his eye on all the town, especially in what concerns the service of God. He has the names of all the inhabitants, observes who are absent from church, and inquires into the reason of it. The town is also divided into quarters, each of which has an overseer. If any misdemeanor happens, the Fiscal informs the missionaries; the delinquent is admonish. ed in private; if he offends again, he is penanced accordingly; if his fault is public and scandalous, he is reproved before all the town. This is generally submitted to with great docility, and the person thanks the Missionary for his care.' "The Protestant reader will make allowances for what is popish in these proceedings, and for the very favorable report of them made by a Capuchin; but the zeal and prudence displayed by the Missionaries demands universal approbation; and Protestants may learn much from the recital.

"The zeal of the Catholics in their missions is boasted of, as a mark of their being the true apostolic church. Muratori says, 'Among all the marks that serve to distinguish the Catholic church from sects delivered over to error, the ardent zeal she has ever shown for the propagation of the Gospel, is one that strikes us most. Guided at all times by the same spirit of charity, she has never ceased sending into divers parts of the earth fervent laborers to plant the true faith. There has always been within her communion, a number of persons courageous enough to undertake without reserve, all the fatigues of so painful an employ, and to expose themselves to all the dangers inseparable from so arduous a task.

'Let all the modern sectaries (all Protestants are no doubt intended) be considered: This heroic charity will not be found among them. They are wholly bent on extending their dominions, and leave the bringing over of idolaters and infidels to the belief of the Gospel to the Missionaries of the Catholic church, and freely resign to them the inestimable advantage of being consumed with evangelical labors, and exposing their lives to enlarge the kingdom of Jesus Christ.'

"The Protestant churches certainly do not merit this reproach, in its full extent; since missionary efforts have been made by Protestants in different countries, for more than a century, and these efforts have been, of late years, abund antly more increased. There is, however, scope for exertions an hundred fold greater still.

"Muratori, in another part of his work, boasts of the Cath●lic martyrs to missionary zeal. He says, page 112, 'The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) may justly boast of a great number of Christian heroes, her sons, who have had the happiness of dying for Jesus Christ;' and he mentions the name of Roch Gonzalez, Alphonsus Rodriguez, John de Castillo, and Peter Romero, with several others murdered by the savages. And he adds, 'I could wish that some one among the enemies of the church of Rome, who carry their aversion to the Jesuits so far, as to expose the zeal of those admirable Missionaries, would only accompany them awhile in their apostolic excursions, to see and examine what they do and suffer for the salvation of souls. He would undoubtedly lay aside his former prejudices; and perhaps what he had seen would make him renounce his error, which the sectaries can never pretend to have been propagated by apostles that could be compared with those of the Catholic church.'

"But it may be replied, that Protestant churches can also produce examples of self-denial and zeal. The labors of Elliot, Brainerd, and other good men in North America; the diligence of the Moravian Missionaries in Greenland and Labrador; the zeal of Swartz, Gericke, Carey, Vanderkemp, and many others, will bear comparison with the Catholics; and among Protestant Missionaries too many, alas! have been murdered by savages, or consumed by their excessive labors.-Burder, fl. 154–160.

"Not much more can be said of all the Catholic conver sions made from Mexico to the Straits of Magellan. The Spaniards and Portuguese are alike buried in ignorance, superstition, and profligacy, even below their bigoted countrymen in Europe. With such examples and such instructors, the state of the poor natives may well be imagined: immersed in the ancient superstitions, they have added all the ceremonies and follies of their new religion, to the absurdities of the old.

"Yet let it be remembered, that, however Jesuits or Capuchins may be despised or condemned by Protestants, their conduct is to us highly reproachful. That we who vaunt a purer Christianity, and have so many nobler motives to animate our zeal have been hitherto so backward in the work of heathen missions, so indifferent about enlarging the borders of Immanuel's kingdom, must be confessed our

guilt and shame, and can neither be too deeply lamented nor too soon amended.

"Among the Protestants, few and feeble were the efforts to spread the Gospel. Ernest, a zealous Lutheran, baron of Wells, felt for the honor of his profession, and for the glory of the Lord, and sought to form a society for a Protes tant mission; but a variety of impediments disappointed his purposes, and no effectual benefit resulted from the attempt.

