times of a better treatment; but these are exceptions only to the general rule. The Mosaic law, on the contrary, knows of no distinction between the murder of a bondservant and the murder of a freeman. Even if the servant was killed in the heat of passion by a chance blow, the master was punished with the utmost rigour. And if a man smite his servant or his maid with a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall surely be punished.' (Exod. xxi. 20.)

"If again, in the heat of passion, any bodily injury was inflicted by the master upon his servant, the latter was to receive his immediate liberty as a compensation. And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the eye of his maid, that it perish, he shall let him go free for his eye's sake. And if he smite out his man-servant's tooth, or his maidservant's tooth, he shall let him go free for his tooth's sake.' (Exod. xxi. 26, 27.)

"The extreme anxiety of the Mosaic Law for the welfare of those in a state of servitude cannot be shewn in a stronger point of view, than in the following enactment. If a ser vant had fled from a neighbouring nation into the Holy Land, he was neither to be delivered up to his former master, nor to be oppressed by a new one. He was to be considered rather as a sojourner, working for his subsistence. • Thou

shalt not deliver unto his master the servant which is escaped from his master to thee. He shall dwell with thee, even among you in that part where he shall choose, in one of thy gates where it liketh him best thou shalt not oppress him.' (Deut. xxiii. 15, 16.) The justice and the mercy of this enactment are most evident."

They are; and I presume that what was "justice and mercy" in ancient times, and under Jewish laws, is not less so now under the Christian dispensation *; and I am

The Society's tract most truly remarks: "The mercies of the Mosaic Law

utterly at a loss to reconcile with either this "justice or this

mercy," the severe judgment lately given in the case of the poor slave, Grace, that a captive who has become free by breathing British air, shall be "delivered to his master" if he happen to be found in some other part of the British dominions. The writer in the Christian Remembrancer, who, in pleading the cause of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, advocates that of slavery, tells us it is sanctioned by Scripture. The assertion has been often refuted; but at least, if we are to have alleged scriptural sanctions, let us also have scriptural laws; and there is one law which alone would go far to emancipate at once the female slaves throughout the colonies, and, by means of their emancipation, render the next generation free. That law is recorded, Deut. xxi. 10-14; and it enacts, that if a master disgraced a female captive, he was to marry her; or, if he had not sufficient attachment to her to do this, he was to give her liberty: "Thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her for money; thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her."

I am, &c.

AN OLD MEMBER OF THE CHRISTIAN-KNOWLEdge society.

RELINQUISHED MISSIONS: NICOBAR

ISLANDS.

For the Christian Observer.

A VERY interesting and profitable account might be written of early missionary efforts now little known; some having been suspended, others transferred, others wholly relinwere partial; the mercies of the Christian law are universal. The former were to guide the conduct of a chosen people only upon earth; the latter extend to the conduct of all upon earth, and the happiness of all in heaven."

quished, others almost forgotten, from having effected their first ob ject, and the people having ceased to need foreign aid. We purpose, occasionally, to introduce to our readers some notices of this kind, and shall be thankful to any of our correspondents who can furnish us with any memorable accounts from neglected sources, British or foreign, to assist our efforts. The curious details respecting foreign habits, manners, and localities, with which such narratives often abound, will especially gratify our younger readers, whom, as we cannot in conscience consent to entertain with much of the popular, but injuriously stimulating, trash of fiction, we shall be glad to attract, if possible, with interesting, yet at the same time profitable narratives, drawn from historical or biographical

sources.

We commence our notices with the following account of the Nicobar Islands, the manners, customs, and superstitions of the natives, and the abortive attempt made by the church of the United Brethren to convert them to Christianity. Crantz's history notices only, and very briefly, the commencement of the undertaking; nor were other documents accessible till a few years since, when, in consequence of some inquiries by Mr. Wilberforce, Mr. Latrobe requested the venerable missionary, J. Haensel, who had been formerly employed in the Nicobar station, to commit some particulars respecting it to writing. From Mr. Haensel's Letters, and Mr. Latrobe's introductory remarks, we collect the following particulars.

