OF THE

British & Foreign Bible

Society.

The Mountain Robber rejoicing in the Holy Scriptures.

THE brief and remarkable narrative now subjoined has been received from the Agent of the American Bible Society at Constantinople, who, in the temporary absence of this Society's Agent, kindly forwarded this striking illustration of the importance of disseminating the Scriptures in the Turkish empire :

"A very interesting letter from Dr. Dwight, dated Oorfa, May 6th, lies before me, and tempts me to transfer it to this sheet for your perusal. Had your Agent been at home I should have communicated the contents of the letter to him to spread before the English public. My apology for troubling you is the interest I have myself felt in the facts stated by Dr. Dwight, and the fear that you might not be made acquainted with them unless given by me. Dr. Dwight says "The work is prosperous in all this region. The Bible has done wonders here. I addressed a Sabbath School in Aintab of 1668 pupils and teachers. The Bible was their text-book. I preached to a congregation of 1500 in Marash, where, twelve years ago; no Protestant was allowed to live. The Bible has done the work.

"I saw a poor miserable cripple in Killis. He had come down from an obscure village in the Taurus mountains, and has been unable to sit up for twenty years. His hands and arms are withered, and the joints of his clenched fingers and of his elbows perfectly stiff. He was a robber, and a very wicked man, and this affliction has been sent upon him for his sins. He was lying upon the ground, covered by a few rags, a perfect picture of poverty and wretchedness, and yet

his face was glowing with the love of God, and a more cheerful and happy man I never saw. The Bible was lying at his side, and that explained all.

"I had heard of him, and went, hoping that I might be the means, under God, of comforting his poor stricken heart. But God made use of him to comfort me. I went away from the place, feeling that I had received far more than I had imparted. That man has no fear of death, but, full of peace and joy, he is waiting for the coming of his Lord. He never saw a Missionary before, and never heard an evangelical sermon, but he had heard the Bible read, and God made the word quick and powerful

"Within the past year, by the most extraordinary efforts, under every possible disadvantage and discouragement, that man has actually learned to read, that he may peruse for himself the blessed word of God, and thus drink from the fountain-head. He read quite passably well in my hearing, and he is more than fifty years old! Oh, let us never cease to bless God for the Bible, and do you, my dear brothers, never send abroad a box of Scriptures into this country, without having your faith and your prayers quickened by this story of the poor crippled robber of Mount Taurus. I am sure that if received from no other source, these facts will be valued by you."

The workman persecuted, but his work prospered.

A COLPORTEUR, who has endured much from the ignorant and superstitious people among whom he labours, records an incident which greatly encouraged him amid his arduous toil :—

"I again visited the city of On sufficient grounds I believe my former visit there has been blessed. Then I sold a Testament to a Catholic maid-servant. In consequence of reading it she has been to my friends, and told them that never any clergyman had spoken with her as I did. She was much longing to meet with me again. On hearing of my arrival, she came and said she never did read a book so good as the Testament. She shed tears, and after some talking together, I asked if she would pray with us. Most welcome to her was this question. With some friends we bowed our knees, and after this she said, in a most affecting manner, she wished to be converted.

"Never before had she heard nor thought on those things. Now in secret she is searching in her Testament, and goes, if opportunity is offered, to my friends, to advise with them about her state of mind. I may trust the Holy Ghost has begun his work in that girl."

FRANCE.

General course and special circumstances of Colportage.

The usual occurrences of colportage life and particular occasions of encouragement are thus depicted in a recent Report from M. de Pressensé :

"One of our Colporteurs, who is at work in one of our Southern Departments, gives me an explanation of the manner in which he regards the work entrusted to him. With a Bible in his hand, and a wallet filled with Bibles on his back, he stops every one whom he meets on the road, to whom he makes known what he really is, and freely tells them the object he has in view. At one moment he meets with a priest engaged in reading his breviary as he walks along; without any fear, he offers to sell him a Bible, and commences a

