the resort of robbers and dealers in contraband goods. The accompanying sketch is taken from the mouth of one of the caves. The foreground of the picture represents the gardens; beyond them lies the city from the very centre of which rises the hill which is surmounted by the Areopolis.

Aleppo is a missionary station. It has been occupied for about two years by Messrs. Ford and Benton, who meet with much encouragement in their labors among the Arabs. There are also Armenians in the city, some of whom have embraced the gospel.

THE GREAT OBJECTION OF THE HEATHEN TO

CHRISTIANITY.

Mr. Allen, of the Bombay mission, said in 1834, that the greatest objection he had to meet from the mouths of the heathen to Christianity was, how a religion revealed so long ago, and of such infinite importance as it professed to be, should not have been made known to the people of India before. What answer can we give? And let all the children and youth who read this publication remember that this question is growing more and more difficult to answer, the longer we wait. It is to be hoped that many of our readers may be permitted, in the providence of God, to go and answer this objection of the heathen in person. Yes, go and tell them that your fathers were very neglectful of their duty, and you have come to make amends; that the fault was not of Christianity, but of those who professed Christianity.

A HEATHEN CHILD'S OPINION OF GOD'S GIFTS.

The question was proposed to some Hottentot children who were in a course of education at a mission station, "Do we possess any thing that we have not received of God?" A little girl about five years old immediately answered, "Yes, sir,-SIN."

CHINA.

On the 14th of October, 1829, a large ship was seen moving majestically out of the harbor of New York, with the stripes and stars at "the peak," and a blue flag at "mast head," with a large capital R in the centre. This was the ship Roman, Captain Lavender. She was owned by Messrs. Oliphant & Co. of New York, and was bound on a very long voyage. Many good people felt a deep interest in her, and put up many prayers that fair winds might carry her swiftly on her way, and bring her in safety to her destined port. She was going to Canton, in China, which is quite on the other side of the globe, and would require probably four months or more to make the passage. think there are few young readers of the Dayspring who would not get very tired, if they were to be shut up in the narrow bounds of a vessel four long months; and yet we hope many of them would be willing to suffer a great deal more hardship than this, in order to do good to others.

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Now, in this vessel there were two missionaries going to preach the gospel to the Chinese; and it was for this reason that the good people thought so much of her, and prayed so much for God's protecting care over her. These missionarics were Mr. Bridgman and Mr. Abeel. Mr. Abeel went out first as preacher to the American and English seamen in the port of Canton, but afterwards became a missionary to the Chinese; and when he had labored many years very faithfully for their salvation, he came home and died. He was a very good man, and he lived only to do good; and when his time came to die, he was very willing and happy to go, for he knew he was going to be forever with the Lord.

The missionaries were just four months and six days on the water; and when they landed in Canton, they found only

one Protestant missionary in the whole country, and that was the venerable Dr. Morrison from England. They had very pleasant intercourse with him, and with one another, in their new lodgings in the house of the American consular agent; but they said, "Without, all is dark as midnight. The whole city is given to idolatry. Every where are the temples, and altars, and offerings, and votaries of strange gods.” How very sad they must have felt to see so many millions of people, all strangers to the Lord Jesus Christ, and having nobody to teach them the way of life. In China it is supposed there are more than three hundred millions of people, all of whom were at that time idolaters; and the missionaries had come to persuade them to throw away their old religion, and the religion of their fathers, and receive the religion of foreigners whom they despised and hated! What hope was there of success? Mr. Bridgman said,

about that time, in a letter, "We have great need of faith, and of the constant and fervent prayers of our Christian friends. Three or four native Christians in China, Mr. Gutzlaff on the coast bound in the Spirit to Pekin, six or eight missionaries at the Straits, and at Bangkok, and ourselves here, constitute but a feeble band, ridiculous in the world's eye, going to convert China!"

At that time foreign merchants were permitted to reside and do business only at Canton, and it seemed necessary that missionaries, too, should shut themselves up in that city, unless they chose to put on the dress and appearance of a native, like Mr. Gutzlaff, and thus travel in the interior. By the providence of God, however, five different sea-ports have since been opened for foreign trade, and missionaries may live at any of them and travel almost where they please. The government does not try to keep the people from going to hear the missionaries preach. There are about twenty missionaries and assistant missionaries now in China under

the care of the American Board, stationed at three cities,Canton, Amoy, and Fuh-chau. And besides these, there are a great many other missionaries from America and England and Germany, at the different ports. The people seem very ready, and sometimes anxious to hear preaching; and they now and then ask the missionary to stop in the street and preach to them; and when he closes his sermon, they beg him to say more. Dr. Medhurst, an English missionary at Shanghai, has about two hundred Chinese to hear him every Sabbath forenoon, four or five hundred in the afternoon, and as many more in the evening. In Canton, the gospel is preached every Sabbath in five different places in the city, to four or five hundred people in all. It is a very common opinion among the missionaries, that China is on the eve of mighty changes. Has not God heard the prayers of his people? And will not you pray more than you have ever done, that the people in this great empire may all become followers of Christ?

END OF MIKA, THE SANDWICH ISLAND BOY WHO BROKE THE SABBATH.

Mika was about eleven years of age, and was a native of Oahu. He was a wicked boy, and in disobedience to his father, who told him to go to the Sabbath school, he went one Sunday, for mere pastime, in pursuit of some goats among the rocks. One of the goats got upon a projecting crag from which it could not return, and Mika climbed the precipice above until he reached a spot directly over the goat, from whence he was preparing to throw a stone to frighten the animal down, when he lost his balance and was precipitated on the rocks below. He was not killed immediately, but there he lay all night, no doubt in the greatest suffering, with no one to come to his relief; for no one knew

he was there. The next morning the owner of the goat, seeing it on the precipice, went after it, and there he found the poor boy, who had apparently just ceased breathing, for his body was yet warm. His head and breast were dreadfully bruised. O how much better would it have been for him, if he had obeyed his father, and kept also the law of God, instead of going off in the fields to play on the Sabbath!

A HOTTENTOT'S REPROOF TO CHRISTIANS.

A simple Hottentot, having experienced the blessedness of the gospel in his own soul, and the sweetness of a Savior's love, asked a missionary why Christians, who have so long had this treasure, did not sooner send it to the poor perishing people of Africa. The missionary tried to explain the matter as well as he could. "Oh, but," said the other, "it was not right of your people when they found this sweet honey to say to one another, 'How good this honey is! how sweet this honey is!' Why did they not break off a piece of the sweet comb, and send it to others?”

WHAT CAN MAKE A HEATHEN HAPPY.

A missionary in India, meeting one day a native Christian female, one of his own flock, asked her how she felt. Happy! happy!" she answered. "I have Christ here," laying her hand on the Bengalee Bible, "and Christ here," pressing it to her heart, "and Christ there," pointing towards heaven. Happy was she indeed, for to whatever part of the universe she might be removed, she was sure of having Christ with her. And how did she first learn of Christ? By the preaching of the missionaries. And so may every heathen man and woman on the globe be made happy in Christ the Savior, by the blessing of God on the preaching of missionaries.