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Maryland State Archives Maryland Colonization Journal Collection MSA SC 4303 msa_sc4303_scm11070-0076 Enlarge and print image (5M) |
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Maryland State Archives Maryland Colonization Journal Collection MSA SC 4303 msa_sc4303_scm11070-0076 Enlarge and print image (5M) |
| 80 MARYLAND COLONIZATION JOURNAL. Female Piety. There is a ray of liallow'd light, That beams from woman's eye ; From Heaven it wing'd celestial flight, Its fairest work to guide aright, Homeward through the sky : Its brilliant ray reflects a flame That lights the soul to bliss ; The sweet reward its vot'ries claim. In Heaven a place, and here a name. Can fears of death dismiss. The heart where kindred merit dwells, It lights with grateful love; Its balm all mental wo dispels, And heavenly peace the bosom swells, To raise its thoughts above ! The prince and peasant at its shrine, In homage bow the knee; Love, faith, and charity combine To make its pathway brighter shine— From earthly follies free. Around the calm domestic hearth It yields a genial joy; It sheds a ray of hallowed worth, Pure as the dew that morn gives birth- No cares can e'er destroy ! 'Tis there, retired from worldly glare, For happiness we flee ; Kneeling in holy, fervent pray'r, The calmness of devotion share, With spotless Female Piety. I wish he would decide : I wish he would decide, mamma, I wish he would decide ; I've been a bridesmaid twenty times, When shall I be a bride ? My cousin Anne, my sister Fan, The nuptial knot have tied, Yet come what wflL I'm single still— I wish he would decide ! He takes me to the play, mamma, He brings me pretty bcoks, He woos me with his eyes, mamma, Such speechless things he looks ! Whene'er I roam—abroad, at home— He lingers by my side; Yet come what will, I'm single still— I wish he would decide! I throw out many hints, mamma, I speak of other bum, I talk about domestic life, And sing 'They don't propose.' But, ah ! how vain each piteous strain, His wavering heart to guide; Do what I will, I'm single still— I wish he would decide ! I really shall insist, mamma, If nothing intervenes, My brother Thomas questions him, And asks him what he means ? And if he wants to break, mamma, My passion or my pride, Uncontiuered yet, shall scorn regret, I wish he would decide. whole population has been changed 'from dark- ness to light. and from the power of Satan unto God,' nevertheless we can confidently assert that more has been accomplished during a few years than could have been anticipated by the most sanguine believer in the feasibility of christian- izing Africa. Though slavery is not entirely aban- doned, we know that many of its principal marts are; and there is little room for doubling that the frame in human flesh and blood has received a check from which it can never recover. Certain it is, that wilh a lillle renewed effort and support from home, we will have closed in the coast, and then it must be relinquished ; the united energies of the missionary and colonization societies will bring about that event. Though Devil worship has not been entirely superseded by the knowledge of the christian's God, in many places it has; and now we can point the skeptical to numerous green and verdant spots in this hitherto vast, barren desert, winch are redeeming qualities in the (iice of Africa's destiny ; portions that denote the return of the wanderer, and a desire to bo numbered among the foid of Christ's people. From the suc- cess which has thus far crowned the exertions made, we may look forward to a period not far distant, when Africa shall send In if 'wise men from the east' to inquire concerning the dawn of the Qospel light which is now breaking in upon its western verge, and when these beacon rays shall have gathered strength anil arisen from feeble twilight to be the full sun of righteousness in meridian splendour, diffusing light and gospel pri- vileges to the perishing millions who are travers- ing the wilds of Africa, with minds degraded to tlir lowed possible extent, and shrouded in igno- rance by gloomy superstition, and the false doc- trines of Mohammed. Then shall the heralds of the cross be sent and received to plant the ensign of the Gospel throughout this land; because she who has been oppressed by all nations, and looked upon as being inferior in God's creation of intelli- gent beings, shall stand forth in purity and walk in the precepts of the book of holiness, and appear among the redeemed with shouting ami great rejoicings; then shall 'the wilderness and the soli- tary place be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.' It is but a few vears since the christian church , to (From the Christian Advocate and Journal) Letters from Africa, To the Cor. Secretary of the Missionary Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Monrovia, West Africa, April 22, 1838. Very dear sir:—The knowledge which I have of your ardent attachment to the missionary cause—your personal devotedness to its interests— and the enthusiasm with which you receive intelli- geuce which relates to missionary operations, and the advancement of Christianity in foreign