Subscriptions and Donations in aid of this Society will be thankfully received at the Baptist Mission House, No. 6, Fen Court, Fenchurch Street, London; or by any of the Ministers or Friends whose names are inserted in the Cover of the Annual Report. P.S. As the Treasurer's account for the year will close on the 31st Instant, it is necessary that all payments, intended to appear in the Appendix to the next Report, should be made in the course of the present month. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. CALCUTTA. Letter from Mr. C. C. Aratoon. Our readers must in general be familiar with the exertions of our Armenian brother Mr. C. C. Aratoon (commonly called Mr. Carapiet), who has laboured for several years in the service of the Society at Calcutta. Two letters written by him to Mr. Pearce in June and July last having been seen by some friends in this country, they have been pleased with the simplicity and piety which they exhibit, and have requested their insertion, in whole or in part, in the Herald. Agreeably to their wishes we have selected the following extracts, which we think will be perused with interest. While the sentiments of the writer have been, in all cases, scrupulously retained, it has been found necessary to make some slight alterations in the language. It will excite no surprise that Mr. C.'s knowledge of our language should be imperfect, when it is considered with how many others he is equally familiar; for besides his intimate acquaintance with Armenian, Bengali, and Hindustani, he speaks also Arabic, Portuguese, and Gujarathi. In the following extracts the reader cannot fail to notice the anxiety felt by the writer for the spiritual good of his countrymen. Like the great apostle of the Gentiles, though employed among the heathen, he still feels an intense de sire for the salvation of his brethren, his "kinsmen according to the flesh." For their use he is preparing a vernacular version of the New Testament; and although he is now nearly sixty years of age, he entertains with delight the intention (if permitted by the Society) of visiting his countrymen, not only in Armenia, but in all the other countries in which they are scattered. Accustomed as he has been to travelling great distances, possessing peculiar habits of observation, and deeply anxious for the promotion of the gospel among his countrymen, we doubt not, if circumstances should permit his journey, that it will elicit much valuable information respecting the Armenians, and, under the Divine blessing, be the means of extensive usefulness among them. Since you left us our dear brother Munshi (Sujaatáli) has written you two letters, the first of which he kindly showed me, and I was quite pleased to see that he had done so well. His writing you has made me keep silence till this day. You have also many letters from our dear brethren, so there remains nothing for me to write; I only notice the little things that perhaps escaped their pen. Some of these I have tried to write and make up a letter for you, as follows. Please to inform the Religious Tract Society in London, that here we want fine Hebrew and Greek tracts; also English tracts on Secret Prayer, against going to the Theatre, against Gaming, and against taking and giving Bribes. We want also an affectionate and evangelical address to disobedient and prodigal children; and also a polite and very respectful address to the children of Britain, some of them high in rank, who have left their wives in England, and now live with a Hindu or a Mussulman woman, and sometimes more than one, to show them how wrong they are. These tracts, and many like them, please to ask them to send out; but above all let Roman Catholics be not forgotten. The Tract Society ought to send out as many thousands of English tracts of various kinds against Popery as they can. I beg you not to forget my humble requests. The Lord of the harvest will reward you for your labours of love, which you know will not be in vain in the Lord. Your very affectionate letter, dated Feb. 18th, I received with much joy on April 25th, and immediately sent the enclosed letter to our dear brother Munshi that he might soon see and inform the other brethren. They all gladly heard it, and promised to prepare a reply, which I hope I shall soon get. Our dear brother Mr. Thomas to my great joy has commenced reprinting with marginal references the modern Armenian New Testament, which, without references, was before printed in Russia in 1834. I thank my Lord Jesus for what my eyes see about the printing of this work. Mr. Thomas has al ready got a small sum of money towards it; but for printing, paper, binding, &c. 500 or 750 copies he wants a larger amount. If you can kindly speak to our dear friend Mr. P. on the subject, and remind him of what Mr. T. has written to him, I doubt not he will kindly assist. Come, my dear Mr. P., try your best, and see if you will not succeed. I have sent you a copy of the Armenian census, that you may have a clear view of the number of Armenians in Calcutta only, and may think how important it is that an edition of the Testament, with marginal references should be printed for their use, and for the use of other Armenians residing all over India. I thank you for your kind half and conditional promise (or, in other words, no pro mise) about my going to visit my countrymen. I look up to Him who is the Lord of all: He will do what is good and right. If you will think and speak to our Society about my going to Armenia, &c., I will thank you; if you do not speak, I shall be sorry, but will not murmur. If our Society will hear you, and let me leave Bengal for a season, they will do great good; if not, let the will of the Lord be done, Amen. I trust the Lord will bless your endeavours for your health, and that within a year both you and Mrs. Pearce will, by the blessing of the Lord, be restored to perfect health. You can then again come here to run the race which is set before you; and if you yet wish to do some good to my dear and helpless nation, and bring with you some other brethren, you may speak to our Society a few words about me, and say, they will never be sorry if they allow me to visit all my countrymen, beginning from India to Persia, and thence to Georgia, and Armenia, and Palestine, and Turkey in Europe, and Rus | sia; and if it please the Lord to prolong my life, and if our Society wish, I can, with the blessing of the Lord, go and see them, and tell them what I have seen and what I have done by the grace of Jesus; and then, if the Lord will that yet I live, I will again come and see my beloved brethren in India, and my dear wife and my poor children. O when * The writer refers to a promise which Mr. Pearce made him when leaving Bengal, that if he could secure the aid of four or five additional missionaries for labour in Calcutta, he would request the committee to allow Mr. Carapiet to leave his duties there, and visit his countrymen as he wished. | will they be converted! I am not discouraged with my work here, nor do I wish to run away from