The mission of the United Brethren in the Nicobar Islands, was undertaken in the year 1758, at the particular request of the court of Denmark. The first missionaries arrived in 1760 at Tanquebar: a second company followed them in the same year. According to directions given by the Brethren in Europe, they carefully avoided all interference with the worthy Lutheran

missionaries residing at Tranquebar, by whose pious exertions many Malabars had been converted to Christianity. The Danish East-India Company not being able to renew their settlement in the Nicobar Islands as soon as was expected, offers were made to the Brethren, by the English Governor of Bengal, to settle on the Ganges; but they resolved to wait with patience for an opportunity to prosecute their original aim. This presented itself in 1768, when the Danish govern. ment, having formed a new establishment in the Nicobar islands, six brethren immediately went thither, and settled on Nancauwery. The colonists having dwindled down by death to two European soldiers and four Malabar servants, the factory was again abandoned in 1771. Four of the brethren, however, who survived, remained on the island; and as the means of procuring the necessaries of life, by uncertain communications with Tranquebar, were too precarious, they resolved to venture upon chartering a vessel for that purpose. They succeeded, with the help of friends, in fitting out a small ship, which arrived in 1775 with provisions and other articles at Nancauwery, and returned with the produce of the country; the sale of which, however, by no means repaid the expense attending the outfit. Other vessels missed the harbour; and a variety of other unfavourable circumstances arose, which occasioned the final abandonment of the mission in 1787. The remainder of our narrative will be in the words of Mr. Haensel, from his letters to Mr. Latrobe.

"The Nicobar Islands are situated at the entrance of the Bay of Bengal, north of Sumatra. Nancauwery is one of the southernmost, and forms with Comarty, a commodious harbour. On the north-west point, behind a low hill, on a sandy beach, lay the missionary settlement of the United Brethren, called by the natives, Tripjet, or the dwelling of friends; where I arrived in January 1779, in company with bro

ther Wangeman. We found at Nancauwery three missionaries, Liebisch, Heyne, and Blaschke. The last, being very ill, returned to Tranquebar by the vessel which brought us hither, and soon departed this life. Not long after, brothers Liebisch and Wangeman fell sick, and also departed; and I was soon seized with so violent a fit of the seasoning fever, that my brethren, expecting my immediate dissolution, commended me in prayer to the Lord, and took a final leave of me. After this transaction, I fell into a swoon, which being mistaken for death, I was removed from the bed, and already laid out as a corpse; when I awoke and inquired what they were doing, and why they wept? They told me, that, supposing me to be quite dead, they were preparing for my burial. My recovery was very slow; and indeed, during my whole residence in Nancauwery, I never regained perfect health.

"After the decease of the brethren, Wangeman and Liebisch, I was left alone with brother Heyne. We were both ill, and suffered the want of many necessaries of life: but the Lord our Saviour did not forsake us: he strengthened our hearts, and comforted us by such a lively sense of his Divine presence, that we were frequently filled with heavenly joy, during our daily prayers and meditations. We felt assured, that that God, who suffers not a sparrow to fall to the ground without his permission, would also care for us his poor children. This I have frequently and powerfully experienced, insomuch, that after seven years' residence in Nancauwery, notwithstanding all the pain, trouble, and anxiety I was often sub ject to, I fall down at his feet with humble thanksgiving, and exclaim, The Lord hath done all things well, and I have lacked no good thing. Blessed be my God and Redeemer! Amen.

"The vessel sent to Nancauwery did not arrive till 1781, and brought a very small portion of provisions for our use, and neither wine, nor