and heathen countries, added to my personal acquain- tance with you—are my apologies for wishing to occupy a few minutes of your time in giving you a cursory account of the state and prosperity of your mission in Africa, and ebo Hi wants, and reliance upon your efficient board for the means to enable it to continue its onward inarches toward the gigantic conquest had in contemplation—that of making this widely spread heathen and idolatrous country tributary to the christian religion, and of establishing peace and happiness in all the borders of this vast continent, through the benign influence of lmmanuel's banner, which shall be seen to wave high o'er the battlements where Satan, for so many centuries, has held an undisputed sway. I am induced to believe that a letter from me through you to our missionary board will not be deemed altogether preposterous, inasmuch as my own feeble efforts are given to further the same glori- ous undertaking; and residing in the midst of the operations, witnessing the triumphant achieve- ments of Messiah's kingdom, I am anxious to add my humble testimony in behalf of the good result- ing from the means and labours which you have expended upon these benighted shores. If the limits of a letter would permit, we might take a view of the extent of the field, which is truly great, 'and white already to harvest,' of the heathen millions who reside in this country—of the manner of their superstitious worship, and of the gross moral darkness which has till recently every where pervaded the whole lamP; but I shall content myself with glancing rapidly at the com- mencement of better days in the history of this forlorn daughter of misery, whose powers have been made to bow and succumb to idolatry, and whose visage wears a darkened aspect from despair alone. But a few years since, and this vast and popu- lous country was in total darkness. Here igno- rance and superstition Bad erected their temples, which towered to the skies, and their votaries and victims were no others than all the fatten sons of Adam who resided in these regions. The mini. bers of the human family were bought and sold, and eaten by their fellows, with impunity; the coast 9Warmed with slave ships; polygamy, and every adulterous and incestuous vice, and degra- ding passion was fully indulged ; the mental heal. tie9 of the human species wen reduced almost to a parallel with the brute creation, and the naked- ness of the intellectual part was only equalled by the entire nudity of the corporeal form The devil was worshipped as the true God. and the inferior animals esteemed as deities, before whom they bowed with reverential awe. Such is but a faint picture of that depraved human nature which was here presented to hose that first came to bring 'good tidings of great joy to those which sat in the region and shadow of death;' and though we cannot now say that the aroused itself from its lethargy and slumbering put forth its energies in behalf of this long neglect- ed, but vitally important corner of the great moral vinyard; since which time the different branches of the church militant have seemed to vie with each other in striving to be foremost in the grand and benevolent enterprise: and if I were desirous of portraying the zeal manifested and good accom- plished, by selecting and giving as an example any one point of this coasf, none appears to be more suitable than the one from which 1 write—Monro- via. This place, which possesses every religious enjoyment and civil privilege, an industrious community, intelligent citizens; in a word, atown containing public buildings and private dwellings, built of brick, stone, rough cast, etc. combining all the comforts and many of the luxuries of life, was, less than a score of years since, known as one of the principal 'slave factories,' where the inhabitants were sold in cargoes by the native kings to the slave-dealer. This very rock was known far and wide, by the Spanish slave cruiser, as a place from whence he could get a valuable cargo, ami take his departure for foreign isles heavily laden with the blood and sinews of Africa's children. Here, upon the very spot where are erected our churches, whose altars have been dedicated to the worship of the living God, human victims have been offered in sacrifice to appease the idol deities;—here man and beast prowled widely in search of each other; and here was •the Devil's bush,' under which the 'devil man' sought instruction and light from the prince of darkness, and around which native palavers were held. But the long established slave system, and the rude and savage state of the natives were not all the obstacles and impediments that the missionary had to contend with—an inhospitable and un- known climate, the diseases of which swept them nil', scarcely tearing one to tell the story. Per- haps the first who attempted to secure a residence here, as missionaries, were the Moravian-;, from Switzerland; and though they were 'men of clean hands and pure bearhvand laboured arduously for the spread of their Master's kingdom, yet they (ell victims to the destroying and Withering influences of the diseases of the place : their ranks were sup- ported and filled by