this field of labour, but I see that the Lord raised me up and brought me out of my nation, and yet I have not done so much for my own countrymen as for others. He has mercifully blessed me with such a great knowledge of the modern Armenian language, and of the national manners, and customs, and religion of my countrymen, yet with this, comparatively, I have done nothing. The Giver of all these good things did not give me them for nothing-He gave them that I might use them among my nation. Respecting this, may the Lord's will be done, Amen, and Amen. My dear brother, do not forget to collect about £500 for building a fine brick chapel in the neighbourhood of Bara Bazar. Other Societies' missionaries have occupied some good situations, and built chapels there for preaching, but this part is also very good indeed for attendance, and yet no one has built any chapel there. I beg you, therefore, not to forget on this subject. You cannot get any vacant ground there; you must purchase an old house, you must then pull down or alter the building, and make a fine Baptist chapel among such a great native population. My dear Mr. P. I doubt not that you will try to bring as many missionaries as you can, but besides these we want some others. My humble advice is, if you think proper, that you exhort good people, such as mechanics or others, to come here; they can honestly support themselves, and yet do much good in this country. They may show a good example to their worldly countrymen, by observing the Sabbath, &c., and can preach the gospel of Christ by their holy life and conversation to as many workmen and servants as they may employ. It is true we have a few missionary brethren who support themselves and preach the gospel, but we want more of this kind of people. As the walls of Jerusalem were built by all hands, so, my dear sir, we want in the cause of the blessed Jesus that every hand be employed. The sons and daughters of Britain do now give their money to Bible, Missionary, and Tract Societies. This is all well, yet we want from these good donors something more, i. e. that when their friends and relations are coming to this country, they strongly recommend them to keep friendship with missionaries, and help them as much as lieth in them; besides this, we want their hearty prayers. If they really love the Lord Jesus, they must set apart a day in a week, or a day in a month, for fasting and prayer. Let them pray for the spread of the gospel of Christ and for the conversion of the whole earth, that the kingdoms of this world may soon become the kingdoms of our God, and of his Christ. tor, who recommended my going away for a while, which I did not feel disposed to do. In April I was laid up with a severe attack of bilious fever, which continued about eighteen or twenty days. After which, I began, through the mercy of the Lord, to amend, but very slowly. By that time, although a strong man, I was so reduced as not to be able to stand or walk without assistance. I have every reason to be thankful to the Lord for his great mercy and goodness to me in sparing my life, and per My dear Sir, I hope you will stay in England good twelve calendar months, and not less nor more; but you must take good care, and not live there like our dear Mr. Duff, who went there for the benefit of his health, and yet he is doing so much for his society, by which he seems to forget his own life and health. I humbly beg leave to remind you to take care. Do not run your race in England; here is a field large enough for you to run. If you have not yet forgotten that the harvest in Bengal is truly plenteous, but the labourers very few, then take care of your-mitting me again, though in weakness as yet, self, and your very dear Mrs. Pearce. Please to present my humble respects to your dear Mrs. Pearce, and our dear Mr. Eustace Carey; also to our dear missionary brethren, Rev. H. Townley and Rev. A. Duff. If you see them, tell them both from me, “India requires your immediate presence." I am happy to inform you that all our dear missionary brethren are quite well, and active in their respective stations and departments; and when, if it please God, you come back with good health and strength, and zeal, and fresh vigour, and see them, and what has been done by them, you will be quite pleased. Our dear brother Munshi and all the native brethren, are quite well. He is just as you left him, i. e. faithful, sincere, zealous, and active, nothing less. May the Lord bless him with good health and long life, and with still more of the spirit of prayer. Before you leave England, I hope your dear Mrs. P. will form friendship with some missionary-spirited ladies as well as you with their husbands. In this manner you will try to get five or six missionaries with their wives for Calcutta, to come out before you leave England, or to come with you in the same vessel. At present, besides my preaching in the native chapel and public streets of Calcutta, and attending to the duties of the native church, I am correcting for press the first form of Matthew's Gospel in modern Armenian. I beg you to pray for me to the Lord that I may be counted worthy to see the whole of the New Testament printed at our Baptist Mission press, and circulated here and elsewhere among my countrymen.. PATNA. From Mr. Beddy to the Secretary, dated, Patna, 14th of June, 1837. The principal cause of my having delayed writing so long was a severe and long fit of illness, from which I am now recovering. In last March I began to feel symptoms which led me to suppose something was the matter, to remedy which I took medicine, and not finding relief I applied to the doc to attend to my usual duties. In last November, at Mr. Start's request, I accompanied him to Monghyr on his way down to Calcutta, in his progress to England. There we parted, the Lord only knows, whether ever to meet in this life or not. His design in going home, I have already mentioned to you. I remained some days with brother Leslie, after which he accompanied me about thirty miles on my return home. It is with regret that I have nothing to communicate of a cheering nature; all things go on as usual; our services are variously attended; sometimes I have people who seem desirous of hearing and keeping the truth, and thus my expectations are, for a while, raised, but the real state of the people is awfully wicked, depraved, ignorant and unconcerned. Those that are members of the church, with the exception of Roopdas, continue to follow the Lord, I hope sincerelyhe, poor man, has been excluded, after a long trial and much labour to awaken him and bring him round, which has proved in vain. Indeed it is a question with myself and others whether he ever was a converted man or not, but of this there can be no doubt, that if he ever was alive, he has been for years dead. My principal cause for excluding him was his absenting himself from the church meetings and the Lord's table. Since he was excluded I have never seen him, he never comes near me, and during all my illness never once came to ask how I |