perils and dangers; amidst which human foresight and strength can but little avail, and who find themselves day after day protected by an unseen influence, and ever and again snatched from the very jaws of destruction by a Power which is not of this world, who can at all estimate the knowledge of one's weakness and littleness, and the firm reliance and trust upon the goodness of the Creator which the human breast is capable of feeling. Like all other lessons which are of great and lasting benefit to man, this one must be learned amidst much suffering and woe; but having learnt it, it is but the sweeter from the pain and toil which are undergone in the acquisition."

On another occasion, when the party were worn down by hunger, and thirst, and severe toil, having been long exposed to hurricanes in crazy boats, and to add to their calamities, having found, on effecting a landing upon a bleak and barren shore, that the sea, in its fury, had encroached far inland, and carried away the buried stock of provisions on which depended almost their last human hope, Captain Grey again describes the solace which it pleased God to afford him in reading the Scriptures and prayer:

"I requested Mr. Smith to see the little flour that was left in the barrel and on the rocks (saturated with sea-water) carefully collected by Coles; and leaving them thus engaged, I turned back along the sea-shore towards the party, glad of the opportunity of being alone, as I could now commune freely with my own thoughts.

The safety of the whole party now depended upon my forming a prompt and efficient plan of operations, and seeing it carried out with energy and perseverance. As soon as I was out of the way of Mr. Smith and Coles, I sat down upon a rock upon the shore, to reflect upon my present position. The view seaward was discouraging; the gale blew fiercely in my face, and the spray of the breakers was dashed over me. Nothing could be more gloomy and drear. I turned inland, and could see only a bed of rock, covered with drifting sand, on which grew a stunted vegetation; and former experience had taught me that we could not hope to find water in this island. Our position here was therefore untenable, and but three plans presented themselves to me. First, to leave a notice of my intentions on the island; then to make for some known point on the main, and there endeavour to subsist ourselves until we should be found, and taken off, by the colonial schooner. Secondly, to start for Timor or Port Essington. Thirdly, to try to make Swan River in the boats. I determined not to decide hastily between these plans; and in order more fully to compose my mind, I sat down, and read a few chapters in the Bible.

"By the influence these imparted, I became perfectly contented and resigned to our apparently wretched condition; and again rising up, pursued my way along the beach to the party. It may be here remarked by some, that these statements of my attending to religious duties are irrelevant to the subject, but in such an opinion I cannot at all coincide. In detailing the sufferings we underwent, it is necessary to relate the means by which those sufferings were alleviated; and after having in the midst of perils and misfortunes received the greatest consolation from religion, I should be ungrateful to my Maker not to acknowledge this; and should ill perform my duty to my fellow-men, did I not bear testimony to the fact, that under all the weightier sorrows and sufferings that our frail nature is liable to, a perfect reliance upon the goodness of God, and the merits of our Redeemer, will be found a sure refuge, and a certain source of consolation."

During that terrible journey of several hundred miles along the Western coast of New Holland, from the place where their boats were swamped and obliged to be abandoned, to the British settlements on the Swan River, though they had been obliged in their misery to abandon almost everything else, except the few pounds of damaged food with which they commenced their dreadfully hazardous escape for life, Captain Grey would not part with his New Testament. For days together, during many weeks, they could find no water amidst their toilsome forced marches, under a tropical sun, over swamps, or burning plains, or barren rocks, or through tangled thickets, or across steep ravines; they were obliged to cast away even their blankets and much

of their necessary clothing, though exposed at night to severe cold, often lying down drenched through, without a bush to cover them, vainly endeavouring to forget in sleep the pangs of hunger, the torture of thirst, and the wounds and aches of their emaciated mangled limbs ; forced to cast away their sextant, which had been hitherto carried by them by turns, as a guide in their wanderings; some of their strongest men sitting down in despair to die; one party after another obliged to be left behind in the trackless wilds, while a few of the boldest and most enduring pressed on, in faint hopes to reach the settlement at Perth, and to send aid to their companions; till at length Captain Grey, wishing as concerned himself to lie down and rise no more, but spurred on by the responsibility which pressed upon him to try even yet to save his followers, was left with but one native to terminate the fearful journey; but amidst all, the admirable leader preserved his cherished treasure. We find in the narratives such notices as the following: "The night wore heavily on; sleepless sufferers were around me, and I myself began to feel very anxious as to what the next day might bring forth. The men had now been already one night and two days without tasting one single drop of water, or food of any kind whatever; for as the only provisions they had left was a spoonful or two of flour each, it was impossible for them to cook this without water; indeed only two of them had even this small supply of flour left, and the rest were wholly destitute.