new supplies from homo, until there were no others to volunteer to fill the vacan- cies made in their numbers by the 'noisome pesti- lence.' Thus they, "ho were never before known to abandon any station because of persecution or hardships, relinquished Monrovia, and recalled the remaining weakened and enervated individuals, and appointed them to other fields of labour con- taining fewer privations and less of suffering. Other branches of the church, believing it their duty to do something for this bleeding country, sent their pioneers to prepare the way; but they too suffered in common with those who had pre- ceded them, and perished in the undertaking. The BsptistS, the Methodists, and Presbyterians sent their messengers to proclaim liberty to the captives, and to support the blood-stained banner which had been erected j for this they toiled, and strove hard to maintain their ground, hut they were speedily carried away 'by the destruction that wasteth at noon-day :' here we have the ashes of a Cloud, a Savage, a Laird, a Coy, a Wright, and a score of others, who all died martyrs to the cause in Monrovia. Some who thought to escape death by a residence in other countries, unable to endure the voyage, sunk, and 'are in the deep bosom of the ocean buried,' while a few reached tln-ir homes happy to die in the bosom of their friends. Notwithstanding death made haste to throw his deadly arrows, yet these beloved ones have left a name behind them that will endure and be venerated by the people here as long as Chris- tianity shall continue to be taught, or the agitated ocean to cast up its troubled billows upon the borders of the plot of ground in which they lie. And we who now occupy the territory arc "com- pelled to exclaim, 'What hath God wrought!' Surely 'the lines have fallen to us in pleasant places.' 'Other men have laboured, and we have entered into their labours.' Though the Moravian, the Baptist, and Presbyterian missionaries have all forsaken this place, yet 'thanks be to God who giveth us the victory,' and hath upheld the efforts made by the Methodist E. Church, that she con- tinues to survive and spread abroad a shadowing influence, tint only in Monrovia, but in every settlement in Liberia, over all who avail them- selves of her doctrines and institutions. My dear sir, it is certainly a source of much thankfulness and rejoicing that our lives are spared, add we permitted to stand and live ami enjoy good health upon tlie very graves of greater lod hitter men. Why it is, we know not; but 'it is the Lord's (loins;, and it is marvellous in our eyes.' The church is moving forward most un- prcccdentcdly; nearly all the settlements have drunk largely from the great Fountain Head. I have witnessed thirty and upward around the altar atone time, praying lor the regenerating influences of the Holy Spirit; among which nuinher were several natives, sons arid daughters of the forest, who have renounced theii 'greegree idols',' and proved 'that of a truth God is no respecter of per- sons, hut, in every nation, he that fearcth him and workcth righteousness is accepted of him.' We have a class of children and native converts which meets weekly at our mission house ; arid I assure you, that to hear the simple unvarnished tale of the sweets of pardoning love, as told by those children, is sufficient to melt a heart, though it be as hard as the nether mill-stone. We have a large and commodious stone and hrick church, a convenient mission-house, and (he walls nearly completed for an academy. Brother Seys thus far has acted as principal; the pupils nuinher hetter than one hundred, and for the present meet in the church till the academy is completed. At the other settlements and towns we have mission-houses, churches, and school- houses ; at Millsburg, a nourishing manual labour academy. The land lies before us, and looks invitingly. Send us help ; send us men of stature—giants; and 'let us go up at once and possess it.' from the knowledge which 1 have acquired Ivy nearly a year's residence in this country, I am prepared to say, that delicate and weakly individuals are not the best calculated to endure the Influence! of this climate; and perhaps the remark will hold equally good in a mental as well as physical sense. Men are wanted to go into the interior who arc possessed of sufficient stamina of constitution to undergo the hardships consequent upon such a life, and who would he fully able to meet the cavils of, and argue with a well taught Mohamme- dan, and convince him of the superiority of the Bible and its doctrines over those of the Koran. The mission also much needs a suitable person to take charge of the academy, as principal. The many and arduous duties of the superintendent so frequent!