calm and friendly conversation with him. The priest declines to purchase, but admits that the work is a good one. Further on he accosts some waggoners, who, without seeming to be thinking of any thing whatever, mechanically walk along by the side of their heavily-laden vehicles. He proves to them that the Bible ought to be their travelling companion, that its contents will cause the road to appear much shorter than it actually is, and their day's work less wearisome. He speaks to them in their own style of language of the journey of life, of the broad road and the narrow way, and he induces some of them to purchase at least a copy of the small-sized New Testament. At intervals he may be seen reading and explaining some verses of Scripture either to the menders of the roads or to travellers of various descriptions. Some listen to him and purchase copies of the word of God, whilst others mock him, or feel annoyed; though even in regard to these he does not consider that he loses his time, because, to use his own words, I have cast a dart at them which may wound them to their salvation.' Wherever he has been able he has entered such of the houses as were at all accessible to him, and by this means he has met with many things that have greatly encouraged him. In one such house he found an aged bedridden female, who seemed to be very near her end. On her bed lay an open Bible, which he was told had been bought of a man very much resembling himself. You are not to be pitied,' he said to her; 'very soon you will be with Christ, for I see that you seek your nourishment from his word. I should not mind being in your place.' And for my part,' exclaimed the woman, 'I would not exchange places with you, for it has been through this mortal illness that I have attained to life; and now I can say, that having read this holy Book, and having understood and received its contents into my heart, my desire is to leave the world, and to be with Christ, which will be far better for me, for Christ is my life, and death to me will be gain.' In the evening, whilst eating his supper at a village inn, where he intended passing the night, he explained the work in which he was engaged to the persons present, who seemed interested in what they heard about this new vocation, of which they had not previously known any thing; and one thought he would go and fetch his wife, that she too might hear about it, whilst others went in quest of their neighbours, so that before long the public room of the inn was filled with men and women, all of them desirous that our Colporteur should read to them a few pages out of the Book which he had told them they could not possibly live without. One hour, two hours, passed in this occupation, and, as is usually the case at the termination of such gatherings, he succeeded in disposing of some copies of the Scriptures to those who had been listening to him. At times, the Colporteur who has supplied me with these details devotes his evenings to meetings of a wholly different character. In the district where he is at work there are various localities thickly inhabited by Protestants, and among whom there are many true Christians. 'Whenever I meet with these,' writes our Colporteur, 'I take my discharge from my work for the evening. It is true the Bible is constantly in my hand; but it is with a view of reading and explaining it in company with a number of brethren in the faith, instead of for the purpose of recommending its contents to the attention of unbelievers.'"

Romish ordinances sometimes conducive to Scripture circulation. An account is furnished by M. de Pressensé of the conduct of a priest, who unintentionally aided the distribution of the Scriptures:

"Very frequently at the present time even the priests, through the course of action pursued by them, though assuredly against their will, become efficient auxiliaries in promoting the work of Bible colportage. Of this the following are two specimens:

"An individual was about to marry his cousin. When the time required for the necessary legal publication of the banns had nearly expired, the persons in question called upon their curé to make the necessary arrangements for the religious ceremony connected with the marriage. The curé assumed a very

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serious countenance, and told them the affair was a very serious one, that for such a union it was necessary to have a dispensation direct from Rome. From Rome! that will cost a great deal.' 'Yes, certainly, as you may easily conceive; for to have recourse to such an authority is no trifling matter.' 'In that case we shall do without it.' 'Wait, wait. It just occurs to me that very frequently their lordships, the bishops, have been able to do what is needful in the matter; and the bishop of our diocese is a very kind man. ''Very well; but will that cost very much? Less than in Rome; but all that proceeds from high quarters must be liberally paid for.' If that is the case we shall do without it altogether.' Wait, wait, my children; you wish to rush too hastily into trouble. It now occurs to me that in case of actual necessity the parish clergyman can arrange the matter.' With the aid of money, I suppose: is it not so?' 'Yes, certainly. Well, in that case,' replied the bridegroom, 'I shall apply to a certain uncle of mine, with whom you are well acquainted, and who is a Protestant-a member of that religion, in fact, in connection with which every thing is done gratis; and I am well assured that in that direction, without having to pay for prayers, some will be offered up for me and my little wife, which we shall understand better than any uttered in Latin.' On hearing this declaration, the curé remarked, that in extreme cases the dispensation could be granted without payment.' And such was, in fact, the result of this interview; but the interesting portion of the matter is this, that on the Protestant uncle being informed of what had taken place, he gave it as his opinion that the money which would have been requisite to pay for the dispensation should be applied to the purchase from a Colporteur, whom he designated by name, of a handsome Bible for the young couple, and of other copies, less handsome, as presents to the wedding guests. And this was done."

