SUDDEN, YET NOT UNPREPARED.

35

the miseries of this world, and given her such bright hopes of an immortality beyond the grave. Now we may calmly ask, Can Mohammedanism do this? Can infidelity accomplish this? But this is only one of the many results of Missionary labours. Thousands upon thousands have entered the portals of the heavenly Jerusalem in various parts of the heathen world, having had their robes washed in. the blood of Jesus, whom Missionaries preach as the hope of the world to sinners."

SUDDEN, YET NOT UNPREPARED,

THAT Our Lord's summons may be such, He has Himself forewarned us: "in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh." Hence the need to be "ready." It is rather late to set about the work of preparation, when the conveyance, which waits for no man, is at the door. And how blessed, when called, to be found in Christ; to have the lamp trimmed; nothing more to be done but to rest on the Lord's promises, and wait his will.

The following exemplification of that preparation for death which is so becoming in those who profess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is from the journal of the Rev. J. D. Thomas, of Mengnanapuram, Tinnevelly.

April 23-At seven o'clock this morning, went to the neighbouring congregation of Madathuvelie, where I took the morning prayers and preached. The catechist, one of the oldest and most efficient in the district, read the lessons. He did not appear well, and left the church. After service, I heard that he had been attacked by cholera, which has been raging in these parts, and that he had taken some cholera pills. I returned to the bungalow, and, long before noon, was told that he was very ill and fast sinking. I sent him some Jeremie's opiate" in a little brandy, the remedy which, humanly speaking, saved my life some years ago, when I had an attack of cholera while staying with the late dear Mr. Ragland in tents in North Tinnevelly. I further recommended dry hot gram, salt, or sand, to be applied to the body, to produce heat. At noon, as we were going to church, I heard that the medicine seemed to do him a little good. We prayed for him in church, that if it should be the Lord's will to restore him, and spare him to us, He would do so. I took the service, and administered the sacrament to ninety-six communicants. The news when we came out of church respecting Thevasagayam, the catechist, was very sad, and left little or no hope of his recovery. The two other catechists who are stationed in this village had been with him constantly, and spoke of the perfect peace that he enjoyed, and said that he had made known all his wishes with regard to his wife and family, and the disposal of his effects. In the afternoon I went to see our friend. Outside the house I found carpenters busy making a coffin at the instigation of the people, who, from love to their pastor, wished to have every thing ready in case of his demise. The necessity in this country of speedy burial is very shocking to our ideas and feelings. Inside, the sight was still more painful: the strong man had been brought low, his pulse seemed gone, his eyes sunk, his body was cold and clammy, and the mark of death was impressed upon his serene countenance. A great

36

SUDDEN, YET NOT UNPREPARED.

number of people, heathen and Christian, had come into the house: their regard for the man had overcome their fear of the disease. I at once shut the door, which was letting in a cold wind on the poor sufferer, and got hot bottles and fomentations applied to the body, and gave him some more medicine. Soon after, heat was produced in the body, and he began to revive. I then ordered a fowl to be killed and made into strong broth by my cook, which Thevasagayam seemed to relish, and took with great eagerness. This measure was strongly opposed by his friends, it being a foolish native notion that no food whatever should be given at such times. However, through God's blessing, it did him good, and when, at seven P.M., I left the house, there was a considerable change for the better, and every hope of his recovery. Before I went away we had prayers together, and I spoke to Thevasagayam about his feelings, and tried to ascertain the state of his mind. He seemed to have "perfect peace," and was trusting in his Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ. "I am now called," said he, "to make use of those weapons which I have been learning, and teaching others to use for the last twenty-five years. I know there is a crown of glory laid up for me, by the Lord the righteous Judge. I am going to receive it now. I have finished my course, I have fought the fight, Jesus has washed away my sin." It was very encouraging to hear this faithful servant of God thus express his confidence in Christ. May we all have the same like faith! Here is an answer to those who scorn and sneer at Missions. Here is an instance of the power of the Gospel unto salvation to them that believe, whether Jew or Gentile, bond or free, Englishman or Hindoo; and doubtless there are thousands more, whom we know not, but who, nevertheless, shall be found among the Lord's people in that day when He shall appear with ten thousands of his saints.

April 24-This morning, on my way to Naloomavady, called at the house of Thevasagayam: went in, and found, to my great joy, that he had a good night, and was very much better.

April 26-To-day we heard that Thevasagayam, catechist of Madathuvellei, had a relapse, and died at four o'clock this morning. Thus we have lost one of our ablest catechists, a faithful preacher of the Gospel, and a resolute opponent of Romanism. It was a remarkable coincidence that the second lesson on Sunday morning, which was the last portion of Scripture Thevasagayam read in public, should be Paul's solemn and affectionate farewell address to the elders of Ephesus, Acts xx. How appropriate are many parts of that address to Thevasagayam's own past life and labours!

May 5-Prepared a funeral sermon about the late Thevasagayam, catechist, and preached it in the evening to the catechists and school

masters.

Thus the wondrous process is going on: God's elect are being called home. One by one they are summoned to cross the river over which there is no bridge; but so soon as their feet are dipped in the brim of the water, the waters part, and they pass over as on dry ground. "Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!"