the crew

any other liquors whatever; having expended the greater part of what was destined for us on their long voyage, and during a detention of four months on the Malay coast. We were, however, happy to receive brother Steinman, who was young, lively, and every way qualified for the service, so that we promised ourselves much assistance from him; but in less than a month after his arrival, it pleased the Lord to take him also from us by death. You may suppose what we felt on being again left alone, in want of even the most necessary articles of subsistence. But the Lord yet helped us, gave us from day to day our daily bread, and in many heavy illnesses approved himself as our best physician. Oh! how many thousand tears have I shed during that period of distress and trouble. I will not affirm that they were all of that kind, which I might with David, pray the Lord to put into his bottle,' and ask, Are they not in thy book?' for I was not yet fully acquainted with the ways of God with his people, and had not yet a heart wholly resigned to all his dealings. Oftentimes, self-will, unbelief, and repining at our hard lot, was mixed with our complaints and cries unto him. Do not therefore think them so very pure, and deserving of pity as they may seem. Thus much, however, I can truly say, that amidst it all, our Saviour was the object of our hearts' desire; and he beheld us with longsuffering and compassion.

"We were as diligent as our wretched circumstances would admit, in clearing land and planting, to obtain what we wanted for our support; and having only three Negroes to cook, wash, and do other jobs, we frequently laboured beyond our strength, and brought upon ourselves various illnesses. But there seemed no help for it. At the same time we exerted ourselves to learn the Nicobar language, and in the best manner possible endeavoured to explain to the poor natives, the love of God in Christ

Jesus, and the way of salvation through a crucified Saviour.

"Not till 1783, had we the satisfaction to see the brethren, J. Heinrich, Fleckner, and Raabs arrive to our assistance. They came in a Malay prow; the ship in which they had sailed having been seized by a French privateer, which claimed her as lawful prize, because he found on board a few old English newspapers in a trunk belonging to Mr. Wilson, an English gentleman, who had escaped from Hyder Ali's prison. This was pretence sufficient for the Frenchman to seize upon a neutral Danish vessel; nor could any redress be ever procured, to the great loss of the mission. After long and vexatious detention, the mate and the three brethren purchased a Malay prow, and stole off in the night; as the Malay prince would not suffer them to go. Thus we received, instead of our expected stock of provisions, only more mouths to feed. However, we rejoiced to see our dear fellow-missionaries, and did what we could for their relief. The prow being unfit to return without proper sails, we worked up our whole stock of linen and sail-cloth, and even some of our sheets, and were ten days employed in making sails, and fitting her for the voyage. In her the mate, with the brethren, Raabs and Heyne, left us for Tranquebar. I cannot describe my feelings, when I took a final leave of my dear brother Heyne, with whom I had so long shared weal and woe, lived in true brotherly love and union of spirit, and enjoyed so much of our Lord's help and comfort, in days of perplexity and distress." (To be continued.)

EXTEMPORE AND WRITTEN

SERMONS.

Tothe Editorofthe Christian Observer.

In a recent Number of your work, I read a well written paper on the advantages of extempore preaching,

and the disadvantages of delivering written discourses from the pulpit. It is a subject which has often occupied my thoughts; and I confess that the result of my meditations upon it, and observations concerning it, has been different from that of your able correspondent. I shall proceed briefly to state my reasons for the conclusion to which I have come in favour of written sermons.

A

I would, however, beg to premise, that the question, I conceive, is not between an extempore sermon preached and a written sermon read, but between an extempore sermon preached and a written sermon preached. This distinction is by no means sufficiently considered. written sermon read in a pulpit, is not that for which I am now about to plead. I only plead for a written sermon (always supposed sound in doctrine) preached; that is, delivered with earnestness, animation, feeling, proper emphasis, and, above all, with a holy unction of spirit manifest in the preacher. With these qualifications, I think written discourses are to be preferred to extempore ones. I should recommend the former plan in preference to the latter, because I think it better for the preacher himself, and better for his hearers.

I think it better for the preacher himself: he is less exposed to the temptation of vanity, ostentation, and self-exaltation. There is something in the exercise of eloquence which tends to engender those feelings, and, however a real Christian may pray against them, yet a leaven of them, will, in most cases, be found where there is commanding talent; and I think experience abundantly proves this to be the fact. Indeed, while man is what he is, it cannot be otherwise.

I think, further, that many inconvenient effects are produced by extempore preaching, not immediately connected with the delivery of the discourse. The mind of the minister, at least of nine ministers out of ten, is not at ease on the Lord's day. He cannot, with an