of pepper, cardamums, cotton and various other articles of merchandise; good rice, pine-apples and bannanas are abundant; and fish of all kinds are caught on the coast. It was here, that the Archbishop of Goa first opened his conference with the Syrian Christians, and compelled so many of them to embrace the tenets of the Romish church, and it is reckoned that, besides the three congregations in Quilon, there are seventy-five, belonging to the Roman Catholics between this, and Cape Comorin. In consequence of the commerce which is carried on with various parts, and of the cantonment which once existed, there are many who speak Tamul, Portuguese and Hindosthanee, but the Malayalim is the vernacular language, and the one, of course, which the missionaries have studied and in which they instruct the people.

The mission was established in 1821. Notwithstanding the reported salubrity of the climate, the health of the first missionaries completely failed. Mr. Smith was very soon obliged to return to England, and Mr. Crow continued to labour and to suffer as long as there was any hope that his life would be spared, and that his talents could be employed with any advantage to India. But short and trying as was his career, it was not without comfort and usefulness. In bidding an adieu to the scene of his labours, he was enabled to write the following account of Poonyan-a gun Lascar in the Company's service-a man whom

288

A NATIVE CONVERT.

I well know, who was afterwards a member of the church at Bangalore, and whose conduct was always Christian, consistent, and creditable to the profession which he made.

"From his own account," says Mr. Crow, "it appears that by reading a book some years ago, in the Tamul language which was translated or composed by a missionary, he was faintly impressed with the folly of idolatry and had ever since relaxed in his attention to its rites. This impression seems to have been considerably strengthened by the perusal of a tract given to him when passing through Nagercoil about six months prior to his coming to me. Though convinced of the absurdity of idolatry, I found him but slightly impressed with a sense of sin, totally ignorant of the way of salvation, and cleaving to his own obedience as the ground of acceptance before God. His progress in Christian knowledge was remarkably rapid, and he shortly appeared to have obtained a clear and consistent view of the way of a sinner's reconciliation to God. The doctrine of the atonement always seemed most to interest and affect his heart. The feeling and earnestness he evinced, and the regularity of his attendance at the Mission-house, appeared to indicate sincerity, while as far as I could ascertain, he had nothing to expect from becoming a Christian, except the scorn and reproaches of his comrades. I procured for him a New Testament, which he usually made his companion, and on looking at it,

NATIVE CONVERT.

289

on one occasion, he said with a countenance of joy, 'I could feed on it,' signifying the high value which he placed upon

it.

"As it had always been my custom in my interviews with him, to dwell upon important truths, he had scarcely had his attention at all directed to non-essential things; but early in the morning of the day on which he was to be baptized, he came to me to inquire whether it was not necessary, before he received baptism, to cut off his long hair, to take out his ear-rings, and his child's nose-jewel, and to strip himself of other heathen ornaments. I referred him to the passage in Corinthians, Doth not even nature itself teach you that if a man have long hair, it is a shame to him,' and to the one in Peter, 'Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit which is, in the sight of God, of great price;' and these passages seemed to have their full and immediate effect upon him. He hastened home, cut off his hair, stripped himself and his child of every jewel, and in a short time returned with his wife and infant, anxious to testify his adherence to the cause of truth and piety. By those who are acquainted with the superstitious attachment of the heathens here to their jewels, long hair and other ornaments, this circumstance, though in itself trivial, will be consi

U

dered indicative of a determination to renounce every vestige of heathenism.”

The convert thus described was always steady, adorned the gospel, gave the greatest satisfaction to his commanding officer, and was zealous among his friends and his comrades to propagate the truth. Both his wife and his mother were afterwards baptized at Bangalore, and while they remained with us, we had great joy in seeing this family walking in the road to Zion.

Mr. and Mrs. Thompson arrived at the station in 1827, and Mr. and Mrs. Harris joined them in 1831. The same afflictions and trials came heavy and fast upon these dear brethren as they came upon their predecessors. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson were soon obliged to remove to the Neilgherries, and though Mrs. Thompson rallied for a time, her constitution was undermined. She was under the necessity of returning to her native land, and was soon removed into the eternal world. The life of Mr. Harris was soon despaired of, and he reached the shores of England only to die. Mr. Thompson remained at the station, and his health has been restored; but it is a question of serious import-a question of humanity and benevolence—and a question which deserves to be seriously considered by the agents and the directors of our missionary societies, how long a station that has proved so fatal, ought to be occupied. Whether after missionaries of various constitutions and temperaments

have fallen victims to disease and to death, more ought to be exposed to the danger; whether it would not be more in harmony with the gospel, to regard such visitations as signs of Providence, and remove to a locality where their health, as well as their usefulness may be preserved. I would not have Quilon condemned and abandoned without decisive evidence; but while thousands and millions are spiritually perishing in countries where the health and the life of the missionary would be secure, it appears to me unaccountable, and demanding more plain and satisfactory reasons than enthusiasm would supply, that such stations should be kept up as Sierra Leone, which has only proved an hospital for the sick, and a grave for dying missionaries, and which is celebrated not so much for the few whom it retains, as that it has allowed one or another to escape alive. Quilon will not, I trust, be known in missionary annals, as an aceldama, or a grave. Let it have a fair trial; but if it should prove in the future what it has been in the past, remove, I would say, the seat of the mission to a more salubrious climate, and supply by East Indians, or by natives whose country it is, the necessities of the population. More attention ought certainly to be given to this subject. Where is the use of exposing Europeans to unhealthy climates, when natives and others would remain uninjured? I am happy in being able to quote, on such a point, the views of Sir Thomas Munro. "Seringapatam is itself extremely un