A similar case is described in connection with the confessional:

"In a certain village a man came to confession, and as he forgot to confess a sin which was patent and known to every one, he had the task imposed upon him, as penance, of inducing twelve persons in the parish, who were known never to confess, to come to the confessional. The penitent saw at once that this was no easy task: but what was to be done? He had had several conversations with the Bible Colporteur who resided in the parish, and he had appeared to him to be a religious man, who was worthy of his entire confidence: to him, therefore, he would go, and ask his advice. The Colporteur, as might have been expected, spoke to him as a Christian respecting the confession and the forgiveness of sins. Several hours were spent in consulting the Bible on these points. The eyes of the penitent became opened, and he decided that in future the Bible should be the guide of his conscience. But with the little light possessed by him, he was still under the impression that something must be done by him to expiate the sin which he had concealed. 'This I will do,' he said to himself, I will determine not to give myself any respite or rest until I have succeeded in placing twelve Bibles in the hands of as many persons who may not possess a copy.' As he decided, so he acted."

Scripture supplies to the Military.

The character and extent of the distributions among the soldiers for three months are thus stated :

"The distribution of the Scriptures among our soldiers is a work of special importance. To be assured of this it is only needful to bear in mind the way in which our army is constituted. It is not formed by means of voluntary enlistments, which transform it into something like a body separated from the nation. Numbers of the nation are continually joining the army only for the purpose of again quitting it, either in consequence of furloughs, or through the completion of the prescribed term of military service. As a result of this, the connection between our people and its army is very close indeed: innumerable ties bind the one to the other, without taking into account that among a race such as ours is—arising

partly from its faults, partly from its good qualities, all that in any wise affects the army excites among the people the greatest enthusiasm. The soldier who brings a Bible into his native village, having previously learned to love its contents, will prove to be the best of Colporteurs: religious subjects of which he may speak will be listened to without any prejudice, and he will present them in a kind of military phraseology, which will impart a fresh charm to them. Not only has the army furnished to us a goodly number of actual Colporteurs, but it has likewise supplied us with many of those volunteers of Bible Colportage who aid in disseminating the sacred volume, or at least bear honourable testimony on its behalf, and recruit fresh adherents to its ranks. The two great wars in which our army has in recent years taken part, were the means of a special appeal being addressed to many of our soldiers, which was listened to; and now they give serious attention to those who speak to them on the subject of eternal life, they having had an opportunity of narrowly viewing death, and of meeting it face to face. And then, I must own that it is pleasant to me to see the British and Foreign Bible Society engaged, as it actually is, in winning for Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, the soldiers of the French army. In my opinion-an opinion which would possibly raise a smile on the countenance of many statesmen, you are thus labouring to consolidate the alliance which is so desirable between the two nations who exercise the greatest amount of influence in the world, and this you are doing in a far surer manner than all the political and commercial treaties that may be negotiated.

During the past quarter 8000 small New Testaments have been applied to the work among the military. This period of the year is peculiarly favourable to this mode of distribution, because it is the period in which large concentrations of troops take place in different parts of the country, for the purpose of exercise and drill; and it is by availing themselves of such opportunities, that the five Colporteurs, who are so admirably qualified for this work, have effected very important distributions, important both as it respects their numbers and their results. This year I am attempting more in this respect than in former years: without interfering with the ordinary labours of the Colporteurs, I have directed all those who reside in or near to towns where there are garrisons, to do all in their power to extend the work of Scripture distribution among the men formning these garrisons."

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HOME OPERATIONS.

Visitation of Local Societies.

SOME notes of Deputation experience during the last six months have been supplied by the Rev. J. P. Hewlett, and exhibit the position of the Society in some of the Western Counties:

"In January, with the Rev. H. Barne, of Faringdon, assisting, I attended the Meetings at Bath. They were held at that time by the express wish of our friends there, and the results were such as to encourage the idea of fixing on the last week in January as the regular time for Bath. I am thankful to report very great improvement in this important city. The two Meetings in the Guildhall were the largest known for many years: nearly one hundred influential friends assembled at a public breakfast; and I also attended a very satisfactory Meeting of the ladies. A change in the arrangements for the local Dépôt has been effected during the past year, and is already yielding good fruit. Further, the Bath Auxiliary, which at present has not a single Association out of the city, is taking measures for the establishment of Societies in several neighbouring places. It would be wrong not to add that we are under deep obligations to the Rev. C. Kemble for the improved circumstances and prospects which I am thus enabled to report.