"The two great nations of English and Dutch were too much engrossed with their commercial concerns to take religion into their view, and utterly neglected this great object. Such a scheme indeed was projected in 1647, and a society was formed under the sanction of Parliament for this purpose; but the confusions which followed, prevented any considerable efforts being made during the civil wars; and zealous as Cromwell professed himself for Christianity, he was too much taken up in securing his precarious dominion at home, to extend his concern to the heathen abroad. At the restoration, the society was re-established; but the temper of that reign was little missionary-the project languished in lukewarmness. All that can be called missionary labor at that time, must be ascribed to the Puritans and Non-conformists who fled to America; to escape the persecution of government at home. Some of these men of God distinguished their zeal in labors among the poor Indians, which were crowned with tokens of the Divine favor. The names of Brainerd, Mayhew, and Shepard, deserve to be had in remembrance: and above all, the excellent Elliot, called the Apostle of the Indians, a title merited by his indefatigable labors and signal success among them; and more especially by his translation of the Scriptures into their language. Burder's Miss. Anec. p. 145, 146.

"Soon after the settlement of the Non-conformists in New England, Mr. Elliot felt himself strongly disposed to attempt the conversion of the native Indians. He was affected with that sentiment which is expressed on the seal of the Massachusetts colony-a poor Indian, having a label from his mouth, with these words, 'Come over and help us.' He was further induced to enter upon this work by the following sentence in the royal charter-To win and incite the natives to the knowledge and obedience of the only true God and Savior of mankind and the Christian faith, is our

royal intention, the adventurers's free professions, and the principal end of the plantation.'

"His first step was to learn the Indian language, for which purpose he hired a native to instruct him, and with incredible diligence formed a grammar, which afterwards he published. Having finished this, he writes, "Prayers and pains, through faith in Christ Jesus, will do any thing.' A sentiment which deserves the consideration of every Christian Missionary.

"He commenced his labors among the Indians in the year 1646, and was favored, by the power of the Holy Spirit attending his ministry, with considerable success. He gathered a church of converted Indians at Natick, and also preached to four other Indian congregations. In the prosecution of his mission he endured hardships. In a letter to a friend he says: 'I have not been dry night nor day, from the third day of the week to the sixth; but so travelled and at night pull off my boots, wring my stockings, and on with them again, and so continue. But God steps in and

helps.' He translated the whole Bible into the Indian tongue, and also schoolbooks, Baxter's Call, and the Practice of Piety, Catechisms, and other tracts. The same spirit which actuated Mr. Elliot, animated other ministers to prosecute the same benvolent design. Some of the converted natives became useful preachers to their countrymen, among whom Hiacoomes was particularly distinguished.

"The family of the Mayhews was eminent for missionary zeal. The reverend Thomas Mayhew became an excellent evangelist to the neighboring Heathen. In a few years there were two hundred and eighty-two Indians who had renounced their false gods, arts, and pawaws; and eight of the pawaws themselves turned to the Lord. After the death of this good man, his father, the governor of Martha's Vineyard, felt so much concern for the poor Indians, that seeing no probability of a regular minister to succeed his son, he applied himself with great diligence to the attainment of the language, and then preached to them with much acceptance and success. He continued to labor among them many years, even to the age of ninety-three; and had the pleasure to see a pious grandson associated with him in the service of the Heathen. This young man, Mr. John Mayhew, labored among them for about sixteen years, and died at the age of thirty-seven, in the year 1689. The son of Joha

Mayhew, the reverend Experience Mayhew, succeeded to the same work, and continued in it about 32 years. Many pleasing instances of conversion are preserved in Mayhew's Indian Converts, extracts from which may be found in Gillies Historical Collections, vol. i. book 3."*-Burder, f. 147 -149.

"In the year 1621 the Dutch opened a church in the city of Batavia, and from hence ministers were sent to Amboyna. At Leyden, ministers and assistants were educated for the purpose of missions under the famous Walæus, and sent into the East, where thousands embraced the Christian religion at Formosa, Columba, Java, Malabar, &c; and though the work declined in some places yet there are still churches in Ceylon, Sumatra, Amboyna, &c." Buck's Theol. Dict. vol. ii, p. 147.

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*The limits of this work will not permit a detail of the labors of Mr. Brainerd and other eminent Missionaries in this country. The following pages will be devoted as strictly as possible to Missions to the Heathen.