also erected buildings for the purpose of carrying out our proposed plan, as specified in the Minutes of the last District. Meeting of the Kaffirland Branch of the Watson Institution: these comprise commodious apartments for the Teacher and his

family, a large school-room, and workshop.

A suitable Teacher has been engaged, and has already commenced his avocation. As yet, however, we have but few students in the Institution, those expected from various stations not having arrived; but several are daily expected. Connected with our Institution we have commenced a farm establishment, for the double purpose of supplying provisions needful for the maintenance of those resident in the Institution, and also to serve as a model farm, to teach our young Kaffis an improved method of agriculThis part of our plan is under the management of an experienced person, with whom a favourable agreement has been made, and will, we trust, prove a great benefit, pecuniary and otherwise, to the interests of the station. Nearly twenty acres of land are already under cultivation; a large garden has been laid out and planted; and, under the blessing of God conferred in genial seasons, we hope to have an abundant harvest.

ture.

Our religious services are at present held in the school-room attached to the Institution; but our congregations have increased so rapidly, that we must immediately provide further accommodation. We are consequently now busily engaged in erecting a substantial stone chapel, forty-five feet by eighteen feet in the clear. The foundation-stone of this building was laid on the 12th ult., by Mrs. Maclean, the lady of Captain Maclean, Commissioner for the Islambi district. From Captain Maclean and his lady we have uniformly received great kindness they have ever evidenced a desire to promote the interests of the Mission by any means in their power; and on this occasion were not backward by a handsome pecuniary contribution to assist in the erection of our church, as well as by the countenance afforded us by assisting in the ceremony above mentioned.

In the great objects of our Mission I trust we are prospering, and have prospects of still further prosperity. Our congregations are good and attentive. Our Society has received several additions, by removals from other stations it is true, but we have thereby received an impulse which was much needed, to give us a more prominent status among the surrounding heathen population, and we have now a nucleus sufficiently large to exercise a powerful influence around us; and, indeed, it is evident that such influence is already being exerted. The trying days of a new Mission are those in which the germ has but just begun to put forth its vitality: how feeble then appears the energy of Christian truth, and how often has the labourer in the vineyard to fall back upon that faith which tells him, that though now it is the "smallest among seeds," yet surely it shall one day become a tree, and that "the fowls of the air shall lodge in the branches of it!" I trust that the "kingdom of heaven" amongst this people has passed such stage of trial, and is now

putting forth its divine energies, which shall never cease till the glory of our God shall fill the length and breadth of the land.

was.

Last Sabbath was our sacramental occasion, and a most delightful season it About thirty communicants partook of the symbols of our Redeemer's love; and could you have seen those who but a few short years ago were sitting in heathen darkness in the very region of the shadow of death, with hearts full of savage cruelty and abomination, now exhibiting all the eivilizing power of the Gospel in their cleanly appearance and neat attire, joining in the sweet and solemn service of our Liturgy, and with melting hearts eating the broken bread and drinking the wine of Christian fellowship, thus "showing forth the Lord's death until He come," you too would, I am sure, have partaken of the feelings we then experienced, and have wept in sympathy. There is something very touching in the sight of a stalwart man, from whom, perhaps, the severest bodily torture would wring no exclamation of suffering, who would die without a groan, broken down under the sense of divine grace and love, "lifting up his voice and weeping." O the omnipotence of divine love!

Our Kaffir service with the Police is also well and regularly attended. The officer commanding, Mr. Fielding, affords us every assistance, and, indeed, attends the service personally. This service is held at Fort-Murray, distant about three miles.

On the whole, we have great cause to be of good hope and take courage. May the Lord of the harvest be with his servants, and all will be well! More grace, more unction, more of the power of faith on the part of those whom He employs, and the work shall be such as none can let or hinder.

To-morrow I start for Fort-Peddie, where our Revising Translation Committee meet. Our press is now in full work.