} demand his presence at the other towns, that it is impossible for him to continue to fill the chair; and lastly, can you not send a printer, and printing establishment? The cause demands it. We greatly need an organ through ir/uVA ice MR be heard, and let the American people know that they are not giving their thousands to the Liberia Methodist mission for nothing, Would a semi- monthly paper, edited by your superintendent id' this mission, not get a sufficiency ojf subscribers in America and Liberia to support it ? From three to five hundred might be obtained here ; besides the office would be of great advantage in printing the smaller books and cards for the schools. With the assistance that I have just referred you to, and the continued blessing of God, we shall go on prosperously. O try, and awaken the peo- ple to a spirit of increased liberality ; it is a glo- lions cause, inasmuch as it is only lending to Him who hath said, They shall receive a hundred-fold in this present Hie, and in the world to come life everlasting. I sincerely believe that every twenty dollars expended here will 'save a soul alive.' Who can estimate the benefit and influence of (hat soul in turning many from darkness to light! Who would refuse out of their abundance to throw that pittance into the treasury of the Lord. Are there no young men at your different universities or colleges that will volunteer for Africa? To live in Liberia is not to die; myself, and others with me, enjoy nood health. The two females who came out with me have been teaching school, one at Alillshurg, the other in this town, for seve- ral months, with but little interruption hv fever. Miss lieers has taught three months, without a day's intermission. The Rev. Mr. Seys continues to visit all the stations down the coast, and up the rivers. Mrs. Seys has been quite poorly ; she has borne Hie heat ami burden of the day in Africa. The Rev. J. B. Barton, his wife and mother,have all had several trilling attacks of fever, which only lasted a day or two each ; they are now Well, ami appeal to be acclimated. We are happy to know, that, not only in Africa, but by recent accounts given in the Advocate, the ark is moving forward in all the missionary sta- tions: goodly report! are published from South America, Green Day, and the Rocky Mountains, which greatly revives our courage by the way. From the simultaneous effort now making, we may reasonably conclude that the time is not far distant when 'the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands, will shortly break in pieces the iron clay image, and scatter it as the chad' of the summer threshing floors—and fhe wind shall carry them away that no place will lie found for them, and itself increase and fill the whole earth." I perceive my sheet is filled. 1 fear the great prolixity of this letter will weary you. My health H good; mv privations have been lew; ami if 1 wrrc to write of half the comforts and enjoyment! that I possess, you could scarcely credit it. With much esteem, 1 remain very respectfully yours, ttc. S. M. E. Goheen. Remarks—Though we have advertised for a teacher to take charge of the Academy in Liberia, no one competent has yet offered himself. Who will come up to our help in this matter? N. B. Mount Emory, W. Africa, April 12, 1838. Ilr.v. ami hear sir:—Your letter of the 24th of August reached me when at Monrovia, attend- ing the conference ; but I bail not time to reply to it then, before the vessel by which I intended to send it, put to sea. But as the Kmperor sails to New-York soon, I embrace this opportunity of giving the information you desired of me. Hut first, I must express my gratitude to you for the kind advice and encouragement which your letter bore to me, and for those ties of friendship and christian respect that it breath ad, which neither time, nor distance, nor unworthiness ran sever or impair. 1 was gratified to learn that my communication afforded yourself and Mrs. Terry the least satisfaction, anil that I could be the humble instrument of adding one pleasant sensa- tion—if it he but as a 'cup of cold water'—to minds professedly, anil, I trust, exclusively, en- gaged in extending the reign of Messiah, and gathering the lost sheep, 'scattered and peeled," without a fold and without a shepherd, within the pale of the church, and to the communion of saints. I need not here again express my solicitude for you and yours—and need nut say it is my fervent prayer that pea may possess a large share of sanctifying and quickening grace, and that youn may always inherit a Saviour's family blessing. Your tir-l question is about my health. As to this, sir, it is better now, and has been, since about the time 1 wrote you, than before. On the whole, I can say with truth on my side, that it is much better in Africa than it was in America. When I refer to my health in America, I speak of that presence of acute pain by which I was unable to pursue any thing with the well founded hope of a successful termination. From that annoying disability I am greatly relieved in Africa; but, as was to be expected, a constitution formed in a temperate, has suffered enervation by a removal to, anil continuance in a tropical climate. 