THERE IS A RIVER THE STREAMS WHEREOF MAKE GLAD." To most of our readers it will be well-known that the vast peninsula of our Indian empire is bounded on the north by the stupendous chain of mountains called the Himalayas. This vast range, extending as it

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38 THERE IS A RIVER THE STREAMS WHEREOF MAKE GLAD."

does from the Hindu Kush of Affghanistan on the west to the very borders of China proper on the east, effectually separates India from Thibet and the regions beyond, and is covered mostly, in its loftiest ridges, with perpetual snow. To the south of this snowy range, as it is called, the scenery is of surpassing grandeur and beauty, affording a perpetual feast to the traveller who has an eye for the picturesque. But, alas! while all nature is thus beautiful, and every thing around proclaims that the hand which made it is divine, the Hill people, or Puharees, are sunk in the gross darkness of superstition; and the language of the writer's heart and pen, on first coming among them, was, "I feel an increasing desire to be useful to the inhabitants of the lonely mountains. and valleys with which I am surrounded. They are far gone from the knowledge and worship of the true God, and appear to have no hopes. beyond the present world. Oh that the Lord would soon send a faithful zealous labourer for this part of his vineyard!"

Our sketch represents one of the numerous mountain streams taking a last leap, ere it pours forth its waters into the valley below, called the Dehra Dhoon, and joins the river Jumna. This river, with the Ganges, after fertilizing its plain, about eighteen miles in width, forces its way through the Shewallic range of hills which separates the elevated valley, 2800 feet above the level of the sea, from the plains of India. This stream does indeed contribute towards the fertility of this lovely valley; but there is another river, "the streams whereof do indeed make glad,” whose waters have at length, in the good providence of God-which, by-the-bye, we are often so anxious to outstrip-reached the Dehra Dhoon. The writer is. not aware that at the time this sketch was taken a single native convert could be found near the spot. All seemed drear and dark; no single gleam of light had dawned. But the Gospel was to have its conquests here as elsewhere. Samuel, a native of the Hill province of Mundi, was. added to the true fold. His knowledge of the truth was imparted by a Christian lady residing at one of our Hill stations close by. This man was baptized at Benares, and is now employed, and has been for several years past, in making known to others the Gospel message at the Society's Mission at Kot Kangra; sometimes at the station, at other times on itinerating tours to the heathen, being well acquainted with the dialect spoken in that part. "He is very happy in his work, and his influence among the native Christians is more weighty and beneficial. than that of most learned converts. In this country, where acuteness. and other mental gifts are so much more frequently met with than honesty, truthfulness, and disinterestedness, a man like Samuel, who adorns his profession chiefly by these qualities, joined to sincere humility and gentle, winning manners, is a most valuable instrument for good in the Lord's vineyard." So writes one who has seen the first convert and his labours for several years past; adding subsequently to the above—"He is as useful as ever, and we can only pray that the Lord may preserve him thus, and increase his bodily and spiritual health and strength;" and still later of himself and family-"They are a happy, comfortable household, and I wish we had a good many of this stamp in our own and in all our Indian Missions." Then there is Elias, once Hurree Sing, the Rajpoot, who taught Samuel to read, a man of sterner stamp, who was.

brought to a knowledge of the truth himself by reading the Scriptures taught him by an unconverted Hindu of Calcutta-one who has had indeed to endure hardness and persecution and the loss of all things, even to the burial of his wife in her Hill village by his own hands, none daring to help in the interment of a Christian; one who has been made instrumental in the conversion of many of his relatives, and who is now fearlessly proclaiming his faith in Jesus to all comers, in his own mountain home, where thousands pass by on pilgrimage to Kedarnath, one of those snowy peaks which the poor Hindus imagine to be the abode of the gods.

Since then, Tulsi Paul has been raised from the mire of Hinduism to sit among the Lord's people, and is numbered among the ordained ministers of His word. He had not then raised his voice, as he afterwards did in the writer's presence, when preaching on the Hills near our waterfall, declaring his prayerful belief that the Lord would yet gather hundreds from the people. His prediction bas, however, been literally fulfilled, and the colony of Christians in the Dhoon at Martendale, now three other villages being added, called Annfield, with its more than 200 native Christians, is located but a very short distance from the spot represented in our sketch. The pastor, the Rev. Tulsi Paul, is now stricken in years; and has, like Elias, endured the loss of all things for his Master's cause-a true native pastor in his appearance, his habits, his ideas, but as truly Christian at heart. These men are not perfect; they have not been cradled in a Christianity of the growth of centuries, but were reared-if the expression might be used-in the hotbed of idolatry and superstition. Still their boldness and patient suffering for the truth's sake, their self-denial and great liberality, would shame many a one who, like the writer, has been an eyewitness, and been made to feel lowly in his own eyes. Let us, dear reader, then, enlarge upon the prayer of the now aged Tulsi Paul, and pray the Lord, in His own good time, to grant us thousands of souls in the room of hundreds. The native teacher, Tulsi Paul, has stood before the native ruler of this province, and preached in full Durbar, in the visitors' presence, the fulness of the Gospel, and given a reason of the hope that was in him. Let us ask for more Pauls. Elias has endured manfully the bitterest persecution in this province, and has lived down the idea that no Christian could hold his own under the native rule. Let us ask for more men of like faith and courage. Samuel lives to adorn the faith he has embraced in his more quiet path. Let us ask for more Samuels. The grace of God received in the heart can produce such characters; and they would, each and all, confess most sincerely, "By the grace of God I am what I am"-"To His glory be all the praise !"

HOME BLOSSOMS.

WE have been very anxious to introduce into our pages gleanings from home as well as from abroad, notices of what Christians in England are doing to help forward the message of Gospel love to heathen lands, as well as notices of what Missionaries are doing in