THE following extracts from my journal will give our friends in England some idea of the state of the work of God in this part of the world, as also of the great extent of country which Missionaries have to travel, in the discharge of their duties. Indeed, every year opens up fresh and more extended fields of labour and useful

ness, inviting the Christian Missionary to enter, but which he cannot do until the number of labourers is increased.

It may appear strange, but so it is, that the success of our efforts is the cause of our difficulty. Were our work less extended, or were it to extend by slower degrees, we might in that case compass

it, by increasing the number of labourers raised in this part of the Mission field. Although the Lord of the harvest has so far favoured this part of the work, as to raise up fourteen Missionaries and fifty Catechists and other native assistants; yet the numbers raised up bear no proportion to the wants of the cause. I do not say this complainingly. I am well aware of the pressure resting on the Committee from loud and repeated calls for help from all parts of the field. May the Lord of the harvest undertake his own cause, and raise up more labourers in his harvest!

Monday, June 4th, 1849.-To-day I saw three persons who had come from the two new towns formed very lately on the banks of the Orange-River. The name of the one town is Burgers-Dorp, or, "the Citizen's Village;" and of the other, Aliwal, thus designated to perpetuate the memory of the crowning victory of Sir Harry Smith, the present Governor of this Colony. From these persons I learned that Mr. Warner, of Lesseyton, in Tambookie- Land, was lying dangerously ill of the Kafir fever. Aliwal, or, as it used to be called, Buffles Valléi, is a fine open space, containing some fourteen thousand acres of fertile ground, a large portion of which can be irrigated from the sulphuretted-hydrogen springs which issue from two eyes or fountains, both about seventy-eight feet in diameter, and one measuring twentytwo feet in depth. These fountains are very remarkable, from the violent effervescence which they exhibit: large air bubbles continually ascend to the surface. The quantity of water thrown out has been estimated to be 1,496,600 gallons in twenty-four hours. The mean

temperature at the springs, ascertained after several experiments, may be stated at ninety-two degrees Fahrenheit. The water soon chills, is unpleasant to the taste until cooled and exposed for from twelve to twenty-four hours to the atmosphere, and, although slightly "brak," is wholesome and drinkable. Around these fountains is a large collection of peat moss, excellent for fuel. Doubtless this place will become one of the largest and most populous towns of the interior of this part of South Africa. It is distant two hundred miles north of Graham'sTown; one hundred and eighty from East London, the port of British Kaffraria; and two hundred and fifty miles from Port-Elizabeth, the principal port of this part of the Colony.

5th.-Having written to the Chairman to send a supply for Fort-Beaufort, I

started on horseback to visit Mr. Warner at Lesseyton. The morning was frosty when I started in company with a near relative of Mr. Warner; but, intending to reach the Moravian Mission-station, Shiloh, before night-fall, we rode at a sharp pace, and succeeded in coming to that station just as the day closed. Distance from Fort-Beaufort from seventyfive to eighty miles.

We made our journey through the Kat-River settlement, crossing the mountain-range called the Kat Bergen, “Kat Mountains." This settlement is now called Stockenstrom, from Sir Andrew Stockenstrom, the late Lieutenant-Governor of this part of the Colony, who was the projector of this settlement. On my arrival at Shiloh, I was received with that cordial hospitality which marks our Moravian Brethren. This station has four Missionaries, and is in a very prosperous state, both in spiritual and tenporal things.

6th. After a night's rest, we started early from Shiloh for Lesseyton, and, after a sharp ride of another twenty-five miles before breakfast, we arrived in safety at the dwelling of our brother. Mrs. Warner we found almost worn out by constant watchings, first of their son, then of one of the native female members, who had been ill of the same complaint and died, and, after that, of Mr. Warner, who we found had been very ill for fourteen days. Mr. Green, from Cradock, had brought a medical man to see our brother: these had travelled at least ninety miles. Under God, the treatment had proved successful, and we found that a change for the better had taken place.

This fever I have always found very contagious. On one occasion it carried off from the Butterworth station thirteen adults in a very short time. When such contagious diseases occur amongst the natives, they become quite helpless, losing all energy, and thus fall very easy victims to the disease. This I found to be the case in the present instance; and this was considerably increased from the illness of the Missionary, to whom the natives of our stations always look for medical aid in times of sickness.