"When we halted, and the others lay wearily down, brooding over their melancholy situation, I employed myself in writing up my journal, which was most scrupulously kept; and this duty being concluded, I had recourse to a small New Testament, my companion throughout all my wanderings. From this latter I drank in such deep draughts of comfort, that my spirits were always good."

Captain Grey's volumes are not at all of a theological character; and therefore a few passages of this kind incidentally occurring in them are the more striking. Beyond merely passive repose and acquiescence, the writer found great comfort in endeavouring to cherish a thankful spirit even in the most oppressive calamities. The following is an illustration :

"We had thirsted with an intense and burning thirst for three days and two nights, during the greater portion of which time we had been taking violent exercise under a fierce sun. To conceive the delight of the men when they arrived at this little hole of mud would be difficult. Each, as he came up and cast his weary limbs on the ground beside the hole, uttered these words, Thank God !' and then greedily swallowed a few mouthfuls of the liquid mud, protesting that it was the most delicious water, and had a peculiar flavour which rendered it far superior to any other he had ever tasted. The small portion of muddy water in the hole was soon finished; and then by scraping it out clean, we found that water began slowly to trickle into it again. The men now laid themselves down in a state of stupefaction, and rested by their treasured pool. I felt, however, that great calls upon my energies might still arise; and therefore retiring a little apart with the native (a New Hollander who accompanied the expedition, and was of great service to it), I first of all returned hearty thanks to my Maker for the sufferings and dangers he had first brought me through, and then tottered on with my gun in search of food. It was in vain that I raised it, for my tremulous hand shook so that I could not for a moment cover the bird I aimed at; and after one or two ineffectual attempts to kill something, I was obliged to desist in despair. I now dreaded that I had only escaped the pains of death by thirst, in order to perish by hunger; and for a moment regretted that I had not died ere I found water; for I firmly believed, from the state of weakness I was then reduced to, that the bitterness of death had passed. But a short period sufficed to smother these unmanly and unchristian feelings in my breast; and seeing a flight of black cockatoos mounting aloft in the air, I determined to watch them to their roosting-place, and then, favoured by the darkness of night, to steal upon them.

"After wandering and excitement such only as the desperate gambler can know whose life depends upon the stake for which he plays, I succeeded in getting a shot into a whole flight of roosting and snoring black cockatoos, and one fell.

Kaiber (the native) soon plucked and roasted it. I gave him the entrails, the feet, and the first joint of the wings, eating the head and thighs myself, and reserving the other portions as a store against future emergencies. I now felt assured that my life was saved; and rendering thanks to God for his many mercies, I lay down by the fire to watch for the first appearance of dawn.”

It should be mentioned that Captain Grey was worse off than his men for food; for he had taken only his fair dividend, and this he shared with the faithful native who accompanied the expedition, and who must otherwise have perished; so that his spirits were not sustained by his faring better than others; and he had harder work; for at every stage, when most of his companions were resting, he went out to explore the country, in order to select the least perilous track for his party, and also to take observations for the purposes of the expedition. He gave the remainder of the cockatoo to the native, the party having found some muscles, which he, from some superstition, was afraid to taste.

The following instance of Captain Grey's self-denial, and of the spirit of justice and humanity in which he acted towards the Aborigines, we record with peculiar delight, because it speaks well for the prospects of the New Zealanders under his protection.

