ALISON'S HISTORY OF EUROPE, in wood's Magazine for October last. The whole territory of the United States is regarded by Mr. Alison as a vast centre with two wings. All is vast indeed. The ocean border, a space between the sea and the Alleghany, is a comparatively sterile tract, containing 200,000 square miles. The central tract, or great valley between the Alleghany and the Rocky Mountains, is the garden of America; two-thirds of it one of the most fertile tracts in the world. It contains 1,000,000 of square miles, or six times the extent of France, and eleven times the British islands. Beyond the Rocky Mountains a broken and irregular plain descends to the Pacific, containing 300,000 square miles, full of ravines, full of rivers, and rich in mines. Yet this is not all the provision for the future multitudes of mankind. To the south, Mexico contains 1,000,000 of square miles, now peopled only by 8,000,000, or eight to the square mile, the proportion in England being 300. Black-first settlement by the British, under On the north, the British dominions, reaching to the pole, contain the still larger space of 4,000,000 of square miles, or nearly a ninth part of the whole land of the globe! The two Canadas contain about 300,000 square miles, of which 95,000 are in the upper province of the whole, about 130,000 are surveyed, or under cultivation. About 500,000 are capable of being settled-a space more than six times the surface of the entire of the British isles. But the most singular feature of the country is its lakes; six vast inland fresh-water seas, connected by the majestic St. Lawrence, and extending from the St. Louis to the ocean. The whole amount of the British North American territory is 4,109,630 geo graphical square miles, besides 1,340,000 square miles of water. The entire globe contains, in land, 37,000,000. The ease with which land is acquired, employment found, and children are provided for, in America, has given the principle of population its full development. The rate of increase is that of doubling in every twenty-three years and a half and this rate has continued during the two hundred years since its controlled power and an unlimited population. The historian appeals to more than our imagination, when he describes the incessant advance of this great stream of civilization, as something solemn and most awful. "Vast as were the savage multitudes which ambition or the lust of plunder attracted to the standards of Timour or Genghis Khan, to oppress and overwhelm the opulent regions of the earth; immense as were the swarms which for centuries issued from the cheerless plains of Scythia, to insuit or devastate the decaying provinces of the Roman empire; they were as nothing compared to the ceaseless flood of human beings which is now, in its turn, sent forth from the abodes of civilized men into the desert parts of the world." The valley of the Mississippi is now the grand place of gathering, and the settlers there amount to little less than 300,000 a year. This is certainly not so great a multitude as the invasions of those showy chieftains have sometimes exhibited, nor so picturesque as the horsemen of the Indian or the Mogul. But they have a moral better than sithe or steel. "They do not pass through, as the Tartar hordes, like a desolating fire or a raging torrent; they settle where they take up their abode, never to return. Their war is with the forest and the marsh. Spreading themselves over an extent of nearly 1200 miles in length, these advanced posts of civilization commence the incessant war with the hatchet and the plough; and at the sound of their strokes resounding through the solitudes or the forest, the wild animals and the indians retire to more undisturbed retreats. Along this frontier tract, the average advance of cultivation is about seventeen miles a year. those pioneers; but still the forest has disThe ground is imperfectly cleared indeed, by appeared, the green field, the wooden cottage, the signs of infant improvement, have arisen, and behind them another wave of more wealthy and skilful settlers succeeds, who complete the work of agricultural improvement." Correspondence of the A. H. M. S. What do Home Missions accomplish? The Home Missionary cause has a deep hold on the heart of the church. She has given to it some of her wealth, and many of her best sons. She has, therefore, much at stake in the great missionary field, and has a right to inquire whether that field exhibits signs of successful culture-whether there is any thing to show for all the toil and treasure expended upon it. To this inquiry, we reply, that every reader of the Home Missionary must perceive, in the general complexion of the reports which are published, that there is a constant advance in all those regions where this society is permitted to produce its natural effects. Churches are established, and converts are gathered from among those who were far from God, from the backsliders, the sceptical, the deluded followers of Campbellism and Mormonism, the ignorant and sensual. Where forests lately spread their gloom, and where the winds of winter swept unbroken over miles of prairie, churches spring up, and a christian population clusters about them; ministers are stationed, and revivals reform and cheer the region around. In every such stated preacher of the cross, there is an expounder and advocate of temperance, of social rights and order; a promoter of knowledge-a founder and sustainer of schools for secular as well