I may mention the situation in which I found Mr. Warner and his family, to give some idea of the trials, and sacrifices of comfort, which Missionaries, in the commencement of a Mission-station, have to submit to:-I. Very extensive corn-fields, or, as they are called in this country, corn-lands, having long irrigation-courses to bring the water down from

the fountains to the corn-lands: this they had been attending to, so that several ploughs were at work. II. A very large burnt-brick chapel, in a state of considerable forwardness: the roof on, and the thatch already in bundles for thatching. This chapel had been built under the direction of the Missionary, the native inhabitants assisting in the work. III. But, while these important things had been put in train,-the plough, and the substantial house for the service of God, the Missionary had contented himself with a Kaffir hut for his sleeping place, a very small hut for eating, of about twenty feet long and ten feet wide, and a small lean-to of ten feet by six feet, for a study and a place for tools. While Mr. Warner was ill in the Kaffir hut, I had the lean-to for my abode. This, as the study, contained a long shelf, on which were laid at one end papers containing translations into Kaffir, and books of biblical reference, the Dutch Scriptures, Commentaries, &c.; while, at the other end, there were tools of different descriptions, bright with using in building the chapel.

This station, commenced by Mr. Warner, has been called Lessey on, in remembrance of that eminently-pious and highly-gifted Minister of the Gospel, the late Rev. Theophilus Lessey, who has long since been gathered to his fathers. Some of the effects of his labours, during his sojourn in Bath and Bristol in 1816 and 1817, are now to be seen in this distant part of the world. How true it is that "blessed are the dead that die in the Lord they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them!"

The immediate locality of the station bears the Kaffir name of Inhlovokari, "She-Elephant." The origin of this name I am not acquainted with. It is situated beneath a remarkable mountain, called by the Dutch colonists, "Hanglip." This mountain rears its table-top above the surrounding hills. When entering the country from the south and south-east, this mountain presents a very remarkable feature. It rises with a gradual slope, about two-thirds of its height, when it shows a vast cliff of basaltic rock, rearing its frowning front, and overhanging with a southerly inclination: from this it takes its name, Hanglip.

The mountain region about the Hanglip has always been the favourite resort of the tribes of wandering Bushmen, the lion, and the large game of this part of the world. The distressing and destructive wars of the castern parts of Kaffra

ria drove the Tambookies into this country; but the general movement of the Tambookies took place some ten or twelve years ago. Prior to this movement, the nation had greatly suffered from what were called "Ficani " attacks. This mode of warfare was most dreadful. The "Ficani" (so called) attacking force would remain secreted in the forest or bush for many days together, till a favourable opportunity should offer itself of attacking the unsuspecting tribe, when a sudden rush was made in the dead of the night, or at day-break in the morning, upon the kraals, burning the huts, and killing the inmates when escaping. This fearful state of things had greatly diminished the tribe of Tambookies, and caused them to fly to this part of the continent, to get out of the way of the "Ficani." The termination of the last painful Kaffir war brought about the following change:-Sir Harry Smith, in a late Government Proclamation, declared this whole country to be within the limits of the new colonial boundary; thus bringing the whole of the Tambookie nation, the estimated number being thirty thousand souls, within the pale of British rule. This new state of things will bring the nation under new restraints; but if they will but submit to be governed by just and equitable laws, and the Gospel be faithfully preached, in connexion with the operation of schools, we may hope to see this nation rise into a high state of Christian civilisation.

The present population of Lesseyton consists of Tambookies, who were formerly residents of the Haslope-Hills station. These people, having been in service in the Colony, had accumulated a good quantity of stock, in cattle, sheep, and horses, and, having felt the comforts of security of life and property, as enjoyed under the Colonial Government, determined, at all hazards, on remaining in the Colony, and were amongst the first inhabitants of Haslope-Hills; but when the country was declared British, and the whole nation of the Tambookies received as British subjects, the inhabitants of Haslope-Hills removed with all their stock, and settled on the site of the present station; and I am happy to say, they are making good progress in religious knowledge, enjoyment, and usefulness. During the last six months, or thereabouts, a very gracious revival of religion had been experienced by the members of this church and congregation. Not having seen this people since I left the Haslepe-Hills Circuit, I am

enabled to say, that the progress they have made in religion and civilisation is truly great, under the zealous and selfdenying toil of Mr. and Mrs. Warner.

