their making any offering at all, and told them that I would rather lose my life than sacrifice to their idol; that God was much displeased with them for their idolatry, and exhorted them to leave it and turn to the true God. But I had the mortification of seeing, the next day, that they had been offering a kid; yet I doubt not but I shall soon see some of these people brought from darkness to the marvellous light of the gospel.

25. Had some little spirituality, but much interrupted through the carelessness of our head man. Had some sweet wrestling and freedom with God in prayer. These seasons are but of short duration, but they are little foretastes of heaven. O may God continue them long, and frequently thus visit my soul !

27. Nothing new. My soul is in general unfruitful; yet I find a pleasure in drawing near to God, and a peculiar sweetness in his holy word. I find it more and more to be a very precious treasure.

28-30. Nothing of any importance, except, to my shame, a prevalence of carnality, negligence, and spiritual deadness; no heart for private duties; indeed every thing seems to be going to decay in my soul, and I almost despair of being of any use to the heathen at all.

'31. Was somewhat engaged more than of late in the things of God; I felt some new devotedness to God, and desire to live entirely to him and for his glory. O that I could live always as under his eye, and feel a sense of his immediate presence! This is life, and all besides is death to my soul.

'Sept. 1-Oct. 1. During this time I have had a heavy and long affliction, having been taken with a violent fever. One of the paroxysms continued for twenty-six hours without intermission, when providentially Mr. Udney came to visit us, not knowing that I was ill, and brought a bottle of bark with him. This was a great providence, as I was growing worse every day; but the use of this medicine, by the blessing of God, recovered me. In about two days I relapsed, and the fever was attended with a violent vomiting and a dysentery; and even now I am very ill, Mr. Thomas says, with some of the very worst symptoms. On the last of these days it pleased God to remove, by death, my youngest child but one; a fine engaging boy of rather more than five years of age. He had been seized with a fever, and was recovering; but relapsed, and a violent dysentery carried him off. On the same day we were obliged to bury him, which was an exceedingly difficult thing. I could induce no person to make a coffin, though two carpenters are constantly employed by us at the works. Four Mussulmans, to keep each other in countenance, dug a grave; but though we had between two and three hundred labourers employed, no man would carry him to the grave. We sent seven or eight miles to get a person to do that office; and I concluded that I and my wife would do it ourselves, when at last a servant kept for the purpose of cleaning, and a boy who had lost caste, were prevailed upon to carry the corpse, and secure the grave from the jackals. This was not owing to any disrespect in the natives

towards us, but only to the cursed caste. The Hindus burn their dead, or throw them into the rivers to be devoured by birds and fishes. The Mussulmans inhume their dead; but this is only done by their nearest relations; and so much do they abhor every thing belonging to a corpse, that the bamboos on which they carry their dead to the water or the grave are never touched or burnt, but stand in the place and rot; and if they only tread upon a grave, they are polluted, and never fail to wash after it.'

The points of coincidence between the Jewish people and the Hindus are so very numerous, that both in their religious, ceremonial, and throughout their domestic economy, you are continually reminded of some scriptural term, incident, or usage. When engaged in preparing a harmony of the four gospels in the Bengali language, my Pundit would often interpose the remark, Sir, there can be no doubt but the Jews were originally Hindus.'

'During this affliction my frame of mind was various; sometimes I enjoyed sweet seasons of selfexamination and prayer, as I lay upon my bed. Many hours together I sweetly spent in contemplating subjects for preaching, and in musing over discourses in Bengali; and when my animal spirits were somewhat raised by the fever, I found myself able to reason and discourse in Bengali for some hours together, and words and phrases occurred much more readily than when I was in health.

When my dear child was ill, I was enabled to attend upon him night and day, though very dangerously ill myself, without much fatigue; and now, I bless God that I feel a sweet resignation to his will. I know that he has wise ends to answer in all that he does, and that what he does is best; and if his great and wise designs are accomplished, what does it signify if a poor worm feels a little inconvenience and pain, who deserves hell for his sins?

'Oct. 12. This day Mr. Thomas came to see me, and we spent the sabbath together. We agreed to spend the Tuesday morning every week in joint though separate prayer to God for a blessing on the mission. I felt a sweet resignation to the divine will this day.

13. This day a very disagreeable circumstance turned up. Though the Mussulmans have no caste, yet they have imperceptibly adopted the Hindu notions about a caste, and look upon themselves as a distinct one; in consequence of this they will neither eat nor drink with any but Mussulmans. On account of the four men above mentioned digging a grave for my poor child, the Mundal, that is, the principal person in the village, who rents immediately under the Rajah, and lets lands and houses to the other people in the place, forbad every person in the village to eat, drink, or smoke tobacco with them and their families, so that they were supposed to have lost caste. The poor men came to me full of distress, and told their story. Mr. Thomas being with me, we sent for the principal Mussulmans in the neighbourhood, and

inquired whether they thought these men had done any thing amiss; and they said, no. Then we sent two Hircarrahs* to call the Mundul who had forbidden the people to have any intercourse with them, but with secret orders to bring him by force if he refused to come. He soon came, however, and then said that they had done no fault, and that he would smoke but not eat with them. As we knew it to be a piece of spite, and a trick to get money, we placed two guards over him, and told him that he must either eat and drink with the men before the men of his own village, or stay here till we had sent the four men to Dinagepore, to the judge, about the matter. He stood out, however, till about dinner-time; when, being hungry, he thought fit to alter his terms, and of his own accord wrote and signed a paper, purporting that the men were innocent, and he a guilty person. He then went away and gave them a dinner, and ate and drank with them in the presence of the people of the village, and persons whom we had sent to witness it. Thus ended this troublesome affair, which might also have proved a very expensive one if it had not ended. thus. I feel these things; but, blessed be God, I am resigned to his will, and that makes me easy under all.

14-20. Very ill, and scarcely able to crawl about; but supported through all by the upholding hand of a gracious God.

'Mr. Udney, having for some time past designed to settle me in a more healthy spot, this having proved remarkably unhealthy, had projected a jour

* Messengers.