as for sacred education. How it is, that the public never know all the good which Home Missions accomplish. A large portion of the good fruits of this enterprise can never be known to the churches by whose liberality it has been accomplished. The reason is this-reports of missionaries are published no longer than the period of their dependence on the aid of the Society. As soon as their churches are strengthened so as to need no charitable assistance, their accountability to the East ceases, and they no longer communicate the particulars of their labors. Hence, multitudes of missionaries, and of churches planted by missionary toil, and sustained in their early stages, by missionary funds, are now dispensing blessings around them, and fulfilling the great object for which they were established; and yet, of all their usefulness, the public no longer hears. But though they labor on in seclusion and silence, they are there, honoring God and saving men,-living monuments of the wisdom of that divine Spirit, who wrought in the founders of this great enterprise, and who still works in those by whose liberality it is carried on. Blessedness of giving to this cause. Let those, who, in times past have given, and who now give to this most useful charity, behold with joy the result of their beneficence. Of all that they have thus bestowed, nothing is lost. It remains, embodied in living churches, in enlightened and sanctified minds, in orderly and happy communities. Let them behold, with satisfaction, the good that has been done and that is daily taking place. What a reward is this, for all the sacrifice it has cost! Who can grudge the little or the much he has done for this object? Who would recall a single shilling that has been devoted to its promotion? Who does not reproach himself that he has not had faith to expect great things, and zeal to attempt great things, in a work so marked with the divine approval? IOWA. death. I remarked you are very sick. She responded that she was, but free from The missionary useful at the bed of pain. In answer to the inquiry how the Savior appeared, she said, "precious!" that he was an 66 Almighty friend, and that in him she had implicit confidence." As she requested me to pray with her, I asked her "for what?" She replied, "that God will do his pleasure with me, and that I may not be permitted to indulge a murmur.' All her conversation was of this kind. After a few hours she sweetly slept in Jesus. Yesterday morning about 4 o'clock I received the dying request of a young lady to visit her. I complied. As it was some distance in the country I mounted my horse, and hastened to the house of death. The stillness of the hour, nature fading under the autumnal frosts, the hallowed associations of the time, (it was Sabbath morn) conduced much to impress my mind. As I entered the dwelling, I found the destined victim of death, a lovely youth of 18. She had already, in great composure, bid adieu to her relatives. As I stood by her bed-side she reached her hand and passed the common salutation, and The joys above, which she anticipated, occasioned an unearthly smile to lie on her countenance; and I involuntarily exclaimed, O how lovely is the image of death! Thus with more reasons to desire life than most, (for if the world had any attractions for her, she had more for the world,) she cheerfully retired from it, happy, yea thrice happy, under the power of a good hope of a blessed immortality. My heart was filled with love and adoring gratitude to God for his grace, and could not but reflect as I witnessed its efficacy, how valuable it would be to all; and strongly desired that all should share in this hope. I prayed and spoke a few words of consolation to the afflicted, and returned to my home to perform the arduous duties of the Sabbath. Without arrogating any thing to myself, I think there is reason to hope that this visit was comforting to this youthful saint, and to her deeply afflicted friends. This is one of the numerous ways in which your missionaries are useful. But of the benefits of such visits many afflicted family in the newer portions of our country must have been deprived, had it not been for the liberality of the more favored! And will not such reflect, how desirable to them would be like treatment, under similar circumstances, and view with satisfaction their past acts of christian benevolence, and resolve, that they shall be continued, increased, and be as constant as flows the river of the waters of life. The river towns. These are now and are to be increasingly points of great moral influence. They are the great thoroughfares through which all that comes into the territory must pass, and will receive deep impressions of their character. They will be the main places of trade, and as there will be a constant commingling of the town and country people, their customs and fashions, and character in general, will be modified and shaped according to that of the citizens of our river towns. The children of "the Beast" are very prudent relatively to this matter, and as a consequence have erected churches, or rather mass-houses, in all the important river towns from Fort Madison to St. Peters, and are establishing schools. Alas! what truthfulness in our Savior's declaration, "the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light." From Rev. C. R. Fisk, Toolesboro'. Gratitude to the Eastern Churches. During my absence from this place, to obtain assistance to build a house for the worship of