"Kaiber, the native, came in and told me that he had found some holes in which the natives had, according to their custom, buried a store of By-yu nuts, and he requested permission to steal them. I reflected for some time on his proposal. I was reluctant to mark the first approach of civilized man to this country of a savage race, by an unprovoked act of pillage and robbery; yet we were now in the desert, on the point of perishing for want of food, the pangs of hunger gnawing us in our very sleep, and with the means of temporary relief at hand. I asked myself if I should be acting justly or humanely by the others, whose lives were at stake, if I allowed them to pass by the store, which seemed providentially offered to us, without pointing it out. In my perplexity I turned to Kaiber. His answer was: If we take all, this people will be angered greatly; they will say, What thief has stolen here ? trace his footsteps; spear him through the heart; wherefore has he stolen our hidden food? But if we take what is buried in one hole, they will say, Hungry people have been here; they were very empty, and now their bellies are full; they may be sorcerers; now they will not eat us as we sleep.' 'It is good,' Kaiber, I replied, 'come with me and we will rob one hole;' and accordingly we went and took the contents of one, leaving the others undisturbed. I brought back these nuts to the men, and we shared them amongst us."

Captain Grey arrived after almost incredible fatigues and miseries at Perth. He thus describes his entrance.

"I pushed on as well as I could, and reached the house of my friend L. Samson, Esq. He could not believe it was me whom he beheld; but having convinced him of the fact, he made me swallow about a tea-spoonful of brandy; and recruited by this, I was sufficiently recovered to wait upon his Excellency the Governor, in order to have immediate steps taken to send off a party in search of my missing comrades. The Governor could scarcely credit his sight when he beheld the miserable object that stood before him. Immediate steps were taken to forward assistance to those who were still in the bush. Having thus far performed my duty, I retired to press a bed once more, having for nearly three consecutive months slept in the open air on the ground, just at the spot where my day's hardships had terminated. So changed was I, that those of my friends who had heard of my arrival, and were coming to congratulate me, passed me in the street; whilst others to whom I went up and offered my hand, drew back in horror, and said 'I beg your pardon; who are you ?""

The whole of the men were rescued by the different parties sent out in quest of them, except Mr. Smith, an amiable, intelligent, and nobleminded youth of eighteen, a grandson of Mr. Wilberforce's friend, the late Mr. Smith, Member of Parliament for Norwich. He had joined the expedition from an enterprising spirit; and bore up to his last moments under its fatigues. His body was found, and buried, at a spot near the river called by his name. Some of the men, when discovered

were almost at their last gasp. Some of them had not tasted water for three days, or food for four. Captain Grey attributes the firmness and repose of mind with which he was enabled to bear up amidst all these disasters, to his faith in the merciful providence of God, and his trust in his Redeemer.

POSTHUMOUS VISIT OF ARCHBISHOP TRENCH TO THE REV. S. MEDLICOTT.

To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

In your memoir of Archbishop Trench, you have passed by unnoticed a remarkable story published by his biographer, Dr. Sirr, of his having visited and spoken to the Rev. S. Medlicott after his decease. Dr. Sirr gives the account in Mr. Medlicott's own words, as related in a letter to himself, without a syllable of comment. But surely it required consideration; for if it be true, it is one of the most decisive ghoststories upon record; and if it were a delusion, some explanation ought to have been added. To relate it as Dr. Sirr does, as if it were an every-day occurrence which required no remark, is most extraordinary. The tale has been much talked of among the Archbishop's friends; and it would seem that there are some who really believe that his Grace did pay a posthumous visit to Medlicott. The account is given as follows by Dr. Sirr, in an extract from Mr. Medlicott's letter "from his Retreat in the South of France :"

"An interesting circumstance, connected with the death of that dear servant of God, our late venerated and truly beloved Archbishop, I would simply relate as follows I was at my brother's in Wiltshire, whither I made my first move in search of health, early in March last year. There, at a very early hour one morning (I think 4 o'clock), the dear Archbishop (I shall never forget his sweet face), though pale as death, and head uncovered, stood at the foot of my bed, and said, 'I am tired of, and I will, or I have, left Tuam, and will never return there!' This greatly disturbed, and of course roused me. I thought I had, as it were, seen a vision, and mentioned what I do here to Mrs. Medlicott as soon as she awoke. But how was I indeed disturbed, how painfully cast down, when in due time the heart-rending tidings reached me, that on that very day, and at that very hour, his Grace had departed this life! The memory of this event affords me, I can assure you, a real, though a melancholy gratification. It seems a sort of sacred testimony that to the last I was remembered, I hope even regarded, by my venerated superior, whose memory I can never cease to cherish with the liveliest affection and respect; for, though not connected with the Archbishop as my patron, and only in a limited and secondary sense as my diocesan, yet for nearly seventeen years I had very much intercourse and communication with him; but, to his credit and praise I say it, it was as a fellow-worker, as a fellow-helper in the Gospel of Christ, originating (under God's grace) in his unfeigned desire to promote his Divine Master's glory, and the spiritual and temporal good of poor, perishing souls to promote these glorious objects, which I believe in my soul were the great motives and principles upon which he endeavoured to base every act. He very frequently employed me in facilitating the operations of the Bible, Missionary, Education, Home Mission, and other Societies, as well as the working of Loan Funds and such like benevolent institutions, not to speak of the frequent and large donations in money which have passed from his hands through mine to the relief of private distress.