2d. Mrs. Burns is a native of the city of Balti- more, of French descent, educated a Catholic, but emigrated with a brother-in-law and two sisters to this colony, at its first settlement. One sister died with the fever. The rest have, since my coming to l'abnas, been converted and joined our society. They are now walking in the fear of God, and comfort of the Holy Ghost. I have tried a married life now one year, and I believe that this union is promotive both of my happiness and usefulness. Lastly. We are trying to point our societies to the advance grounds in holiness, and they are coming up to them as fast as could be expected of persons in their circumstances, It is a matter put out of the reach of Controversy, that 'the hus- bandman must first he a partaker of the fruits,' in order to a clear, pointed, and winning description of their properties and taste. In raising the standard of christian experience and privilege, we cannot, if we have not ourselves been partakers 'of the powers of the world to come,' but bo affected under a conviction of our lameness and our leanness. It is a subject about which if we talk, 'the lire burns;' so that, whether we have obtained the blessing or not, I believe it is 'good for us' to hold it up, represent, and look at it. Recently I feel an unusual degree of liberty in preaching the Gospel of Christ, and our congre- gations are overflowing, and weeping congrega- tions. In fact, sinners are beginning to cry for mercy. O may they obtain it! Amen! I ex- pect that the ship which carries this across the great waters will also hear our beloved superin- tendent, the Itev. John Seys, and family to your shores. I hope you will tlo me the favour of calling upon him, if there are remaining inquiries to be satisfied. He undoubtedly will take plea- sure in answering them. But if by 'persuading him to come home,' you meant evacuating his post entirely and finally, I beg leave to record my dissent from your opinion. He is too much beloved and too much depended on to forsake us now. Besides, he is too deeply wedded to our interest to make up his mind to such a measure. JVo, sir, nothing hot the flat ne- gation of the board to his farther labours in Africa will bring him from Africa's shores entirely, ami cause him to bid adieu to a scene where lie has laboured and suffered so much for Christ's sake. But I must bid you adieu. My regards to Mrs. Terry. Yours, most humbly, Francis Burns. New-York, June 23, 1838. Rev. and dear brother:—The writer of the accompanying letter is a member of the Liberia Conference, and stationed at Mount Emory. This brother was converted on what is now known as Windham circuit, Delaware district, New-York Conference. From the time of his conversion until he left our shores for Africa, he led a life of ardent devotion—improving his mind, as he had opportunity—to secure which, it was his custom to carry in his pocket constantly some useful work. He at one time taught a district school composed of white children, and gave general satisfaction. If you think there is any thing in the letter which would he pleasing to your readers in gene- ral, I am sure that among his numerous friends, who are in many instanees the patrons of your paper, any Information in relation to him, ami the blessed work in which he is engaged, will be matter of great satisfaction, and serve perhaps to keep their hearts warm in the good work of send- ing the Gospel to the ends of tie' earth. Respectfully your friend and brother, David Terry. Liberia.—The Norfolk Herald says, we are gratified to learn that letters lately received from Liberia represent our interesting colonies in that country as growing and thriving as we could wish. The following is an extract from one of them, from the Rev. Beverly Wilson, (well known here) to a gentleman in this Borough, dated, While Plains, Millsburg, May 12, 1838 Dear sir:—1 have great reason to be very thankful to the blessed Lord for what he has done for me, and those by whom I am surrounded. I rejoice that I have come to this country. It becomes more and more Interesting to me ; and it must be the same to every interesting mind, 1 ant happy to say that I have the pleasure of seeing many of the heathens uniting themselves to the Church of Christ, and we have great reason to be encouraged to continue our labour, as we know that it has not been in vain. The colony has been improving the last twelve months, the people have become most able farmers, and they will find it to their advantage. (From the Christian Statesman. ) At a meeting of the friends of the American Colonization Society, held in the city of Wash- ington, on Wednesday evening, the i.'ith Instants on motion of the Rev. Mason nobis), it was Resolrcd, 'That it he recommended to the mana- gers and friends of the society to endeavour to raise for its object, in the next six months, One Hundred Thousand Dollars.' Also, on motion of the Rev. Mr. M'Lain, 'that an immediate eli'ort be made, to raise in this city, two thousand dollars, for the society.' The meeting adjourned (as stated in our last) to assemble again on the evening of the 29th instant, in the Rev. Mr. M'Lain's church, to receive the report of the committee. Several hundred, and fifty dollars subscriptions, are already received. Let each friend of the cause in this city give but a single dollar, and the proposed sum will be raised. Some gentlemen have ex- pressed regret that the proposition had not been to raise in Washington $10,000, and believe that if 20,000 was subscribed here for the American Bible Society, half that amount might be obtained for the American Colonization Society. JOHN D, TOY, PRINTER. |