Sunday, June 10th.-The effect of the present prevailing fever is seen on the station, in the absence, from the public service, of the heathen Tambookies. They keep away through fear of the contagion. I preached to a congregation of about two hundred souls; and, in the afternoon, met the largest native Society, speaking the Kaffir language, I had ever seeri. I was greatly affected, and most truly thankful, to see the grace of God in these people. They expressed themselves as most thankful for the six years' toil I had formerly bestowed upon them, toil which then appeared most fruitless. They spoke with many tears of their former sinful state, and especially those acts of deception which they had practised to deceive me. While at prayer together, a very gracious influence rested upon the assembled company. All felt that it was good to be there. Many prayers were offered for their beloved Pastor, that the Lord would restore him to health. May this blessed work of the Spirit continue to spread, till this whole nation shall be brought to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus!

In reference to the work of God, I mention the above station for the encouragement of all labouring in the Lord's vineyard, that though they see not immediate fruit of their toil, yet it is their duty to sow in hope; for on HaslopeHills station I saw fruit among the Hottentots, the emancipated slaves, the Betchuanna, and the Fingoes; but amongst the Tambookies I reaped nothing but disappointment

and discouragement. When leaving for my appointment in the Bathurst Circuit, I was led to press once more the necessity of attending to eternal things. When I mounted my horse, nearly all the male inhabitants rode a part of the way with me.

When we

reached the top of the high Winterberg mountain, having the wide country far beneath us, the whole party dismounted, and knee-haltered our horses; and, while seated on the grass, I pressed the truth home in a parting exhortation, and once more invoked the divine blessing in their behalf. The whole party were affected to tears; but my unbelieving heart suggested, "It is merely the effect of parting." But I find that this was by no means the case, but rather that this proved the "accepted time," from which some of them date the beginning of good things. Thus is seen, in this case also,

the necessity of attending to the words of Solomon: "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand; for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good."

The present opening for the introduction of the Gospel amongst the Tambookies is greater than we have ever had: First, from the nation being placed under British law, there will be an end to the abominable and cruel superstitions of the land. Secondly, the people will enjoy security of life and property, which they never had before. And, thirdly, there is a Christian church of nearly one hundred members alive to God, situated in the midst of the nation. But what are these among so many? What is one Wesleyan Missionary and a church of one hundred members, amongst a heathen population of thirty thousand souls ?

11th. I left Lesseyton this morning, having been favoured in seeing Mr. Warner out of danger; for which I felt exceeding thankful. Several of the people accompanied me part of the way to Haslope-Hills, where I arrived in the afternoon, and found Mr. Shepstone unwell. Being requested, I engaged to preach the following morning at nine o'clock.

12th. The chapel was well filled with attentive hearers. Some considerable feeling was experienced while at singing and prayer, and all seemed to say, "Lord, it is good for us to be here." Although the inhabitants of Lesseyton had been drafted off from this station, yet the inhabitants were quite as many as those I left four years ago. As a proof of the civilising process of the Gospel, I may remark, that I met upwards of four hundred natives, all decently clothed in European manufactures; and saw eight ploughs and four harrows at work, cultivating the soil for wheat. I left Haslope Hills, and crossed the mountain-path over Groen-Nek, to visit a Methodist family residing in one of the valleys north of the Winterberg. I spent the night at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Morris, endeavouring, by prayer and exhortation, to make myself useful to this isolated family. Many of our members are so widely scattered over the country, that we feel great uneasiness about them, lest their absence from the means of grace should cause them to decline in the divine life. About nine P. M. the whole herd of horses came on to the homestead at full gallop during the day they had strayed high up the