The last personal intercourse I had with the Archbishop was about six months before his death, when a circumstance took place which I felt much at the time, because I plainly saw it moved him, and the recollection of which makes me now almost believe he had a presentiment of his approaching departure from this vale of tears. It was at, if I recollect right, the summer assizes for Galway for 1838, when, as a member of the Board of Trustees for the county for the management of money for Loan Fund and such like societies, of which his Grace was treasurer, I attended

one of its meetings. During our sitting, the Archbishop took an opportunity of expressing his intention to resign the treasurership. This intimation was received with unanimous regret, and many objections were raised against his doing so, as well as requests made that he would continue to hold the office. But he continued to decline all such propositions, and to adhere to his own purpose. He gave several reasons for his adopting his determination, but the principal one, and that which to the last he urged, was, to use, as well as I remember, his own words :'I feel that I am advanced in life; and not knowing how near the time of my departure may be, I wish to see these accounts settled, particularly as I am unwilling to leave them an incumbrance on my family, which they may be if they remain as they are, when I am taken away.' This, or to this effect, he spoke in his own usual clear and deliberate manner; but having to urge this repeatedly in reply to various solicitatious, made with the hope of changing his mind, I saw, sitting closely by him, he became slightly affected, shewing clearly that his words were not words of course, but the utterance of his mind, and the result of serious thought. This was what struck and, I confess, affected me. Though he was a firm-nay, I may add, an immovable-man, when he was convinced he was in the path of his duty, yet he was far off being destitute of those tender sensibilities which are amongst the best relics of our primeval perfection. No one who was for any length of time acquainted with this man of God, or his habits, but must know that he wept with those who wept, as well as rejoiced with those who did rejoice. From my own experience and observation I should say, that the dear Archbishop possessed in an especial degree this feature of resemblance to his dear Master, whose he was, and whom he strove to serve."

Mr. Medlicott's veracity is, of course, unquestionable; but to publish such a statement, as if there were no delusion in the matter-or perbaps to publish it at all-was, it may be presumed, ill-judged.

PASTOR.

*** We did not think the narrative worthy of relation. Mr. Medlicott appears, upon the face of this account, to have been in a depressed state of health; he was much attached to the Archbishop; he knew of his illness; and his mind had been deeply impressed by his Grace's solemn farewell, which he believes was in consequence of a presentiment of his approaching end. Under these circumstances, in the silent night, in a dream or reverie-perhaps a feverish delirium-he had an impression that his friend stood before him, and uttered words evidently an echo in his own mind of his Grace's farewell—“I will, or I have, left Tuam;" and he thought "he had, as it were, seen a vision." If his memory is accurate, the coincidence as to the day and hour is doubtless remarkable; but it proves nothing, but that there was such a coincidence, more especially if he was expecting to hear of the Archbishop's death. Unexplained stories of this kind are not for the use of edifying: they do not counteract, but rather encourage, the Sadducean spirit of the age; nor is the evidence for any one scriptural truth strengthened by them, "for if they believe not Moses and the prophets, neither would they believe though one rose from the dead."

THE IMPORTANCE OF STUDYING THE BIBLE IN THE ORIGINAL.

For the Christian Observer.

THE authorised English Version of the Holy Scriptures is, as a whole, so excellent that it is not right to diminish the public confidence in it by hypercritical objections. But the translators and correctors did not put it forth as perfect; nor could it be so (even if anything of man's were perfect) seeing that the shades of expression in one language cannot always be conveyed in another; and in some instances there are mistakes, CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 97.

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