God, the Lord opened the hearts of many to aid us. In Wrentham, Foxboro, Medway, Upton, Westboro, Harvard, Barre, and Worcester, Mass.; and also in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, at the West, many dear brethren and sisters, "excellent of the earth," freely lent us a helping hand. Besides contributing several things for my own personal benefit, we obtained a sufficiency of sash, glass, putty, nails, paint, shingles, a door-lock and key, and hinges, a stove and pipe, and $130 in money, with the promise of some more. With this aid the people here seemed to be highly pleased and encouraged, and I do think we felt in some degree grateful to God. We immediately raised a subscription of upwards of $600, in grain and work, for the same object. We resolved to build a brick house, as large as our means would permit. Our meetings are attended, notwithstanding our want of a suitable place, with considerable interest. I have preached here and at Wapello regularly since my return, and occasionally at Yellow Springs. One I have visited the sick, and prayed with them. They have generally seemed much pleased with such visits. One good sister of the Baptist church recently moved here, and died, as I trust, in the faith. She felt it good to have a call from a christian friend. young man, who recently arrived, was taken sick, and sent for me, in much distress of mind. He soon died, I fear without hope. In view of the greatness of my work and responsibilities, I some times almost faint, but the Lord is my helper. ILLINOIS. From Rev. N. C. Clark, Elgin. On the whole, the past has been a year of interest to me, and to the people of my charge. When I commenced the year, there had been, within a few weeks, 10 or 12 cases of hopeful conversion within the limits of the congregation at Elgin. In the course of the four following months, there were twenty or twenty-five more. Some of these have united with other churches; some few have yet united nowhere. We have received to our church, during the year, thirty-five members, twenty-three on examination. We have also, during the year, had afflictions. Two of our members have died; but we mourn for them, not as those who mourn without hope. We have also been compelled to the painful duty of excommunicating one member, though at present we have the pleasure of seeing some evidence that he has repented. The prospects of the church are promising, so far as appearances go. It numbers 122 members, 54 of whom are males. The congregation is quite large-would be larger if we had a convenient house. It was built four years ago did very well then, but is now too strait for us. There is some talk of building, but the people are in such circumstances, I think they will defer doing so a year or eighteen months. They have not yet a title to their land. There From Rev. L. Spencer, Canton, Ill. As we can have the house where we worship only one half of the time, I have labored in other portions of the county as Providence seemed to direct. In compliance with an urgent call from Greenfield, where is a small church, formed in 1841, embracing 11 members, (now numbering over 20,) I attended a meeting of thrilling interest. The way had been prepared by humiliation and prayer. Meeting was held in the grove, and composed of different orders, but the Spirit of God united all christian hearts. Early in the meeting did we have some precious tokens of the presence of God. There was an unusual spirit of prayer; the heavens, under whose open canopy we worshipped, were opened, and salvation flowed to many a thirsty soul. Christians were greatly refreshed-cold-hearted professors waked up, and we hope some 30 souls who had been "strangers to the covenants of promise" became savingly acquainted with Jesus Christ. Surely it was a heavenly place. At Virgil. At Dundee, much of the time during the year, we have suffered great inconvenience for want of a suitable place to worship in. We have usually occupied a private house. The congregation has been very attentive and serious, and as Bro. Cole and myself, looking over large as could be convened, have been in that congregation five or the harvest field in this region, found in the vicinity of Virgil, (a little neighsix hopeful conversions. The good effects of ministerial labor are as visible boring settlement of eight houses in the midst of a large prairie,) there were there as at Elgin-perhaps more sosome few professors of religion scatthough there have been but few convertered like sheep upon the mountains sions. A great change has been wrought in the external morals of the inhabit- I am pleased with my field of labor. I would like to live and die here with this people, if I can be useful among them. I have no evidence and no suspicion that my attachment to my people is not reciprocated, yet I have sometimes felt that I should have to leave them, from a want of support. without much means of grace, and in covenant relation with no church. We went to V. a few weeks since to spend a Sabbath, and visit them with the view, if thought best, to organize them into a church. We found it good to go to their cabins and speak to them the consolations of Christ-they were so thankful! We found an aged father and mother in Israel, past their four score years, who told us they had been there six years; and the mother said she had not once been to the table of the Lord, and for more than one year had not seen a minister of the Gospel. Yet they told us they found the same Savior here as |