1803, Mr. Ward going through a village opposite Calcutta, left a copy of the first edition of the Bengalee New Testament, at a shop in the village, requesting that it might be read by any one who might call there. The result of this was, that without their going to preach in this village scarcely once from that time, within two years there came from the village and were baptized at Serampore on a profession of faith in Christ, the following persons; Krishnoo-dass, an eminent preacher, who after years of acceptable labor, went into Orissa, learned the Orissa language, and labored there 'till that disease compelled him to desist, of which he died at Serampore in 1813, in the full enjoyment of hope, after adorning the doctrine of Christ his Saviour for twelve years. Jugunnat'ha, so devout a worshipper of the log Jugunnat'ha in Orissa, that when a certain rich man on a pilgrimage there, had offered to maintain him in affluence to the end of life, if he would only deign to accompany him, make his house his abode, and thus make him partaker of a certain portion of his religious merit, Jugunnat'ha refused, declaring that he could not live without beholding Jugunnat'ha. He died in the faith of Christ about ten years after. Gour-Dassee his wife, was baptized with him, who departed in the faith about five years ago. Sebuk-Ram, for many years a worshipper of Doorga, who, with his head white with age, still continues to make known the gospel of Christ to his perishing countrymen, beloved by all around him, his bitterest enemies, if he has one, not daring to impeach his probity, his uprightness, and his genuine and decided piety. To these, we might add three others, who through divine grace continue members of the church of Christ to this day. The truth of all this, our Author if he will only visit Serampore, may ascertain

from the widow of Krishnoo-dass, baptized with him, and since his death married to another Christian brother; another fruit of the gospel, this, the marriage of a Hindoo widow, which, never having seen, our Author is as much convinced cannot exist, as a Hindoo is, that the river Thames can never be so frozen over, as for men to walk thereon.

Such then are "the injurious effects to the interests of religion," which have actually arisen from circulating the first and the most incorrect edition of the extremely incorrect versions our Author describes. It must be remembered however, that in all our Author says on this subject, he speaks from mere theory, since he never gave the Scriptures to his numerous flock in the thirty years he was in India. Hence what he says, (p. 28,)"that this sacred book contains in almost every page accounts which cannot fail deeply to wound the feelings of the Hindoos," is all mere supposition. He knows nothing on the subject; and his declaring, (p. 31,) that he could point out in almost every chapter in holy writ, passages which it would be dangerous to exhibit without a long previous explanation to the prejudiced Hindoo, only shews his opinion of that book,— and of the wisdom of its Author; and the ill-concealed pleasure he feels in speaking against that sacred volume which the Divine Spirit declares by the mouth of the Psalmist, "is perfect, converting the soul."

His "decided opinion," (p. 31,) that "to open all at once and without a long preparation, this precious treasure to the Hindoos would be similar to attempting to cure a person laboring under severe sore eyes, by obliging him to stare at the rays of a shining sun at the risk of rendering him altogether blind," is worth precisely as much as a Hindoo's opinion that whoever attempts to walk

over the Thames when frozen, must infallibly be drowned. He has never seen the one, any more than the Hindoo has seen the other. But we must beg to inform him that the Hindoos are not in the state of one with merely "severe sore eyes." In a moral sense they are stone blind: and he himself declares that he has never seen the process "of opening the blind eyes." But we presume that He who sent Paul thus to open the blind eyes and bring men out of darkness into marvellous light; and who himself once brought forth a man whose eyes he had opened, commanding him to look up without fearing his being again struck blind, and when he only saw men as trees walking," touched his eyes anew, that he might see all things clearly, is as well acquainted with the principles of moral as of natural vision;since he is the Creator of both. Our Author's "sore eyed" metaphor therefore, only discovers his gross ignorance, not merely of the power of Him whose work it is to open the blind eyes; but of the moral state of vision among the Hindoos, although he has lived among them for thirty years.-Moreover he must already have forgotten what he has said about the translations. If he compares the Divine word to the sun, surely he will allow that these low, and vulgar, and extremely incorrect; and even unintelligible translations of it, must at least so obscure its rays, as to take away all risk of any mentally "sore eyed" Hindoo's being struck blind by the first perusal of them.

Nor is "his solid food for young babes," in any degree more happy. He must have forgotten that the Scriptures contain milk for babes, as well as strong meat for those of full age: and that Peter recommends them to babes in the spiritual life that they might grow thereby. But what Hindoo babes in the spiritual life did ourAuthor

ever see? Had he been ever favored with such a sight, he would have perceived, that if both milk and strong meat had been set before them and equally within their reach, they would almost intuitively have chosen the former.

As for his giving "that which is holy to the dogs," nothing can exceed the folly of perverting this passage by applying it to giving the Scriptures to the heathen, unless it be the supercilious contempt he expresses towards these poor heathens, already placed by him under "an everlasting anathema." If giving the scriptures to unconverted heathens, be giving that which is holy to the dogs, why did our Lord command his disciples to preach his gospel throughout all the world? Did he intend that the heathen should not have the word of God till after they were converted? How then were they to be born again by its instrumentality? How were they to be "sanctified through the truth," i. e. God's Word? We appre hend that, previously to their being born again or created anew, they were in their heathen state; and that previously to being sanctified, they were un-sanctified and unholy.

It is amusing to hear our author talk, (p. 31,) of the Scriptures being "exhibited to the prejudiced Hindoos after a long preparation !" We beg leave to ask him how long a time he deems sufficient. He himself says, (p. 112,) that "the word of God has been announced to them without intermission, during these last three or -four centuries." Was not this a preparatory season sufficiently long? Why then did he not begin to give them the Scriptures? Surely a longer time spent in preparation than the Gospel accompanied by the Scripturés, occupied in overcoming the whole Roman world under the most tremendous persecutions, must have

been a sufficient time to prepare these poor Hindoos for receiving the Scriptures? And what has been the effect of this long season of preparation? Not a single instance of undisguised piety has our author ever seen! Is he angry then because the Serampore missionaries began immediately to give the Hindoos the Scriptures? If he be however, it will be no wonder. It follows of course that a single instance of genuine, undisguised piety produced by a course so completely proscribed by him and his predecessors, should be as death to him, though it be life to those who love the divine word; for if a fourth of a century have produced only one instance of undisguised, scriptural piety, although some of the versions of the New Testament have scarcely been put into full circulation, what fruit may not a century produce, to say nothing of three? Every such instance of fruit however, will be an eternal condemnation of his predecessors and their church for withholding from Japan, China, and India, the countries forming the objects of its most extensive missions, the Holy Scriptures which alone હું convert the soul."

From the falsehood and dissimulation of his predecessors, among many others flowed one most bitter fruit. Of course when they came from the west to impart brahmanic knowledge to their oriental brahmun brethren, the command of God to Noah, "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you, even as the green herb have I given you all things," formed no part of this knowledge, Hence they were constrained to withhold the Scriptures in order to justify their own deception. While they by precept and example taught how sinful it was to kill cows or any living thing for meat or sacrifice, almost every page of the Divine Word must have been altered, or it would have testified their falsehood to their faces.

P